Centrococcyx bengalensis (Gm.).
The Lesser Coucal.

Centropus viridis (Scop.), Jerd. B. Ind. i, p. 350.
Centropus bengalensis (Gm.), Hume, Rough Draft N. & E. no. 218.

Colonel Tytler, in his ' Avifauna of Dacca,' tells us that he " obtained the nest and egg of this bird (the Lesser Coucal) during the month of June; the eggs are pure white and very round in formation. The nest, which was composed of straw and grass, resembled a large ball supported on sticks, with a hole in the side for the bird to enter ; the nest was well concealed, and was with great difficulty discovered."

Dr. Jerdon says  : -" I have had the opportunity of seeing this species at Dacca, where it is certainly very abundant. I also obtained two nests, the one with two, the other with four white eggs. The nests were in both instances formed by the living grasses rudely bent down among the thorny twigs of a bush to form a seat for the eggs, and then continued upwards, forming a dome over the nest."

Captain E. R. Shopland, I.M., writes : -" Took a nest containing three eggs on 24th July, in long coarse grass, of the leaves of which it was composed, the ends of the grass being turned down and then up all round; the nest was 12 inches long and 8 broad. There was only one hole, but as I came suddenly on the bird, which was in the nest with its tail out of the hole, it made a clean dive through the other side, and had I been sharp enough I might have caught the bird in my hands, as it took a few seconds to get clear to the other side. The eggs are of the same shape as those of the Common Coucal, but much smaller and rather glossy. This nest was taken at Calcutta within 200 yards of Bishop's College, between it and the Botanical Gardens."

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie wrote in 1875  : -"I have only found the nest of this Coucal up to 3500 feet, but have occasionally seen it during the breeding - season as high as 5000 feet, so that it probably breeds up to that elevation. It affects dense grassy jungle, and fixes its nest, two or three feet from the ground, in the middle of a large saccharum or other grass plant, by bending over a few of the stems to make a resting - place for it. It is composed of pieces of long dry grass and bamboo - leaves, put rather loosely together, and surrounded by the ends of the bent stems, which are twisted right over it and partly worked in with the dry material. In shape it is a roundish oval, measuring externally about 10 inches in height by 8 inches in width. The cavity is 4 to 5 inches in diameter, and is lined with a few green leaves. The entrance, which is at the side, is 3 inches in diameter.

“The usual number of eggs is three, and the breeding months May and June."

The eggs obtained by Mr. Gammie are broad ovals, obtuse at both ends. White with a faint gloss, and a good deal stained here and there with dirty brownish yellow. They measured 1.15 and 1.24 in length, and 0.96 and 0.99 in breadth.

Mr. J. Inglis informs us that in Cachar " this Coucal arrives here about the beginning of June and departs at the close of the rains ; breeds from June till September. Like O. intermedius it makes its nest in a clump of tall grass or reeds ; the nest resembles a round ball of grass with a hole in the side as an entrance. The eggs are generally six in number, round, and perfectly white."

Mr. Oates, referring to this bird, says  : -" Breeds commonly in Lower Pegu throughout August. The nest is placed about two feet from the ground in rank grass, chiefly between paddy - fields on the bunds. It is shaped like an egg, about 10 inches high and 8 inches diameter. The entrance, 5 by 4, is placed midway between the top and bottom. It is composed of elephant - grass, and the surrounding grasses are bent down and incorporated with the structure. The egg - chamber and sides are neatly lined with thatch - grass. The walls are everywhere about 1 inch thick. In one nest there was a distinct vertical slit at the back, but I failed to notice it in others.

“The number of eggs is either two or three, and I have found both numbers well incubated. Egg - shell very chalky, but smooth to the touch and fairly glossy; colour white. Average of eight eggs, 1.17 by 1.01; and the extreme dimensions are 148 to 1.12 in length and 1.08 to .94 in breadth."

The eggs are moderately broad ovals, somewhat cylindrical, very obtuse at both ends. The shell is finer than in the preceding species, and seems to have a slight gloss at all times. They are pure white when laid, but acquire, as incubation proceeds, brownish - yellow stains and a greater general glossiness.

The eggs vary from 1.13 to 1.25 in length, and from 0.91 to 0.99 in breadth.