COKYUS. 11

the first. The old birds thought it time now to stop operations,
and frequented the office no more.

u I arn told by a gentleman in the ' Mail' office that the Crows
have built in that verandah regularly for five or six years past, but
nobody seems to have watched the nests. I am, therefore, hopeful
that the attempt will be repeated this year, in which case I will
keep a diary of all that takes place."

He writes subsequently:—"I sent you a long story in my last
batch of notes about two eccentric Crows that succeeded in building
a nest upon the narrow ledge of a pillar in the verandah of my
office, several months after all well-conducted Crows had sent out
their progeny to battle with the world. I mentioned to you that
they were said to build in that unnatural place every year, and I
said that I would watch them this year.

" Well, would you believe it ? on the 26th July, when every other
Crow's nest in Madras had hard-set eggs, or newly-hatched young
ones, these two indefatigable birds set methodically to work to
construct a nest on the south pillar—the one where all their earlier
efforts were made last year, but not the one on which they suc-
ceeded in fixing their nest. They worked all the 26th and 27th,
putting up sticks as fast as they fell down, and then desisted till
the 4th August, when they began operations on the opposite (north)
pillar with redoubled energy. Meeting with no better success they
left off operations after a couple of days' fruitless labour. Yester-
day (after a delay of five weeks) they set to work on the south
pillar again and succeeded in raising a great pile, which, however,
was ignominiously blown down in the afternoon. Today they are
continuing then' work indefatigably."

Mr. J. E. Cripps has the following note in his list of birds of
Purreedpore, Eastern Bengal:—" Very common, and a permanent
resident, affecting the haunts of man. They build and lay in May.
The Koel lays its eggs in this bird's nest. In April, 1876, I saw
two nests in the compound of the house in which I lived at
Howrah, which were made entirely of galvanized wire, the thickest
piece of which was as thick as a slate pencil. How -the birds
managed to bend these thick pieces of wire was a marvel to us ;
not a stick was incorporated with the wires, and the lining of the
nest (which was of the ordinary size) was jute and a few feathers.
The railway goods-yard, which was alongside the house, supplied
the wire, of which there was ever so much lying about there."

Typically the eggs may, I think, be said to be rather broad ovals,
a good deal pointed towards the small end; but really the eggs vary
so much in shape that, even with nearly two hundred before me,
it is difficult to decide what is really the most typical form.
Pyriforni, elongated, and globular varieties are common; long
Cormorant-shaped eggs and perfect ovals are not uncommon. As
regards the colour of the ground, and colour, character, and extent
of marking, all that I have above said of the Eaven's eggs applies to
those of this species, but varieties occur amongst those of the latter
which I have not observed ia those of the former. In some the