47 



tree, and generally at a height of two or three feet from the 

 ground. The bird often chooses a tree near the nursery door, 

 or the spot in the verandah where the " Dirzee" plies his trade, 

 and where there is generally an ample supply of bits of cotton, 

 thread, &c, which it uses in the construction of its wonderful 

 nest. It is frequently constructed in a single leaf, the edges 

 of which are stitched, but not drawn together, for about three 

 parts of the length from the point, with cotton or any fibrous 

 material which the bird can find, the point of the leaf being 

 drawn up to form an additional support for the bottom of the 

 nest, which is constructed, inside the cavity thus formed, of 

 coir fibre, wool, fine roots, small grass, or such like. The body 

 of the nest is attached or sewn to the edge of the leaf, the cen- 

 tre of which, without any lining, forms the back part. The 

 interior is lined with feathers, and measures generally three 

 inches in depth. Other nests are constructed with the addi- 

 tional support of one or more leaves (there is one in the Socie- 

 ty's Museum with three) stitched to the front or bottom of that 

 in which they are built. Another, that t found last J une, waa 

 a compact structure cleverly hung to two leaves, the larger 

 of which was secured to the back of the nest, and formed a 

 hood over the top of it. It was made of fibres of coir from the 

 door mats, worsted, cotton wool, feathers, &c, the whole of 

 which were sewn and worked together so as to form quite a 

 stiff and substantial piece of workmanship. The eggs are 

 generally three, sometimes four, in number, and of a greenish 

 white ground colour, spotted and speckled mostly at the larger 

 end with brown. Axis 7f lines, diam. 5£ lines. 



Cisticola Sh^nicola. {Bonaparte.) The Eufous Grass 

 Warbler, 



Abundant about Colombo, and stationary in the same spot 

 throughout the year. It affects, by choice, guinea-grass fields, 



