46 CRATEROPODIDJE.

and has a very fine gloss; they may be said to be almost white with
a delicate bluish-green tinge. In length they vary from 0*95 to
1-1, in breadth from 0-6 to O83; but the average of forty-one
eggs is 1-02 by 0'75.

65. Dryonastes cserulatus (Hodgs.). The Grey-sided Laughing-
Thrush.

Garrulax cserulatus (Hodgs.), Jerd. B. 2nd. ii, p. 36; Hume, Hough
Draft N. $ JE. no. 408.

A nest of the Grey-sided Laughing-Thrush found by Mr. Gam-
mie on the 17th June near Darjeeling, below Eishap, at an elevation
of about 3500 feet, was placed in a shrub, at a height of about six
feet from, the ground, and contained one fresh egg. It was a large,
deep, compact cup, measuring about 5'5 inches in external diameter
and about 4 in height, the egg-cavity being 4 inches in diameter
and 2f inches in depth. Externally it was entirely composed of
very broad flag-like grass-leaves firmly twisted together, and
internally of coarse black grass and moss-roots very neatly and
compactly put together. The nest had no other lining.

This year (1874) Mr. Gammie writes :—" This species breeds in
Sikhim in May and June. I have found the nests in our Chmehona
reserves, at various elevations from 3500 to 5000 feet, always in
forests with a more or less dense undergrowth. The nest is placed
in trees, at heights of from. 6 to 12 feet from the ground, between
and firmly attached to several slender upright shoots. It is cup-
shaped, usually rather shallow, composed of dry bamboo-leaves
and twigs and lined with root-fibres. One I measured was 5 inches
in diameter by 2*5 in height exteriorly; the cavity was 4 inches
across and only 3/3 deep. Of course they vary slightly. As far
as my experience goes, they do not lay more than three eggs;
indeed, at times only two."

Dr. Jerdon remarks that " a nest and eggs, said to be of this
bird, were brought to me at Darjeeling; the nest loosely made with
roots and grass, and containing two pale blue eggs."

One nest of this species taken in Native Sikhim in July, was
placed in the fork of four leafy twigs, and was in shape a slightly
truncated in verted cone, nearly 7 inches in height and 5*5 in diameter
at the base of the cone, which was uppermost. The leaves attached
to the twigs almost completely enveloped" it. The nest itself was
composed almost entirely of stems of creepers, several of which
were wound round the living leaves of the twigs so as to hold them
in position on the outside of the nest; a few bamboo-leaves were
intermingled with the creeper's stems in the body of the nest. The
cavity, which is almost perfectly hemispherical, only rather deeper,
is 3-5 inches in diameter and 2-25 in depth, and is entirely and very
neatly lined with very fine black roots. Another nest, which was
taken at Eishap on the 21st May, with two fresh eggs, was placed
in some small bamboos at a height of about 10 feet from the