PBINIA. 301

The eggs of this species are somewhat elongated ovals. The
ground-colour is a greenish or greyish stone-colour, and they are
finely and often rather sparsely freckled all over with very faint
reddish brown, or brownish pink in most eggs ; these frecklings are
gathered together into a more or less dense zone roun'd the large
end, forming a conspicuous ring there much darker-coloured than
the frecklings over the rest of the surface. The eggs have a faint
gloss.

In length they vary from O6S to 0-75, and in breadth from 0*49
to 0-52, but the average appears to be 0*7 by 0-5.

466. Prinia inornata, Sykes. The Indian Wren-WaMer.

Drymoipus rnornatus (Si/7tes\ Jerd. B. 2nd. ii. p. 178: Hume. Rough

'Draft N.$KvQ.5&>.

Drymoipus longicaudatus (Tic7t.\ Jerd. E. 2nd. ii; p. 180.
Drymoipus terricolor, Hume; Hume, Rough Draft N, $• JS. no. 543

bis.

The breeding-season of this "Wren-Warbler commences with the
first fall of rain, and lasts through July and August to quite the
middle of September.

The birds construct a very elegant nest, always closely and com-
pactly woven, of very fine blades, or strips of blades, of grass, in
no nests exceeding one-twentieth of an inch in width, and in many
of not above half this breadth. The grass is always used when
fresh and green, so as to be easily woven in and out. Both parents
work at the nest, clinging at first to the neighbouring stems of
grass or twigs, and later to the nest itself, while they push the
ends of the grass backwards and forwards in and out; in fact,
they work very much like the Baya (P. hay a), and the nest, though
much smaller, is in texture very like that of this latter species, the
great difference being that the Baya, with us, more often uses
steins, and Prinia strips of blades of grass. The nest varies in
shape and in size, according to its situation: a very favourite
locality is in amongst clumps of the sarpatta, or serpent-grass, in
which case the bird builds a long and purse-like nest, attached
above and all round to the surrounding grass-stems, with a small
entrance near the top. Such nests are often 8 or 9 inches in length,
and 3 inches or even more in external diameter, and with an
internal cavity measuring 1| inch in diameter, and having a depth
of nearly 4 inches below the lower margin of the entrance-hole.
At other times they are hung between bare twigs, often of some
thorny bush, or are even placed in low herbaceous plants; in these
cases they are usually nearly globular, with the entrance-hole near
the top; they are then probably 3| inches in external diameter in
every direction. In other cases they are hung to or between two
or more leaves to which the birds attach the nest, much as a
Tailor-bird would do, using, however, fine grass instead of cobwebs
or cotton-wool for ligaments. I have never found more than five
eggs in any nest, and four is certainly the normal number.