5: 4 



Never attempt to shoot a wary little bird in the act of leaving its nest, as you only run the risk, 

 and mortification I may add, of wounding perhaps an unknown bird, in which case she will never 

 again return to her nest ; but lie in ambush for her with outlying scouts, and make certain of 

 her as she is returning to her nest. She will first alight on a neighbouring tree, then on one 

 closer, coming nearer and nearer each time ; finally she will perch on the very tree or bush 

 in which the nest is built, and while taking a look round to see if all is well before making a 

 final ascent, you have yourself to blame if you fail to bag her. All this sounds very cruel ; but if 

 a bird must be shot for scientific purposes it is surely preferable to kill it outright, than to let 

 it die a lingering death. Thus it was that I eventually succeeded, even at the expense of being 

 devoured alive by midges and mosquitoes ; but then, was not the satisfaction of knowing that I 

 had become the happy possessor of authentic eggs of ' Acrocephalus dumetorum ' in itself sufficient 

 to repay me for my hill excursion 1 



" I cannot, however, pretend to lay claim to originality in the discovery of the breeding- 

 habits of this bird ; for Hutton's description of the nest and eggs taken by him so fully accords 

 with my own experience, that it is but fair to conclude he was correct in his identification. I 

 would add, however, that the nest above alluded to was more elliptical than spherical, being 

 about the size and shape of an Ostrich's egg, that it was constructed throughout of the largest 

 and coarsest blades of various kinds of dry grass (the egg-cavity being lined with grass bents of 

 a finer quality), and that it was domed over, having a lateral entrance about the middle of the 

 nest. The whole structure was so loosely put together as to fall to pieces immediately it was 

 removed. 



" The eggs, four in number, are pure white, beautifully glossed, and well covered with 

 rufous or reddish brown specks, most numerous at the obtuse end. Owing to its similarity to a 

 number of eggs, particularly to the Titmouse group, it is just one of those that 1 would never 

 feel comfortable in accepting on trust. 



" It was a remarkable coincidence that the very day I took this nest my post brought me 

 part iv. of the P. Z. S. for 1874, containing Mr. Dresser's interesting paper on the nidification of 

 the i Hypolais' and 'Acrocephalus' groups ; and if I understand him rightly, he is certainly correct 

 in his surmise as to the eggs of ' Acrocepltalus dumetorum' approaching those of the ' ■Hypolais' 

 group. 



" My good luck, as regards the Lesser Reed- Warbler, did not end here ; for on the following 

 day, at Bagesur, at an elevation of only 3000 feet, I again encountered a pair of these birds, 

 finding their nest on the banks of the Purjoo. The position, shape, and architecture of this 

 nest was identical with the one I have above described; but the eggs unfortunately had not 

 been laid. The little birds on this occasion were quite fearless, hopping from stem to stem 

 of the dense undergrowth which throughout the Bagesur valley fringes both sides of the river, 

 every now and again making a temporary halt for the purpose of picking insects off the leaves, 

 with an occasional ' tchick,' which Hutton compares to the ' sound emitted by a flint and steel,' 

 but all the time enticing me away from the site of their dwelling-place. In this way they led me 

 a wild-goose chase several times up and down the river-bank before I was able to discover the 

 whereabouts of their nest." 



