The Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds Part 8

61. Scaeorhynchus gularis (Horsf.). _The h.o.a.ry-headed Crow-t.i.t_.

Paradoxornis gularis, _Horsf., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p, 5.

A nest sent me by Mr. Mandelli as belonging to this species was found, he tells me, at an elevation of 8000 feet in Native Sikhim on the 17th May. It was placed in a fork amongst the branches of a medium-sized tree at a height of about 30 feet from the ground. The nest is a very ma.s.sive cup, composed of soft gra.s.s-blades, none of them much exceeding 1 inch in width, wound round and round together very closely and compactly, and then tied over exteriorly everywhere, but not thickly, with just enough wool and wild silk to keep the nest perfectly strong and firm. Inside, the nest is lined with extremely fine gra.s.s-stems; the nest is barely 4 inches in diameter exteriorly and 25 in height; the egg-cavity is 24 in diameter and 12 in depth.

Mr. Mandelli sends me an egg which he considers to belong to this species, found near Darjeeling on the 7th May. It is a broad oval, very slightly compressed at one end; the sh.e.l.l dull and glossless; the ground a dead white, profusely streaked and smudged pretty thickly all over with pale yellowish brown; the whole bigger end of the egg clouded with dull inky purple and two or three hair-lines of burnt sienna in different parts of the egg. The egg measures 08 by 061.

Two eggs of this species, procured in Sikhim on the 17th May, are very regular ovals, scarcely at all pointed towards the lesser end. The ground-colour is creamy white, and the markings consist of large indistinct blotches of pale yellow; round the large end is an almost confluent zone or cap of purplish grey, darker in one egg; they have no gloss, and both measure 082 by 061.

Family CRATEROPODIDAE.

Subfamily CRATEROPODINAE.

62. Dryonastes ruficollis (J. & S.) _The Rufous-necked Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax ruticollis (_J. & S.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 38; _Hume, Rough Draft N.& E._ no. 410.

Of the Rufous-necked Laughing-Thrush, Mr. Blyth remarks:--"Mr. Hodgson figures the egg of a fine green colour."

The egg is not figured in my collection of Mr. Hodgson's drawings.

Writing from near Darjeeling, in Sikhim, Mr. Gammie says:--"I have seen two nests of this bird; both were in bramble-bushes about five feet from the ground, and exactly resembled those of _Dryonastes caerulatus_, only they were a little smaller. One nest had three young ones, the other three very pale blue unspotted eggs, which I left in the nest intending to get them in another day or two, as I wanted to see if more eggs would be laid, but when I went back to the place the nest had been taken away by some one. Both nests were found here in May, one at 3500 feet, the other at 4500 feet.

"I have taken numerous nests of this species from April to June, from the warmest elevations up to about 4000 feet. They are cup-shaped; composed of dry leaves and small climber-stems, and lined with a few fibrous roots. They measure externally about 5 inches in width by 35 in depth; internally 325 across by 225 deep. Usually they are found in scrubby jungle, fixed in bushes, within five or six feet of the ground. The eggs are three or four in number."

Many nests of this species sent me from Sikhim by my friends Messrs.

Mandelli and Gammie are all precisely of the same type--deep and rather compact cups, varying from 5 to 6 inches in external diameter, and 325 to 375 in height; the cavities about 325 in diameter and 225 in depth. The nest is composed almost entirely of dry bamboo-leaves bound together loosely with stems of creepers or roots, and the cavity is lined with black and brown rootlets, generally not very fine. They seem never to be placed at any very great elevation from the ground.

The eggs of this species, of which I have received a very large number from Mr. Gammie, are distinguishable at once from those of all the other species of this group with which I am acquainted. Just as the egg of _Garrulax albigularis_ is distinguished by its very deep tone of coloration, the egg of the present species is distinguished by its extreme paleness. In shape the eggs are moderately broad ovals, often, however, somewhat pyriform, often a good deal pointed towards the small end. The sh.e.l.l is extremely fine and smooth, and has a very fine gloss; they may be said to be almost white with a delicate bluish-green tinge. In length they vary from 095 to 11, in breadth from 06 to 083; but the average of forty-one eggs is 102 by 075.

65. Dryonastes caerulatus (Hodgs.). _The Grey-sided Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax caerulatus (_Hodgs._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 36; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 408.

A nest of the Grey-sided Laughing-Thrush found by Mr. Gammie on the 17th June near Darjeeling, below Rishap, at an elevation of about 3500 feet, was placed in a shrub, at a height of about six feet from the ground, and contained one fresh egg. It was a large, deep, compact cup, measuring about 55 inches in external diameter and about 4 in height, the egg-cavity being 4 inches in diameter and 2 inches in depth. Externally it was entirely composed of very broad flag-like gra.s.s-leaves firmly twisted together, and internally of coa.r.s.e black gra.s.s and moss-roots very neatly and compactly put together. The nest had no other lining.

This year (1874) Mr. Gammie writes:--"This species breeds in Sikhim in May and Jane. I have found the nests in our Chinchona reserves, at various elevations from 3500 to 5000 feet, always in forests with a more or less dense undergrowth. The nest is placed in trees, at heights of from 6 to 12 feet from the ground, between and firmly attached to several slender upright shoots. It is cup-shaped, usually rather shallow, composed of dry bamboo-leaves and twigs and lined with root-fibres. One I measured was 5 inches in diameter by 25 in height exteriorly; the cavity was 4 inches across and only 13 deep. Of course they vary slightly. As far as my experience goes, they do not lay more than three eggs; indeed, at times only two."

Dr. Jerdon remarks that "a nest and eggs, said to be of this bird, were brought to me at Darjeeling; the nest loosely made with roots and gra.s.s, and containing two pale blue eggs."

One nest of this species taken in Native Sikhim in July, was placed in the fork of four leafy twigs, and was in shape a slightly truncated inverted cone, nearly 7 inches in height and 55 in diameter at the base of the cone, which was uppermost. The leaves attached to the twigs almost completely enveloped it. The nest itself was composed almost entirely of stems of creepers, several of which were wound round the living leaves of the twigs so as to hold them in position on the outside of the nest; a few bamboo-leaves were intermingled with the creeper's stems in the body of the nest. The cavity, which is almost perfectly hemispherical, only rather deeper, is 35 inches in diameter and 225 in depth, and is entirely and very neatly lined with very fine black roots. Another nest, which was taken at Rishap on the 21st May, with two fresh eggs, was placed in some small bamboos at a height of about 10 feet from the ground, it is composed externally entirely of dry bamboo-leaves, loosely tied together by a few creepers and a little vegetable fibre, and it is lined pretty thickly with fine black fibrous roots. This nest is about 6 inches in diameter and 35 high exteriorly, while the cavity measures 35 by 2.

The eggs sent me by Mr. Gammie are a beautiful clear, rather pale, greenish blue, without any spots or markings. They have a slight gloss. In shape they are typically much elongated and somewhat pyriform ovals, very obtuse at both ends; but moderately broad examples are met with. In length they vary from 105 to 133, and in breadth from 076 to 086; but the average of thirty-five eggs is 118 nearly by 082 nearly.

69. Garrulax leucolophus (Hardw.). _The Himalayan White-crested Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax leucolophus (_Hardw.), Jerd. B, Ind._ ii, p. 35; _Hume. Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 407.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes, the Himalayan White-crested Laughing-Thrush breeds at various elevations in Sikhim and Nepal, from the Terai to an elevation of 5000 or 6000 feet, from April to June. It lays from four to six eggs, which are described and figured as pure white, very broad ovals, measuring 12 by 09. It breeds, we are told, in small trees, constructing a rude cup-shaped nest amongst a clamp of shoots, or between a number of slender twigs, of dry bamboo-leaves, creepers, scales of the turmeric plant, &c., and lined with fine roots.

Dr. Jerdon says:--"I have had the nest and eggs brought me more than once when at Darjeeling, the former being a large ma.s.s of roots, moss, and gra.s.s, with a few pure white eggs."

One nest taken in July at Darjeeling was placed on the outer branches of a tree, at about the height of 8 feet from the ground. It was a very broad shallow saucer, 8 inches in diameter, about an inch in thickness, and with a depression of about an inch in depth. It was composed of dead bamboo-leaves bound together with creepers, and lined thinly with coa.r.s.e roots. It contained four fresh eggs. Other similar nests contained four or three eggs each.

From Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes:--"I have found this Laughing-Thrush breeding in May and June, up to about 3500 feet; I have rarely seen it at higher elevations, and cannot but think that Mr. Hodgson is mistaken in stating that it breeds up to 5000 or 6000 feet. The nests are generally placed in shrubs, within reach of the hand, among low, dense jungle, and are rather loosely built cup-shaped structures, composed of twigs and gra.s.s, and lined with fibrous roots. Externally they measure about 6 inches in diameter by 35 in depth; internally 4 by 225.

"The eggs are usually four or five in number, but on several occasions I have found as few as two well-set eggs."

Numerous nests of this species have now been sent me, taken in May, June, and July, at elevations of from 2000 to fully 4000 feet, and in one case it is said 5000. They are all very similar, large, very shallow cups, from 6 to nearly 8 inches in external diameter, and from 25 to 35 in height; exteriorly all are composed of coa.r.s.e gra.s.s, of bamboo-spathes, with occasionally a few dead leaves intermingled, loosely wound round with creepers or pliant twigs, while interiorly they are composed and lined with black, only moderately fine roots or pliant flower-stems of some flowering-tree, or both. Sometimes the exterior coating of gra.s.s is not very coa.r.s.e; at other times bamboo-spathes exclusively are used, and the nest seems to be completely packed up in these.

The eggs of this species are broad ovals, pure white and glossy. They vary from 105 to 113 in length, and from 086 to 095 in width, but the average of eighteen eggs is a little over 11 by 09.

70. Garrulax belangeri, Less. _The Burmese White-crested Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax belangeri, _Less., Hume, Cat._ no. 407 bis.

Mr. Oates, who found the nest of this bird many years ago in Burma, has the following note:--"Nest in a bush a few feet from the ground, on the 8th June, near Pegu. In shape hemispherical, the foundation being of small branches and leaves of the bamboo, and the interior and sides of small branches of the coa.r.s.er weeds and fine twigs. The latter form the egg-chamber lining and are nicely curved. Exterior and interior diameters respectively 7 and 3 inches. Total depth 3 and interior depth 2 inches. Three eggs, pure white and highly glossy, and they measure 114 by 87, 11 by 88, and 103 by 86."

The nests of this species are large, loosely constructed cups, much resembling those of its Himalayan congeners. The base and sides consist chiefly of dry bamboo-leaves with a few dead tree-leaves scantily held together by a few creepers, while the interior portion of the nest, which has no separate lining, is composed of fine twigs and stems of herbaceous plants and the slender flower-stems of trees which bear their flowers in cl.u.s.ters. The nests vary a good deal in exterior dimensions as the materials straggle far and wide in some cases, and the external diameter may be said to vary from 6 to 8 inches, and the height from 325 to 45; the cavities are more uniform in size, and are about 35 in diameter by 2 in depth.

The eggs are moderately broad ovals, at times somewhat pointed perhaps towards the small end, pure white and fairly glossy.

Major C.T. Bingham thus writes of this bird:--"It is very difficult to either watch these birds, unseen yourself, at one of their dancing parties, or to catch one of them actually sitting on the nest. Twice had I in the end of March this year come across nests with one or two of these birds in the vicinity, and yet have had to leave the eggs in them as uncertain to what bird they belonged. At last, on the 2nd April, I came in for a piece of luck. I was roaming about in the vicinity of my camp on the Gawbechoung, the main source of the Thoungyeen river, and moving very slowly and silently amid the dense clumps of bamboo, when my ears were saluted by the hearty laughter of a flock of these birds, evidently not far off. Very quietly I crept up, and looking cautiously from behind a thick bamboo-clump, saw ten or twelve of them going through a most intricate dance, flirting their wings and tails, and every now and then bursting into a chorus of shouts, joined in by a few others who were seated looking on from neighbouring bushes. During one of the pauses of the applause, and while the dancers were busy twining in and out, a single rather squeaky 'bravo' came from a bamboo-bush right opposite to me. Looking up I was astonished to see a nest in a fork of the bamboo, and on the nest a _Garrulax_ who, probably too busy with her maternal duties to watch the performance going on below her attentively, came in with a solitary shout of approbation at an unseemly time. I watched the performance a few minutes longer, and then frightened the old hen on the nest. The terrific scare I caused by my sudden appearance is beyond description. The dancers scattered with screeches, and the old hen dropped fainting over the side of her nest with a feeble remonstrance, and disappeared in the most mysterious way. After all the nest contained only one egg, very glossy, white, and fresh. The nest was better and stronger built, though very like that of _Garrulax moniliger_, constructed of twigs, and finely lined with black hair-like roots; it measured some 6 inches in diameter, the egg-cavity about 1 inch deep. Subsequently I took three other nests, on the 4th April and 23rd May. The first contained three, the two latter three and four eggs respectively. A considerable number of eggs measure from 122 to 106 in length, and from 92 to 81 in breadth, and average 113 by 088."

72. Garrulax pectoralis (Gould). _The Black-gorgeted Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax pectoralis (_Gould), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 39; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 412.

Mr. Oates tells us that he "found the nest of the Black-gorgeted Laughing-Thrush in the Pegu Hills, on the 27th April, containing three fresh eggs; the bird was sitting. The nest was placed in a bamboo-clump about 7 feet from the ground, made outwardly of dead bamboo-leaves and coa.r.s.e roots, lined with finer roots and a few feathers; inside diameter 6 inches, depth 2 inches. Two eggs measured 104 by 083 and 086. Colour, a beautiful clear blue."

One of these eggs sent by Mr. Oates[A] seems rather small for the bird. It is a very broad, slightly pyriform oval, of a uniform pale greenish-blue tint, and very fairly glossy. It measures 105 by 087.

[Footnote A: I fear I may have made a mistake in identifying the nest referred to. With this caution, however, I allow my note to stand.--ED.]

This egg appears to me to be an abnormally small one. A nest sent me from Sikhim, where it was found in July, contained much larger eggs, and more in proportion to the size of the bird. The nest I refer to was placed in a clump of bamboos about 5 feet from the ground. It was a tolerably compact, moderately deep, saucer-shaped nest, between 6 and 7 inches in diameter, composed of dead bamboo-sheaths and leaves bound together with creepers and herbaceous stems, and thinly lined with roots. It contained two eggs. These are rather broad ovals, somewhat pointed towards one end, of a uniform pale greenish blue, and are fairly glossy.

These eggs measured 133 and 130 in length, and 098 in breadth.

Mr. Mandelli sent me two nests of this species, both taken in Native Sikhim, the one on the 4th, the other on the 20th July. Each contained two fresh eggs. One was placed in a small tree in heavy jungle, at a height of about 6 feet from the ground, the other in a clump of bamboos a, foot lower. Both are large, coa.r.s.e, saucer-shaped nests, 7 to 8 inches in diameter, and 35 to 4 in height externally; the cavities are about 45 inches in diameter, and less than 2 in depth; the basal portion of the nests is composed entirely of dry leaves, chiefly those of the bamboo, loosely held together by a few stems of creepers; the sides of the nest are stems of creepers wound round and round and loosely intertwined, and the cavity is lined with rather coa.r.s.e rootlets, and in one case with fine twigs.

73. Garrulax moniliger (Hodgs.). _The Necklaced Laughing-Thrush_.