A nest which I found near Kotegurh is composed of fine grass very loosely and slightly put together, all the interspaces being carefully filled in with grass-down firmly felted together.  The nest is nearly the shape of an egg, the entrance being on one side, and extending from about the middle to close to the top.  The exterior dimensions of the nest are about 51/2 inches for the major axis, and 3 inches for the minor.  The entrance-aperture is circular, and about 2 inches in diameter.  The thickness of the nest is a little over three eighths of an inch; but the lower portion, which is lined with very fine grass-stems, is somewhat thicker.  The nest was in a thorny bush, partly suspended from just above the entrance-aperture and partly resting against, though not attached to, some neighbouring twigs.  It contained seven eggs, and was taken at Kirlee (Kotegurh) on the 30th May.  Of course, the position of the nest was that of an egg standing on end and not lying on its side.

They lay from five to seven eggs, and have, I think two broods.

Dr. Jerdon states that “it makes a large, loosely constructed nest of fine grass, the opening near the top a little at one side, and lays three or four eggs of a fleshy white, with numerous small rusty-red spots tending to form a ring at the large end.”

Writing about a collection of eggs made at Murree, Messrs. Cock and Marshall tell us:—­“Nest built in high jungle-grass, loosely but neatly made of very fine grass and cobwebs, opening at one side near the top.  Breeds late in June at about 4000 feet elevation.”

From Almorah Mr. Brooks writes that this species was “common on hill-sides where low bushes were numerous.  One nest found was suspended in a low bush, and was a very neat purse-shaped one, with an opening near the top and rather on one side.  It was composed of fine soft grass of a kind which had dried green, and was intermixed with the down of plants and lined with finer grass.  The eggs were four in number; the ground-colour white, speckled sparingly with light red, but having also a broad zone or ring of deeper reddish brown very near the large end—­on the top of the larger end, in fact.

“Laying in Kumaon in May.”

From Mussoorie Captain Hutton remarks:—­“This little bird appears on the hill, at about 5000 feet, in May.  A nest taken much lower down in June was composed of grasses neatly interwoven in the shape of an ovate ball, the smaller end uppermost and forming the mouth or entrance; it was lined first with cottony seed-down, and then with fine grass-stalks; it was suspended among high grass, and contained five beautiful little eggs of a carneous white colour, thicky freckled with deep rufous, and with a darkish confluent ring of the same at the larger end.  I have seen this species as high as 7000 feet in October.  It delights to sit on the summit of tall grass, or even of an oak, from whence it pours forth a loud and long-continued grating note like the filing of a saw.”