Part 76

The Large Crowned Willow-Warbler breeds in Cashmere and the North-west Himalayas generally, during the latter half of May, June, and the first half of July, apparently at any elevation from 4000 to 8000 feet.

Mr. Brooks says:--"This is perhaps the commonest bird in Cashmere, even more so than Passer indicus. It is found at almost all elevations above the valley where good woods occur.

"I only took three nests, as the little bird is very cunning, and, unlike the simple P. humii, is very careful indeed how it approaches its nest when an enemy is near.

"The nest is placed in a hole under the roots of a large tree on some steep bank-side. I found one in a decayed stump of a large fir-tree, inside the rotten wood. It was placed on a level with the ground, and could not be seen till I had broken away part of the outside of the stump. It was composed of green moss and small dead leaves, a scanty and loosely formed nest, and not domed. It was lined with fine grass and a little wool, and also a very few hairs. There were five eggs.

"Another nest was also placed in a rotten stump, but under the roots. A third nest was placed in a hole under the roots of a large living pine, and in front of the hole grew a small rose-bush quite against the tree-trunk. This nest was most carefully concealed, for the hole behind the roots of the rose-bush was most difficult to find.

"The eggs, four or five in number, are of a rather longer form than those of P. humii, and are pure white without any spots. They average ·65 by ·5."

He added in epist.:--"This is a much shier bird than P. humii. I watched many a one without effect. The nest is a loose structure of moss lined with a little wool, and would not retain its shape after coming out of the hole. It is a most amusing bird, very noisy, with a short poor song, and utters a variety of notes when you are near the nest."

Certainly the nests he brought me are nothing but little pads of moss, 3 to 4 inches in diameter and perhaps an inch in thickness. There is no pretence for a lining, but a certain amount of wool and excessively fine moss-roots are incorporated in the body of the nest. In situ they would appear to be sometimes more or less domed.

Captain Cock writes to me:--"I have taken numbers of nests of this bird in Cashmere and in and about the hill-station of Murree. They commence breeding in May and have finished by July. The nests are placed under roots of trees, in crevices of trees, between large stems, and a favourite locality is, where the road has a stone embankment to support it, between the stones. The nest is globular, made of moss, and the number of eggs is four. I have often caught the old bird on the nest. The nests are easy to find, as the birds are very noisy and demonstrative when any one is near their nests."

Colonel C.H.T. Marshall also very kindly gives me the following most interesting note on the nidification of this species in the vicinity of Murree. He says:--

"This little Willow-Warbler, so far as my own experience goes, always prefers a pretty high elevation for breeding. Out of the dozen nests found by Captain Cock and myself in the neighbourhood of Murree, none were at an elevation of less than 6500 feet above the sea; and my shikaree, who was always on the look out for me in the lower ranges, never came across the nest of this species.

"The nest is generally placed in holes at the foot of the large spruce firs. It is a difficult nest to find, as the bird selects holes into which the hand will not go, and outside there are no signs of there being any nest within.

"The cock bird spends most of his time at the tops of trees, coming down at intervals. The only chance of success in taking the eggs is to watch carefully any that may be flying low in the bushes, until they disappear cautiously into the holes where they are breeding. I should mention that we have also found some nests in the rough stone walls on the hill road-sides.

"The nest is as neatly and carefully built as if it had to be exposed on the branch of a tree. It is globular in shape, made of moss, and lined with feathers. The eggs are pure white. They apparently rear two broods in the year. In the first nest, which we found under the root of an old spruce-fir on the 17th May, the eggs were quite hard-set; and I may remark that immediately over this nest, about 8 feet up the tree in a crack in the wood, a little Muscicapula superciliaris was sitting on five eggs. Later at the end of June we found fresh eggs in several nests. The eggs in our collection were all taken between the 17th May and the 10th July."

They do not always, however, select such situations as those referred to in the above accounts. Sir E.C. Buck, C.S., says:--"I found a nest on 11th June in the roof of Major Batchelor's bungalow at Nachar, in the Sutlej Valley; it contained young birds. I was not allowed to disturb the nest, which was composed externally of moss. I noticed a second half-made nest near the other."

The eggs of this species are, as might be expected, somewhat larger than those of P. humii, and they are of a different character, being spotless, white, and slightly glossy. In shape the eggs vary from a nearly perfect, moderately elongated oval to a slightly pyriform shape, broad at the large end, and a good deal compressed and somewhat pointed towards the small end (vide the representation of the eggs of Ruticilla tithys in Hewitson's work).

In length they vary from 0·63 to 0·68, and in breadth from 0·48 to 0·53; but the average of fifteen eggs measured is 0·65 by 0·5.

430. Acanthopneuste davisoni, Oates. The Tenasserim White-tailed Willow-Warbler.

Reguloides viridipennis (Blyth), apud Hume, cat. no. 507.

It was on the 2nd of February, just at the foot of the final cone of Mooleyit, at an elevation of over 6000 feet, that Mr. Davison came upon the nest of this species. He says:--

"In a deep ravine close below the summit of Mooleyit I found a nest of this Willow-Warbler. It was placed in a mass of creepers growing over the face of a rock about 7 feet from the ground. It was only partially screened, and I easily detected it on the bird leaving it. I was very much astonished at finding a nest of a Willow-Warbler in Burmah, so I determined to make positively certain of the owner. I marked the place, and after a short time returned very quietly. I got within a couple of feet of the nest; the bird sat still, and I watched her for some time; the markings on the top of the head were very conspicuous. On my attempting to go closer the bird flew off, and settled on a small branch a few feet off. I moved back a short distance and shot her, using a very small charge.

"The nest was a globular structure, with the roof slightly projecting over the entrance. It was composed externally chiefly of moss, intermingled with dried leaves and fibres; the egg-cavity was warmly and thickly lined with a felt of pappus.

"The external diameter of the nest was about 4 inches; the egg-cavity 1 inch at the entrance, and 2 inches deep.

"The nest contained three small pure white eggs."

The three eggs here mentioned measured 0·59 and 0·6 in length, by 0·49 in breadth.

434. Cryptolopha xanthoschista (Hodgs.) Holgson's Grey-headed Flycatcher-Warbler.

Abrornis albosuperciliaris, Blyth, Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 202; Hume, Rough Draft N. & E. no. 573.

Throughout the Himalayas south of the first snowy ranges, and in all wooded valleys in rear of these, from Darjeeling to Murree, this Warbler appears to be a permanent resident.