Microhierax fringillarius (Drap.), Hume, Cat. no. 20 ter.

In regard to this Falconet I quote a note of Mr. Davison's:-  " On the 10th or 11th of March, while passing through an old tounyah (clearing) I saw a Falconet of the above species fly info a hole in a dry tree ; on sending a man up he reported the hole to be empty.

" On the 25th of March, happening to pass this tree, I saw the Falconet fly out and settle on an adjoining tree, where I shot it. I then sent a man up, and while he was examining the hole the other Falconet, which proved to be the female, flew out and settled close by, and I also  shot her. On enlarging the hole sufficiently to admit a man's hand, it was  found that there were no eggs, but at the bottom of the hole, which was about 18 inches deep, was a soft pad composed of flies and butterflies' wings, mixed with small pieces of rotten wood. On dissecting the female I found in her a fully-formed hard-shelled egg, but unfortunately broken by the shot. This egg was pure white, without spot or streak of any kind, the texture was fine and close, and when held up against the light it exhibited a very faint yellowish or greenish hue."

This, I may mention, was near Bankasoon at the extreme south of Tenasserim. It will be noticed that both this species and M. caerulescens breed in holes in trees, line the bottom with a pad of the wings of  Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, and the like, and lay white eggs.