688 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XITI. 
year, but was not over-successful in finding its nest. On the 15th July I 
saw a pair building, the site was a hole,excavated by a Coppersmith,in a Babul 
tree some 15 feet from the ground, I went on the 26th to take the nest, 
when I found it had been deserted, which was a disappointment, As “ Mr. 
Coppersmith ” was loafing round, I came to the conclusion that he had sum- 
marily ejected the Tit, Onthe 26th August I saw another pair building, 
this time the nest was in a Mango Tree, in an open grove, some 10 feet from 
the ground. On the 4th September I obtained 4 fresh eggs from it. On the 
28th August I found a nest in a natural hole in a Pipal Tree, 10 feet from 
the ground, containing young. And on the 21st September I obtained 4, par- 
tially incubated eggs, from another nest in a Mango Tree. From the above I 
conclude that this bird nests a little later than the Grey Tit, but I hope to 
find out more about it next season, The nest is a facsimile of the Grey Tits’ 
as are the eggs, though the latter are a trifle larger. 
THe InpIAN WuitTE Eye (Zosterops palpebrosa) is a common bird round 
Poona, and its cradle-nest, suspended in the fork of a shrub, is not hard to 
find. A pair built in my verandah, I watched tke up-bringing of the family 
with great interest. Four eggs were laid and were hatched, but only two 
lived to leave the nest. J observed that two were much stronger than the 
others, that they received nearly all the food and attention of the parents 
accordingly and throve; while the we:klings went to the wall. Twice a 
young one, which had been ousted, was replaced in the nest, lt the parents, 
unlike human parents, seemed fonder of the stronger ones, who always 
shoved the weaker ones aside and got fed, A White Eye’s nest is not con- 
structed to hold feur young birds, Why, then, should four be the full com- 
plement of eggs? The nest in question was bulged ont to its full «xtent with 
the two strong and two weak birds. No one would have imagined tl at they 
belonged to the same brood. When the former were nearly fully fledged and 
ready to fly, the litter were almost devoid of covering. I have often noticed 
that birds laying 4 or 5 eggs are rarely followed by more than 2 or 3 young, and 
believe that the weak nearly always go to the wall, which accounts for it. 
I should like to know whether others, interested in birds, have noticed this. 
THe WHItE-BREASTED KINGFISHER ( Halcyon smyrnensis) breeds here from 
May to July, at least those are the best months to search forit. I obtained 
three nests this year containing 3, 4 and 5 eggs, respectively. The nests were 
situated in perpendicular banks‘over a running stream and were some 2 to 3 feet 
deep. The holes had evidently been excavated by the birds. I obtained eggs 
from the same nest-hole as I had found young last year, I could get my hand 
into the hole without enlarging it, so I hope to get another clutch next year. 
THE Common Bexz-gater (Merops viridis) is plentiful and breeds from 
about the middle of April to the middle of May, that is the best time to 
look for eggs. They excavate holes to a depth of 2 feet and deposit 4 to 5 
round white eggs at the bottom. 
