at the time, and was being brought fruit and berries by the male
bird. While the eggs were being taken the birds flew round
repeatedly, and settled on an adjacent tree, keeping up a loud
whistling. The eggs are obtuse-ended ovals, of a pale greenish-blue
ground-colour (one being much paler than the other), sparingly
spotted with large and small spots of lilac-grey, and blotched over
this with a few neutral-brown and sepia blots. They measure from
1-3 to 1-32 inch in length by 0-96 to 0-99 in breadth."
527. Calorais chalybeius (Horsf.).    The Glossy Calornis.
Calornis chalybaeus* (Horsf.), Hume, Cat, no. 690 his.
Of the G-lossy Calornis Mr. Davison remarks that "it is a per-
manent resident at the Nicobars, breeding in holes in trees and in
the decayed stumps of old cocoanut-paluis, apparently from Decem-
ber to March. At the Aridamans it is much less numerous, and is
only met with in pairs or in small parties, frequenting the same
situations as it does in the Nicobars."
Mr. J. Inglis writes from Cachar : —" This Tree-Stare is rather
rare. It breeds about April in the holes of dead trees ; when the
young are able to fly it departs. It again returns about the middle
of February."
In Tenasserim this species was observed nesting by Mr. J. Darling,
junior, who says:—" 22nd March. Noticed several pairs of Calornis,
with nests, in the big wooden bridge over the Kyouk-tyne Creek
about lr] mile out of Tavoy, and also a great number of their nests
in the ofd wooden posts of an old bridge further down the Creek."
Mr. "W. Davison, when in the Malay peninsula, took the eggs of
this bird. He remarks :—" I found a few pairs frequenting some
areca-palms at Laugat, and breeding in them, bat only one nest
contained eggs, three in number. The nest was a loose structure
almost globular, but open at the top, composed externally of very
coarse dry grass (killing or elephant-grass), and lined with green
durian leaves cut into small bits. The nest was too lightly put
together to preserve. This nest and several other empty ones
were placed at the base of the leaves where they meet the
trunk.
" The three eggs obtained were slightly set, so that three is pro-
bably the normal number laid.
" I noticed several other pairs breeding at the same time in holes
of a huge dead tree on Jugra Hill at Laugat, but I was unable to
get at the nests/'
The eggs are quite of the JEulabes type, moderately broad ovals,
more or less compressed towards the small end, occasionally pyri-
form. The shell firm and strong, though fine, smooth to the touch
in some cases, with but little, but generally with a fair amount of
* Mr. Hume considers the Andaman Calornis distinct from the Calornis
inhabiting Cachar, Tenasserim, &c. I have united them in the 'Birds of
India.'—ed.