JEGITEINA. 153

three eggs. This is the only nest I have not taken since I came to
India the second time."

Prom Eaipoor, Mr. P. E. Blewitt remarks :—" The lora breeds
from July to September, and certainly not, as Dr. Jerdon supposes,
twice a year. B.oth birds assist in the building of the nests, and
there evidently appears to be no choice of any particular kind of
tree on which to build. I have found them indiscriminately on
the mango, mowah, neem, and other trees. The nest is invariably
made either just above or between the. fork of two outshooting
slender horizontal branches. It is very neatly made, deeply cup-
shaped, of grass and fibres, with spider's web on the exterior.
The maximum number of eggs is three ; they are of a pale whitish
colour, marked generally, chiefly at the broad end, with brownish
spots. The brown spots vary in size on different eggs. I secured
the first eggs on the 12th July, and the last on the 2nd September.
A pair of birds were on this last date just completing their nest,
which unfortunately was destroyed by the heavy rains.3'

Captain Cock says :—" lora tipliia is tolerably common at Seeta-
poor (Oudh), and I have several times taken their nests and eggs.
I may here mention that I have taken eggs of lora zeylonica at
Etawah, and that knowing the birds well, I can say that it is quite
a distinct bird; although in the marking of its eggs there is a
slight resemblance, yet the nests of the two species are quite dif-
ferent. On the 13th May I observed a nest of /. tipliia on a young
mango-tree, at the edge of a croquet-ground in our garden. I
shot both male and female and took the eggs ; the nest was placed
on the upperside of a sloping bough, was covered outside with cob-
web, and lined with thin dry grass. It contained two fresh eggs
of a delicate pink colour, with broad irregularly-shaped dashes of
light brown down the sides of the shell, not tending to coalesce in
any way at either apex. Another pair also built their nest on the
edge of the same ground in another tree; but unfortunately in a
weak moment I pointed out the nest to a lady friend, and as there-
after no one ever played croquet on the ground without staring at
the nest, the birds got disgusted and soon deserted it."

To this I need merely add that of course typical -J£ tipTiia and
typical JE. zeylonica are very distinct, but that as every intermediate
form occurs, they are not, according to my views of what consti-
tutes a species, entitled to specific separation, and that as regards
nest and eggs, according to my experience, every variety in the one
is to be found in the other.

Dr. Jerdon, speaking of Southern India, remarks :—" I have seen
the nest and eggs on several occasions. The nest is deep, cup-shaped,
very neatly made with grass, various fibres, hairs, and spiders'
webs; and the eggs, two or three in number, are reddish white,
with numerous darker red spots, chiefly at the thicker end.. It
breeds in the south of India in August and September; perhaps,
however, twice a year."

Writing from South Wynaad, Mr. J. Darling (Junior) says :—" I
found the nest, which with the eggs and both parents I have now