bird saw me examining the nest it fluttered to within a couple of feet
of me, twittering in a most vehement manner, feigning a broken wing
to try and draw me away. The nest contained only two eggs, which were
slightly set."

These eggs are extremely regular ovals, scarcely smaller, if at all,
at one end than at the other. The shell is very fine and fragile, but
has only a slight gloss. The ground-colour appears to have been creamy
white, but the markings are so thickly set that little of this is
anywhere visible. First, pale inky-purple spots and clouds are thickly
sprinkled over the surface, and over this the whole egg is freckled
with a pale purplish brown. They measured 0.82 in length by 0.62 and
0.63 in breadth.

151. Drymocataphus tickelli. _Tickell's Babbler_.

Trichastoma minus, _Hume_; _Hume, Cat._ no. 387 bis.

Major C.T. Bingham found the nest of this bird in the valley of the
Meplay river, Tenasserim, and he says:--"On the 15th March I found a
little domed nest made of dried bamboo-leaves, and lined with fine
roots, placed in a cane-bush a foot or so above the ground. It
contained three tiny white eggs, with minute pink dottings chiefly at
the larger end; one egg, however, is nearly pure white."

One of these eggs taken by Major Bingham on the 15th March is a very
regular, somewhat elongated oval. The shell very fine and delicate,
and fairly glossy. The ground is china-white, and it is everywhere
speckled and spotted, nowhere very thickly, but most so in a zone near
one end, with pale ferruginous. It measured 0.67 by 0.51.

160. Turdinus abbotti (Bl.). _Abbott's Babbler_.

Trichastoma abbotti (_Bl.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 17.

Abbott's Babbler breeds throughout Burma in suitable localities.
Writing from Kyeikpadein, in Southern Pegu, Mr. Oates says:--"On the
22nd May I found a nest with two eggs nearly hatched, and on 23rd of
same month another with two eggs, one of which was fresh and the other
incubated. This bird builds in thick undergrowth, and the nest is
built at a height of about 2 feet from the ground. I have found very
many of their nests, but, with the above exceptions, the young had
flown. It is generally attached to a stout weed or two, and consists
of two portions. First, a platform of dead leaves about 6 inches in
diameter and 1 deep, placed loosely, and on this the nest proper is
built. This consists of a small cup, the interior diameter of which is
2 inches, and depth 11/2. It is