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“Tt breeds at Abu in the rains, commencing nidification towards the end of the hot weather, but I 
was never fortunate enough to find a nest. It is common, but I have never met with it on the 
plains ; and 1 am inclined to think that it is migratory, as I lost sight of it during the cold weather, 
and did not see it again till May, when it reappeared in considerable numbers " (Str. F. iii. p. 470, 
1875). 
Very little has been written about the habits of the Black-capped Ouzel. Colonel Butler says 
that it has a loud rich note, resembling the whistle of Turdus musicus. Dr. Jerdon observes:— 
“Like other Blackbirds, it feeds much on the ground on snails, soft insects, and occasionally on 
fruit. At Nellore I found that it lived almost entirely on the pretty Helix bistrialis, so common in 
hedgerows in the Carnatic. I heard its song at Tellicherry towards the end of the cold weather, but 
only very early in the morning long before sunrise. I also heard it in Bustar in April, where it was 
breeding. It is not nearly so powerful, or so fine, as that of its Nilghiri or Ceylon congener." 
The following observations on the nesting of the species have appeared in Mr. Oates's edition of 
Mr. Hume's ‘ Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds’ (vol. ii. р. 91):-“ Mr. H. Wenden has found many 
nests of this Blackbird on the Gháts near Khandala. Не says:— 
**6th July, 1879. Lonauli. Found nest with three young birds in a small euphorbia bush, 
41 feet above ground. 
**27th July. Davidson and I found two nests, each with three eggs. One situated in the fork 
of a horizontal bough about 5 feet from ground, and the other on the point of a pollarded branch 
8 feet from ground. 
**2nd August. I found another nest with three eggs, 12 feet up in a euphorbia bush. I have 
found several other nests, some old and others building. This species seems to be breeding very 
freely about here (Lonauli, from 1800 to 2400 feet above the sea). 
“< Оп 27th July I shot both male and female from a nest, and Davidson and I identified them. 
The nests are composed of stout twigs and grass, covered externally with much earth and moss, 
Internally they measure from 33 to 32 inches diameter by 2 deep, neatly lined with fine grass-stems, 
root, &c.; the lining of one nest consisted entirely of the spines of casuarina.” 
“The eggs of this species are, typically, moderately broad, very regular ovals, but short broad, 
more or less pyriform varieties, and, again, considerably elongated oval ones, occur. The eggs 
are always fairly glossy, and some have a fine gloss. ‘The ground-colour varies from greenish-white 
to a delicate pale sea-green, the markings, usually most dense about one or other end, where they 
often form a more or less regular cap or zone, are a rich brownish-red and pale purple, and consist 
of specks, spots, blotches, and streaks, becoming sometimes quite confluent at one end of the egg, 
to which in some eggs they are almost entirely confined, while in others, with the exception of a 
slight tendency to conglomerate round the large end, they are pretty evenly distributed over the 
entire surface. 
“Тһе eggs vary from 1:02 to 1:17 in length, and from 0:78 to 0:88 in breadth; but the average 
of 15 eggs is 1:08 by 0:82.” 
Adult male. General colour above light slaty-grey, decidedly browner on the mantle, hind-neck, 
and sides of neck and nape, leaving the crown of the head black, forming a сар; wing-coverts clear 
slate-colour; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills blackish, externally bluish slate-colour; the 
primaries inclining to hoary-grey on their outer margins; tail black, slightly washed with slate- 
colour externally; lores, sides of face, and ear-coverts black, like the crown ; cheeks and entire throat 
brown, fading off on the breast and under-parts into a paler and more slaty-brown and into white on 
the lower abdomen and vent; thighs pale ashy-brown; under tail-coverts pale ashy, with broad 
white central streaks down the feathers; axillaries and under wing-coverts light ashy-grey ; quills 
dusky below, ashy along the inner web: “ bill reddish-orange; feet yellow; iris dark brown" 
(W. Davison). Total length 10 inches, culmen 1:1, wing 5:3, tail 3:8, tarsus 1:3. 
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