had a nest somewhere, which, however, I failed to find, for she had a
full-formed but shell-less egg inside her."


26. Garrulus bispecularis, Vigors. _The Himalayan Jay_.

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."