Chapter 25

The Burmese Nuthatch probably breeds throughout Pegu and Tenasserim. Of its nidification in the latter division Major C.T. Bingham writes:--"On the 21st March, wandering about in a deserted clearing, I saw a couple of Nuthatches (_Sitta neglecta_) flying to and from a tree, carrying food apparently. Watching them closely with a pair of binoculars, I saw them disappear near a knot in a branch. The tree was a dead dry one and rather difficult to climb, but a peon of mine went up and reported five young ones unfledged, the nest-hole being 6 inches deep, and the opening, which was originally a large one, and probably caused by water wearing into the site of a broken branch, narrowed by an edging of clay. The young lay on a layer of broken leaves. As they were featherless, blind little things I left them alone, and was delighted to see the parents continuing to feed them."

321. Sitta castaneiventris, Frankl. _The Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch_.

Sitta castaneoventris, _Frankl., Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 386.

The late Captain Cock furnished me with the following note a long time ago regarding the breeding of this Nuthatch:--"A very common bird at Sitapur in Oudh, every mango-tope containing one or more pairs. They pair early and commence making their nests in February, laying their eggs in March. The nests are in cavities of trees, at no great height from the ground, and unless observed in course of construction are difficult to find--the bird filling the whole cavity up with mud consolidated with some viscid seed of a parasitical plant, and merely leaving a small round hole for entrance. This composition hardens like pucca masonry in a very short time, and secures the nest from all marauders except the oologist. The nest consists of a few dry leaves at the bottom of the cavity at no great depth, and upon this four eggs are laid. The birds sit close and do not easily desert their nests, as the following instance will show. In 1873 I found a _Sitta's_ nest in a mango-tree, and after watching the birds for some days, when the eggs had been laid I took the nest, placing my handkerchief in the nest to prevent bits of mud falling in on the eggs. I opened out the cavity, cleaning away the mud, and putting in my hand I caught the female bird. I looked at her and let her go. In 1874 curiosity induced me to look at the place again, and to my surprise I saw the cavity had been built up again. I caught a bird on the nest and took four eggs; it may have been a different bird, but there was only one pair in that tope of trees, and was probably the same bird I caught in 1873. I found another nest in my garden about 2 feet from the ground, and I often used to flash the sunlight from a small hand-mirror, that I use out birds' nesting, onto the hen bird while she sat on her eggs. Our collection contains a large series of these eggs, the produce of some five-and-twenty nests taken by myself at Sitapur."

Major C.T. Bingham writes:--"At Allahabad I found two nests of this little Nuthatch, one in July and one in September. I regret to say neither contained any eggs, though the birds were going in and out constantly. The nests were in tiny holes in mango-trees, the entrances being still more contracted by earth being plastered round."

Colonel C.H.T. Marshall observes:--"A nest of the Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch was pointed out to me at Umballa in the next garden to mine. It was about 12 feet above the ground in an old mango-tree; the locality chosen was the stump of a branch which had been cut off and had rotted down. Outside there was a great deal of masonry work as hard and firm as that on white-ant hills, in the middle of which was a neat circular hole just large enough for the passage of the bird. The masonry continued down inside the hole as far as I could see; I did not break it open, as there were nearly fledged young ones inside. I knew this because the parent birds had been seen for some days carrying in food. I did not see the nest till the end of May. The following spring I found another nest at Kurnal in a bokain tree; it was constructed after the same fashion; the nest itself, which consisted only of dead leaves, was not very far down. I was unfortunately this time (March 15th) too early for the eggs. The holes are not easy to see from the ground, as they are most skilfully concealed from view."

The eggs of this species are very regular, slightly elongated ovals, scarcely compressed or pointed towards the small end at all. The shell is fragile, and is either entirely glossless or has only a trace of gloss. The ground-colour is white, with at times a faint pinkish tinge, and the markings consist of spooks, spots, and splashes (always most numerous at the large end, where they usually form a more or less conspicuous though irregular cap) of dull or bright brick-red, more or less intermingled in most specimens with dull reddish lilac. The arrangement and size of the markings are very variable. In some eggs they are all mere specks, forming a small speckly cap at the large end, and elsewhere very thinly scattered about the surface; in others many of the spots are (for the size of the egg) large, the majority are well-marked spots and not mere specks, and the whole surface of the egg is pretty thickly studded with them, while the broad end exhibits a large blotched and mottled cap. The majority of the eggs are intermediate between these two extremes.

In length the eggs vary from 0·61 to 0·72 and in breadth from. 0·5 to 0·54, but the average of numerous specimens is 0·67 by 0·52.[A]

[Footnote A: SITTA TEPHRONOTA, Sharpe. _The Eastern Rock-Nuthatch_

Sitta neumayeri, _Mich., Hume, cat._ no. 248 quint.

The Eastern Rock-Nuthatch is abundant in Baluchistan, and without doubt breeds there. The following note by Lieut. H.E. Barnes will therefore be interesting. He writes from Afghanistan:--"This Nuthatch is very common on the hills. It appears to choose very different localities to build in. In some instances a hole in the face of a rock is selected, and this it lines with agglutinated mud and resin, continuing the lining-case until it, projects in the shape of a cone to fully 8 inches. It seems fond of decorating its little palace with feathers to a distance of 2 or even 3 feet, and it is thus a conspicuous object; but most nests are found in holes in trees, and even here feathers are stuck into crevices all around. They are usually well lined with camel-hair.

"They breed in March and April. The eggs are usually four in number (I have sometimes found five), oval in shape, more or less glossy white, and more or less densely or sparsely (generally most densely towards the large end) spotted and blotched with varying shades of chestnut to reddish brown, more or less intermingled with pale purple and occasionally purplish grey. Some eggs are very richly marked. Some are almost pure white. They average 0·87 by 0·57."

The eggs of this species are typically moderately broad ovals, slightly pointed towards the small end, but elongated and more or less blunt-ended pyriform examples occur. The shell is extremely fine and smooth, but has only moderate amount of gloss in any specimen that I have seen and in some specimens has only a trace of this. The ground colour is pure white, and the eggs are generally thinly speckled, spotted, or blotched, about the broad end only, with a pale red; occasionally a few greyish-purple spots and blotches are intermingled with the other markings, and specks and tiny spots of both red and grey sometimes extend to the smaller end of the egg also. I have seen no such examples myself, but very probably in some eggs the principal markings may be at the small end. Eighteen eggs vary from 0·81 to 0·91 in length by 0·61 to 0·69 in breadth.]

323. Sitta leucopsis, Gould. _The White-cheeked Nuthatch_.

Sitta leucopsis, _Gould, Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 385; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 249.

Captain Cock took the eggs of the White-cheeked Nuthatch late in May and early in June (1871) in Kashmir at Sonamurg.

Captain Wardlaw Ramsay says, writing of Afghanistan:--"I observed it hanging about a nest-hole on the 21st May, but on returning to take the eggs some days later was unable to find the tree:" and he adds, "On the 21st of June I shot a young bird just fledged near the Peiwar Kotul."

The eggs of this species vary somewhat in size. In shape some are moderately elongated, some are somewhat broad ovals, and all are, more or less, compressed towards the smaller end, which, however, is obtuse and not at all pointed. The ground is white and has a slight gloss. The markings consist of small spots and minute specks, some eggs exhibiting only the latter. In all cases the markings are most dense towards the large end, where they generally form an irregular and ill-defined mottled cap or zone. In colour the markings are red and pale purple, the red varying from bright brickdust-red to brownish and even purplish red, and the purple being sometimes lilac and sometimes grey, and here and there in a single speck, almost black. In length the eggs vary from 0·67 to 0·75 inch, and in breadth from 0·5 to 0·55 inch.

323. Sitta frontalis,, Horsf. _The Velvet-fronted Blue Nuthatch_.

Dendrophila frontalis (_Horsf._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ p. 388; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 253.

The Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, lays from the middle of February to the end of May. It breeds in the forest-tracts of the Sub-Himalayan ranges, in the Central Indian forests, the Ghâts of Southern India, and the well-wooded slopes of the Nilghiris, Palnis, &c.

It builds a compact little nest of moss and feathers in a tiny hole in a tree, selecting, I believe, generally a natural cavity, but certainly trimming the entrance and interior itself.

Mr. B. Thompson says:--"This species is common in all the low densely-wooded valleys of the Sub-Himalayan ranges of Kumaon, at an elevation of from 1500 to 2500 feet. It breeds in May and June in hollows of trees. Any small hole suits for a nest, and it lays four or five eggs, for I have seen it with as many young, though I never took the trouble of getting out the eggs themselves."

Mr. Davison says:--"This Nuthatch breeds on the Nilghiris as high up as Ootacamund, nesting in holes of trees, and laying three or four eggs, spotted with chestnut, pinkish red, or reddish brown. The nest is composed of moss, moss-roots, &c., and lined with feathers. I am not quite certain how long the breeding-season lasts, but I think that it is from the middle of April to the early part of May."

Miss Cockburn, of Kotagherry, sends me the following account of the first nest she took of this species:--

"After having wished for some years to obtain the eggs of this bird, I was delighted to hear from my brother that he had seen a Nuthatch go into a _small_ hole in a tree, and that, on looking into it, he had seen something like a nest. I went prepared with a chisel and hammer, but wished first to ascertain fully who the owner of the nest was. After watching at a respectful distance for a long time, an Indian Grey Tit flew to the hole and peeped in. My first thought was one of great disappointment at having ridden many miles with such high expectations to find only a Common Titmouse's nest; but it did not last long; the inquisitive Grey Tit found the hole too small for him, and flew off just as happily as he had flown to it. I continued to watch, and was quite repaid by seeing a Velvet-fronted Nuthatch fly to the top of the tree containing the nest, and descend rapidly down the trunk (which was about 12 or 13 feet high), as if it knew where the wee hole was, and disappear into it. This was sufficient proof as to the proprietor of the nest; I walked quietly up to the tree, and when within a foot of it out flew the bird. My handkerchief was stuffed into the hole to prevent any chips breaking the eggs, should there be any: and making use of the chisel and hammer, I soon made the hole large enough to admit my hand. The nest contained three eggs, which I most carefully extracted one by one. The nest was then brought out, and consisted of a quantity of beautiful green moss, feathers (many of which belong to the bird), some soft fine hair, and a few pieces of lichen. This nest was discovered on the 10th February. The tree it was found in grew nearly alone, at the side of a road not much frequented.

"The eggs were quite fresh, and most probably the bird would have laid at least one more; but these were sufficient to show the colour of the eggs, which were pure white, with dark and light red spots and blotches, chiefly at the thick end, besides a circle of spots like a Flycatcher's eggs."

Mr. Rhodes W. Morgan, writing of South India, says, in 'The Ibis':--"It breeds in holes of trees, preferring the deserted ones excavated by _Megalama caniceps_. The nest is built of moss, and lined with the fluff of hares and soft feathers. The eggs are always four in number, spotted with pinkish red on a white ground, the spots being more numerous towards the larger end. They breed in March. Dimensions, 0·71 inch long by 0·57 broad,"

Mr. Mandelli sent me a small pad-like nest of this species found on the 4th May in Native Sikhim. It was placed in a hollow of a trunk of a large tree about 3 feet from the ground. It is composed of very fine moss felted together with a little fine vegetable fibre, and the upper surface coated with a little fine short silky fur, probably that of a rat.

Major Bingham, writing from Tenasserim, says:--"Fairly common in the Thoungyeen valley. On the 18th February I found a nest in a hole in a branch of a pynkado tree (_Xylia dolabrifomis_), but I was too early for eggs."

One egg of this very beautiful species was sent me by Miss Cockburn. It is intermediate in size and colour between those of the European Creeper and Nuthatch, while at the same time it strongly recalls the eggs of _Parus atriceps_. In shape the egg is a broad oval (not quite so broad, however, as those of the European Nuthatch are), slightly compressed towards one end. The ground-colour is white, and the egg is blotched, speckled, and spotted, chiefly, however, in a sort of irregular zone round the large end, with brickdust-red and somewhat pale purple. The shell is fine and compact, but devoid of gloss. The egg measures 0·08 by 0·55 inch.

Three other eggs from the Sikhim Terai measure 0·68 by 0·51.

Family DICRURIDAE.

327. Dicrurus ater (Hermann). _The Black Drongo_.

Dicrurus macrocercus (_V._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 427. Buchanga albirictus, _Hodgs., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 278.

The Black Drongo or Common King-Crow lays throughout India, at any rate in the plain country; it does not appear to breed either in the Himalayas or the Nilghiris at any height exceeding 5000 feet.

A few eggs may be found towards the close of April, and again during the first week of August, but May, June, and July are _the_ months.

It builds usually pretty high up in tall trees, in some fork not quite at the outside, constructing a broad shallow cup, and lays normally four eggs, although I _have_ found five. Elsewhere I have recorded the following in regard to its nidification:--

"Close at our own gate is a pretty neem tree, the '_Melia azadirachta_,' a species now naturalized in Provence and other parts of the south of France. High up in a fork a small nest was visible, and projecting over it on one side a black forked tail that could belong to nothing but the King-Crow. Of this bird we have already taken during the last six weeks at least fifty nests, and in many cases where we had left the empty nest in _statu quo_, we found it a week later with a fresh batch of eggs laid therein. Many birds will never return to a nest which has once been robbed, but others, like the King-Crow and the Little Shrike (_Lanius vittatus_) will continue laying even after the nest has been _twice_ robbed. The very day after the nest has been cleared of perhaps four slightly incubated eggs, a fresh one that otherwise would assuredly never have seen the light is laid, and that, too, a fertile egg, which, if not meddled with, will be hatched off in due course. It might be supposed that immediately on discovering their loss, nature urged the birds to new intercourse, the result of which was the fertile egg, and this, in some cases, is probably really the case; Martins and others of the Swallow kind being often to be seen busy with 'love's pleasing labour' before their eggs have been well stowed away by the collector. But this will not account for instances that I have observed of birds in confinement, who separated from the male before they had laid their full number, and then later, just when they began to sit deprived of their eggs, straightway laid a second set, neither so large nor so well coloured as the first, but still fertile eggs that were duly hatched. But for the removal of the first set, these subsequent eggs would never have been developed or laid. Now, the theory has always been that the contact of the sperm- and germ-cells causes the development and fertilization of the latter. In these cases no fresh accession of sperm-cells was possible, and hence it would seem as if in some birds the female organs were able to store up living sperm-cells, which only work to fertilize and develop ova in the event of some accident rendering it necessary, and which otherwise ultimately lose vitality and pass away without action.

"The nest of the King-Crow that we took was of the ordinary type; in fact I have noticed scarcely any difference in the shape or materials of all the numerous nests of this common bird that I have yet seen. They are all composed of tiny twigs and fine grass-stems, and the roots of the khus-khus grass, as a rule, neatly and tightly woven together, and exteriorly bound round with a good deal of cobweb, in which a few feathers are sometimes entangled. The cavity is broad and shallow, and at times lined with horsehair or fine grass, but most commonly only with khus. The bottom of the nest is very thin, but the sides or rim rather firm and thick; in this case the cavity was 4 inches in diameter, and about 1½ in depth, and contained three pure white glossless eggs. In the very next tree, however (a mango, and this is perhaps their favourite tree), was another similar nest, containing four eggs, slightly glossy, with a salmon-pink tinge throughout, and numerous well-marked brownish-red specks and spots, most numerous towards the large end, looking vastly like Brobdingnagian specimens of the Rocket-bird's eggs. The variation in this bird's eggs is remarkable; out of more than one hundred eggs nearly one third have been pure white, and between the dead glossless purely white egg and a somewhat glossy, warm pinky grounded one, with numerous well-marked spots and specks of maroon colour, dull-red, and red-brown or even dusky, every possible gradation is found. Each set of eggs, however, seems to be invariably of the same type, and we have never yet found a quite white and a well coloured and marked egg in the same nest.

"These birds are very jealous of the approach of other birds even of their own species to a nest in which they have eggs, and many a little family would this year have been safely reared, and their ovate cradles have escaped the plundering hands of my shikaries, had not attention been invariably called to the thereabouts of the nest by the pertinacious and vicious rushes of one or other of the parents from near their nest at every feathered thing that; passed them by."

Captain Hutton says:--"This species, which appears to be generally diffused throughout India, is not uncommon in the Dehra Doon, but does not ascend the hills; it breeds in June, laying four eggs of somewhat variable size. They are pure white, thus differing widely from those of the supposed _D. longcaudatus_ of Mussoorie.

"It is evident likewise that the eggs which Captain Tickell assigns to this species do not belong to it. (_Vide_ Journal As. Soc. vol. xvii. p. 304.)

"The nest differs from that of our hill species, being larger and far less neatly made; it is placed in the bifurcation of the smaller branches of a tall tree, and is composed exteriorly of two hard semi-woody stalks of various plants, plastered over with cobwebs. Another one was constructed entirely of fine roots, like the khus-khus used for tatties, and plastered over like the former with cobwebs. It is flattened or saucer-shaped, and about 3 inches in diameter."

Mr. F.R. Blewitt remarks:--"It breeds from the middle of May well into August. I do not think it has two broods in the year, at least close observation has not proved the fact. Trees of various sizes are chosen indiscriminately for the nest, from the lofty mango and tamarind to the low-growing roonji, &c.

"The nest is a peculiarly slight-formed structure (occasionally I have seen it otherwise, but this is the exception), always neatly made. The exterior of the nest is composed of small fine twigs, roots, and grass, with generally a good deal of spider's web round the outer surface. The average exterior diameter of the nest is about 5·5 inches. The cavity is frequently lined with horsehair. On three or four occasions I have seen very fine khus substituted for the hair. The average inner diameter of the nest is about 3·4 inches.

"The regular number of eggs is four; in colour they are a light reddish white, with a few spots or blotches, here and there of a purplish red or red-brown. The eggs often differ much in size.

"I happened to find in one nest two eggs, one of the usual size, the other only about one third of the size. What is more surprising, it was perfectly formed, as regards the white and yolk."

The instance of sagacity related by Mr. Phillips, and quoted by Jerdon, was related to him by the late Mr. Davis, my old Collector of Customs.

"I have on two or three occasions myself witnessed similar instances of sagacity. This bird, during the breeding-season, is pugnacious to a degree, fearlessly attacking every bird that approaches the tree on which the nest may be."

Writing from the Sambhur Lake, Mr. E.M. Adam says:--"Very common here. The King-Crow breeds here in June and July. The eggs vary much with regard to colouring; some are pure white without spots, some have dark brown spots on the white ground, whilst others have a pale rufous ground darker at the broader end, with spots of deep rust-colour and lilac."

Colonel G.F.L. Marshall writes:--"At Bheera Tal, fully 4000 feet above the sea, I found two nests of this species on the 24th May, one contained four eggs, and the other three; the eggs varied much in size, and out of the seven, six were pure white, almost like Barbet's eggs, and the seventh had only a faint sprinkling of tiny dark spots at one end. The birds, all four of which I shot, were typical _D. ater_, with the white spot well developed. On the same day, and in the same place, I found eggs of _D. longicaudatus_. I record this, as it is not usual to find _D. ater_ breeding at this elevation. It may be noticed that the eggs of this species found by Hutton in the Doon were all pure white, while in the plains I think white is more exceptional."

Dr. Scully says:--"In Nepal it breeds freely at elevations of from 4000 to 5000 feet. Three nests were taken in the valley, in May and June; these contained each three or four pure white eggs."