but occasionally almost glossless, without
any marks or spottings.

In length they vary from 1.0 to 1.2, and in breadth from 0.73 to 0.85,
but the average of twenty eggs is about 1.11 by nearly 0.8.

133. Xiphorhamphus superciliaris (Blyth). _The Slender-billed
Scimitar Babbler_.

Xiphorhamphus superciliaris (_Blyth), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 33; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 406.

The Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes,
breeds in Sikhim, at elevations of 3000 to 6000 feet, during the
months of May and June. The nest is a large globular one, composed of
dry bamboo-leaves and green grass, intermingled and lined with fine
roots and fibres. The entrance, which is about 2 to 2.5 inches in
diameter, is at one end. A nest containing four eggs, obtained on the
12th June, measured about 7 inches in diameter externally, and it
was placed in the crown of a stump from 2 to 3 feet from the ground.
Sometimes the nests are placed in tufts of high grass or in thick
bushes, but never at any great elevation above the ground. They lay
three or four eggs, which are pure white, and one of which is figured
as a broad oval, measuring 0.95 by 0.7.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"I took a nest of this Scimitar
Babbler on the 29th May, in the middle of the large forest on the top
of the Mahalderam ridge, at about 7000 feet elevation. It was built
on the ground, on top of a dry bank by the side of a path, and was
overhung by a few grassy weeds. In shape it was a blunt cone laid on
its side, with the entrance at the wide end. It was loosely made of
the dead leaves of a deciduous orchid (_Pleione wallichiana_), small
bamboo, chestnut, and grass, intermixed with decaying stems of small
climbing-plants. It measured externally 6 inches long, with a diameter
of 5.5 at front, and of 1.75 at back. The cavity was quite devoid of
lining and measured 3.5 in length by 2.5 wide at entrance, slightly
contracting inwards. It contained three partially incubated eggs."

Two eggs of this species obtained by Mr. Gammie are elongated ovals,
pure white, and with only a faint gloss. They measure 0.99 and 1.05 in
length, by 0.68 and 0.75 in breadth respectively.

Subfamily TIMELIINAE.

134. Timelia pileata, Horsf. _The Red-capped Babbler_.

Timelia pileata, _Horsf., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 24; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 396.

Mr. Eugene Oates records that he "found the nest of this bird at
Thayetmyo on the 2nd