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378 JOURNAL BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY, Vol. 89 References Berger, A.J. (1967): Behavior of hand-raised Empidonax Berger, A.J. (1972): Hawaiian Birdlife. University Pressof flycatchers.Jack-Pine Warbler45: 131-138. Hawaii, Honolulu. 24. Berger, A.J. (1968): Behavior of hand-raised Kirtland’s Verbeek, N.A.M. (1962): On dew bathing and drought in warblers.LivingBird, 1968: 103-116. passerines.Auk79: 719. HOUSE SPARROW PASSER DOMESTICUS (LINNAEUS) FEEDING ON MOSQUITO LARVAE I witnessed a house sparrow Passer domesticus each feed was probably to allow the disturbed larvae feeding on mosquito larvae at Coimbatore, Tamil to surface and regroup once again, making them an Nadu. Mosq2u5i.toes had bred in an abandoned, rain- easier ‘mouthful’ of prey for the sparrow. Mosquito water-filled mortar, used for ‘wet’ grindingofgrains larvae are notlisted as a food item ofthe house spar- and cereals. The sparrow, a cock, would repeatedly row. fly to themortarandpeckat the larvae massingat the rim of the mortar. The reason for flying away after July 8, 1991 RANJIT MANAKADAN SIND JUNGLE SPARROW PASSER PYRRHONOTUS BLYTH IN NORTH-WEST GUJARAT 26. While birdwatching at the Khari Nadi, c. 3 km sparrows Passerdomesticus and weaver birds. How- west of Bhuj (Kutch), I saw three male and two ever, the last time I saw them they were in good female Sind jungle sparrows Passer pyrrhonotus colouration and appeared smaller than house spar- Blyth on 22January 1990and again on the following rows,so Iwas moresure about the identification. day. Again I saw three males and one female on 4 August, they were seen in a mixed flock of house November5, 1990 N.N. BAPAT NESTING BY PLOCEUS PHILIPPINES (LINN.) IN CLUMPS OF SACCHARUM BENGALENSE RETZ. The common baya Ploceus philippinus is a galense Retz. near village Shyopur in Alwfcr district. species which generally does not favour grassy More than a dozen immature males had hung their vegetation forhangingitsnest. Abdulali and Ambed- nests on Acacia nilotica close to the patch of Sac- kar [1984,JBNHS81(3): 701-703] havereportedthis charum. species nesting in a patch of grass (Coix lachryma- All the half built nests present on the Sac- jobi)in Thana district,Maharashtra. charum clump contained the usual blobs of mud at Since 1988, an all Rajasthan survey was con- the potential pointsoftheegg-chamberofthe respec- ducted by me to list the host plants preferred by the tivenests.Thisspeciesrarelyappearstonestinreeds. three species of weaver birds, viz. Ploceus philip- Nowhere in the locality were mature cocks observed pinus,P. benghalensisandP. manyar. Duringthesur- nesting inreeds. vey, in the month of August 1989, four yearling cocks of Ploceus philippinus were noticed making their ‘practice nests’ in clumps of Saccharum ben- February 28,1991 SATISHK. SHARMA