The Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds Part 19

The Nepal Babbler, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes, breeds from March to May, building a deep, ma.s.sive, cup-shaped nest, firmly fastened between two or three upright shoots, and laying three or four eggs, which are figured as measuring 07 by 055. He has the following note:--

"_Valley, April 1st_.--A pair and nest. Nest is round, 4 inches deep on the outside and 2 inches within, and the same wide, being of the usual soup-basin shape and open at the top, made of dry leaves bound together with hair-like gra.s.s-fibres and moss-roots, which also form the lining, further compacted by spiders' webs, which, being also twisted round three adjacent twigs, form the suspenders of the nest, the bottom of which does not rest upon anything; attached to a low bush 1 foot from the ground. The nest contained three eggs of a pinkish-white ground thickly spotted with chestnut, the spots being almost entirely confluent at the large end."

Dr. Jerdon says:--"I had the nest and eggs brought me by the Lepchas.

The nest was loosely made with gra.s.s and bamboo-leaves, and the eggs were white with a few reddish-brown spots."

A nest of this species was found near Darjeeling in July, at an elevation of between 3000 and 4000 feet. It was situated in a small bush, in low brushwood, and placed only about 2 feet from the ground.

The nest is a compactly made and moderately deep cup. The exterior portion of the nest is composed of bamboo-leaves, more or less held in their places by fine horsehair-like black roots, with which also the cavity is very thickly and neatly lined. Exteriorly the nest is about 375 inches in diameter, and nearly 3 in height. The cavity is 225 in diameter and 16 in depth.

The nest contained three nearly fresh eggs. The eggs are moderately elongated ovals, very regular and slightly pointed towards the small end. The sh.e.l.l is fine and exhibits a slight gloss. The ground-colour is white or pinkish white, and they are _very_ minutely speckled all over with purplish red. The specklings exhibit a decided tendency to form a more or less perfect, and more or less confluent, cap or zone at the large end.

Two of the eggs measure 072 and 071 in length, and 054 and 052 in breadth.

From Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes:--"I have only found this Babbler breeding in May at elevations about 5000 feet, but it doubtless breeds also at much lower elevations, probably down to 2000 feet. The nests are placed within 2 or 3 feet of the ground, between several slender upright shoots, to which they are firmly attached. They are exceedingly neat and compact-built cups, measuring externally about 4 inches across by 275 deep, internally 215 wide by 16 deep. They are composed of dry bamboo-leaves held together by a little gra.s.s and very fine, hair-like fern-roots. The egg-cavity is lined with fern-roots.

"The eggs are three or four in number."

Numerous nests of this species kindly sent me by Messrs. Gammie, Mandelli, and others, taken during the months of May and June in British and Native Sikhim, at elevations of from 3000 to 5500 feet, were all of the same type and placed in the same situations, namely amongst low scrub and brushwood, at heights of from 18 inches to 3 feet from the ground. The interior and, in fact, the main body of the nests appear to be in all cases chiefly composed of fine black hair-like roots, with which, in some cases, especially about the upper margin, a little fine gra.s.s is intermingled. The cavities are generally much about the same size, say ~2 inches in diameter by 125 in depth: but the size of the nests as a whole varies very much. The nest is always coated exteriorly with dry leaves of trees and ferns, broad blades of gra.s.s, and the like, fixed together sometimes by mere pressure, but generally here and there held together by fine fibrous roots, and this coating varies so much that one nest before me measures 55 in external diameter, and another barely 4, the external covering of fern-leaves, flags, and dry and dead leaves being very abundant in the former, while in the other the covering consists entirely of broad dry blades of gra.s.s very neatly laid together. Two, three, and four fresh eggs were found in these several nests, but in no case were more than four eggs found.

Two nests taken by Mr. Gammie contained three and two fresh eggs respectively. The eggs had a delicate pink ground, and were richly blotched, in one egg exclusively, in the others chiefly about the larger end, with chestnut, or almost maroon-red, here and there almost deepening in spots to black, and elsewhere paling off into a rufous haze. The markings are confluent about the large end, and there in places intermingled with a purplish tinge. The other eggs had a china-white ground, with more gloss than the specimens previously described, with numerous small, blackish brownish-red spots and specks, almost exclusively confined to the large end, where they are more or less enveloped in a pinky-red nimbus.

These eggs varied from 075 to 079 in length, and from 056 to 06 in breadth.

Other eggs, again, with the same pinky-white ground are thickly but minutely freckled and speckled with rather pale brownish red, most thickly towards and about the large end, where they become confluent in patches, and where tiny purple clouds and spots are dimly traceable.

164. Alcippe phaeocephala (Jerd.). _The Nilghiri Babbler_.

Alcippe poiocephala (_Jerd.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 18; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E.._ no. 389.

The Nilghiri Babbler breeds, apparently, throughout the hilly regions of Southern India. It lays from January to June. A nest taken near Neddivattam by Mr. Davison on the 5th April was placed between the fork of three twigs of a bush, at the height of 5 or 6 feet from the ground. It was a deep cup, ma.s.sive enough but very loosely put together, and composed of green moss, dead leaves, a little gra.s.s and moss-roots. It was entirely lined with rather coa.r.s.e black moss-roots.

In shape it was nearly an inverted cone, some 3 inches in diameter at top, and fully 5 inches in height. The cavity was over 2 inches in diameter and nearly 2 inches in depth. A few cobwebs are here and there intermingled in the external surface, but the gra.s.s-roots appear to have been chiefly relied on for holding the nest together.

Another nest found by Miss c.o.c.kburn on the 5th June on a small bush, about 7 or 8 feet in height, standing on the banks of a stream, was somewhat different. It was placed in the midst of a clump of leaves, at the tips of three or four little twigs, between which the nest was partly suspended and partly wedged in. It was composed of fine gra.s.s-stems, with a few gra.s.s-and moss-roots as a lining interiorly, and with several dead leaves and a good deal of wool incorporated in the outer surface, the greater portion of which, however, was concealed by the leaves of the twigs amongst which it was built. It was only about 3 inches in diameter, and the egg-cavity was less than 2 inches across, and not above 1 inch in depth.

Mr. Davison writes:--"This bird breeds on the slopes of the Nilghiris in the latter end of March and April. The nest is uncommonly like that of _Trochalopterum cachinnans_, but is of course smaller; it is deep and cup-shaped, composed externally of moss and dead leaves, and is lined with moss and fern-roots. It is always (as far as I have observed) fastened to a thin branch about 6 feet from the ground. All the nests I have ever observed were on small trees in the shadiest parts of the jungle, far in, and never near the edge of the jungle or in the open. The eggs are very handsome, and are, I think, the prettiest of the eggs to be found on the Nilghiris and their slopes.

The ground-colour is of a beautiful reddish pink (especially when fresh), blotched and streaked with purplish carmine."

Mr. J. Darling, junior, says:--"The Nilghiri Quaker-Thrush breeds on the slopes of the Nilghiri hills, generally in the depths of the forest. I have, however, taken nests in scrub-jungle. I have also found the nest at Neddivattam in April.

"In October I found a nest of this bird at Culputty, S. Wynaad, about 2800 feet above the sea, built at the end of a branch 4 feet from the ground."

Mr. T.F. Bourdillon writes from Travancore:--"This bird breeds commonly with us, and its nest is more often met with than that of any other. The nest is cup-shaped and made of lichen, leaves, and gra.s.s.

It is usually placed 4 to 8 feet from the ground in the middle of jungle, and is about 2 inches in diameter by 1-2 in depth. The full number of eggs is two, and I have obtained on

"April, 1871. 2 fresh eggs.

Mar. 21, 1873. 2 fresh eggs.

Feb. 16, 1874. 2 fresh eggs.

April 11, 1874. 2 young birds, and many nests just vacated."

As in the case of _Pyctorhis sinensis_, the eggs differ much in colour and markings. The two eggs of this species sent me by Miss c.o.c.kburn from Kotagherry are moderately broad ovals, very obtuse at the larger end and somewhat compressed towards the smaller. The sh.e.l.l is fine and somewhat glossy. The ground-colour is white or pinkish white, and they are thickly mottled and freckled, most thickly at the larger end, where the markings form a more or less confluent mottled cap, with two shades of pinkish-, and in some spots slightly brownish, red, and towards the large end, where the markings are dense, traces of pale purple clouds underlying the primary markings are observable. In general appearance these eggs not a little resemble those of some of the Bulbuls, and it seems difficult to believe that they are eggs of birds of the same genus as _Alcippe atriceps_[A], the eggs of which are so much smaller and of such a totally different type. Two eggs of the same species taken by Mr. Davison are moderately broad ovals, somewhat compressed towards one end; have a fine and slightly glossy sh.e.l.l. The ground-colour is a delicate pink. There are a few pretty large and conspicuous spots and hair-lines of deep brownish red, almost black, and there are a few large pinkish-brown smears and clouds, generally lying round or about the dark spots; and then towards the large end there are several small clouds and patches of faint inky purple, which appear to underlie the other markings. The character of the markings on some of these eggs reminds one strongly of those of the Chaffinch. Other eggs taken later by Miss c.o.c.kburn at Kotagherry on the 21st January are just intermediate between the two types above described.

[Footnote A: _Alcippe atriceps_ and _Alcippe phaeocephala_, as they have hitherto been styled by all Indian ornithologists, are not in the least congeneric, as I have pointed out in my 'Birds of India.' I am glad to see my views corroborated by Mr. Hume's remarks on the eggs. There is no reason why these two birds should be considered congeneric, except a general similarity in colour and habits. Their structure differs much.--ED.]

All the eggs are very nearly the same size, and only vary in length from 075 to 086, and in breadth from 058 to 065.

165. Alcippe phayrii, Bl. _The Burmese Babbler_.

Alcippe phayrii, _Bl., Hume, Cat._ no. 388 bis.

Major C.T. Bingham writes from Tena.s.serim:--"In the half-dry bed of one of the many streams that one has to cross between Kaukarit and Meeawuddy, I found on the 23rd February a nest of the above species. A firm little cup, borne up some 2 feet above the ground on the fronds of a strong-growing fern, to three of the leaf-stems of which it was attached. It was made of vegetable fibres and roots, and lined interiorly with fine black hair-like roots, on which rested three fresh eggs, in colour pinky white, blotched and streaked with dull reddish pink, and with faint clouds and spots of purple. The eggs measure 79 x 58, 78 x 58, and 76 x 59."

Mr. J. Darling, junior, informs us that on the 9th April he "took three fresh eggs of _Alcippe phayrii_, in heavy jungle, at a very low elevation, at the foot of Nwalabo in Tena.s.serim. The nest was built in a small bush 4 feet from the ground (hanging between two forked twigs), of bamboo and other leaves, moss, and a few fine twigs, and lined with moss and fern-roots, 2 inches in diameter, 1 deep. It was exactly like very many nests of _A. phaeocephala_, taken on the Nilghiri Hills, though some of the latter are much more compact and pretty."

Mr. W. Davison, also writing of Tena.s.serim, says:--"On the 1st March, in a little bush about 2 feet above the ground, I found the above-mentioned bird seated on a little moss-made nest, and utterly refusing to move off until I almost touched her, when she hopped on to a branch a few feet off, and disclosed three little naked fledglings struggling or just struggled out of their sh.e.l.ls. I retired a little way off, and she immediately reseated herself. The eggs, to judge by the fragments, were of a vinous claret tinge, spotted and streaked with a darker shade of the same."

These eggs closely resemble those of _A. nepalensis_. They are neither broad nor elongated ovals, often with a _slight_ pyriform tendency, always apparently very blunt at both ends.

The ground-colour, of which but little is visible, in some eggs varies from pinky white to pale reddish pink, and the egg is profusely smeared and clouded with pinky or purplish red, varying much in shade and tint. Here and there, in most eggs, are a few spots, or occasionally short, crooked or curved lines, where the colour has been laid on so thick that it is almost black, and such spots are generally, though not always, more or less surrounded with a haze of a rather deeper tint than the rest of the smear in which they occur. The markings are often deepest coloured, or most conspicuous, about the large end, where occasionally a recognizable cap is formed and there a decided purplish tinge may be noticed in patches. The general character of the eggs is very uniform; but the eggs vary to such a degree _inter se_, that it is hopeless to attempt to describe all the variations. They vary in length from 068 to 078 and in breadth from 053 to 059, but the average of nine eggs is 075 by 058.

166. Rhopocichla atriceps (Jerd.) _The Black-headed Babbler_.

Alcippe atriceps (_Jerd._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 19; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 390.

Writing from c.o.o.noor in the Nilghiris, Mr. Wait tells me that the Black-headed Babbler breeds in his neighbourhood in June and July:--"It builds in weeds and gra.s.s beside the banks of old roads, at elevations of from 5000 to 5500 feet. The nest is placed at a height of from a foot to 2 feet from the ground, is domed and loosely built, composed almost entirely of dry blades of the lemon-gra.s.s, and lined with the same or a few softer gra.s.s-blades. In shape it is more or less ovate, the longer axis vertical, and the external diameters 4 and 8 inches. They lay two or three rather broad oval eggs, which have a white ground, speckled and spotted, chiefly at the large end, with reddish brown."

Miss c.o.c.kburn sends me a nest of this species which she found on the 17th June amongst reeds on the edge of a stream, about 2 or 3 feet above the water's edge. It appears to have been a globular ma.s.s very loosely put together, of broad reed-leaves, between 3 or 4 inches in diameter, and with a central unlined cavity.

Mr. Iver Macpherson, writing from Mysore, says:--"I have only met with this bird in heavy bamboo-forest, and have only found two nests, viz., on the 25th May and 2nd July, 1879. Both nests were fixed low down (2 to 3 feet) in bamboo-clumps, and each contained two eggs, which, for the size of the bird, I considered very large. Nest globular, and very loosely constructed of bamboo-leaves and blades of gra.s.s."

An egg sent me from c.o.o.noor by Mr. Wait is a moderately broad, very regular oval, only slightly compressed towards the smaller end. The sh.e.l.l is very fine and satiny, but has only a slight gloss. The ground-colour is white or slightly greyish white, and towards the large end it is profusely speckled with minute dots of brownish and purplish red, a few specks of the same colour being scattered about the rest of the surface of the eggs.

Another egg sent me from Kotagherry by Miss c.o.c.kburn exactly corresponds with the above description.

Both are precisely the same in size, and measure 075 by 055.

Other eggs measure from 075 to 079 in length by 053 to 058 in breadth[A].

[Footnote A: Mr. T. Fulton Bourdillon (S.F. ix, p. 300) gives an interesting account of the nest and eggs of a species of _Rhopocichla_, which he failed to identify satisfactorily. It may have been _R. atriceps_ or _R. bourdilloni_. Most probably, judging from the locality, it was the latter. As, however, there is a doubt about it, I do not insert the note.--ED.]

167. Rhopocichla nigrifrons (Bl.). _The Black-fronted Babbler_.

Alcippe nigrifrons, _Bl., Hume, cat._ no. 390 ter.

Colonel Legge writes regarding the nidification of the Black-fronted Babbler in Ceylon:--"After finding hundreds of the curious dry-leaf structures, mentioned in 'The Ibis,' 1874, p. 19, entirely void of contents, and having come almost to the conclusion that they were built as roosting-places, I at last came on a newly-constructed one containing two eggs, on the 5th of January last; the bird was in the nest at the time, so that my identification of the eggs was certain.

The nest of this Babbler is generally placed in a bramble or straggling piece of undergrowth near a path in the jungle or other open spot; it is about 3 or 4 feet from the ground, and is entirely made of dead leaves and a few twigs; the leaves are laid one over another horizontally, forming a smooth bottom or interior. In external form it is a shapeless ball about 8 or 10 inches in diameter, and has an unfinished opening at the side. The birds build with astonis.h.i.+ng quickness, picking up the leaves one after another from the ground just beneath the nest. When fresh the eggs are fleshy white, becoming pure white when emptied; they are large for the size of the bird, rather stumpy ovals, of a smooth texture, and spotted openly and sparingly with brownish red, over bluish-grey specks; in one specimen the darker markings are redder than in the other, and ran mostly in the direction of the axis. Dimensions: 074 by 056 and 074 by 055."