MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 405 



Kashgar "in winter" (S.F. iii., 219) and Cashmere " in spring" (Jour, 

 B.N.H.S.) are further notes that I find. :\Ir. A.. E. Jones in a letter, dated 

 3rd February 1920, informed me that he had just received a female in the 

 flesh from Simla. 



I am now able to record a considerable extension of the range of this 

 species into the plains, in that I have met it in the district of Jhang(.S.W. Punjab). 

 A male was first obtained on 18th February 1918 near the town of Shah Jiwana, 

 and a female was shot about 10 miles from the same place (at the Rivaz bridge 

 over the Chenab river) on 12th January 1919. No other individuals were seen 

 in those two winters, but the foUoAving winter a great number arrived in the 

 district. The first two birds were seen on January 1st but no more were 

 noticed mitil January 12th after which they were observed in abiuidance until 

 the end of the month. Two only were seen in February, both on the 13th. From 

 my notes it appears that I personally saw 50 individuals in all. All these birds 

 were in the area which lies between Jhang and the Sharpur district boundary 

 on both sides of the Chenab river. They were fomid for the most part either 

 in the avenues of kikur trees which line the canal banks, or in groves of 

 small kikurs often in most arid spots. The alarm note, which was excellently 

 described by Whitehead as a croaking "gre-er," also be compared to the souiid 

 of a minature watchman's rattle ; the ordinary call is a softer slurred versioii 

 of the same. The species is easily distinguished in the field from the common 

 Indian Black Redstart. The colouring of the male of course prevents 

 confusion, and the white shoulder patches are conspicuous in flight. The 

 female may be distinguished by the larger size, the whitish markings on the 

 wings, and above all by the habit (common to both sexes) of flirting the 

 tail up and down above the level of the back, whereas in the common bird 

 it is "shivered." The difference of the call notes is also distinctive. 



A series of 12 males and seven females was observed all in the months of 

 January and February ; all were in typical winter plumage), and showed no 

 traces of moult, except in the case of a single female (26th January)which was 

 moulting a few feathers on the back. 



This series yielded the following measurements in millimetres : — 



Bill from skull. Wing. TaU. Tarsus, 



Males • .. U— 16.5 84-89 64-69.5 23-26 



Females '.'. .. .. 15—16 81.5-86 (one 75.1) 22.5— 27 



63.5-69.5 



The soft parts were as follows for both sexes ; Iris dark brown : orbicular 

 black : mouth yellowish (flesh colour in one bird) : bill black : legs black. 



HUGH WHISTLER, f.z.s., m.b.o.u., 



Indian Police, 

 Jhang, Punjab. 



No. XIV.— ON THE OOLOGY OF THE NILTAVAS. 



A peculiarity noticed in several clutches of the eggs of these birds is that a 

 single clutch frequently displays three distinct types of eggs. In mo-.t 

 ci!s one eg. is very heavily freckled, another faintly so, and the remainn.g 

 o^e or two fec^are Ilmost Without traces of freckles. Exceptions sometimcH 

 occTand I hive a clutch of N. sundara in which all ^^l^lf^^l^^ZiW 

 marked. This peculiarity is, no doubt, favourable o ^^^.^^J^^^",^^^^ 

 make use of thele nests. I have taken the eggs of bo h ^ ^^^^'i^^'^/^T 

 and Cuculus saturatm from nests of N. sundara and ^i I mistake not that 

 C. canorus from the nest of N. grandis. 



