“The egg of the Fairy Blue-bird,” he adds, “was taken slightly set on the 28th February, 1873, from a loose sparsely-built nest situated in a sapling about 12 feet from the ground.  The nest was composed of dead twigs lined with leaves, and was about 4 inches broad and very slightly indented.”

As will be remembered, Dr. Jerdon states that “Mr. Ward obtained, what he was informed were, the nest and eggs; the nest was large, made of roots and fibres and lined with moss; and the eggs, two in number, were pale greenish, much spotted with dusky:”  and I have no doubt that Mr. Ward’s eggs were genuine.

The egg is an elongated oval, compressed almost throughout its entire length, very blunt at both points; a long cone, the apex broadly truncated and rounded off obtusely, sealed on half a very oblate spheroid.  In no one single point—­shape, texture of shell, colour or character of markings—­does this egg approach to those of either the Oriole or the Chloropsis.  This shell is very close-grained and fine, but only moderately glossy.  The ground is pale green, and it is streaked and blotched with pale dull brown.  The markings are almost entirely confluent over the large end (where they appear to be underlaid by dingy, dimly discernible greyish blotches), and from the cap thus formed they descend in streaky mottlings towards the small end, growing fewer and further apart as they approach this latter, which is almost devoid of markings.

It is impossible to generalize from a single specimen as to the position this bird should hold, but this one egg renders it quite certain to my mind that the nearest allies of Irena are neither Oriolus nor Chloropsis, and that it is quite impossible to place it with the Dicruridae.  The eggs of Psaroglossa spiloptera are not very dissimilar, and I expect that it is somewhere between the Paradiseidae, Sturnidae, and Icteridae that Irena will ultimately have to be located.

The egg measures 1.1 by 0.73.

Mr. Fulton Bourdillon writes:—­“The last note I have to send you at present is that of a Blue-bird’s nest (Irena puella).  Of this there can be no possible doubt, as my brother and I shot both the male and female birds, and I took the nest with my own hands.  It was in a pollard tree beside a stream among some thick branches about 20 feet from the ground.  The nest was neatly but very loosely constructed of fresh green moss, which formed the bulk of the nest, and lined with the flower-stalks of a jungle shrub.  It was very well concealed, and was about 4 inches broad with a cavity not more than 11/2 inch deep.  It contained two eggs slightly set, measuring respectively 1.11 x .84 and 1.16 x .81.  These eggs tally very fairly in colour, shape, and size with those sent last year; of the identity of which I was doubtful at the time, though now I think there can be no mistake.

“Since writing last I have had another nest of Irena puella brought me with two fresh eggs.  The nest was very loosely put together and similar in all respects to the one last sent.  The eggs measure .95 x .81 and .92 x .79, with the same well-defined ring round the larger end.  The nest was in a small tree about 10 feet from the ground and was well concealed.  It was composed of twigs, without any lining.”