68

with line black roots. They have all been placed in the branches
of trees at heights of from 8 to 20 feet.

Eggs of this species obtained by Mr. Grammie in May, and Mr.
MandelH in July, are of precisely the same type. They are rather
elongated ovals* a good deal pointed towards the small end, near
which they are not imfrequently a good deal compressed, so as to
render the egg slightly pyriform. The shell is fine and smooth, but
has little gloss. The ground-colour is a very pale greenish blue or
bluish green, in some almost white; some of them are absolutely
spotless, none of them are at all well marked, but some bear from
half a dozen to a dozen tiny specks of a dark colour. On one only
there is a triangular spot about 0-05 each way, which proves on
examination with a microscope to be a deep brownish red. On
the other eggs the markings are mere specks.

The eggs vary from 1'25 to 1'35 in length, and from 0'89 to
0*92 in breadth.

104. Argya earlii (Blyth). The Striated Babbler.

Chatarrhsea earlii (JBh/tJi), Jerd. fi. 2nd. ii. p. 68; Ifume, Rough
Draft N. $ JB. no. 439.

The Striated Babbler breeds in suitable localities throughout
Continental India, from Sindh to Tipperah and Assam, as also in
Burniah. Reedy-margined lakes, canals and perennial streams
are its favourite haunts, and wherever within the limits above
indicated these abound, and the locality is moist and warm, A.
earlii is pretty sure to be met with.

They lay twice during the year, between the latter end of March
and the early part of September, building a neat, compact, and
rather massive cup-shaped nest, either between the close-growing
reeds, to three or more of which it is firmly bound, or in some
little bush or shrub more or less surrounded by high reed-grass.
The broad leaves and stringy roots of the reed, common grass, and
grass-roots are the materials of which it generally constructs its
nest, which varies much in size, according to the situation and
fineness of the material used. I have seen them composed almost
wholly of reed-leaves, fully 7 inches in diameter and 5 in height,
and again built entirely of fine grass-stems not more than 4 inches
across and 3 inches in height. When semi-suspended between
reeds, they are always smaller and more compact, while when
placed in a fork of a low bush they are larger and more straggling.
The cavity (always neatly finished off, but very rarely regularly
lined, and then only with very fine grass-stems or roots) is usually
about 3 inches in diameter by 2 inches in depth.

Colonel G-. P. L. Marshall remarks:—" In the Saharunpoor
District A. earlii commences building about the middle of March,
and the young are hatched towards the middle of April. The nest
is usually placed in the middle of a tuft of Sarkerry grass, and
sometimes in a bush or small tree, generally 3 or 4 feet from the
ground. It is a deep cup-shaped structure, rather neatly made of