Part 79

An account of its nidification is contained in the following note furnished me by the late Captain Cock:--

"I first discovered this bird breeding in February in the Khuttuck Hills. It is common throughout the range of stony hills between Peshawur and Attock, and I have seen it on the hills between Jhelum and Pindi, but never took their nest in this latter locality. At Nowshera it is very common, and towards the end of February a collector could take four or five nests in a day. It builds in a low thorny shrub, about 1½ feet from the ground, makes a largish globular nest of thin dry grass-stems, with an opening in the side, thickly lined with seed-down, and containing four or five eggs. Their nesting-operations are over by the end of March."

Lieut. H.E. Barnes, who observed the bird at Chaman in Afghanistan, says:--"These birds are quite common about here on the plains, but I have not observed them on the hills. They commence breeding towards the end of March; the nest is globular in shape, not unlike that of Franklinia buchanani, but somewhat larger, built invariably in stunted bushes about two feet from the ground. It is well lined with feathers and fine grass, the outer portion being composed of fibres and coarse grass. The normal number of eggs is six. I have found less, but never more, and whenever a lesser number has been taken they have always proved to be fresh laid.

"The eggs are oval in shape, white, with a pinkish tinge when fresh, very minutely spotted and speckled with light red, most densely at the larger end. The average of twelve eggs is 0·62 by 0·43."

The eggs are moderately broad and regular ovals, usually somewhat compressed towards one end, but occasionally exhibiting no trace of this. The shell is very fine and delicate, but, as a rule, entirely devoid of gloss. The ground-colour varies from pure to pinky white. The markings are always minute, but in some they are comparatively much bolder and larger than in others, and they vary in colour from reddish pink to a comparatively bright red. In many eggs the markings are much more dense towards the large end, where they form, or exhibit a strong tendency to form, an irregular, more or less confluent zone; and wherever the markings are dense there a certain number of tiny pale purple or lilac spots or clouds will be found intermingled with and underlying the red markings. Some eggs show none of these spots and exhibit no tendency to form a zone, being pretty uniformly speckled and spotted all over. Some are not very unlike eggs of the Grasshopper and Dartford Warblers; others, again, are almost counterparts of the eggs of Franklinia buchanani.

In length the eggs vary from 0·6 to 0·68, and in breadth from 0·46 to 0·51.

446. Neomis flavolivaceus, Hodgs. The Aberrant Warbler.

Neornis flavolivacea, Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 188.

Mr. W. Theobald makes the following remarks on the breeding of this bird at Darjeeling:--"Lays in the second week in July. Eggs three in number, blunt, ovato-pyriform. Size 0·69 by 0·55. Colour deep dull claret-red, with a darker band at broad end. Nest, a deep cup, outside of bamboo-leaves, inside fine vegetable fibres, lined with feathers."

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"I have found this Tree-Warbler (though why it should be called a Tree-Warbler I cannot imagine, for it sticks closely to grass and low scrub, and never by any chance perches on a tree) breeding from May to July at elevations from 3500 up to 6000 feet. All the nests I have seen were of a globular shape with entrance near the top. Both in shape and position the nest much resembles that of Suya atrigularis, and is, I have no doubt, the one brought to Jerdon as belonging to that bird. It is placed in grassy bushes, in open country, within a foot or so of the ground, and is made of bamboo-leaves and, for the size of the bird, coarse grass-stems, with an inner layer of fine grass-panicles, from which the seeds have dropped, and lined with feathers. Externally it measures about 6 inches in depth by 4 in width. The egg-cavity, from lower edge of entrance, is 2¼ inches deep by 1¾ wide. The entrance is 2 inches across. The usual number of eggs is three."

The eggs sent by Mr. Gammie are very regular, rather broad, oval eggs, with a decided but not very strong gloss. In colour they are a uniform deep chocolate-purple. In length they vary from 0·63 to 0·69, and in breadth from 0·49 to 0·52.

No. 552 bis.--NEORNIS ASSIMILIS, Hodgs.

Mr. Gammie sent me a bird unmistakably of this species--Blyth's Aberrant Tree-Warbler--together with the lining of a nest and three eggs.

He says:--"The nest, eggs, and bird were brought to me on the 18th May by a native, who said the nest was placed in a shrub, about 6 feet from the ground, in a place filled with scrub near Rishap, at about 3500 feet above the sea. I noted at the time the man's account, but as I did not take the nest myself, I kept no account of it. All I know about it is written on the ticket attached to the nest sent to you. The bird was snared on the nest. Though I did not take it myself, I have little doubt that it is quite correct."

The lining of the nest is a little, soft, shallow saucer 2½ inches in diameter, composed of the finest and softest brown roots.

The eggs are somewhat of the same type as those of N. flavolivaceus, but in colour more resembling those of some of the ten-tail-feathered Prinias. They are very short broad ovals, pulled out and pointed towards one end, approximating to the peg-top type. They are very glossy and of a uniform Indian red; duller coloured rather than those of the Prinias; not so deep or purple as those of N. flavolivaceus.

They measured 0·65 by 0·52.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes further:--"This bird, I find, does not build in bushes, but on the ground, or rather on low leaf or weed heaps. It not unfrequently takes advantage of the small weed heaps collected round the edges of native cultivations. On the tops of these heaps it collects a lot of dry leaves, and places its nest among them. It sits exceedingly close, only rising when almost stepped on.

"The nest is a rather deep cup, neatly made of dry grass and a few leaves, and lined with fine roots, and the bare twigs of fine grass-panicles. It measures externally about 3·2 inches in diameter by 2·8 in depth; internally 2 inches by 1·75.

"The eggs are three or four in number, and are laid in May from low elevations up to about 3500 feet."

The eggs of this species, of which Mr. Gammie has now sent me two nests, are of the regular Prinia type--typically broad ovals, approximating to the peg-top type, but sometimes more elongated and pointed towards the small end. They are very glossy and of a uniform dull Indian red, deeper coloured than any Prinia's that I have seen.

They vary from 0·65 to 0·69 in length, and from 0·48 to 0·52 in breadth.]

448. Horornis fortipes, Hodgs. The Strong-footed Bush-Warbler.

Horornis fortipes, Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 162. Dumeticola fortipes, Hodgs., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E. no. 526.

According to Mr. Hodgson, this Tree-Warbler breeds from May to July in the central region of Nepal. They build a tolerably compact and rather shallow cup-shaped nest of grass and dry bamboo-leaves, mingled with grass-roots and vegetable fibre and lined with feathers.

A nest taken on the 29th May measured externally 3·5 in diameter and 2 inches in height, and internally 2 inches in diameter by 1·37 in depth. It contained four eggs, which are figured as deep dull purple-red. Dr. Jerdon gave me two eggs, as I now feel certain, belonging to this species; there is no mistaking them, as they are the most wonderful coloured eggs I ever saw; but as he was not certain to what species they belonged, I unfortunately threw them away. Mr. Hodgson figures the egg as a moderately broad oval, a good deal pointed towards one end, slightly glossy, and measuring 0·65 by 0·47.

Two nests and eggs, together with one of the parent birds, of the Strong-footed Bush-Warbler were sent me from Sikhim. Both nests were found in thick brushwood or low jungle, at elevations of 5000 to 5500 feet--the one at Lebong on the 12th June, the other on another spur of the same hill in July.

The nests were very similar--small massive cups, composed exteriorly of dry blades of grass and leaves, and lined internally with fine grass and a few feathers. Both nests exhibit this lining of feathers, so that it is no accident but a characteristic of the bird's architecture. In one nest a good deal more of the fine flower-panicle stems of grasses are intermingled than in the other. Externally the nests are about 4·5 in diameter and 2·5 in height; the cavity 2 inches in diameter and about 1·25 in depth.