SARCIDIORNIS MELANONOTA. 29 



height from the groimd. Soiiietiiiie,'^, however, they build their nests in 

 the forks ot" the larger limbs, especially when three or four such branch 

 out together from the trunk itself. Occasionally they seem, like the 

 AV'histling-Teal and the Mallard, to make nse of other 1)irds' nests, for 

 Mr. A. Anderson found some eggs in the nest of a Haliaetus leucorijphus 

 Avhich he believes to have been laid by a Nukhta. Captain Gc. T. L. 

 Marshall also found an egg of Sarc'idiornls in the nest of Dissura episcopa. 



The only nest I have taken myself in j^orth Cachar was placed in a 

 large tree standing by the edge of a small swamp, the latter completely 

 covered with dense ekra and grass. exce})t for a few feet all round the edge, 

 and, even there, short weeds and water plants almost hid the water from 

 ■ sight. The nest, which was rather a large one of sticks, roughly lined 

 with grass, was placed in a hollow between where the first large boughs 

 sjjraug from the bole of the tree. ]t was not ten feet from the ground, 

 but the boughs were so massive, and so well inclosed the nest that I 

 visited the pool, stood imder the trees, and saw the parent bird several 

 times before I noticed where it was. It contained three lai'ge eggs, just 

 like those described by Hume, with a beautiful texture, reminding one, 

 when touched with the finger, of the eggs ot the Barbets and Frogmouths, 

 possessing the same satiny feeling which is so uncommon outside the 

 families mentioned. In colour they are nearly white, and have a line 

 gloss when freshly laid, but they soil very quickly, and are then difficult 

 to clean again. 



A most interesting exception to the general nesting-habits of this bird is 

 given by E. H. Aitken in the " Bombay Journal ' (in loc. cit.). He writes: — 

 " On the 30tli August eighteen years ago, I was wandering about with my 

 sun on the banks ot a small brackish stream, near Kharao;hora, when a 

 female Comb-Duck got up and went otf. I fired and missed her. She 

 flew on for some distance, and then turned and came straight for me and 

 I killed her. She was handed over to the cook in the course of the day, 

 who came to say that he had found an egg in her. It was ready to be laid, 

 and there was no appearance of any more in her, so I came to the con- 

 clusion that the bird had made its nest, and laid all the eggs but one, 

 when it had the misfortune to fall in iny way. Next day, 1 took two men 

 with me, and began to make a systematic search for its nest. There were 

 scarcely any trees in the neighbourhood, Ijut many patches ol' rank rushes, 

 and among them 1 hunted long without success. At last one of my men, 

 who was on the other side of the stream, signalled to me and pointed to a 

 hole in the bank, which at that part was quite perpendicular. I crossed, 



