324 Mr. S. S. Flower on the 



11. Passer montanus (Linn.). 



, The Tree-Sparrow is the commonest bird in Bangkok; 

 it has the habits of P. domesticus oH Europe, but is even 

 bolder. At every meal during daylight these birds enter 

 the dining-room and hop about on the lookout for food, 

 perching on the sideboard and even on the chairs. 



12. HiRUNDo sp. inc. 



A Swallow resembling our H. rustica is sometimes seen 

 on the wing ; 1 fiud it mentioned in ray diary for the months 

 of January, February, August, November, and December. 



13. MoTACiLLA sp. inc. 



A Pied Wagtail is common about the lawns of the Wang 

 Na in December and January. 



14. Anthus sp. inc. 



A Pipit is another winter visitor, and is to be seen on the 

 grass-lawns in company with tlie Wagtail, but it stays with 

 us longer. I have observed it from the 30th October to 

 February. 



15. Arachnechthra flammaxillaris (Blyth). 



This beautiful Sun-bird is common in a row of trees just 

 outside our house, and can easily be watched from the open 

 upstairs windows within the distance of a few feet. Oates, 

 in the ' Fauna of British India, Birds •" (vol. ii. p. 343), says 

 of the Nectariniidse that " they are unable to poise them- 

 selves in the air, after the manner of Humming-birds, except 

 on rare occasions, and then only for a very brief interval "; 

 but I have repeatedly noticed this species thus poised in one 

 spot with rapidly-vibrating wings, and although they never 

 remain so for long, still it is a characteristic attitude of the 

 bird. Their voice, though very shrill, is pretty. Young 

 birds just able to fly were first noticed on the 14th of 

 August. 



16. DiCjEum cruentatum (Linn.). 



The Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker lives in the same trees 

 as the Sun-bird, though it is not so often seen. It has the 

 same habit of hovering or poising itself in the air. It is 



