106 
Tlic Blncli -headed Siliia. 
size, and it was only after seeing them pair, that I was able 
to pick out one from the other; and the closest observation 
only revealed to me that the female was a!mo;<t impercept- 
aV)ly paler in colour, and that the front of her cre.-st was a 
little narrower than that of her mate. — Ed.] 
" My earlit'Kt and Itiffinf dates are 9th of June '3 semi-incubated 
" eggs), and 7tli of August (3 fresh eggs), respectively. I may mention 
" however that on tlie 9th May, I found a nest containing two young ones 
" about a week or ten days old. The eggs in this case must have been laid 
"during the third week in April, but this is e.xceptional The 
" nests are generally built either in ti-ees or bushes on the edges of forests, 
" though it is by no means unusual to find them towards the middle, 
" or in the heart of a thickly covered hillsitle, The nests are placed either 
"at the ends of branches, or on one of the upper forks, or where several 
"small twigs shoot upwards from a horizontal branch, and no matter 
" what their position, they are, as a rule, well concealed. Tn fact, they are 
" very difficult nests to find, l)ut the bii-ds themselves sometimes give away 
" the show by uttering a sharp twitter, if a pei'son happens to approach too 
" close to the tree containing the nest iSo far as iny exi)erietiee goes, 
" the trees which are ])referred in Simla for nesting by these birds are 
" either oaks or i liododendrons. Only once I have found a nest in a small 
" holly. The heights of the nests varied 8 to GO feet, but the average of 
" 17 nests was 2(U feet. The nests are ne;it cup-shaped structures, com- 
" posed exteriorly of a layer of moss, in which a good many leaves, pieces 
"of bark, and cobwebs are occasionally incoiporatcd, and lined interiorly 
" with the roots of the maiden-hair fern and other plants. One nest which 
"I have in my collection, is of a very unusual shape : It is something like 
" an inverted cone, and is 7;. inches in height. It was placed against the 
" trunk of a medium sized rhododendron, and was beautifully concealed by 
" some twigs, shooting at right angles below it ... . The materials 
" composing the nests are firmly interwoven together, and the structures 
" themselves are I securely attached to the suiiounding twigs. Seme of 
" the nests situated at the extreme ends of bratiches appeared to occu])y 
" most precarious positions, l)ut I have never yet known one to be blown 
" down hy wind." 
" The dimensions of six nests excluding the abmornial one) were as 
" follows : — 
" Depth of egg cavity varies from 1'75 in. to 2 2 in." 
" Diameter of egg cavity 3in." 
"External diameter varies from 4'25 in. to 4'5 in," 
" Height varies from 3 in. to 3'5 in." 
" Thickness of bottom varies from 1 in. to TG in." 
" Thickness of sides varies from 'G5 in to "75 in." 
"Both birds share in carrying materials, and in building ojieiations. 
"I have, however, on one or two occasions noticed that the cock brought 
" the materials, and the hen alone was the architect When 
" the nest has been completed, a very short (leriod seems to ela])se before 
