Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 1).djvu/283

Nidification. Mandelli's Babbler breeds from March to May, a second brood being very often found from May to July or even August. Their favourite elevation is between 2,000 and 3,000 feet and their favourite country bamboo-jungle, the lightest of grass or scrub undergrowth, or poor secondary growth in deserted cultivation; more rarely their nests may be found in undergrowth of forests. Wherever found the nests are always on the ground

Fig. 43.—Head of P. r. mandellii.

unless in bamboo clumps a few inches to 2 or 3 feet above it. They are made of grass and bamboo leaves, or of the latter alone merely lined with grass and in shape are large oval balls. Sometimes, when the fallen leaves lie so thick as to completely hide the nest, this is merely a deep cup or semi-domed affair and I have seen such buried deep in piles of bamboo leaves and dead grass. They are very fond of placing their nests at the edge of elephant or gaur tracks, where it seems a wonder they can escape being trampled on. The eggs, three or four in number, are like those of P. r. ruficeps, but are perhaps rather more richly marked on the whole. 200 eggs average 22·4 × 16·3 mm.; maxima 24·19 × 17·1 and 21·7 × 18·8 mm.; minima 20·5 × 16·1 and 20·6 × 15·3 mm.

Habits. During the winter this little Babbler goes about either in pairs or family parties of five or six, frequenting the kind of cover described above. They are very restless, energetic birds, constantly on the move and keeping up a never-ending chatter amongst themselves. They feed both on the ground and on bushes and grass, and from their partiality to thin cover are easy to watch as long as one keeps perfectly still, but a movement of hand or foot sends them scuttling off into denser cover, whence they loudly expostulate against the disturber. They have many sweet notes as well as harsh ones, but their prevailing note is that of the genus, a constantly repeated "pretty-dear, pretty-dear."

 

(244) Pellorneum ruficeps jonesi.

The Western Spotted Babbler.

Pellorneum ruficeps jonesi Stuart Baker, Bull. B. O. C. xli, p. 9 (1920) (Kalka).

Vernacular names. None recorded.

Description. Differs from Mandelli's Babbler in having the general tone of plumage more brown and less olive; the cap is