Part 31

Dumeticola affinis (_Hodgs.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 158. Dumeticola brunneipectus, _Bl., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 519 bis.

Mr. Hodgson gives a very careful figure of a female bird of this species, together with its nest and egg, but he labels it underneath _affinis_. As we know, he described _affinis_ as having spots on the breast; but he further notes that at the same place at which he obtained the female, nest, and eggs, he also got a male bird with spots on the breast; in fact, in other words, he seems to have come to the conclusion that _Dumeticola affinis_ was the male and that _Dumeticola brunneipectus_, which he did not separately name, though he has beautifully figured it, was the female. I have specimens of both, but the sexes were not ascertained; still I doubt whether the two birds can possibly be merely different sexes of the same species. Anyhow, the female bird which he figures (No. 826) is really _brunneipectus_, and under that name I notice the nest and eggs on which the female figured was captured. Mr. Hodgson notes:--"_Gosainthan_. In the snows; female and nest.

"_August 2nd_.--Nest in a bunch of reeds placed slantingly: ovate in shape; aperture at one side; placed about half a foot above the ground, made of grasses and moss, 4 or 5 inches in diameter exteriorly, interiorly between 2 and 3 inches." The eggs are figured as moderately broad ovals, measuring 0·65 by 0·48, of a uniform deep cinnabar-red, reminding one of the eggs of _Prinia socialis_, but much deeper in colour[A].

[Footnote A: There can be no doubt, I think, that _T. affinis_ and _T. brunneipectus_ are the same species as _T. thoracica_. I reproduce Mr. Hodgson's note on the nesting of this species together with Mr. Hume's remarks, but I feel sure that the nest described by Mr. Hodgson and the egg figured by him cannot belong to the present species.--ED.]

Mr. Mandelli sends me three nests of this species, all found near Yendong, in Native Sikhim, at an elevation of about 9000 feet, on the 15th, 17th, and 21st July. The nests contained two, two, and three fresh eggs respectively, and were placed, two of them in small brushwood, and one in a clump of rush or grass, from 9 to 18 inches above the ground. They seem to have all been rather massive little cups, composed exteriorly of broad grass-blades rather clumsily wound together, and lined with rather finer, but by no means fine grass. In two of them some dead leaves have been incorporated in the basal portion.

They are rather dirty, shabby-looking nests, obviously made of dead materials, old withered and partially-decayed grass, and not with fresh grass; they seem to have measured 3 inches in diameter, and 2·5 in height externally; the cavity was perhaps 1·5 to 1·75 in diameter, and 1 inch more or less in depth.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"Nest among scrub in small bush, 2 feet from ground, at 5000 feet above the sea. Found on the 3rd June, when it contained two eggs; taken on the 5th, with four eggs. I dissected the bird killed off the nest, and found it to be a female; in her stomach were the remains of a few insects. The nest is cup-shaped, loosely made of dry leaves and grass, lined with, for the size of the bird, coarse grass-stalks. Externally it measures 3·5 inches in breadth by 2·5 deep; internally 2 broad by 1·5 deep."

This nest taken by Mr. Gammie near Rungbee on the 5th June, 1875, at an elevation of about 5000 feet, contained four eggs. It was a massive little cup about 3 inches in diameter externally, and with an internal cavity about 2 inches in diameter and 1¾ inch deep; was rather loosely put together, externally composed of dead leaves and broad flags of grass, internally lined with grass-stems.

The eggs of this species are very regular broad ovals, the shells fine but glossless, the ground-colour a dead white, thickly speckled and spotted about the large end, thinly elsewhere, with somewhat brownish and again purplish red. The markings are all very fine and small, but where they are closely set at the large end there a few little pale purplish-grey specks and spots are intermingled.

The eggs measure 0·68 by 0·55.

The eggs of this species obtained by Mr. Mandelli in the neighbourhood of Darjeeling in July are so similar to those obtained by Mr. Gammie, and of which he sent me the parent bird, that no second description is necessary. They are a shade smaller, but the difference is not more than is always observable in even the same species. They measure 0·67 in length, and 0·53 to 0·55 in breadth.

372. Tribura luteiventris, Hodgs. _The Brown Bush-Warbler_.

Tribura luteiventris, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 161; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 522.

A bird unquestionably belonging to this species[A], the Brown Bush-Warbler, was sent me along with a single egg from Native Sikhim. The bird was said to have been killed off the nest (which was not preserved), which was found, at an elevation of about 12,000 feet, in low brushwood about 3 feet from the ground.

[Footnote A: I do not place much confidence in the authenticity of the egg of this bird sent to Mr. Hume. Being a Warbler with twelve tail-feathers, it is unlikely to lay a red egg, and besides this the eggs of the allied species, _T. thoracica_, as found by trustworthy observers like Messrs. Gammie and Mandelli, are known to be white speckled with red, in spite of Mr. Hodgson's figure representing them to be deep cinnabar-red.--ED.]

The egg is a very regular, rather broad oval, has only a faint gloss, and is of a very rich deep maroon-red, slightly darker at the large end.

The egg measures 0·62 by 0·49.

374. Orthotomus sutorius (Forst.). _The Indian Tailor-bird_.

Orthotomus longicauda (_Gm_.), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 165; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 530.

The Indian Tailor-bird[A] breeds throughout India and Burma, alike in the plains and in the hills (_e.g._, the Himalayas and Nilgiris), up to an elevation of from 3000 to 4000 feet.

[Footnote A: The notes on this bird's breeding are so very numerous that I am compelled to omit several of them.--ED.]

The breeding-season lasts from May to August, both months included; but in the plains more nests are to be found in July, and in the hills more, I think, in June, than during the other months.

The nest has been often described and figured, and, as is well known, is a deep soft cup enclosed in leaves, which the bird sews together to form a receptacle for it.

It is placed at all elevations, and I have as often found it high upon a mango-tree as low down amongst the leaves of the edible egg-plant (_Solanum esculentum_).

The nests vary much, in appearance, according to the number and description of leaves which the bird employs and the manner in which it employs them; but the nest itself is usually chiefly composed of fine cotton-wool, with a few horsehairs and, at times, a few very fine grass-stems as a lining, apparently to keep the wool in its place and enable the cavity to retain permanently its shape.

I have found the nests with three leaves fastened, at equal distances from each other, into the sides of the nest, and not joined to each other at all.

I have found them between two leaves, the one forming a high back and turned up at the end to support the bottom of the nest, the other hiding the nest in front and hanging down well below it, the tip only of the first leaf being sewn to the middle of the second. I have found them with four leaves sewn together to form a canopy and sides, from which the bottom of the nest depended bare; and I have found them between two long leaves, whose sides from the very tips to near the peduncles were closely and neatly sewn together. For sewing they generally use cobweb; but silk from cocoons, thread, wool, and vegetable fibres are also used.

The eggs vary from three to four in number; but I find that out of twenty-seven nests containing more or less incubated eggs, of which I have notes, exactly two thirds contained only three, and one third four eggs.

About the colour of the eggs there has been some dispute, but this is owing to the birds laying two distinct types of eggs, which will be described below. Hutton's and Jerdon's descriptions of the eggs, _white_ spotted with rufous or reddish brown, are quite correct, but so are those of other writers, who call them _bluish green_, similarly marked. Tickell, who gives them as "pale greenish blue, with irregular patches, especially towards the larger end, resembling dried stains of blood, and irregular and _broken lines scratched round_, forming a zone near the larger end," had of course got hold of the eggs of a _Franklinia_. I have taken hundreds of both types, and I note that, as in the case of _Dicrurus ater_, eggs of the two types are never found in the same nest. All the eggs in each nest always belong to one or the other type.

The parent birds that lay these very different looking eggs certainly do not differ; that I have positively satisfied _myself_.

I quote an exact description of a nest which I took at Bareilly, and which was recorded on the spot:--

"Three of the long ovato-lanceolate leaves of the mango, whose peduncles sprang from the same point, had been neatly drawn together with gossamer threads run through the sides of the leaves and knotted outside, so as to form a cavity like the end of a netted purse, with a wide slit on the side nearest the trunk beginning near the bottom and widening upwards. Inside this, the real nest, nearly 3 inches deep and about 2 inches in diameter, was neatly constructed of wool and fine vegetable fibres, the bottom being thinly lined with horsehair. In this lay three tiny delicate bluish-white eggs, with a few pale reddish-brown blotches at the large ends, and just a very few spots and specks of the same colour elsewhere."

Dr. Jerdon says:--"The Tailor-bird makes its nest with cotton, wool, and various other soft materials, sometimes also lined with hair, and draws together one leaf or more, generally two leaves, on each side of the nest, and stitches them together with cotton, either woven by itself, or cotton-thread picked up, and after passing the thread through the leaf, it makes a knot at the end to fix it. I have seen a Tailor-bird at Saugor watch till the native tailor had left the verandah where he had been working, fly in, seize some pieces of the thread that were lying about, and go off in triumph with them; this was repeated in my presence several days running. I have known many different trees selected to build in; in gardens very often a guava-tree. The nest is generally built at from 2 to 4 feet above the ground. The eggs are two, three, or four in number, and in every case which I have seen were white spotted with reddish brown chiefly at the large end.... Layard describes one nest made of cocoanut-fibre entirely, with a dozen leaves of oleander drawn and stitched together. I cannot call to recollection ever having seen a nest made with more than two leaves.... Pennant gives the earliest, though somewhat erroneous, account of the nest. He says: 'The bird picks up a dead leaf and, surprising to relate, sews it to the side of a living one.'"

I have often seen nests made between many leaves, and I have seen plenty with a dead leaf stitched to a yet living one; but in these points my experience entirely coincides with that of the late Mr. A. Anderson, whose note I proceed to quote:--

"The dry leaves that are sometimes met with attached to the nest of this species, and which gave rise to the erroneous idea that the bird picks up a dead leaf and, surprising to relate, sews it to the side of a living one, are easily accounted for.

"I took a nest of the Tailor-bird a short time ago" (11th July, 1871) from a brinjal plant (_Solanum esculentum_), which had all the appearance of having had dry leaves attached to it. The nest originally consisted of _three_ leaves, but two of them had been pierced (in the act of passing the thread through them) to excess, and had in consequence not only decayed, _but actually separated from the stem of the plant_. These decayed leaves were hanging from the side of the nest by a mere thread, and could have been removed with perfect safety. Perhaps instinct teaches the birds to injure certain leaves in order that they may decay?

"Jerdon says that he does not remember ever having seen a nest made with more than two leaves. I have found the nest of this species vary considerably in appearance, size, and in the number of leaves employed, and, I would also add, in the site selected, as well as in the markings of the eggs, which latter never exceed four in number.

"The nest already described was built hardly _2 feet off the ground_, was rather clumsy (if I might use such an expression), and was composed of _three_ leaves. The eggs were white, covered with brownish-pink blotches almost coalescing at the large end. Another nest, taken in my presence (July, again, which is the general time) from the _very top of a high tree_, was enclosed inside of _one_ leaf, the sides being neatly sewn together, and the cavity at the bottom lined with wool, down, and horsehair. These eggs (four) are covered, chiefly at the larger ends, with minute red spots.

"A third nest seen by me was composed of _seven_ or _eight leaves_".

Captain Hutton tells us that he has seen many nests. All were "composed of cotton, wool, vegetable fibre, and horsehair, formed in the shape of a deep cup or purse, enclosed between two long leaves, the edges of which were sewed to the sides of the nest, in a manner to support it, by threads spun by the bird."

He adds that the birds, though common at their bases, do not ascend the hills; but this is a mistake, for I have repeatedly taken nests at elevations of over 3000 feet; and Mr. Gammie, writing from Sikhim, says:--"We often find nests of this species near my house at Mongphoo (which is at an elevation of about 3500 feet). I took one there on the 16th May, which contained four hard-set eggs. It was in a calicarpa tree and between two of its long ovate leaves, the terminal halves of which were sewn together by the edges, so as to form a purse in which the real nest was placed. Yellow silk of some wild silkworm was the sewing material used."

Again, writing from the Nilgiris, Miss Cockburn remarks:--"The Tailor-bird is seldom met with on the highest ranges, but appears to prefer the warmer climates enjoyed at the elevation of about 3500 or 4000 feet. They often build in the coffee-trees; a nest now before me was built on a coffee-tree, two of the leaves of which were bent down and sewn together. The threads are of cobweb, and the cavity is lined with the down of seed-pods and fine grass. At the back of the nest the leaves are made to meet, but are a little apart in front, so as to form an opening for the birds to hop in and out. The depth of the nest inside is 2½ inches. It was found in the month of June, and contained four eggs, which were white spotted with light red."

Of its breeding in Nepal, Dr. Scully tells us:--"It breeds freely in the valley at an elevation of 4500 feet. I took many of its nests in the Residency grounds, Rani Jangal, &c., in May, June, and July."

Major C.T. Bingham writes:--"The Indian Tailor-bird breeds in April, May, and June, both at Allahabad and at Delhi. The nest formed of one, two, and occasionally three, leaves neatly sewn so as to form a cone, and lined with the down of the madar, is well known."

Colonel Butler has furnished me with the following note:--

"The Tailor-bird breeds, I fancy, at least twice in the year, as I have seen young birds early in the hot weather both at Mount Aboo and in Deesa, and I have also taken nests in the rains. The nest is usually constructed with much skill and ingenuity. One nest which I took on the 3rd September at Mount Aboo consisted of three leaves cleverly sewn together with raw cotton, leaving a moderate-sized entrance on one side near the top, the inside being lined exclusively with horsehair and fine dry fibres.

"I captured the hen bird with a horsehair noose fixed to the end of a long thin rod as she left the nest. Another nest which I took in Deesa on the 3rd September, 1876, was composed almost entirely of raw cotton with a scanty lining of horsehairs and dry grass-stems. It was fixed to the outside twigs of a lime-tree, two of the leaves of which were sewn to it; two dead leaves were also attached to the nest, one being sewn on each side as a support to the cotton. It was cup-shaped and open at the top, much like a Chaffinch's nest."

Mr. Oates remarks:--"This is a common bird in Burma in the plains, and possibly also on the hills, though I did not observe it on the latter. I found the nest of this species containing young birds in the Thayetmyo cantonment on the 12th August. In the Pegu plains it appears to nest from the middle of May to the end of August."

The eggs are typically long ovals, often tapering much towards the small end. The shells are very thin, delicate, and semi-transparent, and have but little gloss.

The ground-colour is either reddish white or pale bluish green. Of the two types, the reddish white is the more common in the proportion of two to one. The markings consist of bold blotchings or sometimes ill-defined clouds (in this respect recalling the eggs of _Prinia inornata_,) chiefly confined to the large end; and specks, spots, and splashes, extending more or less over the whole surface, typically of a bright brownish red, varying, however, in different examples both in shade and intensity. The markings have a strong tendency to form a bold, irregular zone or cap at the large end, and in some specimens the markings are entirely confined to this portion of the egg's surface.

The eggs, which have a reddish-white ground, though smaller and of a much more elongated shape, closely resemble those of _Suya fuliginosa_.

In length the eggs vary from 0·6 to 0·7, and in breadth from 0·45 to 0·5; but the average of fifty eggs measured is 0·64 by 0·46.

375. Orthotomus atrigularis, Temm. _The Black-necked Tailor-bird_.

Orthotomus atrigularis, _Temm., Hume, cat._ no. 530 bis.

Mr. Mandelli sends me a nest which he assures me belongs to this species, and the bird he sent me for identification certainly did so belong. The nest was found near the great Ranjit River on the 18th July, and then contained three fresh eggs. The nest, which is a regular Tailor-bird's, composed entirely of the finest imaginable panicle-stems of flowering grass, is a deep cup placed in between two living leaves, which have been sewn together at the tips and along the margins from the tip for about half their length, so as to provide a perfect pocket in which the nest rests. The leaves of which the pocket is composed were the terminal ones of the twigs of a sapling, and only about 3 feet from the ground. The leaves are large oval ones, each about 7 inches in length; they have been sewn together with wild silk carefully knotted, exactly as is the practice of the common Tailor-bird.

The eggs of this species are not separable from others of _O. sutorius_, and though they may possibly average somewhat larger, I have not seen enough of them to be able to make sure of this; and as regards shape, colours, and markings the description given of the eggs of _O. sutorius_ applies equally to eggs of this species.

380. Cisticola volitans, Swinh. _The Golden-headed Fantail-Warbler_.

This species was not known to Jerdon, nor was it known to occur in Burma at the time that I issued my Catalogue. Mr. Oates, writing of the breeding of this bird in Southern Pegu, where it is common, says:--"Breeding-operations commence in the middle of May; on the 28th of this month I found two nests, one containing four eggs slightly incubated, and the other two, quite fresh.

"The nest is a small bag about 4 inches in height and 2 or 3 in diameter, with an opening about an inch in diameter near the top. The general shape of the nest is oval. It is composed entirely of the white feathery flowers of the thatch-grass. The walls of the nest are very thin but strong. The nest is placed about one foot from the ground in a bunch of grass, and, in the two instances where I found it, against a weed, with one or two leaves of which the materials of the nest were slightly bound.

"The eggs are very glossy pale blue, spotted all over with large and small blotches of rusty brown. I have no eggs of _C. cursitans_ which match them, in that species the spots being always minute and thickly scattered over the shell, whereas in _O. volitans_ the marks are large and fewer in number. Six eggs measured in length from ·54 to ·57, and in breadth from ·42 to ·43."

381. Cisticola cursitans (Frankl). _The Rufous Fantail-Warbler_.

Cisticola schoenicola, _Bp., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 174; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 539.

The Rufous Fantail-Warbler breeds pretty well all over India and Ceylon, confining itself, as far as my experience goes, to the low country, and never ascending the mountains to any great elevation.

The breeding-season lasts, according to locality, from April to October, but it never breeds with us in dry weather, always laying during rainy months. Very likely at the Nicobars, where it rains pretty well all the year round, March being the only fairly dry month, it may breed at all seasons.