TRIBTTEA. ORTHOTOMUS. 231 



fine but glossless, the ground-colour a dead white, thickly speckled 

 and spotted about the large end, thinly elsewhere, with somewhat 

 brownish and again purplish red. The markings are all very fine 

 and small, but where they are closely set at the large end there a 

 few little pale purplish-grey specks and spots are intermingled. 



The eggs measure O68 by - 55. 



The eggs of this species obtained by Mr. Mandelli in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Darjeeling in July are so similar to those obtained by 

 Mr. Gammie, and of which he sent me the parent bird, that 

 no second description is necessary. They are a shade smaller, 

 but the difference is not more than is always observable in even 

 the same species. They measure 0-67 in length, and 0*53 to 0'55 

 in breadth. 



372. Tribura luteiventris, Hodgs. The Brawn Bush-Warbler. 



Tribura luteoventris, Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 161 ; Hume, Rough 

 Draft N. Sf E. no. 522. 



A bird unquestionably belonging to this species*, the Brown 

 Bush- Warbler, was sent me along with a single egg from Native 

 Sikhim. The bird was said to have been killed ofi the nest (which 

 was not preserved), which was found, at an elevation of about 

 12,000 feet, in low brushwood about 3 feet from the ground. 



The egg is a very regular, rather broad oval, has only a faint 

 gloss, and is of a very rich deep maroon-red, slightly darker at the 

 large end. 



The egg measures 0-62 by 0-49. 



374. Orthotomus sutorius (Forst.). The Indian Tailor-bird. 



Orthotomus longicauda (Om.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 165 ; Hume, Rough 

 Draft N. $ E. no. 530. 



The Indian Tailor-bird* breeds throughout India and Burma, 

 alike in the plains and in the hills (e. g., the Himalayas and Nil- 

 giris), up to an elevation of from 3000 to 4000 feet. 



The breeding-season lasts from May to August, both months 

 included ; but in the plains more nests are to be found in July, 

 and in the hills more, I think, in June, than during the other 

 months. 



The nest has been often described and figured, and, as is well 

 known, is a deep soft cup enclosed in leaves, which the bird sews 

 together to form a receptacle for it. 



* I do not place much confidence in the authenticity of the egg of this bird 

 sent to Mr. Hume. Being a Warbler with twelve tail-feathers, it is unlikely to 

 lay a red egg, and besides this the eggs of the allied species, T. thoracica, as 

 found by trustworthy observers like Messrs. Gammie and Mandelli, are known 

 to be white speckled with red, in spite of Mr. Hodgson's figure representing 

 them to be deep cinnabar-red. — Ed. 



t The notes on this bird's breeding are so very numerous that I am com- 

 pelled to omit several of them. — Ed. 



