292 BULLETIN 186, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Chibia hottentotta, Gyldenstolpe, Kungl. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl., 1913, p. 28 

 (Pak Pan) ; 1916, p. 20 (Doi Pha Sakaeng, Khun Tan, Pang Hua Phong) ; 

 Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc. Siam, 1915, p. 167 (listed) ; Ibis, 1920, p. 450 ("Northern 

 Siam"). 



Chibia hottentotta hottentotta, de Schauensee, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 

 1928, p. 556 (Doi Suthep) ; 1929, p. 553 (Chiang Rai, Chiang Saen Kao) ; 

 1934, p. 226 (Khun Tan, Chiang Dao, Chiang Saen). — Deignan, Journ. Siam 

 Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl., 1931, p. 147 (Doi Suthep) ; 1936, p. 101 (Doi Suthep).— 

 Riley, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 172, 1938, p. 2S6 (Ban Nam Khian). 



The resident race of the hair-crested drongo is rather common in 

 flocks throughout our area, occurring in the dry, deciduous forest of 

 the plains and foothills and ascending the mountains only to about 

 2,700 feet, the altitudinal limit of this type of vegetation. 



Where such a tree as Bombax is in bloom, this drongo tends to collect 

 into noisy flocks, probing the flowers for insects and getting its face 

 well dusted with the yellow pollen. At other times it takes much 

 of its prey on the wing or even from the branches and trunks of trees, 

 momentarily supporting itself with beating pinions like a huge, 

 black butterfly. Stanford has well observed (Ibis, 1938, p. 417) that 

 "in flight the shape of this bird, especially of the upturned tail 

 feathers, is remarkably like that of an aeroplane, and this resemblance 

 is more pronounced by the 'vertical nose-dives,' with which it is con- 

 stantly displaying." 



A male from the foot of Doi Suthep, April 29, had the gonads en- 

 larged, but some individuals must breed much earlier in the year for, 

 while a bird from Ban Huai Thae, June 12, is just beginning the post- 

 ju venal molt, three others from Nan Province, April 18 and 22, have 

 virtually completed the same molt. An adult in postnuptial molt 

 was collected near Wiang Pa Pao, August 1. 



My adult specimens had the irides brownish red ; the eyelids slaty ; 

 the bill, feet, toes, and claws black. 



This is a large drongo with a conspicuously long, curved bill; a 

 group of long, hairlike feathers arising from the base of the bill and 

 extending to the upper back (not visible in the field) ; the outermost 

 pair of rectrices curved upward even more strongly than in the preced- 

 ing species. It has the entire plumage black, highly glossed on the 

 posterior crown and the hacklelike feathers at the side of the neck with 

 steel blue, on the wings with bronze-green, on the tail with steel green ; 

 the feathers of the lower throat and the breast glossed with steel blue 

 at the tips to form spangles. Immatures are duller in color and have 

 the outer tail feathers much less recurved. 



Boden Kloss (Journ. Federated Malay States Mus., vol. 10, 1921, 

 pp. 222-223) believes that Thai birds are separable from those of 

 Sikkim by lesser size. If his views be correct, our resident population 



