The Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds, Volume 1 written by Allan O. Hume

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Dr. Jerdon remarks:--"A nest and eggs were brought to me at
Darjeeling, and said to be of this species. The nest was rather large,
very loosely made of bamboo-leaves and fibres, and the eggs were of a
pale salmon-colour, with some faint darker spots."

There is no doubt that these must have been the eggs of some other
species.

Major C.T. Bingham tells us:--"This little bird, though not at all
common, breeds in the Sinzaway Reserve, in Tenasserim. I took five
hard-set eggs, placed in a beautiful little domed nest, at the foot of
a clump of bamboos, on the bank of a dry choung or nullah. This was on
the 20th March. The nest was composed exteriorly of dry bamboo-leaves,
and interiorly of fine grass-roots, the entrance being on one side. I
shot the female as she crept off the nest."

It does not seem that in the Himalayas this species domes its nest.
Numerous other nests that have been sent me from Sikhim, taken in May,
June, and July, were all of the same type--shallow or deeper cups
loosely put together, exteriorly composed of coarse blades of grass,
dead leaves, bamboo-spathes and the like, held together with a little
vegetable fibre or fibrous roots, and interiorly of fine grass
generally more or less mingled with blackish roots, which in some
nests greatly predominate over the grass.

The eggs are broad ovals, somewhat compressed towards one end, in some
cases slightly pyriform. They are pure white, spotless, and fairly
glossy.

They vary from 0.68 to 0.84 in length, and from 0.55 to 0.61 in
breadth, but the average of thirty-four eggs is 0.76 by somewhat over
0.58.

170. Stachyrhis chrysaea, Hodgs. _The Golden-headed Babbler_.

Stachyris chrysaea, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 22; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 394.

Mr. Blyth remarks:--"The egg, as figured by Mr. Hodgson, is pinkish
white, and the nest domed and placed on the summit of a sedge. _S.
praecognita_ lays a blue egg." (Ibis, 1866, p. 309.)

There is no figure of either the nest or eggs of the Golden-headed
Babbler amongst the drawings of Mr. Hodgson that I possess.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"I took a nest of this bird out of a
large forest, at 5000 feet elevation, on the 15th May. It is of an
oval shape, neatly made of small bamboo-leaves only, devoid of lining,
and was fixed vertically between a few upright sprays, within two feet
of the ground. It measures externally 5.25 inches in height by 4 in
diameter; internally 1.5 in depth, from lip of egg-cavity, by 1.75 in
diameter. The entrance is also 1.75 across.

"The eggs were four in number; three of them well set and the fourth
quite fresh. The set eggs were altogether pure white, but the fresh
egg, unblown, was of a pinky-white colour with a pure white cap; when
blown it exactly resembled the others."

The eggs sent as pertaining to this species by Mr. Gammie are very
regular ovals, pure white, and somewhat glossy, but they are so small
that I can scarcely credit their really belonging to this species.
Their cubit contents are not half those of the average eggs of _S.
nigriceps_. They measure 0.63 by 0.48.

172. Stachyrhidopsis ruficeps, Bl. _The Red-headed Babbler_.

Stachyris ruficeps, _Bl., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 22; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 393.

The Red-headed Babbler breeds in Nepal, according to Mr. Hodgson,
from April to June, building a large massive cup-shaped nest amongst
bamboos, as a rule, at heights of from 7 to 10 feet from the ground.
The nest is wedged in between half a dozen or more creepers and
shoots, and is composed almost exclusively of dry bamboo-leaves
neatly, but rather loosely, interwoven, and lined also with these
leaves. One which he measured was rather oval in shape, 5.25 inches in
diameter one way, by 4 the other, and 3.6 in height. The leaves used
in the rim of the cup were projected a little inwards, so as to make
the mouth of the cavity a little smaller than the diameter of this
latter within. The diameter of the mouth was 2 inches, that of the
cavity 2.5, and the latter is about 1.5 deep. Four eggs are laid, a
sort of brownish white, speckled and spotted with brown or reddish
brown. The egg figured measures 0.7 by 0.52, and is a moderately
broad, regular oval.

Dr. Jerdon says:--"A nest and eggs, said to be of this species, were
brought to me at Darjeeling. The nest was a loose structure of grass
and fibres, and contained two eggs of a greenish-white colour with
some rusty spots."

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"I took two nests of this Babbler in
April; one of them at an elevation of 3500 feet, the other at 5000
feet, but it no doubt breeds also both lower and higher. They are of
a neat egg-shape, with entrance at side, and were fixed vertically
between a few upright sprays, within three feet of the ground, in open
situations near large trees. Mr. Hodgson evidently did not take the
one he describes with his own hands, for he places it horizontally,
which gives a height of 3.6 inches only. The external dimensions are
about 5.5 inches in height and 4 in diameter. Internally the diameter
is 2 inches, and the depth, from roof, 3.25. The entrance is 2 across.
They are composed of dry bamboo-leaves only, put neatly and firmly
together, and are lined with a very few grassy fibres. They each
contained four well-set eggs."

Mr. Mandelli, however, took a nest of this species at Lebong on the
23rd June, in the middle of a tea-bush which grew at the side of a
small ravine, which was neither hooded nor domed. The nest was about
18 inches from the ground and completely sheltered from above
by tea-leaves. It was a deep cup composed externally chiefly of
bamboo-leaves, but with a good many dead leaves of trees incorporated
in the base, and lined with very fine grass-stems. It contained four
fresh eggs. It is quite clear that this species, like _S. nigriceps_,
only domes its nest in certain situations.

The eggs obtained by Mr. Gammie and Mr. Mandelli are very regular,
slightly elongated ovals. The shell is very fine and compact, but has
only a faint gloss. The ground is white and round the larger end is a
zone or imperfect cap of specks and spots of brownish red, generally
intermingled with tiny spots, usually very faint, of pale purple. A
few specks and spots brown, yellowish, or reddish brown, and sometimes
also pale purple, are scattered about the rest of the egg.

In length the eggs vary from 0.64 to 0.72, and in breadth from 0.50 to
0.53, but the average of eight eggs was 0.68 by 0.52 nearly.

174. Stachyrhidopsis pyrrhops, Hodgs. _The Red-billed Babbler_.

Stachyris pyrrhops, _Hodgs. Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 21; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 392.

Accounts differ somewhat as to the eggs of the Red-billed Babbler.

From Murree, Colonel C.H.T. Marshall writes:--"Nest found in low
ground, about 100 yards from the River Jheelum, situated in a low
bush, externally composed of broad dry reed-leaves, and interiorly of
fine grass, cup-shaped. Eggs, four in number, long oval, white, with a
few reddish specks at the larger end. Length .7, breadth .5. Lays in
the latter end of June, 4000 feet up."

The nest, which he kindly sent me, is a deep cup, coarsely made
interiorly of grass-stems, externally of broad blades of grass,
in which a few dead leaves are incorporated; there is no lining.
Exteriorly the nest is about 3.5 inches in diameter, and about 3 in
depth; the egg-cavity is a little more than 2 inches in diameter, and
fully 1.75 in depth.

Mr. Hodgson "found the nest" of this species in Nepal, "at an
elevation of about 6000 feet, in shrubby upland." It was "placed in a
small shrub about 2 feet from the ground." It was "a very deep cup,
about 4 inches in length, and 2.5 in diameter externally, placed
obliquely endwise upon cross-stems of the shrub, and opening, as it
were obliquely, upwards at one end," the cavity being about 1.5 in
diameter. The nest was made of "dry leaves and grass pretty compactly
woven." The nest "contained four eggs," which are described as
"whitish, with spare and faint fawn-coloured spots," and are figured
as measuring 0.65 by 0.47.

Captain Hutton says:--"This is a common species both in the Dhoon
and in the hills, and may be found at all seasons, making known its
presence among the brushwood by the utterance of a clear and musical
note like the ringing of a tiny bell. In the winter time it is often
mixed up with flocks composed of _Siva strigula_ and _Liothriae
luteus_, creeping among the bushes like the _Pari_ and _Phylloscopi_.
It constructs its nest at the base of bushes, the eggs being three
in number, of a faint greenish grey, thickly irrorated with small
reddish-brown specks. The nest is composed of dry grass-blades
externally, within which is a layer of fine woody stalks and fibres,
and lined with black hair. It is cup-shaped, and placed upon a thick
bed of dried leaves, which are most probably accumulated beneath the
bush by the wind. One nest was taken at Dehra, in a garden, on the
30th July, and others at Mussoorie about the same time."

But the eggs sent by Captain Hutton clearly do not, I think, pertain
to this species. Those taken by Colonel Marshall are certainly
genuine, and are considerably larger and very differently coloured
eggs.

In shape they are moderately broad ovals, some of them slightly
compressed towards the small end. The shell is very fine and smooth,
but with scarcely any gloss; the ground is pure white, and they are
thinly speckled and spotted, the markings being much more numerous
about the large end, where they have a tendency to form an ill-defined
cap or zone with brownish red or pinky brown.

In length they vary from 0.62 to 0.69, and in breadth from 0.5 to
0.52.

175. Cyanoderma erythropterum (Blyth). _The Red-winged Babbler_.

Cyanoderma erythropterum, _Bl., Hume, cat._ no. 396 bis.

Mr. W. Davison found the nest of the Red-winged Babbler at Bankasoon
on the 23rd April, just when he was leaving the place. Unfortunately
the birds had not yet laid. The nest was a ball composed of dry
reed-leaves, about 6 inches in diameter. Externally, with a circular
aperture on one side, very like that of _Mixornis rubricapillus_
and of _Dumetia_, and again not at all unlike that of _Ochromela
nigrorufa_, but placed in a bush about 4 feet high and not on the
ground.

176. Mixornis rubricapillus (Tick.). _The Yellow-breasted Babbler_.

Mixornis rubricapilla (_Tick.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 23; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 395.

This, though said to occur also in Central India, is a purely
Indo-Burmese form, found chiefly in the Eastern sub-Himalayan jungles,
Assam, Cachar, Burma, and Tenasserim.

It is only from this latter province that I have any information as to
the nidification of the Yellow-breasted Babbler.

Mr. Davison writes to me:--"At a small village, called Shymootee or
Tsinmokehtee, about 7 miles from the town of Tavoy, and very slightly
above the sea-level, say 50 feet, I found on the 6th of May, 1874, a
nest of this species. The nest was placed in a dense clump of a very
thorny plant (somewhat like a pineapple bush) about a foot from the
ground; it was not particularly well concealed. The nest was built of
bamboo-leaves, and in general appearance was not at all unlike that of
_Ochromela nigrorufa_; but the egg-cavity was very shallow, so that
by moving aside an overhanging leaf the eggs were distinctly visible.
There were three partially incubated eggs in the nest, a somewhat dull
white, spotted with pinkish dots."

The nest is more or less egg-shaped, the longer axis vertical, with a
circular aperture on one side near the top.

The exterior diameters are 5 and nearly 4 inches. The aperture about
1.5 in diameter. The cavity is barely 2 inches in diameter, and only
1.25 deep below the lower edge of the entrance.

Both nest and eggs strongly recall those of _Dumetia hyperythra_. The
former is composed of the broad, grass-like leaves of the bamboo, and
with only a few stems of grass here and there intermingled as if by
accident. In the sides of the cavity the leaf-blades are so neatly
laid together, side by side, that the interior seems as if planked,
and at the bottom of the cavity there is a very scanty lining of very
fine grass-stems.

Mr. Oates says:--"I found a nest on the 2nd June near Pegu, with three
eggs. Failing to snare the bird at once, I left the nest for a short
time, and on my return found the eggs gone. I am satisfied, however,
that the nest belonged to the present species; for I caught a glimpse
of the sitting bird. The nest was built on the top of a stump, well
concealed by leafy twigs, except the entrance, which was open to view.
It was a ball of grass with the opening at the side.

"_28th June_.--Nest in a shrub about 10 feet from the ground. A domed
structure with an opening at the side 3 inches high by 2 broad. Height
of nest about 6 and outside width 4. Made entirely of bamboo-leaves
and lined sparingly with grass. Eggs 3.

"I have found numerous nests of this species, but always after the
young had flown. They appear almost always to be placed in shrubs at
heights of 2 to 10 feet from the ground. One nest, however, on which I
watched the birds at work, was in a pineapple plant between the stalk
of the fruit and one of the leaves, almost on the ground."

The eggs are regular ovals, moderately elongated, only very slightly
compressed towards the smaller end, which is only just appreciably
smaller.

The shell is very fine and delicate, excessively smooth and fragile,
but with only a faint gloss. The ground is a dead white, with perhaps
the least possible pinkish tinge. The markings consist of _tiny_
specks of brownish or purplish red and pale yellowish brown, thinly
scattered over the rest of the surface, but comparatively densely
clustered round the larger end, where they form a rather conspicuous
though irregular and imperfect zone, apparent enough in all, but much
more strongly marked in one egg than in the others.

In some eggs the markings are all rather bright red and dull purplish
grey; some have a very fair amount of gloss, and a very pure
china-white ground.

The eggs vary in length from 0.65 to 0.71, and in breadth from 0.5 to
0.53.

177. Mixornis gularis (Raffl.). _The Sumatran Yellow-breasted
Babbler_.

Mixornis gularis (_Horsf._), _Hume, cat._ no. 395 bis.

The eggs[A] are very similar to those of _M. rubricapillus_, but
are, perhaps, as a rule, better marked. They are very regular ovals,
typically rather slightly elongated, often slightly compressed towards
the small end; the shell is very fine and fragile, and has usually a
fair amount of gloss. The ground is usually pure white, at times with
a pinkish tinge. Round the large end is a more or less conspicuous,
more or less continuous zone of specks, spots, and small irregular
blotches of two colours, the one varying in different eggs from
almost brick-red to brownish orange, the other from reddish purple to
purplish grey. In some cases a very few, in others a good many, specks
and tiny spots of the same colours are scattered about the other
portions of the egg. The eggs measure 0.7 by 0.51.

[Footnote A: I cannot find any note about the nest of this species.
Mr. Davison was probably the finder of the eggs described.--ED.]

178. Schoeniparus dubius (Hume). _Hume's Tit-Babbler_.

Proparus dubius, _Hume; Hume, cat._ no. 622 bis.

Mr. W. Davison has furnished me with the following note:--"On the
21st of February I took a nest of this species on Muleyit mountain
containing two eggs, and out of the female which I shot off the nest
I took another egg ready for expulsion which was in every particular
precisely similar to those in the nest.

"The nest was a large globular structure, composed externally of dried
reed-leaves, very loosely put together, the egg-cavity deep and lined
with fibres. It was placed on the ground close to a rock, and at the
foot of a Zingiberaceous plant, and rather exposed to view. The nest
was not unlike that of _Pomatorhinus_, but of course considerably
smaller, not so much domed, and with the mouth of the egg-cavity
pointing upwards.

"A few days later, on the 25th, I took a second nest, quite similar in
shape and materials to the first one, but placed several feet above
the ground, in a dense mass of creepers growing over a rock. It was
quite exposed to view, and from a distance of 3 or 4 feet the eggs
were quite visible.

"There were three eggs in the nest, similar to those in the first
nest. Both parent birds were obtained. The first nest measured 5
inches long by 4.5 wide, the egg-cavity 3.8 deep by 2.75 wide at the
entrance. The other was about half an inch smaller each way.

"The measurements of the six eggs varied from 0.76 to 0.81 in length
by 0.56 to 0.6 in width, but the average was 0.78 by 0.59."

The eggs are rather narrow ovals, as a rule, occasionally much pointed
towards one end. The shell is very fine and has a faint gloss. The
ground-colour is white. The markings, which are difficult to describe,
consist first of spots, specks, and hair-line scratches, dark brown,
almost black occasionally, and a great amount of irregular clouding,
streaking, and smudging of a pale dirty-brown, slightly reddish in
some eggs. Besides this, about the large end there is an indistinct
irregular zone of faint inky purple spots and small blotches, and a
few spots of this same colour may be observed on other parts of the
egg.

182. Sittiparus castaneiceps (Hodgs.). _The Chestnut-headed
Tit-Babbler_.

Minla castaneiceps, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 255; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 619.

Mr. Hodgson's notes inform us that the Chestnut-headed Tit-Babbler
breeds in the neighbourhood of Darjeeling in May and June, laying four
eggs, which are figured as somewhat elongated ovals, having a very
pale greenish-yellow or dingy yellowish-white ground finely speckled,
chiefly at the large end, where there is a tendency to form a zone,
with red or brownish red, and measuring 0.75 by 0.52. The nest is said
to be placed in a thick bush, at a height of about 3 feet from the
ground, in a double fork; to be very broad and shallow, composed of
twigs, grass, and moss, and lined with leaves. One, taken on the 18th
May, 1846, measured 6 inches in diameter and 2.5 in height externally;
the cavity was only 2.1 in diameter and 1 in depth.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"A nest of this bird, with one fresh
egg and female, was brought to me in May. The man said he found the
nest in the Rungbee forest, at 6000 feet, among the moss growing on
the trunk of a large tree, a few feet from the ground. It was a solid
cup, made of green moss, with an inner layer of fine dark-coloured
roots, and lined with grassy fibres. Externally it measured 4 inches
in width by the same in depth; internally 1.5 wide by 1.25 deep."

Three eggs sent by Mr. Gammie measure 0.7 to 0.75 in length and 0.55
to 0.59 in breadth.

Mr. Davison says:--"On the 20th of February, when encamped just under
the summit of Muleyit, on its N.W. slope, I found a nest of this bird
containing three eggs, but so hard-set that it was only with the
greatest difficulty that I managed to preserve them.

"The nest, a deep cup, was placed about 5 feet from the ground, in
a mass of creepers growing up a sapling. It (the nest) was composed
externally of green moss and lined with fibres and dry bamboo-leaves.

"On the 29th of the same month I took another nest, also containing
three eggs, precisely similar to those in the first nest; but these
were so far incubated and the shell was so fragile that they were
all lost. This nest was also composed externally of green moss,
beautifully worked into the moss growing on the trunk of a large tree,
and it was only with considerable difficulty, and after looking for
some time, that I found it. The egg-cavity of this nest was also lined
with fibres and dried bamboo-leaves.

"The first nest found was open at the top, and measured 5.5 inches in
depth, 3 across the top externally, the egg-cavity 3.5 in depth by 1.8
in diameter at top.

"The second nest was completely domed at the top, and measured
externally 7 inches in depth by about 3.5 at top. The egg-cavity was
2.5 inches deep by 1.5 across the mouth.

"Three eggs measured 0.7 to 0.75 in length, and 0.55 to 0.59 in
breadth."

The eggs are broad ovals, a little pointed towards the small end,
the shell white, almost devoid of gloss. A dense ring or zone of
excessively small black spots surrounds the large end, and similar
specks are rather sparsely distributed over the whole of the rest of
the surface of the egg, having, however, a tendency to become obsolete
towards the small end. Sometimes a little brown and sometimes a little
lilac is intermingled in the zone.

183. Proparus vinipectus (Hodgs.). _The Plain-brown Tit-Babbler_.

Proparus vinipectus (_Hodgs._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 257; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 622.

The Plain-brown Tit-Babbler is not uncommon in the higher wooded hills
between Simla and Kotegurh, and from somewhere near Mutiana Captain
Blair sent me a nest and egg, together with one of the old birds which
had been caught on the nest.

This latter was a rather compact massive cap, composed of moderately
fine blades of grass, measuring externally about 41/4 inches in diameter
and standing about 21/4 inches high. The egg-cavity, about 2 inches in
diameter and rather in more than half an inch deep, was lined with
fine blackish-brown grass-roots. Neither nest nor egg is exactly what
I should have expected to pertain to this species; but Captain Blair
was certain that they belonged to the parent bird which he sent with
them, and I therefore describe both with entire confidence in their
authenticity.

The egg is a moderately elongated oval, slightly compressed towards
one end; it has a pale-green ground, and near the large end has a
strongly marked but very irregular sepia-brown zone, and pale stains
of the same colour here and there running down the egg from the zone,
as well as a few isolated dark spots of the same tint. Although much
smaller, and although the colour of the markings is very different,
the ground-colour and the character of the markings much recall those
of _Liothrix luteus_. The egg has little or no gloss, and measures
0.73 by 0.55.

Mr. Mandelli obtained two nests of this species--one at Sinchal, near
Darjeeling, at an elevation of 9000 feet, on the 2nd June; the other
at Tongloo, at an elevation of 10,000 feet, on the 29th May. The first
contained one, the second three fresh eggs, all precisely similar in
size and colour to the egg formerly sent me by Capt. Blair, though the
nests themselves were rather different in appearance. These nests were
both placed amongst the branches of dense brushwood, at heights of
3 and 4 feet from the ground; they are very compact, massive little
cups, about 3.25 inches in diameter and 2 in height exteriorly; the
cavities are about 2 inches in diameter and 1.25 in depth. The chief
materials of the nests are dry blades of grass and bamboo-leaves; but
these are only seen at the bottom of the nests, the sides and upper
margins being completely felted over with green moss. Apparently there
is a first lining of fine grass and roots; but very little of this
is seen, as the cavity is then thickly covered with black and white
hairs.

184. Lioparus chrysaeus (Hodgs.). _The Golden-breasted Tit-Babbler_.

Proparus chrysaeus, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 256; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 621.

The Golden-breasted Tit-Babbler breeds, according to Mr. Hodgson's
notes, near Darjeeling and in the central region of Nepal. It lays
from three to four eggs, which are figured as somewhat broad ovals,
measuring from 0.7 by 0.5, with a pinky-white ground, speckled and
spotted thinly, except towards the large end, where there is a
tendency to form a cap or zone, with brownish red. The nest is oval or
rather egg-shaped, and fixed with its longer diameter perpendicular
to the ground in a bamboo-clump between a dozen or so of the small
lateral shoots, at an elevation of only a few feet from the ground.
One, taken near Darjeeling on the 12th June, measured externally 6
inches in height, 4.5 in breadth, and 3 inches in depth, and on one
side it had an oval aperture 2.5 in height and 1.75 in breadth. It
appeared to have been entirely composed of dry bamboo-leaves and
broad blades of grass loosely interwoven, and with a little grass and
moss-roots as lining.

Hodgson originally named this bird _Proparus chrysotis_, but as the
bird has _silvery_ ears Hodgson himself rejected this name and adopted
the one given above. Mr. Gray, however, retains the specific name
_chrysotis_. Now, I think a man has a perfect right to change his
_own_ name; what I object to is other people presuming to do it for
him.

Subfamily BRACHYPTERYGINAE.

187. Myiophoneus temmincki, Vigors. _The Himalayan Whistling
Thrush_.

Myiophonus temminckii, _Vig., Jerd. B. Ind._ i. p. 500: _Hume. Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 343.

The Himalayan Whistling-Thrush breeds throughout the Himalayas from
Assam to Afghanistan, in shady ravines and wooded glens, as a rule,
from an elevation of 2000 to 5000 feet, but, at times, especially far
into the interior of the hills, up to even 10,000 feet.