THE BIRDS OF NORTHERN THAILAND 131 



huge swallows, constantly uttering a characteristic call, Jcirri-kirri. 

 Stomachs I examined contained Coleoptera and Orthoptera. 



At the season of its occurrence in northern Thailand, the species is 

 known to be breeding in more southern districts, but all northern 

 specimens have had the gonads quite inactive. On the other hand, an 

 unsexed bird from Chiang Mai, June 6, 1931, is so young that it was 

 almost certainly bred in the neighborhood. 



This example had the irides dark brown ; the bill black ; the rictus 

 and interior of the mouth yellow; the feet and toes dull brown; the 

 claws dark brown. 



The adult has the upperparts brown with an olivaceous wash and a 

 pale ruf escent collar across the hindneck ; the upper tail coverts and 

 the greater portion of the outer rectrices white ; the throat and lower 

 neck rufous-buff, bordered by a narrow black gorget which begins 

 below the eye and is edged inwardly with white ; the breast isabella 

 color, changing to light rufous on the upper belly, which color in turn 

 fades to white on the remaining underparts ; the under wing coverts 

 and axillaries deep rufous. 



The wings are long and hirundine ; the tail is distinctly forked. 



GLAREOLA LACTEA Temminck 



Milky Pratincole 



Olareola lactea Temminck, Manuel d'ornithologie, ed. 2, vol. 2, 1820, p. 503 

 (Bengal). 



Olareola lactea, Deignan, Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl., 1931, p. 171 (Chiang 

 Mai) ; 1936, pp. 84, 132 (Chiang Mai, Ban Sop Huai Khieo). — de Schauensee, 

 Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1934, p. 278 (Chiang Saen Kao). 



I once saw a pair of the milky pratincole at the edge of a pond with 

 a pair of the collared species, but otherwise I have found it only on the 

 bars of sand and shingle along the larger streams, where the other 

 form does not occur. The flocks seem to wander up and down the 

 rivers, so that the bird is only irregularly present at any one locality. 

 At Chiang Mai I recorded it but three times, in March and December. 

 It is also known from Ban Sop Huai Khieo (Mae Ping), Chiang Rai 

 (Mae Kok), Chiang Saen Kao (Mae Khong), and Ban Na Noi 

 (Nam Haeng). 



The flocks may be quite small or composed of many dozens of in- 

 dividuals. Their coloration is very concealing as they stand on the 

 sand facing the observer, and they keep their ground until danger is 

 near, then fly, a few at a time, merely to the farther end of the bar to 

 perch again. It seemed to me that less feeding is done on the wing 

 than is the case with the larger species. 



A specimen with enlarged ovaries was taken at Chiang Rai, May 6, 

 1936, and an immature bird was collected at Chiang Mai, December 

 8, 1931. 



