The Indian Tree-pie breeds throughout the continent of India, alike in
the plains and in the hills, up to an elevation of 6000 or 7000 feet.

I personally have found the nest with eggs in May, June, July,
and during the first week of August, in various districts in the
North-West Provinces, and have had them sent me from Saugor (taken
in July) and from Hansi (taken in April, May, and June); but perhaps
because the bird is so common scarcely any one has sent me notes about
its nidification, and I hardly know whether in other parts of India
and Burma its breeding-season is the same as with us.

The nest is always placed in trees, generally in a fork, near the top
of good large ones; babool and mango are very commonly chosen in the
North-West Provinces, though I have also found it on neem and sisso
trees. It is usually built with dry twigs as a foundation, very
commonly thorny and prickly twigs being used, on which the true nest,
composed of fine twigs and lined with grass-roots, is constructed. The
nests vary much: some are large and loosely put together, say, fully 9
inches in diameter and 6 inches in height externally; some are smaller
and more densely built, and perhaps not above 7 inches in diameter
and 4 inches in depth. The egg-cavity is usually about 5 inches in
diameter and 2 inches in depth, but they vary very much both in size
and materials; and I see that I note of one nest taken at Agra on the
3rd August--"A very shallow saucer some 6 inches in diameter, and
with a central depression not above 1½ inch in depth. It was composed
_exclusively_ of roots; externally somewhat coarse, internally of
somewhat finer ones. It was very loosely put together."

Five is the full complement of eggs, but it is very common to find
only four fully incubated ones.