"The usual number of eggs is three."

Major M. Forbes Coussmaker, writing from Bangalore, tells us:--"I took the nest of this bird on 6th April in the Shemagah District, Mysore.

It was built on the fork of a bare branch about 20 feet from the ground in big tree-jungle, and was composed of fine gra.s.s, fibre, and a few dry bamboo-leaves woven together with cobwebs, making a small compact cup-like nest which measured 3 inches in diameter externally, 25 internally, and 14 deep.

"From where I stood I saw the bird come and sit on the nest and fly off again a dozen times at least. The eggs, three in number, measured 9 by 65, and were pinkish white with darker pink and light purple blotches and spots all over, princ.i.p.ally at the larger end."

Mr. J.R. Cripps informs us that at Furreedpore, in Eastern Bengal, this species is "rather common; generally to be found perching on the dead branches of high trees overlooking water, especially whenever there is a dense undergrowth of jungle. On the 1st June, 1878, I secured a nest with three fresh eggs; it was built on a slender twig on the outer side of a mango-tree which was standing near a ryot's house, and was about 15 feet off the ground. External diameter 3 inches, depth 2; internal diameter 2-1/3, depth 1-1/8. Saucer-shaped; the outside consisted of plaintain-leaves torn up into slips, all of which were firmly bound together by fibres of the plaintain-leaf and jute, which were wound round the twigs and secured the nest. Inside lining was made of very fine pieces of 'sone' gra.s.s. The pair were very pugnacious, attacking any birds coming near their nest. These birds have a clear mellow ringing whistle."

Mr. Oates writes from Pegu:--"I procured one nest on the 23rd April.

It was placed at the tip of an outer branch of a jack tree, and attention was drawn to it by the vigorous attacks the parents made on pa.s.sing birds. The nest was suspended in a fork; the outside diameter is 4 inches and inside 3, total depth 2, and the egg-cup is about 1; deep. The nest is composed of fine gra.s.s, strips of plaintain-bark, and other vegetable fibres closely woven together; the edges and the interior are chiefly of delicate branchlets of the finer weeds and gra.s.ses. It is overlaid at the edges, where it is attached to the branches, with cobwebs, and a few fragments of moss are stuck on at various points.

"There were two fresh eggs; the ground-colour is a pale salmon-fawn, and the sh.e.l.l is covered with darker spots and marks of the same. They are only very slightly glossy. The two eggs measure 085 by 062."

Major C.T. Bingham writes from Tena.s.serim:--"On the 10th March, 1880, being encamped at the head-waters of the Queebawchoung, a feeder of the Meplay, and having an hour to spare, I took my gun and climbed up a steep hill to the very sources of the Queebaw. Here, hanging over the trickling stream, was a nest of _Chaptia aenea_ firmly woven and tied on to a fork in the branch of a little tree, at a height of about 10 feet from the ground. The nest was of roots and gra.s.s lined by soft fine black roots, and held three eggs, of a rich salmon-pink, obscurely spotted darker at the large end; they measure 083 by 061, 082 by 061, and 080 by 061 respectively.

"On the 15th March, 1880, in the fork of a branch of a small zimbun-tree (_Dillenia pentagyna_), hanging over a pathway along the bank of the Meplay stream, I found a nest of the above species. A neat strongly-made little cup of vegetable fibres and cobwebs, containing two fresh eggs; ground-colour dull salmon, obscurely spotted with brownish pink. They measure 086 by 064 and 088 by 065."

Mr. J.L. Darling, Jun., records the following notes:--

"26th March. Found a nest of _Chaptia aenea_, building, when on the march from Tavoy to Nwalabo, some seven miles east of Tavoy, in the fork of a bamboo-branch 12 feet from ground.

"29th March. Took two fresh eggs of _Chaptia aenea_, and shot the bird off nest, about twenty-three miles east of Tavoy, in open bamboo-land, very low elevation. The nest was built in the fork of an overhanging branch of a bamboo some 50 feet from the ground.

"13th April. Found a nest of _Chaptia aenea_ with two large young ones. Nest built in a tree some 40 feet from ground, in open forest about twenty miles east of Tavoy.

"22nd April. Found a nest of _Chaptia aenea_ with two large young ones. Nest built at the end of a bough about 30 feet from ground, near Tavoy."

The nests of this species are quite of the Oriole type, more or less deep cups suspended between the forks of small branches or twigs of some bamboo-clump or tree. Exteriorly they are composed of dry flags of gra.s.s, bits of bamboo-spathes, or coa.r.s.e gra.s.s, bound together with vegetable fibres and often with a good deal of cobweb worked over them; sometimes a tiny bit or two of moss may be found added, and often the fine thread-like flower-stems of gra.s.s. Interiorly they are generally lined with excessively fine gra.s.s. In one or two nests very fine black fern-roots are intermingled with the gra.s.s lining. The nests vary a good deal in size, but are all extremely compact, and while some are decidedly ma.s.sive, nearly an inch thick at bottom, others are scarcely a quarter of this in thickness beneath. In one the cavity is 25 inches broad by 3 long, and fully 2 deep; in another it is about 25 inches in diameter by scarcely 125 inches in depth. In one nest four fresh eggs were found; in another three fully incubated ones. The nests were suspended at heights of from 10 to 30 feet from the ground.

The eggs sent by Mr. Gammie very much recall the eggs of _Niltava_ and others of the Flycatchers. They are moderately elongated ovals, in some cases slightly pyriform, in others somewhat pointed towards the small end. The sh.e.l.l is fine and compact, smooth and silky to the touch, but they have but little gloss. The ground-colour varies from a pale pinkish fawn to a pale salmon-pink, and they exhibit round the large end a feeble more or less imperfect and irregular zone of darker-coloured cloudy spots, in some cases reddish, in some rather inclining to purple, which zone is more or less involved in a haze of the same colour, but slightly darker than the rest of the ground-colour of the egg.

The eggs vary in length from 076 to 088, and in breadth from 06 to 064. The average of fifteen eggs is 082 by 061.

335. Chibia hottentotta (Linn.). _The Hair-crested Drongo_.

Chibia hottentota (_L.), Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 439; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 286.

Mr. R. Thompson says:--"The Hair-crested Drongo is extremely common as a breeder in all our hot valleys (k.u.maon and Gurwhal). It lays in May and June, building in forks of branches of small leafy trees situated in warm valleys having an elevation of from 2000 to 2500 feet. The nest is circular, about 5 inches in diameter, rather deep and hollow; it is composed of fine roots and fibres bound together with cobwebs, and it is lined with hairs and fine roots. They lay from three to four much elongated, purplish-white eggs, spotted with pink or claret colour."

Dr. Jerdon remarks:--"The Lepchas at Darjeeling brought me the nest, which was said to have been placed high up in a large tree; it was composed of twigs and roots and a few bits of gra.s.s, and contained two eggs, livid white, with purplish and claret spots, and of a very elongated form."

The Jobraj, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes and figures, begins to lay in Nepal in April. It builds a large shallow nest, 8 or 9 inches in diameter externally, with the cavity of about half that diameter, attached, as a rule, to the slender branches of some horizontal fork, between which it is suspended much like that of an Oriole, though much shallower than this latter; it is composed of small twigs, fine roots, and gra.s.s-stems bound together, and it is attached to the branches by vegetable fibre, and more or less coated with cobwebs; little pieces of lichen and moss are also blended in the nest. It lays three or four eggs, rather pyriform in shape, measuring 125 by 086 inch, with a whitish or pinky-whitish ground, speckled and spotted pretty well all over, but most densely towards the large end, with reddish pink.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"I took two nests of the Hair-crested Drongo this year in June, both at about an elevation of 1500 feet in wooded valleys, placed well up in the outer branches of tall, slender trees; they are of a broad saucer-shape, openly but firmly made of roots and stems of slender climbers, and dest.i.tute of lining. There is a good deal of cobweb on the outsides of the nests, and they were attached to the supporting branches by the same material. One was fixed in among several upright sprays, the other suspended in a slender fork after the manner of an Oriole. They measured about 6 inches broad by 2 deep externally, internally 4 by 1. One nest contained four fresh eggs, the other three partially-incubated eggs."

Mr. Oates, writing from Pegu, says:--"In the first week of May I took several nests of this bird, but in all cases the nests were situated in such dangerous places that most of the eggs got broken; there were three in each nest. The position of the nest and the nest itself are very much like those of _D. paradiseus_. Comparing many nests of both species together, the only difference appears to be that the nests of the Hair-crested Drongo are slightly larger on the whole.

"The only two eggs saved measure 110 by 8 and 111 by 81; they are slightly glossy, dull white, minutely and thickly freckled and spotted with reddish brown and pale underlying marks of neutral tint.

"I may add that at the commencement of May all the eggs were much incubated."

Major C.T. Bingham remarks:--"During the breeding season in the end of March and in April I saw a great number of nests round and about Meeawuddy in Tena.s.serim, but all inaccessible, as they were invariably built out at the very end of the thinnest branches of eng, teak, thingan (_Hopea odorata_), and other trees.

"Except during those two months, I have not seen the bird plentiful anywhere."

Mr. J.R. Cripps has written the following valuable notes regarding the breeding of the Hair-crested Drongo in the Dibrugarh district in a.s.sam:--

"17th May, 1879. Nest with three fresh eggs, attached to a fork in one of the outer brandies of an otinga (_Dillenia pentagyna_) tree, and about 15 feet off the ground.

"15th May, 1880. Three fresh eggs in a nest 20 feet off the ground, and a few yards from my bungalow, in an oorian (_Bischoffia javanica_, Bl.).

"5th June, 1880. Nest with three partly-incubated eggs, in one of the outer branches of a jack (_Artocarpus integrifolia_) tree, and about 15 feet off the ground.

"27th May, 1881. Three fresh eggs in a nest on a soom (_Machilus odoratissima_) tree at the edge of the forest bordering the tea. The nests are deep saucers, 3 inches in diameter, internally 1 deep, with the sides about thick; but the bottom is so flimsy that the eggs are easily seen from below, the materials being gra.s.s, roots, and fine tendrils of creepers, especially if these are th.o.r.n.y, when they are used as a lining. The nest is always situated in the fork of a branch."

The nests are large, shallow, King-Crow-like structures, often suspended between forks, sometimes placed between four or five upright shoots, at times resting on a horizontal bough against and attached to some more or less upright shoots. They are composed mainly of roots thinly but firmly twisted together, have sometimes a good deal of cobweb twisted round their outer surface, often a good deal of vegetable fibre used for the same purpose and, though they have no lining, are always composed interiorly of finer material than that used for the outer portion of the structure. Exteriorly the diameter varies from 6 to nearly 7 inches, the height from nearly 2 to 2; the cavity is usually about 4 inches in diameter and 15 to 175 in depth.

I have taken the nests in May and June alike in small and large trees, at elevations of from 10 to 30 feet from the ground.

Typically the eggs are rather broad ovals, a good deal pointed towards the small end, but they vary a great deal both in size and shape, are occasionally very much elongated, and again, at times, exhibit the characteristic pointing but feebly. The ground-colour varies from greyish white to a delicate pale pink; as a rule the markings are small and inconspicuous frecklings and specklings of pale purple reddish where the ground, is pink, greyish where it is white, tolerably thickly set about the large end and somewhat spa.r.s.ely elsewhere; but in some eggs these markings are everywhere almost obsolete. In many there is a dull pale purplish cloud underlying the primary markings, extending over the greater part of the large end of the egg. Not uncommonly a few specks and spots of yellowish brown are scattered here and there about the egg. In one egg before me the markings are larger, more decided, and fewer in number--distinct spots, some of them one tenth of an inch in diameter; and in this egg the spots are decidedly brownish red, while intermixed with, them are a few specks and clouds of inky purple. The ground in this case is a pale pinky white.

As a rule the eggs are entirely devoid of gloss, but one or two have a very faint gloss.

The eggs measure from 101 to 121 in length, and from 079 to 086 in breadth; but the average of twenty-nine eggs is 112 by 081.

338. Dissemurulus lophorhinus (Vieill.). _The Ceylon Black Drongo_.

Dissemuroides lophorhinus (V.), _Hume, cat._ no. 283 quat.

Colonel Legge says, in his 'Birds of Ceylon':--"This species breeds in the south of Ceylon in the beginning of April. I have seen the young just able to fly in the Opate forests at the end of this month; but I have not succeeded in getting any information concerning its nest or eggs."

339. Bhringa remifer (Temm.). _The Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo_.

Bhringa remifer (_Temm._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 434.

Bhringa tenuirostris, _Hodgs., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 283.

Of the Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo Mr. R. Thompson says:--"This elegant Drongo is somewhat common in our lower k.u.maon ranges. Its lively clear and ringing notes are one of the greatest charms of the spring season in our forests. It breeds in May and June, and builds upon lofty trees in dense forests, usually in some deep damp valley.

The nest from below looks just like that of a common King-Crow--a broad shallow cup; but I never closely examined either nest or eggs."

Dr. Jerdon remarks:--"A nest with eggs were brought to me in June, said to be of this species. The nest was loosely made of sticks and roots, and contained three eggs, reddish white, with a very few reddish-brown blotches."

From. Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes:--"I have taken but one nest of this Drongo. It was suspended between two small horizontal forking branches of a tall tree, some 20 feet from ground. It is a neat, saucer-shaped structure, somewhat triangular, to fit well up to the fork, built of fibry roots, and firmly bound to the branches by spiders' webs. The sides and bottom are strong, but so thin that they can everywhere be seen through. Externally it measures 4.5 inches across by 19 in height; internally 35 by 13. It was taken on the 15th May at 2500 feet, and contained three partially incubated eggs."

A nest of this species taken by Mr. Gammie at Rishap (elevation 4800) in Sikhim, on the 20th May, is a very broad shallow saucer, composed almost entirely of moderately fine dark brown roots, but with a few slender herbaceous twigs intermingled. It is suspended in the fork of two widely diverging twigs, to which either margin is attached, chiefly by cobwebs, though on one side at one place part of the substance of the nest is wound round the twig: the cavity, which is not lined, is oval, and measures 35 inches by 275, by barely 075 in depth. The female seated on the nest had long tail-feathers, so this species does not drop these for convenience in incubating.

Several nests of this species obtained in Sikhim by Messrs. Gammie, Mandelli, &c. are all precisely similar--broad saucers, suspended Oriole-like between the fork of a small branch. Exteriorly composed of moderately fine brown roots, more or less bound together, especially those portions of them that are bound round the twigs of the fork with cobwebs, and lined interiorly with fine black horsehair-like roots.