nd, I think, has only one brood in the
year. It builds in holes of trees, on surfaces of large horizontal
branches 30 or 40 feet up, or in depressions in ends of lofty stumps.
The nest is a shallow saucer, made entirely of light-coloured roots
and twigs loosely put together. The usual number of eggs appears to be
three."

Mr. J.R. Cripps informs us that at Furreedpore in Eastern Bengal this
species is "common, and a permanent resident, very partial to perching
on the tips of bamboos, and I have seen as many as 13 sitting side
by side on a bamboo tip. I took seven nests this season, all from
date-trees (_Phoenix sylvestris_), which trees are very common in the
district. The nest is generally built at the junction of the leaf-stem
and the trunk of the tree, though in two instances the nest was placed
on a ledge from which all leaves had been removed to enable the tree
to be tapped for its juice. In every instance the nest was exposed,
and if any bird, even a hawk, came near, these courageous little
fellows would drive it off. My nests were found from the 5th April to
6th June; shallow saucers made of fine twigs and grasses with a lining
of the same, and contained two to four eggs in each. Height of nest
from ground about 12 to 15 feet. On the 17th April I took two fresh
eggs from a nest, and the birds laying again, I, on the 8th May,
again took three fresh eggs. When on the wing they utter their note,
generally returning to the same perch."

And he adds:--

"_16th April, 1878_.--Took two perfectly fresh eggs from a nest built
on a date-tree. The date-trees in this district are tapped annually
for the juice, from which sugar is manufactured. The leaves and the
bark for a depth of 3 inches are sliced away from one half of the
trunk, the leaves on the other half remaining, and at the root of
one of these the nest was built, wedged in between the trunk and the
leaves; the external diameter was 41/2 inches, depth 3 inches, thickness
of sides of nest 3/4 inch; a rather shallow cup, composed exclusively of
fine grasses with no attempt at a lining.

"_17th April, 1878_.--Secured two fresh eggs from another nest on a
date-tree. In size and shape they were similar and the materials were
the same grasses with no lining. The trees these nests were on formed
a small clump alongside a ryot's house. People were passing under them
all day, but the birds never noticed them. Any bird, from a Kite to
a Bulbul, coming near received a wa