56 OOEACIID^. 



to those of G. garrula ; but no egg in my collection is either quite 

 as large or quite as spherical as the figure of the egg of 0. garrula 

 given by Hewitson. 



They vary in length from 1-25 to 1-35 inch, and in breadth from 

 0-97 to 1-12 inch ; but I find the average of a large series of measure- 

 ments to be 1'3 by 1'06 inch. 



Coracias afflnis, MeClell. TJie Burmese Boiler. 



Ooracias affinis, McClell., Jerd. B. Ind. i, p. '217 ; Hume, Cat. no. 

 124. 



Mr. J. Inglis writes that in Cachar this Roller, which, however, 

 is not quite typical, is " extremely common throughout the year. 

 Breeds during March, April, and May in the holes of trees." 



Mr. Gates, writing from Pegu, says : — " The eggs, four or five 

 in number, are laid on the bare wood at the bottom of large 

 natural hollows in decayed branches of large trees. The holes 

 selected are generally not less than 20 feet from the ground. The 

 shell is pure white and excessively glossy. My eggs were taken 

 from the 26th March to the 2nd April, and were in all cases either 

 fresh or only slightly incubated. In size they vary from 1'26 to 

 1"45 in length, and from 1"07 to 1-13 in breadth. The average of 

 12 eggs is 1-37 by 1-09." 



"Writing from Tenasserim Major Bingham remarks : — " In 

 a deserted tounyah I found a nest of Coracias affinis on the 21st of 

 March containing five eggs, very hard-set. They were laid in a 

 hollow in a dead, dry, and almost rotten tree, on the bare wood. 

 The hollow was about two feet deep, and the entrance-hole an 

 irregular jagged aperture about 3 inches in diameter." 



Unless perhaps they seem a shade smaller, the eggs of this 

 species are precisely similar to those of its Indian congener : 

 broad regular ovals, at times a little cylindrical, pure white, 

 spotless and with a fine gloss. Five eggs measure from 1'2.3 to 

 1"31 in length, and from 1"05 to 1-1 in breadth. 



Coracias garrula, Linn. The European Boiler. 



Coracias garrula, Linn., Jerd. B. Itid. i, p. 218 ; Hume, Bouah Draft 

 N.^Kjio.125. 'V , , j j 



The European EoUer, so far as I yet know, breeds (within our 

 limits) only in Cashmere and the Peshawur Valley. 



It lays from May to July, making, as a rule, a scanty nest in 

 hollow trees, in sandy banks (specially of rivers and nullahs), and, 

 though more rarely, occasionally in ruins. 



Six is, I believe, the largest number of eggs that it lays, but, 

 according to my collectors, four or five is the common number. 



The late Captain Cock remarked : — " One of the commonest 

 nests in Cashmere : in holes in river-banks and in hollow trees you- 

 are sure to find a pair of these Rollers breeding ; they lay in May 

 and June, either five or six eggs. I also found this bird breeding 



