Part 46

Mr. J. Davidson, C.S., is apparently the only ornithologist who has discovered the nest of the White-bellied Minivet. Writing on the 25th August, from Khandeish, he says:--"Yesterday I took two nests of _Pericrocotus erythropygius_. Both nests were like those of _P. peregrinus_, and were placed about 2½ feet from the ground in a fork of a straggling thorn-bush among thin scrub-jungle. One contained 3 young birds, and one 3 hard-set eggs. I watched the nest, and found the cock sitting on the eggs, and watched him for a minute, so there is no possibility of mistake; but the eggs are not the least what I expected. They are fairly glossy, one being very much elongated, of a greenish-grey ground, with long longitudinal dashes of dark brown, as unlike Minivets' eggs as they can possibly be. They were the only two pairs I saw in a long morning walk, and the nests were easily found by watching the birds. I wish I had known the birds were breeding where they were, as by going three weeks ago I should probably have found many nests, as there are miles and miles of similar jungle, and it is barely 12 miles from Dhulia. It is very provoking. I have had great trouble trying to make the Bhils work for me. They will bring in eggs but not mark them down."

Later on, Mr. Davidson wrote:--"I happened to be staying a few days at Arvee, in the extreme south of Dhulia, and found this bird breeding there in considerable numbers. This was in the end of August (26th to 31st), and I was rather late, most of the nests containing young, and in some cases the young were able to fly. I, however, found eight nests with eggs (most of them hard-set). All the nests, which are small and less ornamented than those of _P. peregrinus_, were placed from 3 to 4 feet from the ground, in a small common thorny scrub. They were all placed in low thin jungle, and never where the jungle was thick and difficult to walk through. A great deal of the jungle round Arvee is full of anjan-trees, but none of the birds seem to breed in these."

The nests are elegant little cups, reminding one of those of _Rhipidura albifrontata_, measuring internally about 1·75 inch in diameter and 1 inch in depth, the thickness of the walls of the nest being usually somewhat less than a quarter of an inch. Interiorly the nest is composed of excessively fine flowering-stems of grasses, and externally and on the upper edge it is densely coated with fine, rather silky greyish-white vegetable fibres, in places more or less felted together. It is not ornamented externally with moss and lichen, as those of so many of the _Pericrocoti_ commonly are, only occasionally one or two little ornamental brown patches of withered glossy vegetable scales are worked into the exterior of the nest.

The eggs are not at all like those of the other _Pericrocoti_ with which we are best acquainted; though less densely, and even more streakily marked, they most remind me of the egg of _Volvocivora_, and in a lesser degree of that of _Hemipus picatus_.

The eggs vary in shape from rather broad to rather elongated ovals. The shell is very fine and smooth, but has scarcely any perceptible gloss. The ground-colour is greenish or greyish white, and they are profusely marked with comparatively fine longitudinal streaks of a moderately dark brown, which in some lines is more of a chocolate, in others perhaps more umber. At both ends of the egg, but especially the smaller end, the markings often become spotty or speckly, but the fine longitudinal streaking of the sides of the egg is very conspicuous.

In size the eggs vary from 0·69 to 0·71 in length, by 0·51 to 0·58 in breadth. I have measured too few eggs to be able to give a reliable average.

505. Campophaga melanoschista (Hodgs.). _The Dark-grey Cuckoo-Shrike_.

Volvocivora melaschistos, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 415: _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 269.

I have never found the nest of the Dark-grey Cuckoo-Shrike. Captain Hutton tells us:--

"This, too, is a mere summer visitor in the hills, arriving up to 7000 feet about the end of March, and breeding early in May. The nest is small and shallow, placed in the bifurcation of a horizontal bough of some tall oak tree, and always high up; it is composed externally almost entirely of grey lichens picked from the tree, and lined with bits of very fine roots or thin stalks of leaves. Seen from beneath the tree the nest appears like a bunch of moss or lichens, and the smallness and frailty would lead one to suppose it incapable of holding two young birds of such size. Externally the nest is compactly held together by being thickly pasted over with cobwebs. The eggs, two in number, of a dull grey-green, closely and in part confluently dashed with streaks of dusky brown."

This species, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes and drawings, breeds in Nepal in the central districts of the hills from April to July, laying three or four eggs. The nest is a broad shallow saucer, some 4 inches in external diameter and 1·75 inch in height; it is placed in a fork where two or three slender branches divide, to one or more of which it is firmly bound with vegetable fibres and grass-roots, and is composed of fine roots and vegetable fibres, and plastered over externally with pieces of lichen and moss. The eggs are regular ovals, with a pale-greenish ground, blotched and spotted with a somewhat olivaceous brown.

A nest of this species found at Mongphoo (elevation 5500 feet) on the 15th June contained three eggs nearly ready to hatch off. The nest was placed on a nearly horizontal fork of a small branch. It is composed of very fine twigs loosely twisted together and coated everywhere exteriorly with cobwebs and scraps of grey lichen. At the lower part, which, owing to the slope of the branch, had to be thicker, it is exteriorly about an inch and a half in height. At the upper end it is only about half an inch high. The shallow saucer-like cavity is about two and a half inches in diameter and about half an inch in depth.

The eggs of this species, sent me by Captain Hutton from Mussoorie, much resemble those of _Graucalus macii_ and _C. sykesi_, but they are decidedly longer than the latter, and the general tone of their colouring is somewhat duller. In shape they are somewhat elongated ovals, more or less compressed towards one end; the general colour is greenish white, very thickly blotched and streaked with dull brown and very pale purple. The markings are very closely set, leaving but little of the ground-colour visible. They have little or no gloss.

They measure 1·03 by 0·72 inch, and 0·95 by 0·68 inch.

Other eggs that I have since obtained have been quite similar, but have not had the markings quite so densely set: the secondary markings have been greyer and less purple, and several eggs have exhibited an appreciable gloss; others, again, were quite like those first described and entirely devoid of gloss. They measured 0·9 to 0·98 in length by 0·65 to 0·71 in breadth.

508. Campophaga sykesi (Strickl.). _The Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike_.

Volvocivora sykesii (_Strickl.), Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 414; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 268.

Mr. F.R. Blewitt took the eggs of Sykes's Cuckoo-Shrike many years ago. He furnishes the following note:--

"I first met with this bird in the southern part of Bundlekund. Nowhere here is it common, and I have never seen more than a pair together. It is to be found in wooded tracts of country, but more frequently among thin large trees surrounding villages. Dr. Jerdon has correctly described its restless habits, and its careful examination of the foliage and branches of trees for food. It is usually a silent bird, but during the earlier portion of the breeding-season the male bird may frequently be heard repeating for minutes together his clear plaintive notes. Each time, as it flies from one tree to another, the song is repeated. The flight is easy, slightly undulating, and the strokes of the wing somewhat rapid. In the latter end of July I procured one nest. It was found on a mowa-tree (_Bassia latifolia_), placed on and at the end of two small out-shooting branches. When my man, mounting the tree, approached the nest the parent birds evinced the greatest anxiety, flew just above his head, uttering all the while a sharply repeated cry. Even when one of the birds was shot the other would not leave the spot, but remained hovering about and uttering its shrill cry. The nest is slightly made, and constructed of thin twigs and roots; the exterior is covered slightly with spider's web. If we except the size, the formation of this Cuckoo-Shrike's nest is almost identical with that of _Graucalus macii_. I secured two eggs in the nest. In colour they are, when fresh, of a deepish green, mottled with dark brown spots; indeed the eggs, when first taken, a good deal resemble those of _Copsychus saularis_. The maximum number of eggs, no doubt, is three, as those I secured were fresh-laid. The bird breeds from June to August."

The nest above referred to, and now in my museum, was a very shallow, rather broad cup. The egg-cavity about 2½ inches in diameter and about ¾ inch deep, and the nest very loosely put together of very fine twigs, and exteriorly coated and bound together with cobwebs. The sides of the nest are about 0·6 inch thick, but the bottom is a mere network of slender twigs, not above ¼ inch thick, and can be readily looked through.

Mr. I. Macpherson writes:--"This bird is found in the open scrub-forests of the Mysore district, but is nowhere common.

"14th May, 1880.--While passing a small sandal-wood tree a bird flew out, and on looking into the tree I found a very shallow nest at the junction of two small branches about 10 feet from the ground; the nest contained three eggs.

"Returned again in a quarter of an hour and shot the bird (the male) as it flew out of the tree. The eggs were within a few days of being hatched off.

"20th May, 1880.--While out driving this morning saw a male bird of this species fly out of a small sandal-wood tree close to the roadside. Pulled up to watch, and shortly saw the female bird fly into the tree. Got out and shot her and took the nest, which was beautifully fixed in a fork with three branches only eight feet from the ground.

"The nest contained three eggs very hard-set."

Mr. J. Davidson, C.S., remarks:--"This pretty little Cuckoo-Shrike is one of the earliest migrants in the rains, arriving about the 8th of June, and breeding all along the scrub-jungles which stretch between the Nasik and Khandeish Collectorates. It appears particularly partial to the Angan forest, and, as far as I remember, all the many nests I have seen have been in forks of angan trees. The nest is a pretty firm platform composed of fine roots; and the eggs, which much resemble those of the Magpie-Robin, are three in number."

Colonel Legge writes, in his 'Birds of Ceylon':--"With us this Cuckoo-Shrike breeds in April in the Western Province. Mr. MacVicar writes me of the discovery, by himself, of two nests last year near Colombo. One was built on the topmost branch of a young jack-tree about 40 feet high. It was very small and shallow, measuring 2·8 inches in breadth and only 0·8 inch in depth, and the old bird could be seen plainly from beneath sitting across it. The other was situated on the top of a tree about 20 feet from the ground, and was built in the same manner. The materials are not mentioned."

I have only seen two eggs of this species, sent me with the nest and parent bird by Mr. F.R. Blewitt. They are oval eggs, moderately broad and obtuse at both ends, about the same size as average eggs of _Lanius vittatus_. They are slightly glossy, have a pale greenish-white ground, and are thickly blotched and streaked throughout, but most densely so towards the large end, with somewhat pale brown, much the same colour as the markings on typical eggs of _L. erythronotus_. They measure 0·85 inch in length by 0·65 and 0·68 inch in breadth respectively. Other eggs since received from Calcutta and Mysore measure from 0·87 to 0·81 in length, and from 0·68 to 0·62 in breadth.

509. Campophaga terat (Bodd.)[A]. _The Pied Cuckoo-Shrike_.

[Footnote A: I cannot find any note among Mr. Hume's papers regarding the discovery of the nest of this bird. The nest may possibly have been found at Camorta (Nicobar Islands), where this species is not uncommon.--ED.]

Lalage terat (_Bodd.), Hume, cat._ no, 269 ter.

The eggs are quite of the _Graucalus_ and _Campophaga_ type, but perhaps a little more elongated in shape. Very regular, slightly elongated ovals, with scarcely any gloss on them, the ground greenish white, but everywhere thickly streaked and mottled and freckled over, most thickly about the large end, with a dull pale slightly olivaceous brown intermingled with brownish, or in some specimens faintly purplish grey. The two eggs I possess measure 0·85 and 0·87 in length, by 0·61 and 0·62 respectively in breadth.

510. Graucalus macii, Lesson. _The Large Cuckoo-Shrike_.

Graucalus macei, _Less., Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 417; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 270.

My friend Mr. F.R. Blewitt seems to be the only ornithologist who has taken many nests of the Large Grey Cuckoo-Shrike. I never was so fortunate as to find one. He says:--"This Shrike begins to pair about May, and in June the work of nidification commences. The place selected for the nest is the most lofty branch of a tree, and is built near the fork of two outlying twigs. If this bird has a preference it would appear to be for mango and mowa trees, on which I found most of the nests. The nest is in form circular, and its exterior is somewhat thickly made; the interior is moderately cup-shaped. Thin twigs and grass-roots are freely used in its construction, while the outer part of the nest is somewhat thickly covered with what appears to be spider's web. Altogether the nest, considering the size of the birds, is of light structure. I am sorry I did not take the dimensions of each nest secured, but I sent you two very perfect ones. I found the first eggs in the beginning of July. They are of a dull lightish green, with brown spots of all sizes, more dense towards the large end. The maximum number of eggs is three. The bird breeds from June to August."

The nests which Mr. Blewitt sent me remind one a good deal of those of the _Dicruri_. They are broad shallow saucers, with an egg-cavity about 3 inches in diameter, and ¾ inch in depth, composed in the only two specimens that I possess of very fine twigs, chiefly those of the furash (_Tamarix orientalis_). Exteriorly they are bound round with cobwebs, in which a quantity of lichen is incorporated. The nests are loose flimsy fabrics, which but for the exterior coating of cobwebs would certainly never have borne removal.

Dr. Jerdon remarks:--"I once obtained its nest and eggs. The nest was built in a lofty casuarina tree, close to my house at Tellicherry; it was composed of small twigs and roots merely, of Moderate size, and rather deeply cup-shaped, and contained three eggs, of a greenish-fawn colour, with large blotches of purplish brown."

Professor H. Littledale writing from Baroda says:--"The Large Cuckoo-Shrike is a permanent resident here. I found six nests last August near Baroda, each with one egg; and my men found a nest building in the Police Lines at Khaira on the 10th October."

Mr. J. Davidson informs us that "a pair of _Graucalus macii_ were apparently breeding near this place (the Kondabhari Ghât). He found a nest with two young in the previous September near the same place."

Mr. G.W. Vidal, referring to the South Konkan, says:--"Common; breeds in February and March."

A nest that was placed in the fork of a bough was composed entirely of slender twigs, the petioles of some pennated-leaved tree, bound together all round the outside with abundance of cobwebs, so that notwithstanding the incoherent nature of the materials the nest was extremely firm. It is a shallow saucer quite of the Dicrurine type, with a cavity 3 inches in diameter and barely 0·75 in depth.

The eggs are typically of a somewhat elongated oval, a good deal pointed towards one end, but some are broader and more of a typical Shrike shape. The eggs are of course considerably larger than those of _Lanius lahtora_. The shell is compact and fine, and faintly glossy. The ground-colour is a palish-green stone-colour, greener in some, and somewhat more creamy in others. The markings are very Shrike-like, and consist of brown blotches, streaks, and spots, with numerous clouds and blotches of pale inky-purple, which appear to underlie the brown markings. The markings in some eggs are all very faint, and, as it were, half washed out, while in others they are very bright and clear. In some these are comparatively sparse and few; in others close-set and numerous, especially in a broad zone near the large end; but this zone is by no means invariably present; in fact, not above one in five eggs exhibit it. There is something in these eggs which reminds one of some of the Terns' eggs; and although, when compared with a large series of _L. lahtora_, individuals of this latter species may be found resembling them to a certain extent, I do not think that at first sight any zoologist would have felt sure that they _were_ Shrike's eggs.

They vary in length from 1·12 to 1·41 inch, and in breadth from 0·8 to 0·95 inch, but the average of eight eggs is 1·26 by 0·9 inch nearly.

Subfamily ARTAMINAE.

512. Artamus fuscus, Vieill. _The Ashy Swallow-Shrike_.

Artamus fuscus, _V., Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 441; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 287.

Mr. R. Thompson says:--"I have frequently found the nests of the Ashy Swallow-Shrike, and have watched the old birds constructing them, but never took down their eggs. Two or three pairs may always be found nesting on the long-leaved pine, as one comes up from Kaladoongee to Nyneetal and passes halfway up from the first dâk chokee at Ghutgurh. They lay in May and June, constructing their nest on the horizontal extension of a main branch of some lofty tree, generally _Pinus longifolia_. The nest, composed of fine grasses, roots, and fibres, is a loose, only slightly cup-shaped structure, some 5 inches in diameter."

Dr. Jerdon says on the other hand:--"I have procured the nest of this bird situated on a palmyra tree on the stem of the leaf. It was a deep cup-shaped nest, made of grass, leaves, and numerous feathers, and contained two eggs, white with a greenish tinge, and with light brown spots, chiefly at the larger end. I see that Mr. Layard procured the nest in Ceylon, where this bird is common, in the heads of cocoanut trees, made of fibres and grasses, and it was probably the nest of this bird that was brought to Tickell as that of the Palm-Swift."

According to Mr. Hodgson this species begins to lay in March, the young being fledged in June; the nest is a broad shallow saucer, from 6 to 8 inches in diameter, composed of grass and roots, together with a little lichen, loosely put together, a green leaf or two being sometimes found as a lining to the nest. The nest is placed on some broad horizontal branch, where two or three slender twigs or shoots grow out of it, or on the top of some stump of a tree, or broken end of a branch, generally, at a considerable height from the ground. The eggs are _figured_ as white, spotted and blotched almost exclusively at the large end with yellowish brown, and measuring 0·8 by 0·52 inch, but no actual measurements are recorded.

Mr. Gammie, however, himself found, and kindly sent me, a nest and eggs of this species, at Mongpho near Darjeeling, at an elevation of about 3500 feet, on the 13th May, 1873. It was placed in the hole of a trunk of a dead tree at a height of about 40 feet from the ground, and it contained three hard-set eggs. The nest was a loose shallow saucer of coarse roots devoid of lining. The eggs were rather narrow ovals, a good deal pointed towards one end; the shell fine and with a slight gloss. The ground-colour was creamy white, and the markings, which are almost entirely confined to a broad ring round the large end and the space within it, consisted of spots and clouds of very pale yellowish brown, intermingled with clouds and specks of excessively pale, nearly washed out, lilac.

He subsequently furnished me with the following note from Sikhim:--"In the hills this bird is migratory, coming about the last week in February and leaving in the last week of October. It is exceedingly abundant on the outer ridges running in from the Teesta Valley, and most numerous about the elevation of 3000 feet, but stragglers get up as high as 5000 feet. It prefers dry ridges on which there are a few scattered tall trees, from the tops of which it can make short flights, over the open country, after insects. It goes very little abroad in the height of the day, and feeds principally in the evenings. It rarely keeps on the wing for more than a minute or two at a time, but occasionally will fly for ten minutes on end. It is quite as bold and persevering in its habit of attacking and driving off hawks and kites as the king-crow. Towards the end of September it begins to congregate in rows along dead branches in the tops of trees.

"It begins to lay in April and, I think, has only one brood in the year. It builds in holes of trees, on surfaces of large horizontal branches 30 or 40 feet up, or in depressions in ends of lofty stumps. The nest is a shallow saucer, made entirely of light-coloured roots and twigs loosely put together. The usual number of eggs appears to be three."