gled;
interiorly, it is closely and regularly lined with very fine grass.

A nest sent me by Mr. Mandelli was found on the 3rd April at Namtchu,
and contained three fresh eggs. It is precisely similar to the one
above described, except that in the lining roots are mingled with the
fine grass, and that instead of being suspended in a fork, it was
partly wedged into and partly rested on a fork.

As a rule, however, as I know from other nests subsequently obtained,
the nests are always suspended like those of the Common Oriole.

Two eggs of this species obtained by Mr. Gammie closely resemble those
of _O. melanocephalus_. In shape they are regular moderately elongated
ovals; the shell is strong, firm, and moderately glossy. The ground
is white with a creamy or brownish-pink tinge; the markings are
blackish-brown spots and specks, almost confined to a zone about the
large end, where they are all more or less enveloped in a brownish-red
haze or _nimbus_. In length they measure 1.12 by 0.82, and 1.14 by
0.83.

Family EULABETIDAE

523. Eulabes religiosa (Linn.). _Jerd. B. Southern Grackle_.

Eulabes religiosa (_Linn.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 337; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 692.

The Southern Grackle breeds in Southern India and Ceylon from March to
October.

Mr. Frank Bourdillon, writing from Travancore, gives me the following
account of the eggs. He says:--"This bird, an abundant resident, lays
a blue egg pretty evenly marked with brown spots, some light and some
darkish, in a nest of straw and feathers in a hole of a tree generally
a considerable height from the ground.

"I have only taken one nest, which contained a single egg slightly
set, on 23rd March, 1873, the egg measuring 1.37 long and 0.87 broad."

Later Mr. Bourdillon says:--"Since writing the foregoing I took on
21st April two fresh eggs from the nest of a Southern Hill-Mynah
(_Eulabes religiosa_). The nest was of grass, feathers, and odds and
ends in a hole in a nanga (_Mesua coromandeliana_) stump, about 25
feet from the ground. The eggs of this Mynah are blue, with purplish
and more decided brown spots.

"I am _positive_ as to the identity of the egg. Both the eggs taken
last year and the two taken the other day were obtained under my
personal supervision. In both instances I watched the birds building,
and when we robbed the nests saw the female fly off them."

These two eggs sent me by Mr. Bourdillon are very beautiful. In shape
th