seated
on and partly wedged in between the fork of two thick oblique
branches, to the rough bark of which the bottom only was firmly
cemented with cobwebs, the sides, as in the case of the first nest,
being quite free and detached from its surroundings. As regards
dimensions and composition, the latter nest was an exact counterpart
of that first taken. It contained two partially fledged nestlings.

352. Anorthura neglecta (Brooks). _The Cashmir Wren_.

Troglodytes neglecta, _Brooks, Hume, cat._ no. 333 bis.
Troglodytes nipalensis, _Hodgs., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._
no. 333.

The Cashmir Wren breeds in Cashmir in May and June at elevations of
from 6000 to nearly 10,000 feet. I have never seen the nest, though
I possess eggs taken by Captain Cock and Mr. Brooks in Cashmir.
The latter says:--"Only two nests of this bird were found (both at
Gulmurg), one having four eggs and the other three. In the latter
case the full number was not laid, as the nest, when first found, was
empty; on three successive mornings an egg was laid and then they were
taken.

"In shape they vary as much as do those of the English Wren, and like
them they are white, sometimes minutely freckled with pale red and
purple-grey specks, which are principally confined to the large end,
with a tendency to form a zone. Other eggs are plain white, without
the slightest sign of a spot; but these, I think, must be the
exception, for the egg of the English Wren is usually spotted. The egg
has very little gloss, and the ground-colour is pure white."

The eggs are very large for the size of the bird. There appear to
be two types. The one somewhat elongated ovals, slightly compressed
towards the lesser end; the others broad short ovals, decidedly
pointed at one end. Some eggs are perfectly pure unspotted white;
others have a dull white ground, with a faint zone of minute specks of
brownish red and tiny spots of greyish purple towards the large end,
and a very few markings of a similar character scattered about the
rest of the surface. All the eggs of the latter type vary in the
amount and size of markings; these latter are always sparse and very
minute. The pure white eggs appear to be less common. The eggs have
always a slight gloss, the pure white ones at times a very decided,
though never at all a brilliant gloss.

In length they vary from 0.61 to 0.7 inch, and in breadth from 0.5 to
0.52 inch.

Mr. Brooks subsequently wrote:--"The Cashmir Wren is n