166 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVI. 



Peenis cristate— The Crested Honey Buzzard. 

 Blanford, No. 1249. 

 I collected two specimens of this bird and saw a few others. 

 Falco severus.— The Indian Hobby. 

 Blanford, No. 1261. 

 I neither saw nor shot this bird in the Nilgiris myself, but was told it bred in 

 that seeming paradise for eagles and hawks, the Gunjarra precipices. 

 Tinnunculus alaudaeius. — The Kestrel. 

 Blanford, No. 1265. 

 The Kestrel was, I think, the commonest hawk on the Nilgiris and bred freely 

 on mostly inaccessible rocks. I, however, was fortunate enough to obtain a nest 

 containing 4 eggs in March 1903. 



Tanaehat P. O., A. M. PRIMROSE. 



Assam, July 1904. 



No. XVI.— CASSIA OCCIDENTALS. 



With reference to Mr. Fischer's remark in the last issue on Cassia occidentalis, 

 I have also found in this district that the plant has only six perfect stamens. 



The remark in Hooker about the petals must be a clerical error since it is the 

 sepals which are lilac and conspicuously veined. 



As regards the stamens, there appears to be a considerable variety. Roxburgh, 

 II, 343, gives only eight stamens, of which only four would appear to be fertile. 



"The Flora of Bombay" (Cooke) and " Bengal Plants " (Prain) both, 

 however, agree with Hooker. 



Anantapue, Madeas Presidency, B. H. BARLOW-POOLE, I.F.S. 



1st August 1904. 



No. XVII.— NOTES ON THE NESTING OF SOME BIRDS IN THE 

 UPPER CHINDWIN DISTRICT, BURMA. 



No. 553.— THE SIAMESE MYNA i.E. GRANDIS) AND No. 554.— THE COLLARED MfNA 



(M. ALBICINCTUSy 



The distribution of these two mynas in Burma seems to be very well defined, 

 both being common in the Shan States, again appearing in the Bhamo District, 

 and from there across into the Myitkyina and Upper Chindwin Districts. 

 They are essentially birds of a damp climate, preferring fairly open country 

 with large expanses of " Kine " or Elephant grass. In the Upper Chindwin, 

 M. grandis appears as low down as Mingin, and gets commoner the higher one 

 goes up the river ; whilst sE. albicinctus does not appear until about 40 

 miles above Kindat, from there it is quite as plentiful as Al. grandis. 



Both seem to prefer nesting in colonies of their own species or along with 

 other mynas of different kinds ; and any old tree, and especially if it be a 

 Ficus of sorts, will have all the available holes filled up with nests of these two 

 mynas. This peculiarity of birds nesting together was very marked in a tree 



