from the District of Karen-nee, Burmah. 351 



nirostris was very common^ Ayii^g from copse to copse and 

 tree to tree with its peculiar quivering motion of the tail. 

 On the waste land were found Pipits and flocks of Buntings, 

 chiefly Melophus melanicterus, and Ember iza pusilla. Even 

 here there was a great dearth of birds of prey. One species 

 of Vulture {Gyps indicus, I think) was continually sailing 

 round the camp accompanied by swarms of Milvus govinda ; 

 over the plains and hill-sides occasional Harriers {Circus 

 (Bruginosus and C. melanoleucus) were quartering the ground, 

 whilst far above the Kestrel would be seen suspended in the 

 air. With the exception of a single Harrier I one day saw, 

 and thought was Circus cineraceus, these were all the birds of 

 prey that we met with. The common Mynah {Acridotheres) * 

 of the cou.ntry appeared to me to be very dififerent from any 

 that I had seen before ; but whether it is a distinct species 

 or not remains to be proved. One Oriole {Oriolus indicus) 

 was shot in a small clump of pine trees in a very exposed 

 situation. This was the first Oriole that I had met with 

 since descending the eastern side of the Tonghoo hills. 



From Kyai-pho-gyee we moved on to a small village on the 

 frontier of the Shan States, situated in a bare stony plain, 

 bordered on either side by low ranges of jagged limestone 

 rocks ; these rocks were perforated through and through with 

 caves — the abode of countless numbers of Bats. About these 

 rocks I found Hirundo daurica, Linn.f, not uncommon, but 

 only succeeded in securing one specimen. 



In the vicinity of the village was a broad tract of country 

 artificially inundated by a stream which passed through it ; 

 this place was tenanted by vast flocks of Waders of all sorts, 

 probably on their way northwards for the summer. Himan- 

 topus intermedius, Bl. ? was particularly abundant, but very 

 shy and wary, quite the reverse of what I had found them on 

 a former occasion on the plains of Pegu. 



On the 30th March we fairly started on our homeward 



journey over the same ranges of hills that we had just crossed 



some fifty miles further south. On the 2nd April we reached 



6000 feet, the greatest height arrived at during the trip ; here 



* A. siamensis, Swinhoe. — W. f Cecropis striolata. — W. 



