246



Dr. A. G. Butler,



In his “ Hand-book of the Management of Animals in

captivity in Lower Bengal ” Mr. Ram Bramha Sanyal, the

Superintendent of the Calcutta Zoological Gardens, averages the

duration of this bird’s life in captivity at three years; but I

should judge that the great heat in Calcutta would tend to shorten

the life of a bird coming from the snow-line of the Himalayas,

and that in our climate it would probably live to a much greater

age if properly looked after.


In Oates’ edition of Allan O. Hume’s “ Nests and Eggs of

Indian Birds,” Vol. II., pp. 93-95, is a very full account of the

nidification of this Blackbird, which would occupy too much

space to quote in full here ; but the following may be noted as

rendering these notes more complete:—“ The Grey-winged Ouzel

breeds throughout the outer ranges of the Himalayas, at any rate

from Darjeeling to Murree, in and about the skirts of forests,

from an elevation of say 4,000 to 7,000 feet. It lays from the end

of April to the early part of August, but the majority lay in May

and June.


The situation of the nest varies: it is sometimes placed on

the ground in some hollow of a massive root, or in a fallen trunk;

sometimes on a ledge of rock, and sometimes in a fork of some

thick tree of moderate size, at no great elevation from the

ground. *


The nests of this species closely resemble those of the

Nilghiri Blackbird. There is the same internal wattle-and-dab

framework, the same massive external coating of moss and

delicate ferns, and the same soft internal lining, in the case of

this species most commonly of fine dry gra c s. The specimens

before me are fully 7J inches in external diameter—beautiful

masses of moss, lichen, and dry feathery fern, standing some¬

thing like 5 inches high, with deep egg-cavities, 3^ inches across

by 2 ^ in depth. As far as I can judge M. bo 7 ilboul employs less

mud in the construction of its nest than t the southern allied

species; but their general appearance is very similar, though the

Himalayan nests seem to be generally rather the lightest, although

the largest.



* I11 short it would appear in this respect to follow very closely the habits of our

British favourite.—A. G. B.



