458. Suya crinigera, Hodgs. _The Brown Hill-Warbler_.

Suya criniger, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 183; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 547.

The Brown Hill-Warbler breeds throughout the Himalayas, at elevations
of from 2000 to 6000 feet, at any rate from Sikhim, where it is
comparatively rare, to the borders of Afghanistan.

The breeding-season lasts from the beginning of May until the middle
of July, but the majority of the birds lay during May.

A nest which I took at Dilloo, in the Kangra Valley, on the 26th May,
was situated near the base of a low bush on the side of a steep hill;
it was placed in the fork of several twigs near the centre of the
bush, about 2 feet from the ground. It was an excessively flimsy deep
cup, about 3 inches in diameter, and 21/2 inches in depth internally. It
was composed of downy seeds of grass held together externally by a
few very fine blades of grass, and irregularly and loosely lined with
excessively fine grass-stems.

Many other nests subsequently obtained were similar in their
materials, the great body of the nest consisting of grass-down,
slightly felted together and wound round with slender blades of grass.
The nest, however, is by no means always cup-shaped; it is often
covered in above, an aperture being left on one side near the top.

A nest which I found near Kotegurh is composed of fine grass _very_
loosely and slightly put together, all the interspaces being carefully
filled in with grass-down firmly felted together. The nest is nearly
the shape of an egg, the entrance being on one side, and extending
from about the middle to close to the top. The exterior dimensions of
the nest are about 51/2 inches for the major axis, and 3 inches for
the minor. The entrance-aperture is circular, and about 2 inches in
diameter. The thickness of the nest is a little over three eighths
of an inch; but the lower portion, which is lined with _very_ fine
grass-stems, is somewhat thicker. The nest was in a thorny bush,
partly suspended from just above the entrance-aperture and partly
resting against, though not attached to, some neighbouring twigs. It
contained seven eggs, and was taken at Kirlee (Kotegurh) on the 30th
May. Of course, the position of the nest was that of an egg standing
on end and not lying on its side.

They lay from five to seven eggs, and have, _I think_ two broods.

Dr. Jerdon states that "it makes a large, loosely constructed nest of
fine grass, the openin