Sir R. H. Scbomburgk on the Birds of Siam. 253 



the meal ; nay, tlicy even flew into the open verandah to share 

 the meals with the dogs. They knew so well when this hap- 

 pened in my house, that two or three were usually watching on 

 the roof of the kitchen until the rice was carried up ; and al- 

 though the dogs snarled, they were indefatigable until they suc- 

 ceeded in snatching some of their food away, with which they 

 flew^ forthwith to the nearest tree. When they have found out a 

 newly sown rice-field, there they proceed en masse to commence 

 their depredations, should the sower have neglected to leave 

 watchers. They are likewise great robbers in the plantain-walks, 

 places where the Musa paradisiaca and M. sapientum are culti- 

 vated. I know this from my own observation. Of a group of 

 Banana-trees, I could scarcely save a branch until I had some 

 of the thieves shot, and their skins hung up as a warning close 

 to the fruits. 



Their roosting-place is generally in the precincts of " wats " 

 (Siamese temples), whence they make excursions to their 

 feeding-grounds, and return in the evening. In certain states 

 of the atmosphere, during drizzling rain and northerly winds, 

 their flight is impeded; they fly quite low, perhaps not more 

 than 40 or 50 feet from the ground, in irregular directions, and 

 seem so exhausted that they frequently alight on trees to gather 

 new strength to continue their w^ay. I have seen a similar oc- 

 currence under such circumstances in the case of the wild Pigeons 

 in St. Domingo, when in their flight they were sometimes 

 knocked down with sticks from the tops of the flat-roofed 

 houses, and numbers were shot, until, after a few days' sport 

 (the authorities in the commencement winking at it), the man- 

 date is proclaimed by sound of drum that no person shall dis- 

 charge firearms within the precincts of the city. I have already 

 mentioned that the Crow is the inveterate enemy of the Nock 

 tackah [Coracias affinis). 



16. Sturnopastob nigricollis. (Nock kiug-klong.) 

 The remarkable features of this bird are its white head, and the 

 warted cere, of a bright yellow colour, which extends from the 

 eye to the base of the beak. The feathers of the head, excepting 

 the extreme hinder portion, are white, and of a different struc- 

 ture from the general plumage, making one almost believe, when 



