524 BULLETIN 186, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



near the Nam Ing, May 3, had the gonads slightly to greatly enlarged. 

 Eisenhofer collected juveniles at Pha Hing, April 23 and 25, and at 

 Khun Tan, June 8. 



Adults have the irides dark brown; the orbital skin orange or 

 yellow; the bill with the basal half plumbeous-blue, the apical half 

 orange-yellow; the feet and toes orange; the claws horny brown. 



Old birds have the crested forehead and crown, the chin, and 

 throat golden-yellow; the primaries with a broad band near their 

 base, golden-yellow on the outer web and white on the inner web; 

 the rest of the plumage black, highly glossed with deep blue. Juve- 

 niles probably have the entire head glossy blue-black; the golden 

 feathers are acquired only gradually and over a long period. 



ACRIDOTHERES TRISTIS TRISTIS (Linnaens) 



Indian House Myna 



[Paradisea] tristis Linnaeus, Systema naturae, ed. 12, vol. 1, 1766, p. 167 ("in 

 Philippinis," error; type locality corrected to Calcutta, Bengal, by Stuart 

 Baker, Fauna of British India, Birds, ed. 2, vol. 3, 1926, p. 53). 



Acridotheres tristis, Gyldenstolpe, Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc. Siam, 1915, p. 168 

 (listed) ; Kungl. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl., 1916, p. 27 (Khun Tan) ; Ibis, 

 1920, p. 454 ("Throughout the whole country"). 



Acridotheres tristis tristis, Deignan, Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl., 1931, 

 p. 151 (Chiang Mai) ; 1936, pp. 124, 134 (Chiang Mai, Chom Thong, Ban Tha 

 Than, Ban Wang Lung) . 



The house myna seems to have appeared in northern Thailand, 

 whether through human agency or as an adventurous immigrant, not 

 earlier (and possibly much later) than the beginning of the twentieth 

 century. During the thirties, old residents of Chiang Mai, both Thai 

 and European, informed me that it was rare or unknown 30 years 

 before; by 1914, however, Gyldenstolpe (1916) found it "rather abun- 

 dant in or near villages especially in the northern parts of the country." 

 Now (as of 1937) it is widely dispersed in our provinces but will not 

 be found beyond sight of human habitation; its numbers vary from 

 place to place directly with the size of the towns and it is still absent 

 from many of the smaller settlements, especially when these are in 

 forested districts. 



The present species is the most familiar of all birds at Chiang Mai, 

 where it is as much a part of the dooryard scene as the dogs and domes- 

 tic fowls, among which it struts, head bobbing and plump body swing- 

 ing, with complete unconcern. It is always noisy but especially so 

 at evening, when the pairs gather together in flocks to roost in the 

 bamboos and coconut crowns ; its calls range from the most melodious 

 notes through squeaks and chattering to harsh grating sounds and 

 may even be heard in the middle of the night if the sleepers be dis- 

 turbed by moonlight or a passing owl. The house myna is the nemesis 



