Dumetia hyperythra (_Frankl.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 26; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 397.
The Rufous-bellied Babbler breeds throughout the Central Provinces,
Chota Nagpoor, Upper Bengal, the eastern portions of the North-West
Provinces, parts of Oudh, and even in the low valleys of Kumaon.
It lays from the middle of June to the middle of August, building
a globular nest of broad grass-blades or bamboo-leaves some 4 or 5
inches in diameter, sparingly lined with fine grass-roots or a little
hair, or sometimes entirely unlined. The nest is placed sometimes on
the ground amongst dead leaves, some of which are not unfrequently
incorporated in the structure; sometimes in coarse grass or some
little shrub a foot or two from the ground, but by preference,
according to my experience, in amongst the roots of a bamboo-clump.
Four is the usual number of eggs laid.
Mr. Brooks writes:--"On the 26th June, 1867, in the broken ground
above Chunar, I took two nests in the foot of a thick bamboo-bush
about 2 feet from the ground. The nests were made of bamboo-leaves
rolled into a ball with the entrance at the side, and no lining except
a few hairs. There were two eggs in one nest and three in the other.
They were all fresh. The eggs in the two nests varied somewhat: the
ground of the one was nearly pure white, and it was finely speckled
with reddish brown, which at the large end was partly confluent: the
other nest had the eggs with a pinkish-white ground, the spots larger
and less neatly defined, and with a rather large confluent spot at the
large end."
Writing from Hoshungabad, Mr. E.C. Nunn remarks:--"I found two nests
of this species, each containing two eggs, on the 20th July and 6th
August, 1868. Both nests were ball-shaped, of coarse grass very
firmly and compactly twisted together, and with numerous dead leaves
incorporated in the body of the nest and towards the base, forming the
major portion of the material. They were thinly lined inside with fine
grass-roots. One was placed at the root of a small thorny bush: the
other on the ground in a thick clump of rank grass." The nest Mr. Nunn
sent to me was peculiarly solidly made. The cavity was small, about
2·25 inches in depth and 1·5 in diameter. The bottom of the nest was
some 2 inches and the sides 1·25 inch thick.
From Raipoor Mr. F.R. Blewitt tells us that "in July and August four
nests of this Babbler were taken; in two there were four eggs each, in
the third, three, and in the fourth, two--thirteen in all. The nests
were carefully made on the ground, at the base of clumps of long grass
growing very near to bamboo thickets. Three are made exclusively of
the dry leaves of the bamboo; the fourth of coarse grass. They were
nearly globular, about 4 inches in diameter, and without any regular
lining, although in the interior of the cavity a good deal of fine
grass-stems had been incorporated in the nest. They were well hidden
in the grass."
Mr. Henry Wenden writes:--"On July 18th, about 15 miles from Bombay,
on the line of railway, I found a nest and eggs of the following
description: nest, a rough loose ball of soft flat grasses, lined with
hard but fine grass-stems, entrance at side near top; situated in
a thorny bush in cactus-hedge, by a narrow lane, not 4 feet wide,
through which numerous people passed. The nest, about 3 feet from the
ground, was in no way concealed. On the 18th there were two eggs, and
on the 20th, when there were four eggs, the bird was snared and nest
taken."
The eggs are short, broad ovals, very slightly compressed towards one
end. The ground-colour is white or pinkish white, and it is streaked,
spotted, and speckled most thickly at the large end (where there is
a tendency to form an irregular confluent cap or zone), and thinly
towards the small end, with shades of red, brownish red, and reddish
purple, varying much in different examples. In some the markings are
pretty bold and blotchy, in others they are small and speckly; in
some they are smudgy and ill-defined, in others they are clear and
distinct. Some of the eggs are miniatures of some types of _Pyctorhis
sinensis_, but many recall the eggs of the Titmouse. They are much
about the size of those of _Parus caeruleus_ and _P. palustris_, but a
trifle less broad than either of these. The eggs have a faint gloss.
In length they vary from 0·63 to 0·7, and in breadth from 0·5 to 0·56;
but the average of twenty-four eggs now before me is 0·67 by 0·53.
136. Dumetia albigularis (Blyth). _The Small White-throated
Babbler_.
Dumetia albogularis (_Blyth), Jerd. B. Ind_ ii, p. 26; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 398.
Miss M.B. Cockburn, writing from Kotagherry, tells me that "the
White-throated Babbler builds its nest in the month of June. One was
found by my nest-seekers on the 17th of that month in the year 1873.
It was constructed on a coffee-tree, and contained three eggs, which
were white, profusely covered with reddish spots of all sizes. The
bird was very shy, and would not return to the nest for some hours
after it had been discovered; when, however, she did so, she was shot.
This year (1874) I found another similar nest on the 9th of June, also
containing three eggs."
The nest with which she favoured me was small and nearly globular (say
at most 4 inches in external diameter), composed entirely of broad
flaggy grass without any lining or any admixture whatsoever of other
material. The nest was loosely put together, and had a comparatively
narrow circular entrance near the top.
From Mysore Mr. Iver Macpherson writes:--"This is an exceedingly
common bird in parts of this district, and their nests are so
plentiful that I never now take them.
"I send you all the eggs I have at present, but can procure you any
number more next season.
"The birds are to be found in all kinds of wooded country except the
heavy forests, and appear to breed from the middle of April to the end
of July, and possibly later.
"The nest is a largish globular structure loosely made of either
bamboo-leaves or blades of grass, and all that I have ever seen have
been lined inside with a few fine fibres.
"Four appears to be the usual number of eggs, but very often there are
only three.
"The nests are always built near the ground, sometimes almost touching
it, and are fixed in either small bushes, tufts of grass, or young
bamboo-clumps."
Mr. J.L. Darling, Jun., states that this bird is very common in
Culputty in the Wynaad, at an elevation of about 3000 feet, and that
he has found the nests from the end of May to the middle of October.
The nest is built in high grass nearly on the ground, or in
date-palms, or in arrowroot in the jungle up to heights of 3 feet.
The nest is built entirely of grass, lined with finer grass; a nearly
round ball 6 inches in diameter outside and 5 inside, with a hole on
the side. The eggs are laid at the rate of one a day, and three are
usually found in one nest, occasionally only two. On one occasion
after securing the female bird, he found the cock bird sitting on the
eggs and he continued to sit there for three days.
Mr. J. Davidson tells us that he found a nest of this bird on the 15th
July at Kondabhari with four fresh eggs.
Colonel Legge writes in his 'Birds of Ceylon':--"The breeding-season
lasts from March until July, the nests being built in a low bush
sometimes only a few inches from the ground."
In shape the eggs are moderately elongated ovals. The shell is very
fine and smooth, and has in some a rather bright, in some only a very
slight gloss. The ground is a China-white. The markings consist of
a profusion of specks and spots of a very bright red, which, though
spread over the whole surface, are gathered most densely into an
imperfect, more or less confluent, cap or zone at the larger end,
where also a few purplish-grey spots and specks not usually found on
any other part of the egg, are noticeable.
In length the eggs vary from 0·66 to 0·78, and in breadth from 0·5 to
0·55. The average of 28 eggs is 0·72 by 0·53.