475 



About twenty yards from the nest was a large, old, hollow fir tree ; and in this I sat till the 

 female returned to her nest. My attendant then quietly approached the spot, when she flew out 

 of the nest and sat on a low branch two or three yards from it. Then she uttered her ' tiss-yip,' 

 which I know so well, and darted away among the pines. My man retired, upon which she soon 

 returned ; and having called for a few minutes in the vicinity of the nest, she ceased her note 

 and quickly entered. Again she was quietly disturbed, and sat on a twig not far from the nest. 

 I heard her call once more, and then shot her. There were five eggs, which were slightly 

 incubated. 



"The capture delighted me; but I felt sorry that I had shot her off her valuable eggs. I 

 was much struck with the very worn state of her plumage ; the yellow and the olive were so 

 faded, and the bars on the wing worn. The newly moulted autumnal bird is very different. 

 Few birds fade so much and lose colour to the extent that this little bird does. I took two other 

 nests that same day (31st of May), also a nest of Beguloides occipitalis, and one of Sipfiia leuco- 

 melanara. In the mean time Captain Cock had reached Sonamerg, which proved to be a better 

 place for Beguloides than even Gulmerg ; and on the same day he took his first nest of Begu- 

 loides super ciliosus. In his letter to me he says, ' Now for B. super ciliosus. I took my first 

 nest on the 31st, with five eggs, and shot the old bird. This bird builds, in an exactly similar 

 situation as Abromis, a little globular nest, placed on the side of a steep bank, with only the 

 little entrance-hole exposed to view. The nest is composed of dry grass outside, a little moss, 

 and thickly lined with hair of the musk-deer.' 



" My second nest was placed on the side of a steep bank, on the ground. The third was 

 similarly placed, and composed of coarse grass and moss, and lined with black horse-hair. In 

 each of these nests the number of eggs was five. 



" Another nest, taken on the 1st of June, with four eggs, was placed on the ground, on a 

 sloping bank, at the foot of a small thin bush. It was composed as usual of coarse dry grass and 

 moss, and lined with finer grasses and a few hairs. The eggs were five or six days incubated. 

 Another nest, with four eggs, was placed on the ground, under the inclined trunk of a small fir. 

 The same materials were used. Another nest containing four eggs was placed on a sloping bank, 

 and quite exposed, there being little or no herbage to conceal it. It was composed as before, 

 with the addition of a few feathers in the outer portion of the nest. Another nest was at the 

 roots of a fern growing on a very steep bank. The new shoots of the fern grew up above the 

 nest ; and last year's dead leaves overhung it and entirely concealed it. Another was placed on 

 a sloping bank, immediately under the trunk of a fallen and decayed pine. On account of 

 irregularities in the ground, the trunk did not touch the ground where the nest was by about 

 two feet. This was again an instance of contrivance for the nest's protection. It was composed 

 of the same materials as usual. 



" Another was among the branches of a small shrub, right in the centre of the bush, and on 

 the ground, which was sloping as usual. Another nest, with four eggs, taken on the 3rd of June, 

 was placed in the steep bank of a small stream only three feet six inches above the water. 



" The above examples will give a very fair idea of the situation of the nest ; and it now 

 remains only to describe the eggs, which average 0'56 in. long by 0*44 in. broad. The largest 

 egg which was measured was - 62 long and 0'45 broad; and the smallest measured - 52 long 



