CISTICOLA CUESITAXS. 
537 
obtained, several blades belonging to the stalks round Tvbicb the framework is passed are bent down and inter- 
laced to form a foundation, on which, and inside the cotton network, a neat little nest of fine strips torn off 
from the blade is built ; this is, as a rule, beautifully lined with cotton or other downy substance, mixed with 
the saliva of the bird and having the appearance and texture of thick felt. The average dimensions of the 
cgg-cavity are 2 inches in depth by in diameter; the network or frame takes two or three days to construct, 
and the entire nest is finished in about six days. When nesting in short, tussocky grass, such as is found on 
the “ Plains” of the main range, the Grass- Warbler builds in the centre of a thick tuft close to the ground, 
the blades being drawn round the nest and brought into a point above it, in which the entrance is placed, and 
the whole is so well concealed, that, unless the bird be roused from it, it would invariably elude the best search. 
The eggs are usually three, but sometimes four, in number, short ovals in shape, and without much variation 
in colour ; the ground is white or very pale greenish white, spotted and blotched, generally in an open zone 
round the large end, with brownish red and reddish grey. Dimensions, on the average, 0-6 to 0'63 inch in 
length by 0'48 to O'ol in breadth. The period of incubation lasts from nine to ten days, the bird sitting for 
the most part only at nights. I had ample opportunity of ascertaining this fact from two years^ observation of 
this and other birds breeding in the “Guinea-grass ” field attached to my bungalow on the Galle face, Colombo. 
The nesting-season in India lasts during the rainy months — April to October. Mr. Hume, writing, in 
' Nests and Eggs,^ of its nidification there, says that it selects a patch of dense fine-stemmed grass, from 
18 inches to 2 feet in height, and, as a rule, standing in a moist place ; in this, at the height of from 6 to 
8 inches from the ground, it builds. Corresponding with my own observations in Ceylon, he states that the sides 
are formed by the blades and stems of the grass in situ, closely packed and caught together with cobwebs and very 
fine silky vegetable fibre ; ” the interior is also stated to be closely felted with silky down, in Upper India usually 
that of the Mudar [Calotropis hamiltoni). In India, as in Ceylon, the eggs appear to be all of one type, the 
ground being white, spotted, most densely towards the large end, with, as a rule, excessively minute red, 
reddish-purple, aud pale purple specks, thus resembling, though smaller, more glossy, and far less densely speckled, 
the eggs of the Rufous-fronted Wren -Warbler. The average dimensions of a large number are recorded as 
()‘58 in length by 0‘46 in breadth. Dr. Von Heuglin found it nesting in Africa in date-palm groves and 
low thorn hedges, about 2 or 3 feet from the ground. He likens the nest to that of the Reed- Warbler, and 
describes it as interwoven with leaf-sheaths, thorns, twigs, and even grass-stalks, and composed of fine dry 
grass and rootlets, the interior being “ carefully lined with wool, hair, and fibres.^^ These nests appear to be 
somewhat abnormal, as it is unusual for this species to build anywhere except in grass, standing corn, sedges, &c. 
Concerning its nidification in Egypt, Capt. Shelley writes [loc. cit.) : — “ It breeds in March, forming a 
charming little deep purse-shaped nest, open at the top, which I have found in clover, corn, and sedge, at a 
height of from a few inches to a foot from the ground. The nest is constructed of dried grass and cotton, and 
often thickly lined with soft downy seeds of the reed or thistle, and is firmly secured by the interweaving of 
the surrounding herbage, which assists to hide it ; in general appearance it looks very like the cocoon of a 
large caterpillar.” The eggs are said to vary to a great extent in Europe. Dr. Bree figures three varieties, 
one pink, another bluish white, and the third a dark bluish green, all being spotless. 
