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
Mr. Wait, writing from Coonoor, says:--"_T. cachinnans_ breeds about
May, and lays from three to five oval eggs. The ground is bluish, with
ash-coloured and brown spots and blotches, and occasionally marks."
None of my other correspondents, however, admit that the bird ever
lays more than three eggs.
Mr. Davison tells me that "this bird breeds commonly on the Nilghiris,
just before the rains set in, in May and the earlier part of June, but
it occasionally breeds earlier (in April) or later (in the latter
end of June). The nest is cup-shaped, composed of dead leaves, moss,
grass, &c., and lined with a few moss-roots or fine grass. It is
placed in the fork of a branch about 6 or 8 feet from the ground. The
eggs are a bluish green, mottled chiefly towards the larger end, and
sometimes also streaked with purplish brown. The normal number of eggs
is two; sometimes, however, three are laid."
From Kotagherry, Miss Cockburn remarks:--"The name 'Laughing-Thrush'
is most applicable to this bird, and its notes are often mistaken for
the sound of the human voice. This bird is very shy, except when its
nest contains eggs or young, when it becomes extremely bold. I was
quite surprised to see a pair whose nest I was taking come so close
as to induce me to put out my hand to catch them. The Laughing-Thrush
builds a pretty, though large, nest, and generally selects the forked
branches of a thick bush, and commences its nest with a large quantity
of moss, after which there is a lining of fine grass and roots, and
the withered fibrous covering of the Peruvian Cherry (_Physalis
peruviana_), the nest being finished with a few feathers, in general
belonging to the bird. The inside of the nest is perfectly round, and
rarely contains more than two eggs, belonging to the owner. The eggs
are of a beautiful greenish-blue colour, with a few large and small
brown blotches and streaks, mostly at the large end. I have found the
nests of these birds in February, March, and April. Occasionally the
Black-and-white Crested Cuckoo, which appears on these hills in the
month of March, deposits its eggs (two in number) in the nest of
this Thrush. They are easily distinguished, as their colour is quite
different from the Thrush's eggs, being entirely dark bluish green."
Mr. Rhodes W. Morgan writing from South India, says, in 'The
Ibis':--"It builds a very neat nest of moss, dried leaves, and the
outer husk of the fruit of the Brazil Cherry, lined with feathers,
bits of fur, and other soft substances. The nest is cup-shaped, and
generally contains three eggs, most peculiarly marked with blotches,
streaks, and wavy lines of a dark claret-colour on a light blue
ground. The markings are almost always at the larger end."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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