526 BULLETIN 186, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Of the house myna in the French territories, Delacour says (Les 

 Oiseaux de l'Indochine Franchise, vol. 4, 1931, p. 249) : "En Indochine, 

 il est encore local. II est probable qu'il n'y est venu, naturellement 

 d'ailleurs, que depuis peu, et il s'y etend graduellement. . . En 

 Indochine il a ete obtenu a Siemreap (Cambodge), Kontoum, Hue, 

 Hailang, Laobao (Annam), Pakse et Muongyo (Laos)." 



ACRIDOTHERES CRISTATELLUS GRANDIS Moore 



Thai Crested Myna 



A[cridotheres] grandis Moore, in Horsfield and Moore, Catalogue of the birds 

 in the Museum of the Hon. East-India Co., vol. 2, 1858, p. 537 (Sumatra, error ; 

 type locality here corrected to Bangkok, Thailand). 



AEthiopsar grandis, Gyldenstolpe, Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc. Siam, 1915, p. 168 

 (listed) ; Kungl. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl., 1916, p. 26 (Khun Tan). 



AEthiopsar fuscus grandis, Gyldenstolpe, Ibis, 1920, p. 455 ("Throughout the 

 whole country"). 



AEthiopsar grandis grandis, de Schauensee, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 

 1928, p. 558 (Chiang Mai) ; 1929, p. 559 (Chiang Mai) ; 1934, p. 234 (Chiang 

 Mai). — 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. 

 494 (BanNamKhian.) 



The crested myna is an abundant permanent resident in suitable 

 territory throughout the northern lowlands. 



Wherever cultivation and pasture have superseded the jungle and 

 man has raised his home, the present species is one of the tamest and 

 most familiar birds. Together with other terrestrial starlings, it is 

 commonly seen about the feet and on the backs of grazing cattle, 

 where it captures insects frightened from the grass ; after the harvest 

 it may be found gleaning grains of rice from the dry fields; during 

 rainy periods it is a regular visitor to the lawns of parks and gardens, 

 where it feeds on earthworms driven to the surface of the ground. 

 It is almost fearless and will walk within arm's length of an observer ; 

 when pursued, it begins to hop and only at the last moment, with 

 a soft nasal grunt, flies low over the grass to alight again a short 

 distance ahead. The song is a harsh queeter, queeter, queeter, queeter, 

 queeter. 



Specimens taken at Chiang Mai, April 30 and June 3, had the 

 gonads enlarged. A nest found May 19 was in a tree cavity about 15 

 feet above ground; another, discovered on July 1 (with crying 

 young), was built in the crown of a coconut palm. In towns it oc- 

 casionally breeds under roof tiles but this is properly the preserve of 

 Acridotheres t. tristis. 



Old birds have the irides bright red-brown ; the bill bright chrome 

 yellow, paler at the tip; the feet and toes chrome yellow; the claws 

 horn. 





