]80 



Capt. H. Lynes on the Habits and 



Time of 

 Year. 



May, 

 June, 

 July. 



Atigust, 



Sept., 



October. 



Nov., 

 Dec. 



Reed-beds. 



The river continues to rise in 

 consequence of the melting of the 

 snow in the mountains of Tibet 

 and western China ; in normal years 

 June sees the reed-beds beginning 

 to flood and July the maximum 

 height of the river for the year, 

 when the reeds are all standing in 

 not less than a foot of water ; but 

 should the rainfall in the lower 

 basin be abnormally heavy, four 

 feet or even more. 



The reeds reach their full de- 

 velopment about July, and are then 

 from 10 to 20 feet high. 



During this period many insects, 

 such as earwigs, spiders, &c., attack 

 various parts of the reeds, to make« 

 homes for their oif spring. 



The river falls slowly, but in 

 normal years not enough to uncover 

 the main " beds." 



The seeds ripen. 



The summer bird-visitors, such 

 as Reed- War biers, Ardeidse, &c., 

 depart, and the winter-visitors com- 

 mence to arrive. 



The river falls faster, and during 

 November (in normal years) the 

 reed- beds once more become high 

 a: id dry. 



Mary '\vinter bird-visitors from 

 the norfcb, Buntings predominating, 

 besides Pheasants from the neigh- 

 bouring lands, congregate in the 

 now dry reed-beds and subsist 

 on the various seeds and fruits of 

 the reeds water-plants, and under- 

 growth. 



Paradoxornis heudei. 



P. h. returns to its home among 

 the reeds, which once more furnish 

 insect-food in abundance. 



ISTests are built, woven ■ around 

 the reed-stems, in Reed-Warbler 

 fashion, some distance above their 

 bases, and egg-laying commences 

 in June. 



A time of peace and plenty for 

 P. h., the supply of insect-food is 

 at its greatest abundance, and 

 its haunts are undisturbed by 

 man. 



Presumably an autumn " com- 

 plete " moult is undergone at this 

 season. 



Whatever autumnal moult may 

 have been carried out is finished 

 by November. 



Food. 



The result of much observation in the field and the 

 examination of some twenty gizzard-contents prove that in 

 the months of November, December, January, February, 

 April, and June, the food is entirely insects and their larvae, 

 and it is highly probable that the same holds good all the 



