189.  Myiophoneus horsfieldi.  Vigors. The Malabar Whistling-Thrush.

Myiophonus horsfieldii, Vig., Jerd.  B. Ind. ii, p. 499;_Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 342.

Mr. W. Davison says:—­“The Malabar Whistling-Thrush (rather a misnomer, by the way) breeds on the slopes of the Nilghiris, never ascending higher than 6000 feet.  The nest is always placed on some rock in a mountain torrent; it is a coarse and, for the size of the bird, a very large structure, and though I have never measured the nest, I should say that the total height was about 18 inches or more, and the greatest diameter about 18 inches.  Exteriorly it is composed of roots, dead leaves, and decaying vegetation of all kinds; the egg-cavity, which is saucer-shaped and comparatively shallow, is coarsely lined with roots.  It breeds during March and April.”

Miss Cockburn says:—­“A nest of this bird was found on the 22nd of March in a hole in a tree situated in a wood at a height of about 40 feet from the ground.  Two bamboo ladders had to be tied together to reach it, for the tree had no branches except at the top.  The nest consisted of a large quantity of sticks and dried roots of young trees, laid down in the form of a Blackbird’s nest.  The contents of it were three eggs.  They were quite fresh, and the bird might have laid another.  The poor birds (particularly the hen) showed great boldness and returned frequently to the nest, while a ladder was put up and a man ascended it.”

Such a situation for the nest of this bird may seem incredible; but my friend Miss Cockburn is a most careful observer, and she sent me one of the eggs taken from this very nest, and it undoubtedly belonged to this species; moreover, there is no other bird on the Nilghiris that she, who has figured most beautifully all the Nilghiri birds, could possibly have mistaken for this species.  At the same time, the situation in which she found the nest was altogether unusual and exceptional.

I now find that such a situation for the nest of this bird is not even very unusual.  On the 3rd of July Miss Cockburn took another nest in a hole in a tree, about thirty feet from the ground, containing three fresh eggs, which she kindly sent me; and writing from the Wynaad Mr. J. Darling, jun., remarks that there this species commonly builds in holes in trees.  He says:—­“July 22nd.  Nest found near Kythery, S. Wynaad, in a crevice of a log of a felled tree in a new clearing 11 feet from the ground.  Nest built entirely of roots.  The foundation was of roots from some swampy ground and had a good deal of mud about it.  Another nest was in a hole of a dead tree 32 feet from the ground.”

Mr. Frank Bourdillon writes from Travancore:—­“Very common from the base to near the summit of the hills, frequenting alike jungle and open clearings, though generally found in the neighbourhood of some running stream; I have known this species to build on ledges of rock and in a hollow tree overhanging a stream, in either case constructing a rather loosely put together nest of roots and coarse fibre with a little green moss intermixed.  The female lays two to four eggs, and both birds assist in the incubation.”