Cl 
and frequenting low-lying ground and wet paddy-fields, over which they hawk for insects, at one 
moment swooping down at a great pace close to the ground, the next rising high into the air and 
sailing along without a move of their wings ; when at rest they are generally to he seen on some 
conspicuous isolated spot, such as the top of a post or the highest branch of a dead tree. I think 
I may put it down as migratory ; for, on reference to my notes, made daily, I can find no record 
of its occurrence except during the wet season.” 
I am indebted to Captain Bingham for the following notes : — “ Whenever I have come 
across this bird I have found it a migrant. At Virgola, on the west coast of India, I met it in 
numbers in January, but by April not one was to be seen. At Delhi and at Allahabad, in the 
North-west Provinces, they similarly arrived in November, were scarce in June, and not to be 
found by July and August. Again in Tenasserim, at Moulmein, and in the interior in the 
Houndraw valley, they suddenly appeared after the rains, and vanished by the end of the May 
following. It seems to me more gregarious than the others, and I have observed thirty or forty, 
not exactly in a flock, but sitting and hawking about over the same patch of paddy-land. It has 
a fine circling flight, during which it frequently utters its clear rolling whistle.” 
Like its allies, the present species places its eggs in a hole tunnelled in a river-bank. The 
nest-hole is said to vary from three to nine feet in depth, and is slightly enlarged, so as to form a 
sort of chamber at the end. No nest is made ; but the eggs, which vary from three to six in number, 
are usually deposited on the ground in the nest-chamber without any nest-lining ; they are rosy 
pink in tinge when unblown, but when emptied of their contents are pure white and very glossy 
in texture of shell, and in size measure about 0'95 by OBI inch, being somewhat large in 
proportion. Captain Bingham, in a letter to me respecting the habits of this bird, says : — “ At 
Delhi I found their nest-holes in the banks of sandy nullahs in April, May, and June ; at Kaukarit, 
on the Houndraw, in April, in the banks of the Kaukarit stream, a small feeder of the Houndraw. 
The tunnel they dig is often more than 7 feet in depth, and the egg-chamber, proportionally larger 
than that of the smaller species, is, unlike theirs, sometimes lined with a little grass, a few feathers, 
or the wings of white ants. The eggs vary f om three to five in number, and are of course 
roundish, pinky white in colour, and glossy.” 
The specimens figured are those described, and are in my own collection. 
In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 
E Mus. 71. E. Eresser. 
a, b. India; c, Secunderabad, 25tli November, 1869 [Marshall), d, $ ; e, $ . Bela Oudli, 28th April, 1870. 
f,g. Ceylon [Holdsworth] . h,$. Kaukarit, Tenasserim, 18th June, 1879 ( C. T. Bingham). i,$ . Kaukarit, 
2nd May, 1879 [Bingham), k. Java. I, ad. ; m, juv. Malacca. n,o. Negros. 
j E Mus. Tweeddale. 
a. Coorg. h, c. N.E. India. d,e,f. Candeish. g. DeyraDoon. h,$ . Hang well a, 23rd March, 1866. i. Hang- 
wella, 10th December, 1865. k. Ilangwclla, 2nd January, 1866 [S. Chapman). I, m. Ni cobars. n,o,p,q,r,s. 
Ceylon [Nevill). t. Thayetmyo. u. Karen Hills, November 1874 [IV ardl aw Ramsay). v,$. Tonghoo, 4th 
October, 1875. w, $ . Tonghoo, 20th May, 1875 [Wardlaw Ramsay) . x. Near Bangkok, Siam, 8th December. 
y. Near Bangkok, Siam, 1st December, 1872. z, $ . Monte Alban, February 1877. aa,$\ hb, 7 . Valencia, 
August 1877. cc, £ . Basol, July 1877. dd. Basol, October 1877. ee. San Mateo, February 1877. ff, gg. 
Malacca, 1873 and 1874. lih. Sumatra [Boc/c). ii. Sumatra [Wallace), kk. Java. II. Celebes, mm. Celebes. 
nn. Lucon, 7th February, 1872 [Meyer). 
