364 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVL 



CASE II. — In- October 1904, a dead Cassowary was received from the same 

 gardens. 



The bird was reported to have been ill for some time with " liver complaint." 



An examination revealed the presence of a small green cocoanut in the 

 gizzard, which completely filled it. 



This organ was acutely inflamed, and the first portion of the gut below the 

 gizzard was also inflamed, and showed many points of haemorrhage. 



Now it is reasonable to suppose tbat che Cassowary being a desert bird may 

 not have known what a green cocoanut was and sampled it out of curiosity, but 

 one would think a bear would be familiar with mangoes and have learned to 

 avoid such fruit if found to disagree. 



Can any one throw light on this point, viz., do wild animals die in the jungle 

 from such mishaps as the above ? 



W. B. BANNERMAN, M.D., Lt.-Col., I.M.S. 

 Plague Research Laboratory, Parel. 

 Bombay, 22nd November, 1904. 



No. VI.— KING-CROWS AND MYNAS AS MESS-MATES. 



Some time ago I noticed that a king-crow (Dicrunis ater) was frequently to 

 be seen squatting motionless on the ground in the midst of a little gathering 

 of mynas {Acrldotheres tristis). At the time I paid but little attention to the 

 matter ; but further observation showed that the presence of the king-crow 

 was a very common phenomenon. Consequently I formed the habit of watch- 

 ing for flocks of mynas feeding on the ground and then looking to see whether 

 a drongo was in attendance. To my astonishment I found that he is more 

 often present than absent. I may safely say that in Madras a number of 

 mynas feeding without a king-crow in attendance is at the piesent season the 

 exception rather than the rule. If the birds are feeding on an open maidan, the 

 king-crow stands on the ground ; if, however, there are trees, posts or other per- 

 ches handy, the drongo settles on them rather than on the grass. I believe that 

 this is a case of commensalism. The king-crow keeps near the mynas for the same 

 reason that they attend cattle, that is to say, in order to profit by the commo- 

 tion the moving beast or bird causes among the insects that live on the surface. 



A king-crow may often be seen squatting on the ground at a distance from 

 any other birds ; when this is so the drongo usually hops about and picks 

 insect food from off the ground. In the presence of mynas he behaves very 

 differently ; he sits motionless, but keeping a sharp look-out, and now and 

 again takes a little flight after some tiny insect which I believe has been put 

 up by a moving myna. The king-crow and the mynas share the insects be- 

 tween them : the latter take chiefly those which keep to the ground, while 

 his royal highness makes short work of any which take to their wings when 

 disturbed. I am convinced that this is a genuine instance of commensalism and 

 not merely chance company. Firstly, the presence of the single king-crow 

 among a company of mynas is too frequent to be a mere chance association, and 



