Part 58 (2/2)

It lays from four to six eggs, slightly more elongated ovals than those of _L. erythronotus_, taken as a body, but not, in my opinion, separable from these when mixed with a large number.

Captain Hutton, however, does not concur in this: he remarks:--”This species, which is very common in Afghanistan, occurs also in the Doon and on the hills up to about 6000 feet. At Jeripanee I took a nest on the 21st June containing five eggs, of a pale livid white colour, sprinkled with brown spots, chiefly collected at the larger end, where, however, they cannot be said to form a ring; interspersed with these are other dull sepia spots appearing beneath the sh.e.l.l. Diameter 094 by 069 inch, or in some rather more. Shape rather tapering ovate.

”The differences perceptible between this and the last are the much smaller size of the spots and blotches, the latter, indeed, scarcely existing, while in _L. erythronotus_ they are large and numerous; there is great difference likewise in the shape of the egg, those of the present species being less globular or more tapering. The nest was found in a thick bush about 5 feet from the ground, and was far more neatly made than that of the foregoing species; it is likewise less deep internally. It was composed of the dry stalks of 'forget-me-not,'

compactly held together by the intermixture of a quant.i.ty of moss interwoven with fine flax and seed-down, and lined with fine gra.s.s-stalks. Internal diameter 3 inches; external 6 inches; depth 1 inch, forming a flattish cup, of which the sides are about 1 inch thick. The depth, therefore, is less by 1 inch than in that of the last-mentioned nest.”

Mr. H.R.P. Carter tells me that ”at c.o.o.noor, on the Nilghiris, this species breeds in April and May, placing its nest in large shrubs, orange-trees, and other low trees which are thick and leafy. The nest is externally irregular in shape, and is composed of fibres and roots mixed with cotton-wool and rags; in one nest I found a piece of lace, 6 or 8 inches long; internally it is a deep cup, some 4 inches in diameter and 2 in depth. The eggs are sometimes three in number, sometimes four.”

Mr. Wait says that ”the breeding-season extends from March to July in the Nilghiris; the nest, cup-shaped and neatly built, is placed in low trees, shrubs, and bushes, generally th.o.r.n.y ones; the outside of the nest is chiefly composed of weeds (a white downy species is invariably present), fibres, and hay, and it is lined with gra.s.s and hair; there is often a good deal of earth built in, with roots and fibres in the foundation of this nest; four appears to be the usual number of eggs laid.”

Miss c.o.c.kburn, from Kotagherry, also on the Nilghiris, tells me that ”the Pale Rufous-backed Shrike builds in the months of February and March and forms a large nest, the foundation of which is occasionally laid with large pieces of rags, or (as I have once or twice found) pieces of carpet. To these they add sticks, moss, and fine gra.s.s as a lining, and lay four eggs, which are white, but have a circle of ash-coloured streaks and blotches at the thick end, resembling those on Flycatchers' eggs. They are exceedingly watchful of their nests while they contain eggs or young, and never go out of sight of the bush which contains the precious abode.”

Mr. Davison remarks that ”this species builds in bushes or trees at about 6 to 20 feet from the ground: a th.o.r.n.y thick bush is generally preferred, _Berberis asiatica_ being a favourite. The nest is a large deep cup-shaped structure, rather neatly made of gra.s.s, mingled with odd pieces of rag, paper, &c., and lined with fine gra.s.s. The eggs, four or five in number, are white, spotted with blackish brown, chiefly at the thicker end, where the spots generally form a zone.

The usual breeding-season is May and the early part of June, though sometimes nests are found in April and even as late as the last week in June, by which time the south-west monsoon has generally burst on the Nilghiris.”

Dr. Fairbank writes:--”This bird lives through the year on the Palanis and breeds there. I found a nest with five eggs when there in 1867, but have not the notes then made about it.”

Captain Horace Terry informs us that this Shrike is a most common bird in the Palani hills, found everywhere and breeding freely.

Mr. H. Parker, writing from Ceylon, says:--”A pair of these Shrikes reared three clutches of young in my compound (two of them out of one nest) from December to May, inclusive; but this must be abnormal breeding.”

Colonel Legge writes in his 'Birds of Ceylon':--”This bird breeds in the Jaffna district and on the north-west coast from February until May. Mr. Holdsworth found its nest in a thorn-bush about 6 feet high, near the compound of his bungalow, in the beginning of February....

Layard speaks of the young being fledged in June at Point Pedro, and says that it builds in _Euphorbia_-trees in that district.”

The eggs of this species, sent me by Captain Hutton from the Doon and by numerous correspondents from the Nilghiris, are indistinguishable from many types of _L. erythronotus_, and indeed the birds are so closely allied that this was only to be expected. It is unnecessary to describe these at length, as my description of the eggs of _L.

erythronotus_ applies equally to these.

In size the eggs, however, vary less and _average_ longer than those of this latter species. In length they range from 093 to 1 inch, and in breadth from 07 to 072 inch, but the average of twenty was 095 by 07 inch.

477. Lanius tephronotus (Vigors). _The Grey-backed Shrike_.

Lanius tephronotus (_Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 403.

Collyrio tephronotus, _Vigors, Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 258.

As far as I yet know, the Grey-backed Shrike breeds, within our limits, only in the Himalayas, and chiefly in the interior, at heights of from 5000 to 8000 feet above the sea-level. In the interior of Sikhim, in the Sutlej Valley near Chini, in Lahoul, and well up the valley of the Beas, they are pretty common during the summer; they lay from May to July, and the young are about by the end of July or the early part of August. I have never seen a nest, although I have had eggs and birds sent me from both Sikhim and the Sutlej Valley. There were only two eggs in each case, but doubtless, like other Shrikes, they lay from four to six.

Mr. Blanford remarks that _L. tephronotus_ was ”common at Lachung, in Sikhim, 8000 to 9000 feet, in the beginning of September, but three weeks later all had disappeared. Many of those seen were in young plumage, with hair on the breast, back, and scapulars.”

Colonel C.H.T. Marshall records from Murree:--”This species much resembles _L. erythronotus_, but the eggs differ considerably, being more creamy white, blotched and spotted (more particularly at the larger end) with pale red and grey. They are the same size as those of the preceding species. Lays in the beginning of July at the same elevation as _L. erythronotus_.”

As to the size I cannot concur with the above.

Colonel Marshall has since kindly sent me two of the eggs above referred to; they are clearly, it seems to me, eggs of _Dicrurus longicaudatus_, or the slightly smaller hill-form named _himalaya.n.u.s_, Tytler.

Colonel G.F.L. Marshall writes:--”A nest found at about three feet from the ground in a thick bush at Bheem Tal, at the edge of the lake, contained five fresh eggs on the 28th May: the nest was a coa.r.s.ely built ma.s.sive cup; the eggs were about the same size as those of _L.

erythronotus_, but the spots were larger and less closely gathered than is usual with that species.”

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