Part 9

The Eastern Variegated Laughing-Thrush breeds only at elevations of from 4000 to 7000 or 8000 feet, from Simla to Nepal, during the latter half of April, May, and June. The nest is a pretty compact, rather shallow cup, composed exteriorly of coarse grass, in which a few dead leaves are intermingled; it has no lining, but the interior is composed of rather finer and softer grass than the exterior, and a good number of dry needle-like fir-leaves are used towards the interior. It is from 5 to 8 inches in diameter exteriorly, and the cavity from 3 inches to 3·5 in diameter and about 2 inches deep. The nest is usually placed in some low, densely-foliaged branch of a tree, at say from 3 to 8 feet from the ground; but I recently obtained one placed in a thick tuft of grass, growing at the roots of a young Deodar, not above 6 inches from the ground. They lay four or five eggs.

The first egg that I obtained of this species, sent me by Sir E.C. Buck, C.S., and taken by himself near Narkunda, late in June, out of a nest containing two eggs and two young ones, was a nearly perfect, rather long oval, and precisely the same type of egg as those of _T. erythrocephalum_ and _T. cachinnans_, but considerably smaller than the former. The ground-colour is a pale, rather dingy greenish blue, and it is blotched, spotted, and speckled, almost exclusively at the larger end, and even there not very thickly, with reddish brown. The egg appeared to have but little gloss. Other eggs subsequently obtained by myself were very similar, but slightly larger and rather more thickly and boldly blotched, the majority of the markings being still at the large end.

The colour of the markings varies a good deal: a liver-red is perhaps the most common, but yellowish brown, pale purple, purplish red, and brownish red also occur. Here and there an egg is met with almost entirely devoid of markings, with perhaps only one moderately large spot and a dozen specks, and these so deep a red as to be all but black.

The eggs vary from 1·07 to 1·15 in length, and from 0·76 to 0·82 in breadth.

91. Trochalopterum simile, Hume. _The Western Variegated Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopterum simile, _Hume; Hume, Cat._ no. 418 bis.

Messrs. Cock and Marshall write from Murree:--"The nidification of this _Trochalopterum_ was apparently unknown before. We found one nest on the 15th June, about twenty feet up a spruce-fir at the extremity of the bough. Nest deep, cup-shaped, solidly built of grass, roots, and twigs; the bird sits close. Eggs light greenish blue, sparingly spotted with pale purple, the same size as those of _Merula castanea_."

92. Trochalopterum squamatum (Gould). _The Blue-winged Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopteron squamatum (_Gould), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 46; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 420.

From Sikhim my friend Mr. Gammie writes:--"I have never as yet found more than one nest of the Blue-winged Laughing-Thrush, and this one was found on the 18th May at Mongphoo, at an elevation of about 3500 feet. The nest was placed in a bush (one of the _Zingiberaceae_), growing in a marshy place, in the midst of dense scrub, at a height of about 4 feet from the ground, and was firmly attached to several upright stems. It was composed of dry bamboo-leaves, held together by the stems of delicate creepers, and was lined with a few black fibres. It was cup-shaped, and measured externally 5·7 in diameter by 3·6 in height, and internally 3·7 in width by 2·6 in depth. The nest contained three eggs, which were unfortunately almost ready to hatch off, so that three is probably the normal number of the eggs."

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes the Blue-winged Laughing-Thrush breeds in May and June in the central region of Nepal in forests, at elevations of from 2000 to 6000 feet. The nest is placed in a fork of a branch on some small tree, and is a large mass of dry leaves and coarse dry grass, 7 or 8 inches in diameter externally, mortar-shaped, the cavity about 2·5 deep, and lined with hair-like fibres. The nest, though composed of loose materials, is very firm and compact. They lay four or five eggs, unspotted, verditer-blue, one of which is figured as a broad regular oval, only slightly compressed towards one end, measuring 1·2 by 0·9.

One of the eggs taken by Mr. Gammie (the others were unfortunately broken) is a long, almost cylindrical, oval, very obtuse at both ends and slightly compressed towards the smaller end, so that the egg has a pyriform tendency. It measures 1·25 by 0·82. The colour is an excessively pale greenish blue, precisely the same as that of the eggs of _Sturnia malabarica_; but then this present egg was nearly ready to hatch off when taken, and the fresh eggs are somewhat deeper coloured.

Subsequent to his letter above quoted, Mr. Gammie on the 10th June found a second nest of this species similar to the first, containing three nearly fresh eggs. These are similar in shape to that above described, but in colour are a beautiful clear verditer-blue, altogether a much brighter and richer tint than that of the first. They measure 1·2 and 1·25 by 0·88.

One nest was taken by Mr. Gammie above Mongphoo at an elevation of about 4500 feet on the 30th of April. It was placed in a bush at a height of about 6 feet from the ground, and contained three fresh eggs. It was a loosely put together, massive cup, some 7 inches in diameter and 4 in height externally. It was composed mainly of fine twigs, creeper-stems, and grass, with a few bamboo-leaves intermingled, and the cavity was carefully lined with bamboo-leaves, and then within that thinly with black fibrous roots; the cavity measured 3·7 inches in diameter and 2·3 in depth.

The eggs of this species, of which I have now received many, appear to be typically somewhat elongated ovals, and not unfrequently they are more or less pyriform or even cylindrical. As a rule, they are fairly glossy, a bright pale, somewhat greenish blue, quite spotless, and varying a little in tint. In length they appear to vary from 1·11 to 1·25, and in breadth from 0·82 to 0·91; but the average of eleven eggs is 1·2 by 0·87.

93. Trochalopterum cachinnans (Jerd.). _The Nilghiri Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopteron cachinnans (_Jerd.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 48; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 423.

The Nilghiri Laughing-Thrush breeds, according to my many informants, throughout the more elevated portions of the mountains from which it derives its trivial name, from February to the beginning of June.

A nest of this species sent me by Mr. H.R.P. Carter, who took it at Coonoor on April 22nd (when it contained two fresh eggs), is externally a rather coarse clumsy structure, composed of roots, dead leaves, small twigs, and a little lichen, about 5 inches in diameter, and standing about 4½ inches high. The egg-cavity is, however, very regularly shaped, and neatly lined with very fine grass-stems and a little fine tow-like vegetable fibre. It is a deep cup, measuring 2½ inches across and fully 3¾ inches in depth.

A nest taken by Miss Cockburn was a much more compact structure, placed between four or five twigs. It was composed of coarse grass, dead and skeleton leaves, a very little lichen, and a quantity of moss. The egg-cavity was lined with very fine grass. The nest was externally about 5½ inches in diameter and nearly 6 inches in height, but the egg-cavity had a diameter of only about 2½ inches and was only about 2¼ inches deep.

It was Jerdon, I believe, who gave the name of Laughing-Thrushes to this group, and this name is applicable enough to this particular bird, the one with which he was most familiar, for it does _laugh_--albeit, a most maniacal laugh; but the majority of the group have not the shadow of a giggle even in them, and should have been designated "Screaming Squabblers."

Mr. J. Darling, Jr., says:--"This bird breeds from February to May. I have found the nests all over the Nilghiris, at elevations of from 4500 to 7500 feet above the sea. The nest is placed indiscriminately in any bush or tree that happens to take the bird's fancy, at heights of from 3 to 12 feet from the ground.

"In shape it is circular, a deep cup, externally some 6 inches in diameter and 5 or 6 inches in height, and with a cavity 3 to 4 inches wide and often fully 4 inches in depth. The nest is composed of moss and small twigs, at times of grass mingled with some spiders' webs: sometimes there is a foundation of dead leaves. The cavity is lined with fur, cotton-wool, feathers, &c.

"The eggs are two or three in number."

Mr. Wait, writing from Coonoor, says:--"_T. cachinnans_ breeds about May, and lays from three to five oval eggs. The ground is bluish, with ash-coloured and brown spots and blotches, and occasionally marks." None of my other correspondents, however, admit that the bird ever lays more than three eggs.

Mr. Davison tells me that "this bird breeds commonly on the Nilghiris, just before the rains set in, in May and the earlier part of June, but it occasionally breeds earlier (in April) or later (in the latter end of June). The nest is cup-shaped, composed of dead leaves, moss, grass, &c., and lined with a few moss-roots or fine grass. It is placed in the fork of a branch about 6 or 8 feet from the ground. The eggs are a bluish green, mottled chiefly towards the larger end, and sometimes also streaked with purplish brown. The normal number of eggs is two; sometimes, however, three are laid."

From Kotagherry, Miss Cockburn remarks:--"The name 'Laughing-Thrush' is most applicable to this bird, and its notes are often mistaken for the sound of the human voice. This bird is very shy, except when its nest contains eggs or young, when it becomes extremely bold. I was quite surprised to see a pair whose nest I was taking come so close as to induce me to put out my hand to catch them. The Laughing-Thrush builds a pretty, though large, nest, and generally selects the forked branches of a thick bush, and commences its nest with a large quantity of moss, after which there is a lining of fine grass and roots, and the withered fibrous covering of the Peruvian Cherry (_Physalis peruviana_), the nest being finished with a few feathers, in general belonging to the bird. The inside of the nest is perfectly round, and rarely contains more than two eggs, belonging to the owner. The eggs are of a beautiful greenish-blue colour, with a few large and small brown blotches and streaks, mostly at the large end. I have found the nests of these birds in February, March, and April. Occasionally the Black-and-white Crested Cuckoo, which appears on these hills in the month of March, deposits its eggs (two in number) in the nest of this Thrush. They are easily distinguished, as their colour is quite different from the Thrush's eggs, being entirely dark bluish green."

Mr. Rhodes W. Morgan writing from South India, says, in 'The Ibis':--"It builds a very neat nest of moss, dried leaves, and the outer husk of the fruit of the Brazil Cherry, lined with feathers, bits of fur, and other soft substances. The nest is cup-shaped, and generally contains three eggs, most peculiarly marked with blotches, streaks, and wavy lines of a dark claret-colour on a light blue ground. The markings are almost always at the larger end."

The first specimens that I obtained of the eggs of this species were kindly sent to me by the late Captain Mitchell and Mr. H.R.P. Carter of Madras; they were taken on the Nilghiris. They are moderately broad ovals, somewhat pointed towards one end, larger than the average eggs of _T. lineatum_, and about the same size as large specimens of the eggs of _Crateropus canorus_ and _Argya malcolmi_. The ground-colour is of a delicate pale blue, and towards the large end, and sometimes over the whole surface, they are speckled, spotted, and blotched, but only sparingly, with brownish red and blackish brown, and amongst these markings a few cloudy streaks and spots of dull faint reddish purple are observable. The eggs have not much gloss.

Numerous other specimens subsequently received from Miss Cockburn and others correspond well with the above description. More or less pyriform varieties are common. In some eggs the markings are almost entirely wanting, there being only a very faint brownish-pink freckling at the large end; and in many eggs, even some that are profusely spotted all over, the markings consist only of darker or lighter brownish-pink shades. Occasionally a few, almost black, twisted lines are intermingled with the other markings, and in these cases the lines are frequently surrounded by a reddish-purple nimbus.

The eggs vary in length from 0·92 to 1·08, and in breadth from 0·74 to 0·8, but the average of twenty eggs measured was 1·0 by 0·76.

96. Trochalopterum fairbanki, Blanf. _The Palni Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopterum fairbanki, _Blanf., Hume, Cat._ no. 423 bis.

The Rev. S.B. Fairbank, the discoverer of this species, found its nest at Kodai Kanal, in the Palni Hills, in May. The nest was placed in the crotch of a tree, at about 10 feet from the ground, and at an elevation of nearly 6500 feet above the level of the sea. The eggs are moderately elongated ovals, with a fine, fairly glossy shell. The ground is pale greenish blue or bluish green; the markings are spots, small blotches, hair-lines, and hieroglyphic-like scrawls, rather thinly scattered about the surface, and varying in colour through several shades of brownish and reddish purple to bright claret-colour.

The only egg I have measures 1 inch in length by 0·8 inch in breadth.

99. Trochalopterum lineatum (Vig.). _The Himalayan Streaked Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopteron lineatum (_Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 50; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 425[A].

[Footnote A: I omit the note on _T. imbricatum_ in the 'Rough Draft,' because, as I have shown in the 'Birds of India,' this bird was unknown to Hodgson, and his note refers to _T. lineatum_. Sufficient is now known about the nidification of this latter to render the insertion of Hodgson's note unnecessary.--ED.]

Next to the Common House-Sparrow, the Himalayan Streaked Laughing-Thrush is perhaps the most familiar bird about our houses at all the hill-stations of the Himalayas westward of Nepal and throughout the lower ranges on which these stations are situated; this species breeds at elevations of from 5000 to 8000 feet.

It lays from the end of April to the beginning of September, and very possibly occasionally even earlier and later. I took a nest on the 29th April near Mussoorie; Mr. Brooks obtained eggs in May and June at Almorah; Colonel G.F.L. Marshall at Mussoorie in July and August; and Colonel C.H.T. Marshall at Murree from May to the end of July. I again took them in July and August near Simla, and Captain Beavan found them as late as the 6th of September near the same station.

So far as my own experience goes, the nests are always placed in very thick bushes or in low thick branches of some tree, the Deodar appearing to be a great favourite. Those I found averaged about 4 feet from the ground, but I took a single one in a Deodar tree fully 8 feet up. The bird, as a rule, conceals its nest so well that, though a loose and, for the size of the architect, a large structure, it is difficult to find, even when one closely examines the bush in which it is. The nest is nearly circular, with a deep cup-like cavity in the centre, reminding one much of that of _Crateropus canorus_, and is constructed of dry grass and the fine stems of herbaceous plants, often intermingled with the bark of some fibrous plant, with a considerable number of dead leaves interwoven in the fabric, especially towards the base. The cavity is neatly lined with fine grass-roots, or occasionally very fine grass. The cavity varies from 3 inches to 3·5 in diameter, and from 2·25 inches to 2·75 in depth; the walls immediately surrounding the cavity are very compact, but the compact portion rarely exceeds from ·75 to 1 inch in thickness, beyond which the loose ends of the material straggle more or less, so that the external diameter varies from 5·5 inches to nearly 10.

The normal number of eggs appears to me to be three, although Captain Beavan cites an instance of four being found.

Captain Hutton tells us (J.A.S.B. xvii.) that in the neighbourhood of Mussoorie "this bird is met with in pairs, sometimes in a family of four or five, and may be seen under every bush. The nest is placed near the ground, in the midst of some thick low bush, or on the side of a bank amidst overhanging coarse grass, and not unfrequently in exposed and well-frequented places; it is loosely and rather slovenly constructed of coarse dry grasses and stalks externally, lined sometimes with fine grass, sometimes with fine roots. The eggs are three in number, and in shape and size exceedingly variable, being sometimes of an ordinary oval, at others nearly round."

From Almorah and Nynee Tal my friend Mr. Brooks writes to me "that this bird is common everywhere. The nest is generally placed in a low tree or bush where the foliage is thick. It is composed of grass, and lined with finer grass. The eggs are three in number, one inch and one line long by nine lines broad. They are of a light greenish blue, the tint being much the same as that of the eggs of _Acridotheres tristis_. They lay from the commencement of May to the end of June."

Colonel G.F.L. Marshall tells me that "the Streaked Laughing-Thrush is very common at Mussoorie, where it is called by the public the Robin of India. It breeds in July and August all about Landour. The nest is cup-shaped, rather shallow, and loosely put together, made of grass and fibre with some moss and a few dead leaves twisted into it; it is placed in a low bush or else on the ground concealed among the grass-roots on the hill-side. The eggs, three or four in number, are oval, rather large for the bird, and of a pure light-blue colour without spots. I took eggs on the 26th and 28th July and on the 16th August."

Sir E.C. Buck writes:--"At Mutianee, three marches north of Simla, I found on the 28th June a nest in a bush on the side of a scantily 'jungled' hill. It was 2 feet from the ground, constructed of grass and stalks externally, and lined with fibrous roots. It contained three fresh eggs. The nest measured--exterior diameter 6 inches, height exteriorly 4 inches; the interior diameter was 3 inches, and the depth of the cavity 2 inches."

The late Captain Beavan tells us that "on the 16th of August, 1866, I found a nest in the garden, in a rose-bush, with four pale blue eggs in it, like those of _Acridotheres tristis_. The nest is a large structure, firmly built of dry twigs, bark, sticks, ferns, and roots. Another nest, with three eggs only, was found in a thick clump of everlasting peas close to the ground on the 6th of September. The female sat very close, and this may have been the second nest of the same pair that built the nest mentioned above, as it was built not far from the first."

Major C.T. Bingham writes:--"Being at Landour for a few days in May I chanced on a nest of this bird, perhaps the commonest in the hills. It was placed under an overhanging bush on the side of Lal Tiba hill, and _on the ground_, being constructed rather loosely of pieces of the withered stem of some creeper, intertwined with a quantity of oak-leaves, and lined with grass-roots."

The eggs, of which I must have seen some hundreds, as this is the commonest Laughing-Thrush about both Mussoorie and Simla, are typically regular and moderately broad ovals. Abnormally elongated, spherical, and pyriform varieties occur; some are nearly round like a Kingfisher's, and I have seen one almost as slender as a Swift's, but, as a rule, the eggs vary but little either in shape or colour. They are perfectly spotless, moderately glossy, and of a delicate pale greenish blue, which of course varies a little in shade and intensity of colour, but which is very much paler on the average than those of any of the _Crateropi_, and at the same time less glossy. I am not at all sure whether _T. lineatum_ is rightly associated with species like _T. cachinnans, T. variegatum_, and _T. erythrocephalum_, which all have spotted eggs.

In length the eggs vary from 0·8 to 1·13, and in breadth from 0·63 to 0·8; but the average of fifty-eight eggs carefully measured is 1·01 by 0·73.

101. Grammatoptila striata (Vig.). _The Striated Laughing-Thrush_.

Grammatoptila striata (_Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii; p. 11; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 382.

The Striated Laughing-Thrush, remarks Mr. Blyth, "builds a compact Jay-like nest. The eggs are spotless blue, as shown by one of Mr. Hodgson's drawings in the British Museum."

A nest of this species found near Darjeeling in July was placed on the branches of a large tree, at a height of about 12 feet.

It was a huge shallow cup, composed mainly of moss, bound together with stems of creepers and fronds of a _Selaginella_, and lined with coarse roots and broken pieces of dry grass. A few dead leaves were incorporated in the body of the nest. The nest was about 8 or 9 inches in diameter and about 2 in thickness, the broad, shallow, saucer-like cavity being about an inch in depth.

The nest contained two nearly fresh eggs. The eggs appear to be rather peculiarly shaped. They are moderately elongated ovals, a good deal pinched out and pointed towards the small end, in the same manner (though in a less degree) as those of some Plovers, Snipe, &c. I do not know whether this is the typical shape of this egg, or whether it is an abnormal peculiarity of the eggs of this particular nest. The shell is fine, but the eggs have very little gloss. In colour they are a very pale spotless blue, not much darker than those of _Zosterops palpebrosus_.

The eggs measure 1·3 and 1·32 in length, and 0·89 and 0·92 in breadth.

From Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes:--"In the first week of May I took a nest of the Striated Laughing-Thrush out of a small tree growing in the forest at 5500 feet above the sea. It was fixed among spray about 10 feet up. In shape it is a shallow, broad cup, and is built in three layers: the outer one of twining stems, which besides holding the nest together fastened it to the spray; the middle layer is an intermixture of green moss and fresh fern-fronds, and the inner a thick lining of roots. Externally it measured 7·5 inches broad by 5·25 inches deep; internally 4 inches by 2·75 inches.

"It contained two hard-set eggs."