Part 48

The eggs are typically a moderately elongated oval, tapering a good deal towards one end, but they vary much in shape as well as size. Some are pyriform, and some very long and cylindrical, quite the shape of the egg of a Cormorant or Solan Goose, or that of a Diver. They are always of a pure excessively glossy china-white, which, when they are fresh and unblown, appears suffused with a delicate salmon-pink, caused by the partial translucency of the shell. Well-defined spots and specks, typically black, are more or less thinly sprinkled over the surface of the egg, chiefly at the large end. Normally, as I said, the spots are black and sharply defined, and there are neither blotches nor splashes, but numerous variations occur. Sometimes, as in an egg sent me by Mr. Nunn, all the spots are pale yellowish brown. Sometimes, as in an egg I took at Bareilly, a few spots of this colour are mingled with the black ones. Deep reddish brown often takes the place of the typical black, and the spots are not very unfrequently surrounded by a more or less extensive brownish-pink nimbus, which in one egg I have is so extensive that the ground-colour of the whole of the large end appears to be a delicate pink. Occasionally several of the clear-cut spots appear to run together and form a coarse irregular blotch, and one egg I possess exhibits on one side a large splash. The eggs as a body, as might have been expected, closely resemble those of the Golden Oriole, to which the bird itself is so nearly related; and as observed by Professor Newton in regard to the eggs of that species, so in _my_ large series, the prevalence of greatly elongated examples is remarkable.

The eggs vary in length from 1·03 to 1·32, and from 0·75 to 0·87 in breadth; but the average of fifty eggs measured was 1·11 by 0·81.

521. Oriolus melanocephalus(Linn.). _The Indian Black-headed Oriole_.

Oriolus melanocephalus, _Linn., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 110; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E_ no. 472. Oriolus ceylonensis, _Bonap., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 111.

I have already noticed ('Stray Feathers,' vol. i, p. 439) how impossible it is to draw any hard-and-fast line, in practice, between this the so-called "Bengal Black-headed Oriole" and the supposed distinct southern species, _O. ceylonensis_, Bp.

The present species certainly breeds in suitable (i.e. well-wooded and not too bare or arid) localities throughout Northern and Central India, Assam, and Burma, and I have specimens from Mahableshwar, from the Nilgiris, and even Anjango, that are nearer to typical _O. melanocephalus_ than to typical _O. ceylonensis_. Of its nidification southwards I know nothing. I have only myself taken its eggs in the neighbourhood of Calcutta.

It appears to lay from April to the end of August. The nest of this species, though perhaps slightly deeper, is very much like that of _O. kundoo_; it is a deep cup, carefully suspended between two twigs, and is composed chiefly of tow-like vegetable fibres, thin slips of bark and the like, and is internally lined with very fine tamarisk twigs or fine grass, and is externally generally more or less covered over with odds and ends, bits of lichen, thin flakes of bark, &c. It is slightly smaller than the average run of the nests of _O. kundoo_. The egg-cavity measures about 3 inches in diameter and nearly 2 inches in depth. I myself have never found more than three eggs, but I daresay that, like _O. kundoo_, it may not unfrequently lay four.

The late Captain Beavan writes:--"A nest with three eggs, brought to me in Manbhoom on 5th April, 1865, is cup-shaped; interior diameter 3·5, depth inside 2 inches. It is composed outside of woolly fibres, flax, and bits of dried leaves, and inside of bents and small dried twigs, the whole compact and neat. The eggs are of a light pink ground (almost flesh-coloured), with a few scattered spots of brownish pink, darker and more numerous at the blunt end. They measure 1·125 by barely 0·8."

From Raipoor, Mr. F.R. Blewitt remarks:--"_Oriolus melanocephalus_ indiscriminately selects the mango, mowah, or any other kind of large tree for its nest, which is invariably firmly attached to the extreme terminal twigs of an upper horizontal branch, varying from 20 to 35 feet from the ground. Owing to the position it selects for the safety of its nest, it sometimes happens that the latter cannot be secured without the destruction of the eggs. It nidificates in June and July, and it would appear that both the birds, male and female, engage in the construction of the nest. Three is the normal number of the eggs, though on one occasion my shikaree found four in a nest."

Buchanan Hamilton tells us that this species "frequents the groves and gardens of Bengal during the whole year, and builds a very rude nest of bamboo-leaves and the fibres that invest the top of the cocoanut or other palms. In March I found a nest with the young unfledged."

I confess that I believe this to be a mistake: neither season nor nest correspond with what I have myself seen about Calcutta. The nests, so far from being _rude_, are very neat.

Mr. J.R. Cripps writes from Furreedpore in Eastern Bengal:--"Very common, and a permanent resident. On the 20th April I found a nest containing two half-fledged young ones; in the garden was a clump of mango-trees, and attached to one of the outer twigs, but overhung by a lot of leaves, and about 12 feet from the ground, hung the nest, of the usual type."

Mr. J. Davidson met with this Oriole on the Kondabhari Ghât in Khandeish. On the 16th August he saw a brood, while on an adjoining tree there was a nest with two slightly-set eggs. He says:--"It was a very deep cup on the end of a thin branch, and though in cutting the branch to get at the nest, it got turned at right angles to its proper position, the eggs were uninjured. I do not think this nest belonged to the same pair as that which had young ones flying.

"These Orioles are very common here, and I found three nests: one was new and empty; from another the birds had just flown; while the remaining one contained one fresh egg. The bird would no doubt have laid more; but to get at the nest I had to cut the branch off, and it was only then I discovered that only one egg had been laid."

Major C.T. Bingham says:--"Plentiful at Allahabad across the Ganges, notwithstanding which I only found one nest, and that I have no note about, but I remember it was some time in June, and contained four half-fledged young ones; the materials of the nest were the same as those used by _O. kundoo_."

Writing of his experience in Tenasserim he adds:--"On the 5th March I found a nest of this bird in a small tree near the village of Hpamee. It, however, contained three unfledged young, so I left it alone.

"On the 21st April I found a second nest suspended from the tip of a bamboo that overhung the path from Shwaobah village to Hpamee. This contained two awfully hard-set eggs, white, with a few dark purple blotches and spots at the larger ends. Nest made of grass and dry bamboo-leaves, lined with the dry midribs of leaves, and firmly bound on to the fork of the bamboo with a strip of some bark."

Mr. Oates writes from Pegu:--"My nests of this Oriole have been found in March, April, and May, but I have no doubt they also breed in June. No details appear necessary."

Typically the eggs are somewhat elongated ovals, only slightly compressed towards one end, but pyriform as well as more pointed varieties may be met with. The shell is very fine and moderately glossy. The ground-colour varies from a creamy or pinky white to a decided but very pale salmon-colour. They are sparingly spotted and streaked with dark brown and pale inky purple. In most eggs the markings are more numerous towards the large end. Some have no markings elsewhere. The dark spots, especially towards the large end, are not unfrequently more or less enveloped in a reddish-pink nimbus. Though much larger and much more glossy, some of the eggs, so far as shape, colour, and markings go, exactly resemble some of the eggs of _Dicrurus ater_. The eggs of _O. kundoo_ are typically excessively glossy china-white, with few well-defined black spots. The eggs of _O. melanocephalus_ are typically somewhat less glossy, with a pinky ground and more numerous and less defined brownish-purple spots and streaks. I have not yet seen one egg of either species that could be mistaken for one of the other, although of course abnormal varieties of each approach each other more closely than do the typical forms.

The dozen eggs that I possess of this species vary from 1·1 to 1·2 in length, and from 0·78 to 0·87 in breadth, and the average is 1·14 by 0·82. Although the average is somewhat larger than that of the preceding species, and although none of the eggs are quite _as_ small as many of those of _O. kundoo_, still none are nearly so large as the finest specimens of the latter's egg. Probably had I an equally large series of the eggs of the present species, we should find that as regards size there was no perceptible difference between the two.

522. Oriolus traillii (Vigors). _The Maroon Oriole_.

Oriolus traillii (_Vig._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 112; _Hume, cat._ no. 474.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"I took a nest of this Oriole on the 24th April, at an elevation of about 2500 feet. It was suspended, within ten feet of the ground, from an outer fork of a branch of a small leafy tree, which grew in a patch of low dense jangle. It is a neat cup, composed of fibrous bark and strips of the outer part of dry grass-stems, intermixed with skeletonized leaves and green moss, and lined with fine grass. Besides being firmly bound by the rim of the cup to the horizontal forking branches by fibrous barks, several strings extended from one branch to the other, both under and in front of the nest, while other strings from the body of the nest were fastened to an upright twig that rose immediately behind the fork, thus most securely retaining it in its position.

"Externally the nest measured 5 inches wide by 2·75 in height; internally 3·25 wide by 2 deep. It contained three fresh eggs.

"The female came quite close, making loud complaints against the robbing of her nest."

The nest is that of a typical Oriole, usually very firmly and substantially built, and of course always suspended at a fork between two twigs. A nest taken by Mr. Gammie in Sikhim on the 20th April, at an elevation of about 2500 feet, is a deep substantial cup, nearly 4 inches in diameter and 2½ in depth internally. It is everywhere nearly an inch in thickness. The suspensory portion composed of vegetable fibres; towards the exterior dead leaves, bamboo-sheaths, green moss, and tendrils of creeping plants are profusely intermingled; interiorly, it is closely and regularly lined with very fine grass.

A nest sent me by Mr. Mandelli was found on the 3rd April at Namtchu, and contained three fresh eggs. It is precisely similar to the one above described, except that in the lining roots are mingled with the fine grass, and that instead of being suspended in a fork, it was

## partly wedged into and partly rested on a fork.

As a rule, however, as I know from other nests subsequently obtained, the nests are always suspended like those of the Common Oriole.

Two eggs of this species obtained by Mr. Gammie closely resemble those of _O. melanocephalus_. In shape they are regular moderately elongated ovals; the shell is strong, firm, and moderately glossy. The ground is white with a creamy or brownish-pink tinge; the markings are blackish-brown spots and specks, almost confined to a zone about the large end, where they are all more or less enveloped in a brownish-red haze or _nimbus_. In length they measure 1·12 by 0·82, and 1·14 by 0·83.

Family EULABETIDAE

523. Eulabes religiosa (Linn.). _Jerd. B. Southern Grackle_.

Eulabes religiosa (_Linn.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 337; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 692.

The Southern Grackle breeds in Southern India and Ceylon from March to October.

Mr. Frank Bourdillon, writing from Travancore, gives me the following account of the eggs. He says:--"This bird, an abundant resident, lays a blue egg pretty evenly marked with brown spots, some light and some darkish, in a nest of straw and feathers in a hole of a tree generally a considerable height from the ground.

"I have only taken one nest, which contained a single egg slightly set, on 23rd March, 1873, the egg measuring 1·37 long and 0·87 broad."

Later Mr. Bourdillon says:--"Since writing the foregoing I took on 21st April two fresh eggs from the nest of a Southern Hill-Mynah (_Eulabes religiosa_). The nest was of grass, feathers, and odds and ends in a hole in a nanga (_Mesua coromandeliana_) stump, about 25 feet from the ground. The eggs of this Mynah are blue, with purplish and more decided brown spots.

"I am _positive_ as to the identity of the egg. Both the eggs taken last year and the two taken the other day were obtained under my personal supervision. In both instances I watched the birds building, and when we robbed the nests saw the female fly off them."

These two eggs sent me by Mr. Bourdillon are very beautiful. In shape they are very gracefully elongated ovals; the shell is very fine and smooth, but has only a rather faint gloss. The ground-colour is a delicate pale sea-green or greenish blue, and the eggs are more or less profusely spotted or splashed with purplish, or, in some spots, chocolate-brown and a very pale purple, which looks more like the stain that might be supposed to be left by one of the more decided coloured markings that had been partially washed out than anything else.

The eggs measure 1·37 by 0·9 and 1·35 by 0·87.

Mr. J. Darling, junior, writes:--"The Southern Grackle breeds in the S. Wynaad rather plentifully, and I have had numbers of tame ones brought up from the nest, but have never succeeded in getting a perfect egg owing to my having found all the nests in very hard places to get at.

"I cut down a tree containing a nest and broke all the eggs, which must have been very pretty--blue ground, very regularly marked with purplish-brown spots. The nest was composed of sticks, twigs, feathers, and some snake-skin. I have found them in March, April, September, and October. I hope this year to get a number of eggs, as Culputty is a very good place for them."

Mr. C J.W. Taylor notes from Manzeerabad in Mysore:--

"Common up in the wooded portions of the district. Breeding in April and May."

Mr. T. Fulton Bourdillon, speaking of this Grackle in Travancore, says:--"This bird lays one or two light blue eggs beautifully blotched with purple in the holes of trees. It does not like heavy jungle, but after a clearing has been felled and burnt it is sure to appear. During the fine weather it is very abundant on the hills, descending to the low country at the foot when the rains have fairly set in. The nest scarcely deserves the name, being only a few dead leaves or some powdered wood at the bottom of the hole, and there about the end of March the egg or eggs are laid. The young birds, which can be taught to speak and become very tame, are often taken by the natives, as they can sell them in the low country. I have obtained on the following dates eggs and young birds:--

"March 29th. One egg slightly set. April 20th. Two young birds. April 22nd. " " April 25th. Two eggs slightly set. May 2nd. One young bird.

"I also had three eggs, slightly set, brought me on May 21. They are rather smaller and a deeper blue than the ones obtained before, being 1·25 x 1, 1·19 x ·95, 1·21 x ·97 inch. They were all out of the same nest, so that the bird sometimes lays three eggs, though the usual number is two."

Colonel Legge writes in the 'Birds of Ceylon':--"The Black Myna was breeding in the Pasdun Korale on the occasion of a visit I made to that part in August, but I did not procure its eggs."

Other eggs subsequently sent me by Mr. Bourdillon from Mynall, in Southern Travancore, taken on the 9th and 13th April, 1875, are precisely similar to those already described. The eggs that I have measured have only varied from 1·22 to 1·37 in length, and from 0·86 to 0·9 in width.

524. Eulabes intermedia[A] (A. Hay). _The Indian Grackle_.

[Footnote A: Mr. Hume does not recognize _E. javanensis_ and _E. intermedia_ as distinct. The following account refers to the nidification of the latter, except perhaps Major Bingham's later note, in which he states that he procured two distinct sizes of eggs in the Meplay valley (Thoungyeen). It is very probable that Major Bingham found the nests of both species on this occasion. I have seen no specimen of _E. javanensis_ from the Thoungyeen valley, but at Malewun, further south, it occurs along with _E. intermedia_.--ED.]

Eulabes intermedia (_A. Hay_), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 339. Eulabes javanensis (_Osbeck_), _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 693.

The Indian Grackle, under which name I include _E. andamanensis_, Tytler, breeds, I know, in the Nepal Terai and in the Kumaon Bhabur; and many are the young birds that I have seen extracted by the natives out of holes, high up in large trees, in the old anti-mutiny days when we used to go tiger-shooting in these grand jungles. I never saw the eggs however, which, I think, must have all been hatched off in May, when we used to be out.

"In the Andamans," writes Davison, "they breed in April and May, building a nest of grass, dried leaves, &c. in holes of trees." He also, however, never took the eggs.

Mr. J.R. Cripps tells us that this species is "common during March to October in Dibrugarh, after which it retires to the hills which border the east and south of the district. About the tea-gardens of Dibrugarh there are always a number of dead trees standing, and in these the Grackles nest, choosing those that are rotten, in which they excavate a hole. I have seen numbers of nests, but as these were so high up and the tree so long dead and rotten, no native would risk going up."

Mr. J. Inglis notes from Cachar:--"This Hill-Mynah is common in the hilly district. It breeds in the holes of trees during April, May, and June."

Major C.T. Bingham writes from Tenasserim:--"I saw several nest-holes of this bird, which was very common in the Reserve, but none of them were accessible; and it wasn't till the 18th April that I chanced on one in a low tree, the nest being in the hollow of a stump of a broken branch. It was composed and loosely put together of grass, leaves, and twigs, and contained three half-fledged young and one addled egg of a light blue colour, spotted, chiefly at the large end with purplish brown."

The eggs very similar to those of _E. religiosa_, but, what is very surprising, it is very considerably _smaller_.

Of _E. religiosa_ the eggs vary from 1·2 to 1·37 in length, and from 0·86 to 0·9 in breadth, and the average of eight is 1·31 by 0·88.

This present egg only measures 1·12 by 0·8, and it must, I should fancy, be abnormally small.

In shape it is an extremely regular oval. The ground is a pale greenish blue, and it is spotted and blotched pretty thickly at the large end (where all the larger markings are) and very thinly at the smaller end with purple and two shades (a darker and lighter one) of chocolate-brown, the latter colour much predominating. The shell is very fine and close, but has but little gloss.

And later on Major Bingham again wrote:--"One of the commonest and most widely spread birds in the province. The following is an account of its nidification:--

"This bird lays two distinct sizes of eggs, all, however, of the same type and coloration. Out of holes in neighbouring trees, on the bank of the Meplay, on the 13th March, 1880, I took two nests, one containing three, and the other two eggs. The first lot of eggs measured respectively 1·15 x 0·77, 1·15 x 0·80, and 1·16 x 0·79 inch; while those in the second nest 1·30 x 0·95, and 1·27 x 0·93 inch respectively. All the eggs, however, are a pale blue, spotted chiefly at the larger end with light chocolate. The nests were in natural hollows in the trees, and lined with grass and leaves loosely put together."

The eggs apparently vary extraordinarily in size; they are generally more or less elongated ovals, some slightly pyriform and slightly obtuse at both ends, some rather pointed towards the small end. The shell in all is very fine and compact and smooth, but some have scarcely any appreciable gloss, while others have a really fine gloss. The ground-colour is pretty uniform in all, a delicate pale greenish blue. The markings are always chiefly confined to one end, usually the broad end; even about the large end they are never very dense, and elsewhere they are commonly very sparse or almost or altogether wanting. In some eggs the markings are pretty large irregular blotches mingled with small spots and specks, but in many eggs again the largest spot does not exceed one twelfth of an inch in diameter. In colour these markings are normally a chocolate, often with more or less of a brown tinge, in some of the small spots so thickly laid on as to be almost black, in many of the larger blotches becoming only a pale reddish purple, or here and there a pale purplish grey. In some eggs all the markings are pale and washed out, in others all are sharply defined and intense in colour. Occasionally some of the smaller spots become almost a yellowish brown.

526. Eulabes ptilogenys (Blyth). _The Ceylon Grackle_.

Eulabes ptilogenys (_Bl.), Hume, cat._ no. 693 bis.

Colonel Legge writes in his 'Birds of Ceylon':--"This species breeds in June, July, and August, laying its eggs in a hole of a tree, or in one which has been previously excavated by the Yellow-fronted Barbet or Red Woodpecker. It often nests in the sugar- or kitool-palm, and in one of these trees in the Peak forest I took its eggs in the month of August. There was an absence of all nest or lining at the bottom of the hole, the eggs, which were two in number, being deposited on the bare wood. The female was sitting at the time, and was being brought fruit and berries by the male bird. While the eggs were being taken the birds flew round repeatedly, and settled on an adjacent tree, keeping up a loud whistling. The eggs are obtuse-ended ovals, of a pale greenish-blue ground-colour (one being much paler than the other), sparingly spotted with large and small spots of lilac-grey, and blotched over this with a few neutral-brown and sepia blots. They measure from 1·3 to 1·32 inch in length by 0·96 to 0·99 in breadth."

527. Calornis chalybeïus (Horsf.). _The Glossy Calornis_.