CAMPOPHAGA. 347 



tree (Bassia latifolia), placed on and at the end of two small out- 

 shooting branches. When my man, mounting the tree, approached 

 the nest the parent birds evinced the greatest anxiety, flew just 

 above his head, uttering all the while a sharply repeated cry. 

 Even when one of the birds was shot the other would not leave 

 the spot, but remained hovering about and uttering its shrill cry. 

 The nest is slightly made, and constructed of thin twigs and roots; 

 the exterior is covered slightly with spider's web. If we except 

 the size, the formation of this Cuckoo-Shrike's nest is almost 

 identical with that of Oraucalus macii. I secured two eggs in the 

 nest. In colour they are, when fresh, of a deepish green, mottled 

 with dark brown spots ; indeed the eggs, when first taken, a good 

 deal resemble those of CopsyeJius saularis. The maximum number 

 of eggs, no doubt, is three, as those I secured were fresh-laid. 

 The bird breeds from June to August." 



The nest above referred to, and now in my museum, was a very 

 shallow, rather broad cup. The egg-cavity about 2| inches in 

 diameter and about f inch deep, and the nest very loosely put 

 together of very fine twigs, and exteriorly coated and bound together 

 with cobwebs. The sides of the nest are about 0"6 inch thick, but 

 the bottom is a mere network of slender twigs, not above | inch 

 thick, and can be readily looked through. 



Mr. I. Macpherson writes : — " This bird is found in the open 

 scrub-forests of the Mysore district, but is nowhere common. 



" 14th May, 1880. — While passing a small sandal-wood tree a 

 bird flew out, and on looking into the tree I found a very shallow 

 nest at the junction of two small branches about 10 feet from the 

 ground ; the nest contained three eggs. 



" Returned again in a quarter of an hour and shot the bird (the 

 male) as it flew out of the tree. The eggs were within a few days 

 of being hatched off. 



" 20th May, 1880. — While out driving this morning saw a male 

 bird of this species fly out of a small sandal-wood tree close to the 

 roadside. Pulled up to watch, and shortly saw the female bird 

 fly into the tree. Grot out and shot her and took the nest, which 

 was beautifully fixed in a fork with three branches only eight feet 

 from the ground. 



" The nest contained three eggs very hard-set." 



Mr. J. Davidson, C.S., remarks : — " This pretty little Cuckoo- 

 Shrike is one of the earliest migrants in the rains, arriving about 

 the 8th of June, and breeding all along the scrub-jungles which 

 stretch between the IVasik and Khandeish Collectorates. It appears 

 particularly partial io the Angan forest, and, as far as I remember, 

 all the many nests I have seen have been in forks of angan trees. 

 The nest is a pretty firm platform composed of fine roots ; and 

 the eggs, which much resemble those of the Magpie-Robin, are 

 three in number." 



Colonel Legge writes, in his ' Birds of Ceylon ' : — " With us 

 this Cuckoo-Shrike breeds in April in the Western Province. 

 Mr. Mac Vicar writes me of the discovery, by himself, of two nests 



