The Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds, Volume 1Hume, Allan Octavian
Philosophy
The Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds, Volume 1
Hume, Allan Octavian
Birds -- India; Birds -- Nests
Colonel Legge gives us the following account of the breeding of this
Drongo, which is confined to Ceylon:--"The breeding-season of this
Drongo is from March until May; and the nest is almost invariably
built at the horizontal fork of the branch of a large tree, at a
considerable height from the ground, sometimes as much as 40 feet. It
is a shallow cup, measuring about 2¼ inches in diameter by 1 in depth,
and is compactly put together, well finished round the top, but
sometimes rather loose on the exterior, which is composed of fine
grass-stalks and bark-fibres, the lining being of fine grass or
tendrils of creepers. The number of eggs varies from two to four,
three being the most common. They vary much in shape, and also in the
depth of their ground-tint; some are regular ovals, others are stumpy
at the small end, while now and then very spherical eggs are laid.
They are either reddish white, 'fleshy,' or pure white, in some cases
marked with small and large blotches of faded red, confluent at
the obtuse end, and openly dispersed over the rest of the surface,
overlying blots of faint lilac-grey; others have a conspicuous zone
round the large end, with a few scanty blotches of light red and
bluish grey on the remainder; in others, again, the markings are
confined to a few very large roundish blotches of the above colours at
one end, or, again, several still larger clouds of brick-red at the
obtuse end, with a few blotches of the same at the other. Dimensions
from 1·0 to 0·86 inch in length, by 0·72 to 0·68 in breadth. I once
observed a pair in the north of Ceylon very cleverly forming their
nest on a horizontal fork by first constructing the side furthest from
the angle, thus forming an arch, which was then joined to the fork by
the formation of the bottom of the structure.
"The parent birds in this species display great courage, vigourously
sweeping down on any intruder who may threaten to molest their young."
334. Chaptia aenea (Vieill.). _The Bronzed Drongo_.
Chaptia aenea (_V._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 433; _Hume, Rough Draft N.
& E._ no. 282.
The Bronzed Drongo breeds, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes, in the
central hills of Nepal, or rather in the plains near to these hills,
rarely quitting large woods. They begin to lay in March, and build a
broad somewhat saucer-shaped nest some 4 or 5 inches in width and 2 to
3 in depth externally. The nest is placed in some slender horizontal
fork, to one at least of the twigs of which it is firmly attached by
vegetable fibres; it is composed of fine twigs and grass, and bound
round with, cobwebs in which pieces of lichen and small cocoons are
often intermingled. Mr. Hodgson specially notes:--"_June 6th, valley_.
Female, nest and eggs; nest on fork of upper branch of large tree, 4·5
inches wide by 2·25 deep, cup-shaped, made of fibres of grass bound
with cobweb, lining none; three eggs, obtusely oval, the ground fawn
tinged white, blotched (especially at larger end) with fawn or reddish
brown,"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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