Messrs. Davidson and Wenden, writing from the Deccan, say:—"Common and breeds."
Mr. Vidal remarks of this bird in the South Konkan:—"Abundant. Breeds in May."
Mr. Rhodes W. Morgan, writing from South India, says in 'The Ibis':—"Breeds from March to the end of May, constructing a slight cup-shaped nest in a tree. The nest is composed of fine twigs bound together with cobwebs, and is rather a flimsy concern, the eggs often being visible from below. It is generally placed in the fork of a branch, at from 10 to 30 feet from the ground. The eggs are three in number, occasionally only two, and vary very greatly in colour, some being almost of a pure white, whilst others again are spotted and blotched, especially at the larger end, with claret and light purple on a rich salmon-coloured ground. The birds are very noisy in the breeding-season, keeping all intruders off, not hesitating to attack Kites and Crows. They seem to have an especial antipathy to the latter."
Mr. Benjamin Aitken states that in Madras "the King-Crow, so conspicuous on the backs of cattle, telegraph-wires, &c., all through the cold and hot seasons, is conspicuous by its absence during the breeding-season. Many of them retire to woods and gardens to breed, but even when they do not, they keep very quiet while they have their nests. Last June there was a nest in a tree in the Thieves' bazaar at Madras, but the birds hardly ever showed themselves out of the tree."
Mr. J. Inglis informs us that in Cachar "this King-Crow is extremely common. It breeds all through the summer. It lays four or five pure white eggs on the top of a few grasses placed in the fork of a tree. It is very pugnacious, and attacks birds of all sizes if they approach it."
There are two very distinct types of this bird's eggs. The one pure white and spotless, the other a pale salmon-colour, spotted with a rich brownish red. These eggs unquestionably both belong to the same species, as I have taken them times without number myself and can positively certify to their parentage; moreover connecting links are not wanting in a large series. I have one egg perfectly white, with the exception of three or four blackish-brown spots, another with more of these spots, another with almost as many as the ordinary spotted eggs have, the ground-colour in all these being still pure white, and the spots being blackish or very deep reddish brown. Then I have others similar to those just described, but showing a faint salmon-coloured halo round one or two of the largest spots, others in which the halo is further developed, and others again with the entire ground-colour an excessively pale salmon throughout, and so on a complete series gradually increasing in intensity of colour till we get the pure rich salmon-buff which is at the other end of the scale. I am particular in this description, because the eggs of this bird have been a subject of almost as many contradictions between Indian naturalists as the chameleon of pious memory. In shape the eggs are typically a rather long oval, somewhat pointed towards one end. Very much elongated varieties are common, recalling in this respect the eggs of Chibia hottentotta. Spherical varieties, if they occur, must be very rare, the enormous series I possess containing no example. In the colour of the ground, as above remarked, there is every possible, variety of shade between pure white and a very rich salmon-colour. In the intensity and number of the markings there is an equally great variety. The markings, always spots and specks, the largest never exceeding 0·1 inch in diameter, are invariably most numerous towards the large end, where they are sometimes, though rarefy, slightly confluent. They vary from only two or three to a number too large to count, and in colour through many shades of reddish, blackish, and purplish brown, the latter being rare and abnormal.
The eggs are entirely devoid of gloss, as a rule, though here and there a slight trace of it is observable. It is this want of gloss alone that distinguishes some of the larger white, black-spotted varieties from the eggs of the common Oriole, which they occasionally exactly resemble not only in shape, colour, and character of marking, but even (though generally smaller) in size.
In length they vary From 0·87 to 1·15 inch, and in breadth from 0·7 to 0·85, but the average of 152 eggs measured is 1·01 by 0·75 inch. I have two dwarf eggs of this species not included in the above average which I myself obtained in different nests, measuring only 0·78 by 0·5 inch, and 0·87 by 0·62 inch.
328. Dicrurus longicaudatus. A. Hay. The Indian Ashy Drongo.
Dicrurus longicaudatus, A. Hay, Jerd. B. Ind. i, p. 430. Buchanga longicaudata (A. Hay), Hume, Rough Draft N. & E. no. 280.