wily Drongo in undisturbed possession of the coveted booty. The season of the year at which the incubation of these birds takes place is somewhat uncertain, and naturalists differ very considerably in their opinions on this point. According to our own observations and experience, they breed but once in the year. The nest, like that of the Pirol, is suspended between two branches at some distance from the ground, and so placed as to be fully exposed to all the changes of wind and weather; nevertheless, the exterior is very carelessly formed of twigs and fibres, and has no lining except at most a few coarse hairs. The eggs, three or four in number, have a white or reddish white shell, spotted with brown or red. Many species of the Drongo are caught and reared; the Bee-eater in particular is very commonly seen in the houses in Calcutta and other Indian cities. Blyth tells us that it is readily tamed, and soon becomes a most amusing companion, from the power it possesses of imitating not only the voices of other birds, which it does so exactly as to deceive their mates, but also any sound it hears. * * * * * The SWALLOW SHRIKES (_Artami_) constitute a family of strangely-formed birds, that inhabit New Holland, India, and the Malay Islands. Their muscular bodies are furnished with very long wings, in which the second quill is longer than the rest. Their short or moderate-sized tails are either quite straight or slightly incised at the extremity. The beak is short, almost conical, rounded at the sides, the upper mandible slightly bent at the tip, and incised at the margins. The feet are strong, with short tarsi and toes, the latter armed with sharp and very hooked claws. The plumage is thick, and of a dusky hue. THE WOOD SWALLOW SHRIKE. The WOOD SWALLOW SHRIKE (_Artamus sordidus_) is of a reddish grey upon the body; the tail and wings are dark blueish black, the third and fourth quill being edged with white upon the outer web. The tail-feathers, with the exception of the two in the centre, are broadly tipped with white. The eye is dark brown, the beak blue at its base and black at its tip; the feet are greyish white. The female is smaller than her mate, and presents a spotted appearance upon the back, the feathers on that part having a dirty white streak upon their shafts. The colour of the surface of the body is a mixture of white and brown. This bird is about six inches long and thirteen and a half broad.