258 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 90 



example of carelessness in observation that has led to erro- 

 neous theories which have been handed down by one writer 

 to another. It remained for Mr. G. A. Pinto to actually watch 

 a Tailor-bird, while building her nest, and to note down what 

 he saw. These observations have been published in Mr, 

 Douglas Dewar's book, " Birds of the Plains," and show what 

 the bird «really does : That through the punctures she makes 

 in the leaf she pushes cobwebs, threads, and later on the cotton 

 of the nest lining, which form knobs on the outside of the leaf, 

 and to conclude in the words of the author of this book: "As 

 a matter of fact the bird makes no knots ; she merely forces 

 a portion of the cotton strand through a puncture, and the 

 silicon which enters into the composition of the leaf catches 

 the soft, minute st-rands of the cotton and prevents them 

 from slipping." 



Three species belonging to the Turdidse family were seen 

 in numerous places. These were the Indian Redstart (Ritti- 

 cilla riifiventris) , Brown-backed Indian Robin {Thamnohia 

 canibaiensis) , and Magpie Robin (Copysychus saularis). All 

 are small birds, the last mentioned, eight inches in length, 

 being the largest. In each species the plumage of the female 

 differs somewhat from that of the male. The very effective 

 ar-rangements of the black and white colors of the Magpi-e 

 Robin make a beauty of this dapper fellow. He ranks very 

 high as a singer, and is known to the natives by the name of 

 Dhyal. The close resemblance of the Common Starling of 

 India (Sfiinnis menshieri) to its European cousin serves to 

 identify it at once. 



One of the very few species of birds that I saw in each of 

 the grand divisions, Europe, Asia, and Africa, was the White 

 Wagtail (MotacUIa alba). x\side from the House Spa-rrow 

 it was the species most widely and frequently met. It was 

 seen in its winter refuge in India and Egypt, and in its sum- 

 mer home in the countries of Scandinavia. In the vicinity of 

 Mount Abu two ,other members of the Motacilldae family 

 were seen. These were the Grey Wagtail, and its very hand- 



