Garrulus bispecularis, _Vig., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 307; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 669.
The Himalayan Jay breeds pretty well throughout the lower ranges of
the Himalayas. It is nowhere, that I have seen, numerically very
abundant, but it is to be met with everywhere. It lays in March and
April, and, though I have never taken the nest myself, I have now
repeatedly had it sent me. It builds at moderate heights, rarely above
25 feet from the ground, in trees or thick shrubs, at elevations of
from 3000 to 7000 feet. The nest is a moderate-sized one, 6 to 8
inches in external diameter, composed of fine twigs and grass, and
lined with finer grass and roots.
The nest is usually placed in a fork.
The eggs are four to six in number.
Mr. Hodgson notes that he "found a nest" of this species "on the 20th
April, in the forest of Shewpoori, at an elevation of 7000 feet. The
nest was placed in the midst of a large tree in a fork. The nest was
very shallow, but regularly formed and compact. It was composed of
long seeding grasses wound round and round, and lined with finer
and more elastic grass-stems. The nest measured about 6½ inches in
diameter, but the cavity was only about half an inch deep."
Colonel C.H.T. Marshall remarks:--"I only took one authenticated set
of eggs of this species (I found several with young), as it is an
early breeder--I say authenticated eggs, because I _think_ we may have
attributed some to _Garrulus lanceolatus_, as the nests and eggs are
very similar, and having a large number of the eggs of the latter, I
took some from my shikaree without verifying them.
"The nest I took on the 6th May, 1873, at Murree, was at an elevation,
I should say, of between 6500 and 7000 feet (as it was near the top
of the hill), in the forest. The tree selected was a horse-chestnut,
about 25 feet high. The nest was near the top, which is the case with
nearly all the Crows' and Magpies' nests that I have taken. It was
of loose construction, made of twigs and fibres, and contained five
partially incubated eggs.
"The eggs are similar to those of _G. lanceolatus_. I have carefully
compared the five of the species which I am now describing with twenty
of the other, and find that the following differences exist. The egg
of _G. bispecularis_ is more obtuse and broader, there is a brighter
gloss on it, and the speckling is more marked; but with a large series
of each I think the only perceptible difference would be its
greater breadth, which makes the egg look larger than that of the
Black-throated Jay. My four eggs measure 1·15 by 0·85 each.
"This species only breeds once in a year, and from my observations
lays in April, all the young being hatched by the 15th May. Captain
Cock and myself carefully hunted up all the forests round Murree,
where the birds were constantly to be seen, commencing our work after
the 10th May, and we found nothing but young ones."
Colonel G.F.L. Marshall writes:--"I have found nests of this species
for the first time this year; the first on the 22nd of May, by which
time, as all recorded evidence shows it to be an early breeder, I had
given up all hopes of getting eggs. The first nest contained two fresh
eggs; it was on a horizontal limb of a large oak, at a bifurcation
about eight feet from the trunk and about the same from the ground.
The nest was more substantial than that of _G. lanceolatus_, much more
moss having been used in the outer casing, but the lining was similar;
it was a misshapen nest, and appeared, in the distance, like an old
deserted one; the bird was sitting at the time; I took one egg, hoping
more would be laid, but the other was deserted and destroyed by
vermin. Another nest I found on the 2nd June; it contained three eggs
just so much incubated that it is probable no more would be laid; this
nest was much neater in construction and better concealed than the
former one; it was in a rhododendron tree, in a bend about ten feet
from the ground, between two branches upwards of a foot each in
diameter, and covered with moss and dead fern; the tree grew out of
a precipitous bank just below a road, and though the nest was on the
level of the edge it was almost impossible to detect it; it was a very
compact thick cup of roots covered with moss outside. The eggs were
larger, more elongated, and much more richly coloured than in the
first nest. Both nests were at about 7000 feet elevation, and in both
instances the bird sat very close."
The eggs of this species are, as might be expected, very similar to
those of _G. lanceolatus_, but they are perhaps slightly larger, and
the markings somewhat coarser. The eggs are rather broad ovals, a
good deal pointed towards one end. The ground-colour is pale greenish
white, and they are pretty finely freckled and speckled (most densely
so towards the large end, where the markings are almost confluent)
with dull, rather pale, olive-brown, amongst which a little speckling
and clouding of pale greyish purple is observable. The eggs are
decidedly smaller than those of the English Jay, and few of the
specimens I have exhibit any of those black hair-like lines often
noticeable in both the English Jay and _G. lanceolatus_.
In length the eggs that I have measured varied from 1·1 to 1·21, and
in breadth they only varied from 0·84 to 0·87.