Messrs. Davidson and Wenden say:—­“Common, and breeds in the Deccan.”

Major C.T.  Bingham says:—­“Breeds both at Allahabad and at Delhi from March to quite the end of August, placing its loosely constructed (rarely firmly built) nest of twigs and fine grass-roots generally at no great height in babool-trees.  Twice only I have found them in dense mango-trees at about thirty feet from the ground.  The nests are not, I think, as a rule, so deep as those of Crateropus terricolor; once or twice I have found the soft down of the Madar (Catatropes hamiltonii) incorporated into the lining of grass-roots.  The eggs are generally three or four in number.”

Mr. Benjamin Aitken writes:—­“All the nests which I have seen of the Large Grey Babbler have been on babool-trees.  At Akola (Berar) in 1870, a great many had their nests during the month of July.  I have recorded two instances of nests placed at a height above the ground of 15 feet and 20 feet.  These were at Poona, one on the 21st April, and the other on the 10th May.  I could not go up to the nests, but the birds in both cases were sitting closely.  I have twice found nests with only three newly-hatched young ones.”

Colonel Butler informs us that “the Large Grey Babbler breeds in the neighbourhood of Deesa during the rains.  Both the nest and eggs closely resemble those of C. terricolor, but the latter differ slightly in being less elongated, not so pointed at the small end, rounder at the large end, and somewhat paler in colour.  I have taken nests on the following dates:—­

“July 19, 1875.  A nest containing 4 fresh eggs. 
“June 30, 1876.    "      "       4 fresh eggs. 
“July 15, 1876.    "      "       4 fresh eggs. 
“July 20, 1876.    "      "       3 fresh eggs.

“The nest in every instance was similar to that described by Jerdon, viz.:—­a loose structure of dead roots, twigs, and grass, the interior being neatly lined with closely-woven roots of ‘khus-khus.’  The old birds generally select some thorny tree (Mimosa &c.) to build on, and the nest is usually from 8 feet to 20 feet from the ground.

“Even in the nesting-season these birds are gregarious, joining a flock generally as soon as they leave the nest.”

The eggs of this species do not appear to me to differ perceptibly from, those of Crateropus canorus.  When one first takes a nest or two of each of them, one is apt to draw distinctions and fancy that the eggs of the two species can be discriminated; but after taking forty or fifty nests of each species, it becomes obvious that there is no variety of the one in either colour, shape, or size that cannot be paralleled in the other.  All I have said of the eggs of C. canorus is applicable to the eggs of this species, and the only difference that, with a huge series of each before me, I can discover is that, as a body, there is less variation in the colour of the eggs of Argya malcolmi than in those of C. canorus.