he nest again after she had left
it, when the boy was within 3 feet of her. On examining the nest I
found that one of the branches of the fork consisted of a small rotten
stump, similar to the one described in the first nest, and in the
bottom of both nests there were three or four small black downy
feathers, intermingled with the dead leaf-stems that constituted the
lining."

In his recent "Notes on Birds'-nesting in Rajpootana," Lieut. H.E.
Barnes writes, "The Small Minivet breeds during July and August."

Mr. Benjamin Aitken writes:--"You say that the Small Minivet lays
during the latter half of June and throughout July and August. I
would therefore remark that on the 11th November, 1871, I saw several
newly-fledged young ones at Poona. There could be no mistake about
this, as I stood under the tree, which was a small one, and saw the
young ones being fed."

Messrs. Davidson and Wenden remark that in the Deccan it is "common,
and breeds in the rains."

The latter gentleman subsequently added the following note:--"In July,
my men found a nest with two eggs at Nulwar, Deccan. It was built on a
small branch of a tamarind-tree, 20 feet from the ground. The nest
is similar to that described in the 'Rough Draft' as being found at
Allyghur. The whole of the bark used on the outer coating is that
of tamarind-tree, and there are a good many feathers and much down
incorporated into the structure, inside and out. The eggs differ
considerably in colouring. In both the ground-colour is greenish
white. One is profusely speckled all over, but more thickly at the
smaller end, with brownish red and a few purple blotches, whilst the
other egg has the specks less numerous but larger, and chiefly on
the larger end, with little or no purple, and the small end almost
unsullied."

Finally, Mr. Oates records that "in Lower Pegu nests of this bird may
be found from the end of April to the middle of June."

The eggs are of a rather broad oval shape, and, as is often the
case even in the typical Shrikes, very blunt at both ends. The
ground-colour is a pale delicate greenish white, and they are more or
less richly marked with bright, slightly brownish-red specks, spots,
and blotches, which, always more numerous at the large end, have a
tendency there to form a mottled irregular cap. In many eggs, besides
these primary markings, a number of small faint, patches and blotches
of pale inky purple are observable, almost exclusively at the la