MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 1081 



gaggle of barheaded geese when one Laticilla came and ate something on 

 the ground within a yard of my face. 



H. WHISTLER, 



Indian Police. 

 Rawal Pindi, April 1912. 



Xo. XVI.— NIDIFICATION OF BURMESE GREAT BLACK 

 WOODPECKER {THRIPONAX FEDDENI.) 



To-day (February 6th) I have obtained the eggs of this species from a 

 tree close to my present camp, about 15 miles east of Thayetmyo. 



Yesterday one of my elephant attendants reported to me he had found 

 the nest-hole, and that the bird, a black and white woodpecker, had 

 flown out and that he had felt the eggs. 1 was rather doubtful as to the 

 truth of his statement, but the same afternoon proceeded with him to 

 inspect. He took me to a " Letphan " tree standing in an old clearing, all 

 around being " Kanig " grass interspersed with a few tall trees. Locality 

 close to banks of a broad creek. I saw the nest-hole at once, and as we 

 were talking the bird flew out, an undoubted specimen of the Burmese Great 

 Black Woodpecker. I did not shoot it, although it oftered many oppor- 

 tunities, as it kept flying from tree to tree close at hand, vittering its 

 rancous call, because T was not yet certain whether the hole contained 

 eggs. 



The Letphan tree in which the hole was made, was about 2 feet in cir- 

 cumference, the hole was situated about 14 feet up the hole and lying at 

 foot of tree there was a small heap of soft wood chips of the Woodpecker's 

 excavating. Had it not been for the thorny spikes with which the stem 

 was covered, the tree presented no difiiculties in climbing. These spikes, 

 however, we knocked oft' with a stick, and 1 swarmed up, but was dis- 

 appointed to find I could not reach the bottom of the hole, as the entrance 

 was too small to allow of more than the half of my forearm to pass 

 through. The attendant with me could do no better. I then questioned 

 him as to why he had told me that four days previously he had felt 

 eggs, and he told me that at that time the hole was not so deep. 



To-day I sent one of my servants, a small boy, whose arm would be likely 

 to pass through the hole to feel in the nest for eggs, but alas quite contrary 

 to my orders. Xot only did he feel, but he took the two eggs and 

 brought them back to me. Had I known there were eggs, I would have 

 had them taken in my presence, and at the same time shot the parent bird. 

 The eggs are pure white, very glossy with a certain amount of 

 transparency, and are fragile, considering their size. They measure 

 1 -Sox 1-0. 

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