THE BIRDS OF NORTHERN THAILAND 529 



or silvery white. The juvenile is similar to the adult but has the upper- 

 parts generally dull brownish gray, the head and nape paler and 

 without the specialized feathers. 



STURNUS CONTRA FLOWERI (Bowdler Sharpe) 



Thai Pied Myna 



Sturnopastor floicert Bowdler Sharpe, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, vol. 7, 1897, p. 17 

 ("Pachiin [=Prachinburi] and Tahkaruen," Central Thailand). 



Sturnopastor superciliaris, Gyldenstolpe, Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc. Siam, 1915, 

 p. 168 (listed). 



Sturnopastor superciliaris superciliaris, Gyldenstolpe, Ibis, 1920, p. 455 (Khun 

 Tan). 



Sturnopastor capensis fioweri, de Schauensee, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadel- 

 phia, 1928, p. 558 (Chiang Mai). 



Sturnopastor contra flotveri, Deignan, Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl., 1931, 

 p. 152 (Chiang Mai) ; 1936, p. 124 (Chiang Mai).— Riley, U. S. Nat. Mus. 

 Bull. 172, 1938, p. 495 (Phrae, Ban Nam Khian). 



Sturnopastor contra superciliaris, Deignan, Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl., 

 1936, p. 124 ("Some parts of North Siam"). 



The pied myna, while rather less abundant than the other terrestrial 

 starlings, is still one of the commonest birds in the cultivated lowland 

 districts of all the northern provinces. 



This species seems to be somewhat more gregarious during the 

 daylight hours than its relatives and is less often observed in the 

 immediate proximity of houses, but otherwise has habits much like 

 theirs. 



A specimen from Ban Khana (Nan Province) , April 21, was carry- 

 ing an oviduct egg, and two from Chiang Mai, June 5 and 20, had 

 the gonads enlarged. An example of September 19 is in postnuptial 

 molt. Postnatal molt appears in a bird of April 22 (Chiang Mai) 

 and the full ju venal dress in one of June 27 from the same locality. 



Old birds taken by me had the irides pale yellow, creamy yellow, or 

 cream; the orbital skin bright orange, becoming orange-yellow pos- 

 teriorly (above the ear coverts) ; the skin of the chin and throat 

 (beneath the feathers) bright orange; the bill with the basal half 



red-orange and the apical half ivory white or fleshy white; the feet 

 and toes pale yellow or yellowish flesh ; the claws horny or fleshy horn. 

 The juvenile of June 27 differed in having the irides grayish white; 

 the orbital skin yellowish; the culmen brown (darker on the basal 

 half) and the rest of the bill fleshy horn; the feet and toes brown; 

 the claws dark brown. 



The fresh-plumaged adult has the lanceolate feathers of the front 

 and forecrown white, with black bases which posteriorly show through 

 to give a streaked appearance ; the supercilium and ear coverts pure 

 white ; the chin, throat, upper breast, sides of the neck, the hindcrown, 



