lOEA TIPHIA. 
493 
Nidification .- — 1 have found the nest of the Bush-creeper iu the north of Ceylon in July; but^ if different 
districts be considered, I believe it breeds all the year round, as males may be found in the black plumage 
at all seasons. It builds at about 15 or 20 feet from the ground, attaching its beautiful nest to the upperside 
of a small horizontal bough, generally near a fork, but sometimes, according to Mr. Hume, between one or 
two upright twigs. It is a symmetrical, rather deep cup, with thin, steep, and compact walls, and is usually 
made of cotton woven in with fine grass or A'cry slender tendrils of plants, the bottom being attached to the 
bark by cobAvebs, Avhich also adorn the neatly finished top ; the interior is roomy and the bottom rather flat, 
the caAuty measuring about 2 inches across. I have found several nests, but only one with eggs : the number 
Avas tAvo ; they were broad, stumpj/^ ovals, of dirty white or whitish-grey ground-colour, openly blotched AA-ith 
large longitudinal faded brownish spots. My eggs got broken in travelling, and I therefore lack measurements ; 
but Mr. Hume gives the average size as 0'69 by 0’54 inch ; and the same author, in his ‘ Nests and Eggs,^ 
says that the eggs are at times pink or salmon-colour, Avith reddish-hroyni blotches, which are chiefly confined 
to the large end, forming there an imperfect zone. 
PASSERES. 
Earn, TIMALIIDJE. 
Bill curved, compressed, higher at the base than Avdde. Nostrils placed in a membrane 
bordered by setaceous feathers. Wings short and rounded. Tail moderately lengthened. Legs 
and feet strong, with the tarsus longer than the middle toe and scutellate in front ; the hind toe 
and claw large. 
Plumage often lax, and in many silky beneath. Insectivorous in diet. 
Subfam. TIMALIIN^B. 
Wings rounded, with the 1st quill moderately developed, the secondaries long. Tail ot 12 
feathers, usually lengthened and graduated. Legs and feet stout and large. Toes stoutly scaled, 
the outer and the middle slightly syndactyle. 
Plumage mostly lax. Of gregarious and very active habit. 
Genug MALACOCEECrS. 
BUI moderately long, compressed, the base higher than wide ; culmen well curried ; rictal 
bristles scanty. Wings short, rounded, the 1st quill half the length of the 6th, which is the 
longest ; secondaries almost equal to the longest primaries. Tail graduated, rounded at the tip. 
Legs and feet strong. The tarsus covered with broad smooth scutse, becoming obsolete with age. 
Toes stoutly scaled. 
