, and at its junction
with another branch, the nest being partly embedded in the fork of two
_horizontal_ branches. It is composed of grass, fibres, and roots, and
lined with finer grasses and a few hairs. The nest is broader and much
shallower than that of _D. ater_; outside it is covered with spiders'
webs and small bits of lichen.

"The eggs are four in number, sometimes only three, and vary much in
size, shape, and colour; size 1.0 by 0.7 inch: some are buff, blotched
with light reddish brown and pale purple-grey; others are lighter
buff, almost white in fact, spotted and marked more sparingly than the
first described with the same two colours, but each of a darker tint;
others are white, marked sparingly with spots and blotches of dark
purple-brown and reddish brown, and intermixed with larger blotches
of deep purple-grey, the markings principally forming a zone at the
larger end. Others, again, are pale purplish white, spotted with dark
and light purple-brown, and intermixed with spots and blotches of
purple-grey. The shape of the egg varies as much as the colouring,
some being of a fine oval form, while others are quite pyriform.
Laying in Kumaon from the middle to end of May."

As I shall notice further on, I think that Mr. Brooks is mistaken
about some of his eggs.

Captain Hutton remarks:--"This species, the only one that visits
Mussoorie, arrives from the Doon about the middle of March, and
retires again about September. It is abundant during the summer
months, and breeds from the latter end of April till the middle of
June, making a very neat nest, which is placed in the bifurcation of
a horizontal branch of some tall tree, usually an oak tree; it
is constructed of grey lichens gathered from the trees, and fine
seed-stalks of grasses, firmly and neatly interwoven; with the latter
it is also usually lined, although sometimes a black fibrous lichen is
used; externally the materials are kept compactly together by being
plastered over with spiders' webs. It is altogether a light and
elegant nest. The shape is circular, somewhat shallow; internal
diameter 3 inches. The eggs are three or four, generally the latter
number, and so variable in colour and distribution of spots that until
I had got several specimens and compared them narrowly, I was inclined
to think we had more than one species of _Dicrurus_ here. I am,
however, now fully convinced that these variable eggs belong to the
same species. Sometimes the