254 Sir R. H. Schomburgk on the Birds of Siam. 



the bird is seen at a distance^ and unacquainted with its nature, 

 that they are hairs. A band of deep black extends from the 

 hinder part of the headj round the throat, to the chest, where 

 it is nearly 1^ inch in breadth ; the prevailing colour of the 

 rump is white, extending to the tail and its lower feathers ; the 

 mantle blackish brown. Wings : the primaries and secondaries 

 black, the latter edged at their upper end with white. This 

 refers likewise to the coverlets ; but some of those overlying the 

 primaries are entirely white. 



These birds are the merriest of the feathered tribe that visit 

 us near our residences. They appear in flocks : seldom is a 

 solitary individual to be seen. When the want of rain has 

 dried up the ground, they cannot search for insects under 

 the surface, strongly formed as their beak is. Then they 

 resort to trees and shrubs to look for them, perching fre- 

 quently upon branches not strong enough to sustain their 

 weight. Sometimes there are two King-klougs on the same 

 branch, and the twig hangs down, with the birds clinging to it. 

 But the most amusing part is to see man and wife (or perhaps 

 they are merely lovers) selecting a convenient branch of a tree 

 and there fronting each other tete-a-tete. The husband, or 

 lover it may be, commences to nod his head towards his vis- 

 a-vis, and ejaculates a sound similar to the pronunciation of 

 "pretty set,^^ the female nodding her assent by a hum con- 

 sisting of one or two notes. The shrill sound of alarm for the 

 whole flock to decamp, whether on the ground or on trees, is 

 very different from the " cooiug.^^ A shower of rain has fallen, 

 after a long drought : the consequence is, pools of water are 

 formed on the surface soil ; for the ground below is hardened, 

 and the water cannot immediately penetrate. Then the Nock 

 king-klongs make their appearance in flocks, wading through the 

 pools where only an inch or two deep, picking up the insects 

 and worms brought to the surface by the inundation. They 

 are accused of being great depredators upon the fruits of the 

 orchard. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this statement; 

 but they are, without doubt, the destroyers of many noxious in- 

 sects ; and, this asserted in their favour, they are, as already 

 previously observed, the most lively and cheering birds in 



