“Valley, April 1st.—­A pair and nest.  Nest is round, 4 inches deep on the outside and 2 inches within, and the same wide, being of the usual soup-basin shape and open at the top, made of dry leaves bound together with hair-like grass-fibres and moss-roots, which also form the lining, further compacted by spiders’ webs, which, being also twisted round three adjacent twigs, form the suspenders of the nest, the bottom of which does not rest upon anything; attached to a low bush 11/2 foot from the ground.  The nest contained three eggs of a pinkish-white ground thickly spotted with chestnut, the spots being almost entirely confluent at the large end.”

Dr. Jerdon says:—­“I had the nest and eggs brought me by the Lepchas.  The nest was loosely made with grass and bamboo-leaves, and the eggs were white with a few reddish-brown spots.”

A nest of this species was found near Darjeeling in July, at an elevation of between 3000 and 4000 feet.  It was situated in a small bush, in low brushwood, and placed only about 2 feet from the ground.  The nest is a compactly made and moderately deep cup.  The exterior portion of the nest is composed of bamboo-leaves, more or less held in their places by fine horsehair-like black roots, with which also the cavity is very thickly and neatly lined.  Exteriorly the nest is about 3.75 inches in diameter, and nearly 3 in height.  The cavity is 2.25 in diameter and 1.6 in depth.

The nest contained three nearly fresh eggs.  The eggs are moderately elongated ovals, very regular and slightly pointed towards the small end.  The shell is fine and exhibits a slight gloss.  The ground-colour is white or pinkish white, and they are very minutely speckled all over with purplish red.  The specklings exhibit a decided tendency to form a more or less perfect, and more or less confluent, cap or zone at the large end.

Two of the eggs measure 0.72 and 0.71 in length, and 0.54 and 0.52 in breadth.

From Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes:—­“I have only found this Babbler breeding in May at elevations about 5000 feet, but it doubtless breeds also at much lower elevations, probably down to 2000 feet.  The nests are placed within 2 or 3 feet of the ground, between several slender upright shoots, to which they are firmly attached.  They are exceedingly neat and compact-built cups, measuring externally about 4 inches across by 2.75 deep, internally 2.15 wide by 1.6 deep.  They are composed of dry bamboo-leaves held together by a little grass and very fine, hair-like fern-roots.  The egg-cavity is lined with fern-roots.

“The eggs are three or four in number.”