222 JOURNAL, BOMB A Y NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX, 



the ground at the end of a tunnel about four feet long from the entrance. 

 This nest was very roughly made of roots and grass and was lined with fea- 

 thers, wool and the fur of the Mouse-hare. The nest contained four white 

 eggs which measure 21x15, 21x15, 19 x 12mm. 



This clutch has been given to the Society. These eggs were taken at 

 Phari-Tibet on the 8th June 1908, at an altitude of 14,300 feet. The bird 

 was common, and I saw several pairs making their nests. I also obtained 

 several nests of M. adamsi, which nests in the same place and in the same 

 manner ; indeed, the nest and eggs of these two birds are indistinguishable, 

 except that the eggs of M. adamsi are slightly larger. 



2. Robin Accentor. {Accentor rubeculoides — Hodgs/) 



I took a nest of this Accentor near Dochen in Tibet at an altitude of about 

 15,500 feet on the 2nd July 1908. The nest was neatly constructed of moss 

 lined with hair and wool, and was placed under a tuft of rushes in the bank 

 of a stream overhanging the water. It contained four blue eggs from '20*2 to 

 21"2 millimetres in length by 15mm. in breadth. The bird is common in that 

 part of Tibet, and I had previously found a nest near Phari under a bush of 

 dwarf rhododendron at a height of 14,500 feet above sea level. 



Edinburgh, January 1910. F. M. BAILEY, Capt. 



No. XVIII —BIRD NOTES FROM A HOMEWARD BOUND 

 STEAMER IN NOVEMBER. 



Before slipping our moorings in Bombay Harbour on one of those pleasant 

 afternoons, when having just obtained leave one looks at India over the stern, 

 I noticed among the flocks of Laughing Gulls (Larus ridibundus) flying around, 

 a very small gull which may possibly have been the Little Gull (L. minutus) ? 



About 350 miles out a small bird either pipit, bunting or lark, much to my 

 astonishment, appeared flying round the ship. What could have induced this 

 lonely waif to traverse such a vast waste of waters ? There could have been 

 no question of the unfortunate bird having been blown out to sea by storms 

 for the weather was fine and calm, as it usually is at this season. Nor were 

 we on, what might in any sense be called, a migration route. Reflection in 

 such circumstances reveals the tragic nature of these occasional, erratic, 

 straying flights of small land birds, but leads one to speculate in vain regarding 

 the origin of an impulse which so remorselessly misleads and drives its 

 feathered victims to their doom. 



The 3rd day out, I saw some white Tropic-Birds probably Phaethon 

 flavirostris. 



At Aden the Sooty Gull (L. hemprichi) was most abundant in the harbour. 

 There were also a few L. ridibundus among which were probably The Brown- 

 Headed Gull (L. brunneicephalus). It needs a practised eye to detect the 

 differences between the two last species in winter plumage. 



In the southern end of the Red Sea, the Booby {Sula leucogaster) was 

 particularly numerous. It was interesting to see these gannets beating up 



