992 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVlll. 
The first eggs, two incomplete clutches of 3 and 2 respectively, were obtained 
on May 8th, but when I examined a large number of nests in a colony about some 
buildings on May 10th most of them were either unfinished or empty, although 
two nests contained clutches of 5 eggs, all fresh. There was of coiu’se a good 
deal of variation according to site in the size of the nests, many of them being 
in holes imder the rafters and eaves which previously I should have considered 
too small for them to use. The nests were built of the usual miscellaneous mate- 
rials, sticks and thorny twigs with a lining of dirty wool, rags, and hair ; indeed 
I foimd this particular colony by following up the indi\ddual pairs which 
were tearing the wool off a half decomposed sheepskin hung up in the fork 
of a tree. 
The Yellow -billed Blue Magpie — Urocissaflavirostris (Blyth). 
On April 2nd two or three individuals were seen in the hills between Nausheh- 
rah (mile 87) and Baramullah. 
The Black -throated Jay — Laletris lanceolatus, (Vig.). 
On 12th May a pair were seen on the road a short distance below Baramullah. 
The Cashmere Great Tit — Parus major cashmirensis (Hartert). 
This race of the Great Tit was abimdant on the Srinagar plain and at my 
first arrival was still commonly met Avith in parties, although the breeding song 
was already to be heard. 
On April 28th a bird was seen carrying nesting material into a hole in the 
trunk of a mulberry tree and seven fresh eggs wer^ taken from this nest when 
it was opened up on May 1 1th. The female was caught on the eggs and contained 
an eighth egg in the oviduct. The nest hole was interiorly large and contained 
three or fom- handfuls of roots, dry grass, bents, and a few rags, with a thick 
lining of hair and wool. On the same day a single egg was found in 
another nest hole, containing but little material, in a hole in the trunk of a fruit 
tree. • 
A series collected yield the following measurements : — 
Bill from skull. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. 
4 Males .. 12-5—13 73'5— 76 60-5— 65-5 19— 21 mm. 
8 Females.. 12 — 13 68'5 — ^72-5 56‘5 — 61 18 5 — 20 mm. 
The clutch of seven eggs measure 18 — 18-5 mm. in length and 14—14-5 mm. 
in width. 
The Crested Cole Tit — Parus melanolophus Vig. 
A flock was seen on the Bund on April 7th and 11th and by the Dhal lake on 
April 14th ; a single bird was seen by the temple of the Takht-i-Suliman on 
April 17th and a pair in the small pine wood below it on April 19th. 
The Fire-cap — -Cephalopyrus jlamtniceps (Bm-ton). 
This species was observed on several dates between April 19th and May 9th. 
On every occasion, with the exception of the finding of a solitary male in the 
bushes about a small mountain stream on April 29th, the birds were in flocks 
which were feeding in willow trees, working the blossoms, catkins, or old seed 
cases after the manner of Redpolls and indulging in the same varietj- of acrobatic 
postures. They were not at all shy, and appeared in the willows even of the 
most frequented locahties such as the Bund. 
The Western Streaked Laughing Thrush — Trochalopteron lineatum (Vig.). 
This Laughing Thrush is of course common on the hillsides of Cashmere but 
it was interesting to note, in view of Whitehead’s remarks 'on its partial migration 
in winter to the orchards of Kohat {Ibis. 1909), that while it was seen occasionally 
on my first arrival in the gardens of Srinagar and about the edges of the Dhal 
lake, it appeared to have disappeared about the middle of April and had doubt- 
less returned to the hillsides. No specimens were obtained so it is impossible 
to be certain of the sub-species to which the birds should be attributed. 
