70 CHATEEOPODIDJE. 



Mr. J. Inglis writes from Cachar :— " The Striated Reed-Babbler 

 is exceedingly common during the whole year. It breeds from 

 March onwards, making its nest in longish grass." 



The eggs closely resemble those of A. caudata both in colour 

 and shape, but they are conspicuously larger. To judge from 

 Hewitson's figure, for I have never seen the egg, they in shape, 

 size, and colour closely resemble the eggs of Accentor alpinus, some 



1 have being very slightly larger, and others exactly the same size 

 as the figure referred to. 



In length the eggs vary from 0-78 to 1-01, and in breadth from 

 65 to 0-75, but the average of a large series is - 88 by - 7. 



105. Argya caudata (Duineril). The Common Babbler. 



Chatarrhsea caudata (Sum.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 67 ; Hume, Rough 

 Draft N.$E. no. 438. 



The Common Babbler breeds throughout India, not, however, 

 ascending any of our many mountain-ranges to any great elevation. 



They lay pretty well all the year round ; at any rate from early 

 in March to early in September their eggs are common. Mr. W. 

 Blewitt took a nestatHansie on the 3rd January, and single nests 

 are recorded by others as found in October, December, and 

 February. They certainly have two broods a year, and perhaps 

 more, the first being hatched from M.arch to May, the second from 

 June to August. 



They build in low thorny bushes, and occasionally in clumps of 

 high grass, the nest being rarely more than 3 feet from the ground. 

 The nest itself is cup-shaped, and composed of grass and. roots, 

 often unlined, at times lined with very fine grass-stems or horse-hair. 

 As a rule, it is neatly and compactly built, with a deep cavity some 



2 to 3 inches in diameter, and 1-75 to 2-25 in depth, but I have 

 seen straggling, ragged, and comparatively shallow nests of this 

 species, having an external diameter of fully 7 inches. Three is 

 the normal number of the eggs, but four are occasionally met with. 



Mr. Brooks says : — " This species builds in much the same sort 

 of places as A. malcolmi, but it chooses a low thick bush, the nest 

 not being more than 3 feet from the ground. Nest neatly built of 

 grass, roots, hair, &c, and the eggs bright bluish green, very glossy, 

 and much resembling those of Accentor modularis." 



Mr. E. M. Adam remarks :— " I took a nest of this bird in Oudh 

 on the 22nd April. It contained a young bird and one unhatched 

 egg. The nest was made of grass not well worked together, and 

 had a lining of finer grass. The ground-work was composed of 

 twigs and stems of creepers interlaced. The exterior diameter of 

 the nest measured 5 inches, and the egg-cavity was 2 inches deep. 

 In one case this bird did not lay till the fifth day after the nest was 

 finished. About Agra this bird breeds during' July and August. 



" This Bush-Babbler is very common about the Sambhur lake. I 

 have noted it breeding from the beginning of March till the begin- 

 ning of July. Although this species generally prefers building in 



