TEPHBODOUNIS. 331

Burma, Assam, Cachar, and the sub-Himalayan Terais and Ranges
to which the typical Jndo-Burmese fauna extends. Still we have
no information as to its nidification, and the only egg of the
species that I possess was extracted from the oviduct of a female
shot by Mr. Davison on the 26th of March, 1874, near Tavoy in
Tenasseriin. The egg is rather a handsome one—very Shrike-like
in its character, but rather small for the size of the bird. In
shape it is a broad oval, very slightly compressed towards one end.
The shell is fine and compact, but has no gloss. The ground is
white, with the faintest possible greenish tinge only noticeable
when the egg is placed alongside a pure white one, such as a Bee-
eater's for instance. The markings are bold, but except at the
large end not very dense—spots and blotches of a light clear
brown, and (chiefly at the large end) somewhat pale inky grey.
Where the two colours overlap each other, there the result of the
mixture is a dark dusky brown, so that the markings appear to be
of three colours. Fully half the markings are gathered into a
broad conspicuous but very broken and irregular zone about the
broad end. The egg measured only 0-86 by O69.

Subsequently to writing the above Mr. Mandelli sent me a nest
of this species found at Ging near Darjeeling on the 27th April.
It contained four fresh eggs, and was placed on branches of a very
large tree about 2*2 feet from the ground. The tree was situated
at an elevation of about 8000 feet. The nest is a large massive
cup, 5 inches in exterior diameter and rather more than 3
in height. It is composed of! tendrils of creepers and stems of
herbaceous plants, to many of which the bright yellow amaranth
flowers remain attached ; and all over the sides and bottom masses
of flower-stems of grass with the white silky clown attached are
thickly plastered, which, intermingled as this white down is with
the glistening yellow flowers, produces a very ornamental effect,
and looks as if the bird had really had an eye to decoration.

Inside the nest is entirely lined with very line grass-stems. The
nest is everywhere about an inch thick, and the cavity about
3 inches in diameter by nearly 2 deep.

Eggs said to belong to this species kindly sent me by Mr. Mandelli,
whose men obtained them on the 27th April, arc very Shrike-like
in their appearance. In shape they vary from broad to ordinary
ovals, generally somewhat compressed towards the small end. The
shell is while but almost gloss less. The ground-colour is a dead
white, and they are profusely speckled and spotted with yellowish
brown, paler in some eggs, darker in others. In all the eggs the
markings are by far the most numerous towards the large end.
Two eggs measure O95 and 0-91 in length by 0"74 and O72 in
breadth respectively.

487. Tephrodornis sylvicola, Jerclon. The Malabar Wood-Shrike.

Tephrodornia sylvicola, Jerd., Jerri. B. Lid. i, p. 409 j Hume, Cat.
no. 264.

Major M. Forbes Coussmaker has furnished me with the following