Part 14 (2/2)
113. Crateropus somervillii (Sykes). _The Rufous-tailed Babbler_.
Malacocercus somervillei (_Sykes_), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 63; _Hume Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 435.
Of the nidification of the Rufous-tailed Babbler (which, so far as I yet know, is confined to the narrow strip of country lying beneath the Ghats for about 60 miles north and south of Bombay and to the hills or ghats overlooking this), all I yet know is contained in the following brief note by Mr. E. Aitken: he says:--
”I once found a nest of the Rufous-tailed Babbler at Khandalla, I cannot tell the level precisely, but it cannot have been far from 2000 feet above the sea. It was at the end of May or the very beginning of June. The nest was in a small spreading tree in level, open forest country. The situation was just such a one as _A. malcolmi_ generally chooses--the end of a horizontal branch with no other branches underneath it; but it was not so high as those of _A. malcolmi_ usually are, for I could reach it from the ground. The nest was rather flat and contained three eggs, almost hatched, of an intense greenish-blue colour.
”In Bombay, where it is far more common, I once, on the 1st October, saw a pair followed by one young one and a young _Coccystes melanoleucus_. This was on a hill, and indeed these birds seem to confine themselves pretty much to hilly ground.”
Mr. Benjamin Aitken writes:--”With reference to your remark that, as far as you know, the Rufous-tailed Babbler is confined to the strip of country beneath the Ghats, I can certainly say that they are plentiful on the slopes of Poorundhur hill, eighteen miles south of Poona. It would be interesting to learn on which other of the Deccan hills it is found. This species is decidedly fond of hilly country. It is common on the two ranges of low hills that run along the east and west sh.o.r.es of the island of Bombay, but never shows a feather in the gardens and groves on the level ground. I spent the greater part of two days, when I could ill spare the time, in searching for the nests, but the birds breed in the date-trees, and it would be hopeless to think of finding a nest without cutting away many of the branches or fronds. Moreover, the bird is extremely wary, and it is by no means easy to guess on which particular tree it has its nest.”
114. Crateropus rufescens (Blyth). _The Ceylonese Babbler_.
Layardia rufescens (_Blyth_), _Hume, Cat._ no. 437 bis.
Colonel Legge writes regarding the nidification of this bird in Ceylon:--”This bird breeds in the Western Province in March, April, and May, and constructs a nest similar to the last [_M. striatus_], of gra.s.s and small twigs, mixed perhaps with a few leaves, and placed among creepers surrounding the trunks of trees or in a low fork of a tree. It conceals its habitation, according to Layard, with great care; and I am aware myself that very few nests have been found. It lays two or three eggs, very similar to those of the last species, of a deep greenish blue, and pointed ovals in shape--two which were taken by Mr. MacVicar at BolG.o.dde measuring 095 by 075, and 092 by 074 inch.”
115. Crateropus cinereifrons (Blyth). _The Ashy-headed Babbler_.
Garrulax cinereifrons (_Blyth_), _Hume, Cat._ no. 409 bis.
Colonel Legge, in his work on the birds of Ceylon, says:--”The breeding-season of this bird is from April to July. Full-fledged nestlings may be found abroad with the parent birds in August; and from this I base my supposition, for I have never found the nest myself. Intelligent native woodmen, in the western forests, who are well acquainted with the bird, have informed me that it nests in April, building a large, cup-shaped nest in the fork of a bush-branch, and laying three or four dark blue eggs. Whether this account be correct or not, future investigation must decide.”
116. Pomatorhinus schisticeps, Hodgs. _The Slaty-headed Scimitar Babbler_.
Pomatorhinus schisticeps, _Hodgs., Jerd. B.I._ ii, p. 29; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 402.
Speaking of the Slaty-headed Scimitar Babbler, Dr. Jerdon says:--”A nest made of moss and some fibres, and with four pure white eggs, was brought to me at Darjeeling as belonging to this bird.”
Two nests were sent me by Mr. Mandelli as belonging to this species, the one found near Namtchu on the 3rd April containing four fresh eggs, the other near Tendong on the 15th June, containing three.
Another nest which he found on the 22nd April, near the same place as the first, contained four fresh eggs. All were placed on or very near to the ground in brushwood and gra.s.s; all appear to have been large, rather saucer-like nests, from 55 to 65 inches in diameter externally, and 25 to 3 in height. Outside and below they are composed chiefly of coa.r.s.e gra.s.s, dead leaves, especially fern-leaves, while interiorly they are composed of and lined with finer--in some cases _very_ fine--gra.s.s. The cavities average, I should guess, 375 inches in diameter, and 15, or a little more perhaps, in depth.
Mr. J.R. Cripps has the following note on the breeding of this bird in a.s.sam:--”A nest I got was situated at the roots of a clump of bushes, overhanging a small river. A bridge spanning this river was within ten yards, the intervening s.p.a.ce being open; and for such a shy bird to have chosen such an exposed situation to build in astonished me.”
From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--”A nest of this Babbler taken on the 20th May much resembled that of _P. ferruginosus_, both in size and structure. The egg-cavity had, however, a lining of at least half an inch in thickness of soft, fibrous material extracted from the bark of some tree, and a little fine gra.s.s for the eggs to lie on. It was on the ground, among low jungle, in the Ryeng Valley, at 2000 feet of elevation, and contained four eggs, two of them hatching off and two addled. According to my experience, nests containing so large a proportion of addled eggs are unusual.”
Eggs sent by Mr. Mandelli as belonging to this species closely resemble those of _Pomatorhinus ferruginosus_, but are somewhat smaller; they are oval eggs a good deal pointed towards one end, pure white, and with a high gloss. They were obtained on the 5th and 22nd of April in the neighbourhood of Darjeeling, and measure from 095 to 104: in length, and 072 to 073 in breadth. Eggs sent by Mr. Gammie are precisely similar.
Two other eggs of this species subsequently obtained were slightly shorter and broader, and measured 095 by 077, and 098 by 078.
118. Pomatorhinus olivaceus, Blyth. _The Tena.s.serim Scimitar Babbler_.
Pomatorhinus olivaceus, _Blyth, Hume, Cat._ no. 403 bis.
Mr. Davison writes:--”I found a nest of this bird on the morning of the 21st January, 1875, at Pakchan, Tena.s.serim Province, Burma. It was placed on the ground at the foot of a small screw pine, growing in thick bamboo-jungle; it was a large globular structure, composed externally of dry bamboo-leaves, and well secreted by the ma.s.s of dry bamboo-leaves that surrounded it; it was in fact buried in these, and if I had not seen the bird leave it, it would most undoubtedly have remained undiscovered. Externally it was about a foot in length by 9 inches in height, but it was impossible to take any accurate measurement, as the nest really had no marked external definition.
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