Nidification of some Birds from Burma. 19 



Prinia inornata ■burmanica, (Plate I. figs. 2, 4.) 

 Prinia inornata burmanica Haringtorij Bull. B.O. C. xx^i. 

 1913, p. 111. 



The Upper Burma Prinia is very common round Man- 

 dalay, and iu Upper Burma in general, starting breeding 

 operations soon after the raius have begun, and nesting 

 from June well on into September. The usual site for a 

 nest is in rushes and long grass growing in or near water; 

 I have also seen them attached to weeds and plants in 

 gardens. The nest is of the family type, being a deep 

 purse made from woven grass, with an opening at the top ; 

 this is attached to one or more stems of grass or twigs. A 

 few birds nested in our Mess Garden at Mandalay ; these 

 built their nests in canna leaves, which were first sewn 

 together, forming a cone, inside which the ordinary woven 

 nest of grass was placed. 



The eggs are like those of P. i. inornata from India, being 

 a beautiful pale blue, blotched and streaked with numerous 

 curly lines of dark red. I found two nests containing ab- 

 normally coloured eggs, totally unlike the usual type, and 

 more like those of Franklinia, having a blue-green ground- 

 colour, profusely dotted with rufous spots. One nest 

 contained four eggs of this type, and the other two, while 

 two were almost of the normal type. 



Average of nine eggs = ■62X'45. 

 Largest = -65 x •46. 



Smallest =-58X'45. 



Pericrocotus frater cuius. 



Pericrocotus fraterculus Swinhoe ; Oates, Fauna, i. 1889, 

 p. 481. 



The Burmese Scarlet Minivet is fairly plentiful round 

 Maymyo. I, however, only managed to find one nest ; this 

 was placed at the end of a branch of an oak tree, situated 

 on the golf-links. It was beautifully made of moss, coated 

 with lichen and cobwebs, and had no special inside lining. 



The eggs, three in number, are greenish stone-colour, and 

 are profusely blotched with brown and pinkish-grey, wiiich 



c2 



