ed sparingly all over with olive-brown
and inky purple, which together form a well-marked zone at the large
end."

Messrs. Davidson and Wenden remark:--"Common, and breeds abundantly in
the Poona and Sholapoor Collectorates at the end of the hot weather.
W. has noticed it breeding at Nuluar and Raichore. Davidson observed
that it was very rare in the Satara Districts."

Mr. J. Davidson further informs us that _L. lahtora_ is a permanent
resident in Western Khandeish, and breeds in every month from January
to July.

My friend Mr. Benjamin Aitken furnishes me with the following
interesting note:--"You say that the Indian Grey Shrike lays from
February to July. Now, in Berar, where this bird is very common, I
have found their eggs frequently in the first week of January, and
on not only to July, but to September; and I once found a nest in
October. I was never able to satisfy myself that the same pair had two
broods in the year, but I scarcely think there can be any doubt about
the matter. I once found, like your correspondent Mr. Blewitt, four
nests in a small babool tree, and only one of them occupied. This was
at Poona. My brother first pointed out to me that this species affects
the dusty barren plain, whereas _L. erythronotus_ prefers the cool and
shaded country. This difference in the habits of the two birds is very
observable at Poona, where both species are exceedingly common. Where
a _jungly_ or watered piece of country borders upon the open plain,
you may see half a dozen of each kind within an area of half a mile
radius, and yet never find the one trespassing upon the domain of the
other. When you say you have never found a nest more than 1500 feet
above the level of the sea, I would remind you that although _L.
lahtora_ never ascends the hills, it is yet very abundant in the
Deccan, which is 2000 feet above the sea-level.

"I think I have written to you before that during a residence of
twelve years I never saw _L. lahtora_ in Bombay."

This Shrike is, however, essentially a plains bird, and never seems
to ascend the Himalayas to any elevation. I have never myself found a
nest more 1500 feet above the level of the sea.

Typically, the eggs are of a broad oval shape, more or less pointed
towards one end, of a delicate greenish-white ground, pretty thickly
blotched and spotted with various shades of brown and purple markings,
which, always most numerous towards the large end, exhibit a strong
tendency to