This year (1874) Mr. Gammie writes:—­“This species breeds in Sikhim in May and Jane.  I have found the nests in our Chinchona reserves, at various elevations from 3500 to 5000 feet, always in forests with a more or less dense undergrowth.  The nest is placed in trees, at heights of from 6 to 12 feet from the ground, between and firmly attached to several slender upright shoots.  It is cup-shaped, usually rather shallow, composed of dry bamboo-leaves and twigs and lined with root-fibres.  One I measured was 5 inches in diameter by 2.5 in height exteriorly; the cavity was 4 inches across and only 1.3 deep.  Of course they vary slightly.  As far as my experience goes, they do not lay more than three eggs; indeed, at times only two.”

Dr. Jerdon remarks that “a nest and eggs, said to be of this bird, were brought to me at Darjeeling; the nest loosely made with roots and grass, and containing two pale blue eggs.”

One nest of this species taken in Native Sikhim in July, was placed in the fork of four leafy twigs, and was in shape a slightly truncated inverted cone, nearly 7 inches in height and 5.5 in diameter at the base of the cone, which was uppermost.  The leaves attached to the twigs almost completely enveloped it.  The nest itself was composed almost entirely of stems of creepers, several of which were wound round the living leaves of the twigs so as to hold them in position on the outside of the nest; a few bamboo-leaves were intermingled with the creeper’s stems in the body of the nest.  The cavity, which is almost perfectly hemispherical, only rather deeper, is 3.5 inches in diameter and 2.25 in depth, and is entirely and very neatly lined with very fine black roots.  Another nest, which was taken at Rishap on the 21st May, with two fresh eggs, was placed in some small bamboos at a height of about 10 feet from the ground, it is composed externally entirely of dry bamboo-leaves, loosely tied together by a few creepers and a little vegetable fibre, and it is lined pretty thickly with fine black fibrous roots.  This nest is about 6 inches in diameter and 3.5 high exteriorly, while the cavity measures 3.5 by 2.

The eggs sent me by Mr. Gammie are a beautiful clear, rather pale, greenish blue, without any spots or markings.  They have a slight gloss.  In shape they are typically much elongated and somewhat pyriform ovals, very obtuse at both ends; but moderately broad examples are met with.  In length they vary from 1.05 to 1.33, and in breadth from 0.76 to 0.86; but the average of thirty-five eggs is 1.18 nearly by 0.82 nearly.

69.  Garrulax leucolophus (Hardw.). The Himalayan White-crested Laughing-Thrush.

Garrulax leucolophus (Hardw.), Jerd.  B, Ind. ii, p. 35; Hume.  Rough Draft N. & E. no. 407.

According to Mr. Hodgson’s notes, the Himalayan White-crested Laughing-Thrush breeds at various elevations in Sikhim and Nepal, from the Terai to an elevation of 5000 or 6000 feet, from April to June.  It lays from four to six eggs, which are described and figured as pure white, very broad ovals, measuring 1.2 by 0.9.  It breeds, we are told, in small trees, constructing a rude cup-shaped nest amongst a clamp of shoots, or between a number of slender twigs, of dry bamboo-leaves, creepers, scales of the turmeric plant, &c., and lined with fine roots.