the hen flew in. It was an interesting and pretty sight to see the 



parent bird feed her young ; she would fly down for some food, 



making rapid and repeated journeys to and from the nest, and 



when they were fed all round, she would go and have a good 



drink, and then satisfy the thirst of her little ones. 



Both the old birds were continuously in and out of the 



nest, and were evidently much engrossed with the care of their 



progeny. They fed the young with all sorts of insects and soft 



food. 



The old birds were very tame and not at all afraid of me, 



in fact would feed the young while I stood quite near ; and I had 



great hopes of rearing Malabar Starlings, but it was not to be: 



when the young were about ten days old I noticed both the birds 



off the nest. They seemed to be in great trouble and flew 



towards me as if they wanted something, I heard no sound from 



the nest and on examination found the young all dead. The 



chicks were fat, well developed and partially feathered. 



The old birds appeared very unhappy over their loss and 



so was I, but I hope for better luck next time. 



[The late Herr Wiener successfully reared this species in confinement, 

 his birds choosing a cigar nest-box in which to build their nest — he never 

 gave much food at a time and adopted the plan of putting a thin layer of 

 mould over their soft food dish, partially covering same, and thus taught 

 them to dig for the choicer bits — one hour he gave mealworms, another 

 some spiders, or small bits of raw beef, or a handful of live ants, larvoe and 

 mould, and soon the young were able to fend for themselves. He found 

 them very lively and interesting birds, continually on the move, yet always 

 in perfect plumage. A hybrid between the Malabar and Andaman Star- 

 ling was reared at the London Zoo some few seasons ago, which I believe is 

 still living; it certainly was a very handsome bird when last I saw it. 

 Hume describing this bird in its native haunts, states that it is also known 

 as the Grey-headed Mynah, and appears to prefer country that has been 

 partly cleared ; it congregates in flocks of from 40 to 50 individuals. It nests 

 in natural holes in trees (dead or living), choosing one difficult of access at 

 an elevation of from 20 to 50 feet from the ground. The eggs are three or 

 four in number and of a pale blue or sea-green colour. It ranges over 

 India, Burma, and Cochin-China.— Ed.] 



