Calornis chalybaeus[A] (_Horsf.), Hume, cat._ no. 690 bis.
[Footnote A: Mr. Hume considers the Andaman _Calornis_ distinct from
the _Calornis_ inhabiting Cachar, Tenasserim, &c. I have united them
in the 'Birds of India.'--Ed.]
Of the Glossy Calornis Mr. Davison remarks that "it is a permanent
resident at the Nicobars, breeding in holes in trees and in the
decayed stumps of old cocoanut-palms, apparently from December to
March. At the Andamans it is much less numerous, and is only met with
in pairs or in small parties, frequenting the same situations as it
does in the Nicobars."
Mr. J. Inglis writes from Cachar:--"This Tree-Stare is rather rare. It
breeds about April in the holes of dead trees; when the young are able
to fly it departs. It again returns about the middle of February."
In Tenasserim this species was observed nesting by Mr. J. Darling,
junior, who says:--"22nd March. Noticed several pairs of _Calornis_,
with nests, in the big wooden bridge over the Kyouk-tyne Creek about
1½ mile out of Tavoy, and also a great number of their nests in the
old wooden posts of an old bridge further down the Creek."
Mr. W. Davison, when in the Malay peninsula, took the eggs of this
bird. He remarks:--"I found a few pairs frequenting some areca-palms
at Laugat, and breeding in them, but only one nest contained eggs,
three in number. The nest was a loose structure almost globular, but
open at the top, composed externally of very coarse dry grass (lallung
or elephant-grass), and lined with green durian leaves cut into small
bits. The nest was too lightly put together to preserve. This nest and
several other empty ones were placed at the base of the leaves where
they meet the trunk.
"The three eggs obtained were slightly set, so that three is probably
the normal number laid.
"I noticed several other pairs breeding at the same time in holes of a
huge dead tree on Jugra Hill at Laugat, but I was unable to get at the
nests."
The eggs are quite of the _Eulabes_ type, moderately broad ovals, more
or less compressed towards the small end, occasionally pyriform. The
shell firm and strong, though fine, smooth to the touch in some cases,
with but little, but generally with a fair amount of gloss. The ground
is a very pale greenish blue. A number of fairly large spots and
blotches, intermingled with smaller specks and spots, are scattered
about the large end, often forming an imperfect irregular zone, and a
few similar specks and spots are scattered thinly about the central
portion of the egg, occasionally extending to the small end. The
colour of these spots varies; they are generally a brownish-reddish
purple and a paler greyer purple, but in some eggs the spots are so
thick in colour that they seem almost black. In some they are almost
purely reddish brown without any purplish tinge, and some again, lying
deep in the shell, are pale grey.
Six eggs measure from 0·92 to 1·1 in length, and from 0·71 to 0·76 in
breadth, but the average of six eggs is 1 by 0·74.
Family STURNIDAE.