Horornis fortipes, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 162.
Dumeticola fortipes, _Hodgs., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 526.
According to Mr. Hodgson[A], this Tree-Warbler breeds from May to July
in the central region of Nepal. They build a tolerably compact and
rather shallow cup-shaped nest of grass and dry bamboo-leaves, mingled
with grass-roots and vegetable fibre and lined with feathers.
[Footnote A: This note of Mr. Hodgson's refers to his plate No.
900. The birds in his collection bearing this number are _Neornis
assimilis_, and are the same as _Horornis fortipes_.--ED.]
A nest taken on the 29th May measured externally 3·5 in diameter and
2 inches in height, and internally 2 inches in diameter by 1·37
in depth. It contained four eggs, which are figured as deep dull
purple-red. Dr. Jerdon gave me two eggs, as I now feel certain,
belonging to this species; there is no mistaking them, as they are the
most wonderful coloured eggs I ever saw; but as he was not certain
to what species they belonged, I unfortunately threw them away. Mr.
Hodgson figures the egg as a moderately broad oval, a good deal
pointed towards one end, slightly glossy, and measuring 0·65 by 0·47.
Two nests and eggs, together with one of the parent birds, of the
Strong-footed Bush-Warbler were sent me from Sikhim. Both nests were
found in thick brushwood or low jungle, at elevations of 5000 to 5500
feet--the one at Lebong on the 12th June, the other on another spur of
the same hill in July.
The nests were very similar--small massive cups, composed exteriorly
of dry blades of grass and leaves, and lined internally with fine
grass and a few feathers. Both nests exhibit this lining of feathers,
so that it is no accident but a characteristic of the bird's
architecture. In one nest a good deal more of the fine flower-panicle
stems of grasses are intermingled than in the other. Externally the
nests are about 4·5 in diameter and 2·5 in height; the cavity 2 inches
in diameter and about 1·25 in depth.
Five more nests of this species have been taken by Mr. Mandelli in the
neighbourhood of Lebong, between the 18th May and 15th July; with one
exception, where there were only three slightly set eggs, all the
nests contained four more or less incubated ones. All the nests were
placed in amongst the twigs of low brushwood at heights of from 1 to
3 feet from the ground, and all present the invariable characteristic
feature of this species, namely, a greater or less admixture of
feathers in the lining of the cavity. Examining the nests carefully,
it will be seen that they are composed of three layers--exteriorly
everywhere coarse blades of grass and straw loosely put together,
inside this a mass of extremely fine panicle-stems of flowering grass,
and then inside this the lining of moderately fine grass mingled
with feathers. The nests vary a good deal in size, according to the
thickness of the coarse outer layer and the extent to which this
straggles; but they seem to be generally from 4 to 5 inches in
diameter, and 2·5 in height, whilst the cavity is about 2 inches in
diameter, and 1, or a little more than 1, in depth.
The eggs (each nest contained four) are _sui generis_, moderately
broad regular ovals, with a decided but not brilliant gloss, and of
a nearly uniform chocolate-purple. The eggs of one nest are of a a
slightly deeper shade than those of another, probably in consequence
of one set being more incubated than the other. They vary in length
from 0·66 to 0·69, and from 0·49 to 0·52 in breadth.