42 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



when I bought it, there were others in the market, and 

 consequently dt only cost me ten shillings. Oddly 

 enough, Dr. Russ speaks of it as "a most delightful 

 bird, unfortunately rare in the trade, only scattered 

 here and there in zoological gardens and the largest 

 private collections," yet he gives the price in Germany 

 as twenty to thirty .shilhngs a pair : not a very high 

 .price for so " rare " a bird, one would tliink. 



Blyth's St.\eling {Polioiisar hhjthii). 

 Above pearl grey ; greater coverts paler, whitish 

 .externally; larger wing-feathers black, greenish exter- 

 nally ; primaries at tips and secondaries externally pale 

 grey, the innermost secondaries being almost wholly 

 grey; central tail-feathers pale grey; the next pair 

 blackish tipped with chestnut, and gi-ey externally, the 

 others with the tips increasingly chestnut; head all 

 round, .shafts of feathers at back of neck, throat, and 

 breast white; the top of head sUghtly tinted with 

 J)ink ; remaining under-parts reddish-cinnamon ; thighs, 

 under wmg-coverts, and axillaries more or less asliy ; 

 .flights below dusky ; bill blue at base, green in centre, 

 -and yellow at tip ; feet yellow ; irides greyish-white! 

 Female smaller, paler, and duller ; upper^rsurface more 

 or less ferruginous, especially on rump and upper tail- 

 coverts ; head greyer; culmen of bill brownish; feet 

 .ohve-yellow ; irides grey. Hab., Southern India, 

 u J«T<^on observes C Birds of India," Vol. II., p. 332) : 

 "This pretty "Myna is only found in the Malabar 

 forests, both near the level of the sea and up to a 

 level of 2,000 feet or so in the W>Tiaad and the slopes 

 ot the Ghats. It is found from the extreme south of 

 the Malabar coast to about north lat. 15 deg. or 16 deg. 

 It IS entirely arboreal, living in small flocks, and keep- 

 ing to the tops of high trees, feeding on various insects 

 and larviB, small shells (Bulimi), and occasionallv on 

 fruit. Its usual cry is neither so loud nor so harsh 

 as that of the Mynas in general, and it has a very 

 pleasing song. Its nails are well curved, and it climbs 

 about the trunk and branches of trees with great facilitv. 

 It is said to nidificate in holes of trees." 



iMr. Tver ]\Iacpherson (Hume's "Nests and Eggs of 

 Indian Birds," second edition. Vol. I., p. 371) Tays : 

 '• The only nest I have ever found was taken " on 

 April 24th. 1880, and was in a hole of a dry standino- 

 tree in a clearing made for a teak plantation, and con° 

 tamed three fresh eggs. 



'"A few days subsequentlv I saw a brood of youno- 

 •ones flying about a drv tree in the forest, so prol>ablv 

 the breeding season here extends through April and 

 May. 



Mr. Hume says : "The eggs are very similar to those 

 ■ot btvrnia malabarira and S. nemoricola, but perhaps 

 slightly larger. They are moderately elon<rated ovaN 

 generally decidedly pointed towards the small end' 

 TTie shell is very fine and smooth, and has a fair amount 

 of gloos. In colour thev are a very delicate pale 

 greenish-blue. They measure 0.99 and 1 in lenoth bv 

 0.71 an breadth." 



Dr. Russ omits this .species from his work, but it 

 has been exhibited at the London Zoological Gardens. 



Pied Myn.^h {^turnopastor contra). 

 Above, blackish-brown ; scapulars white externally • 

 rump white; upper tail-coverts blackish-brown; lesser 

 wing-coverts white; median and greater coverts with 

 greenish margins ; tips of primai-ies edged with wliite ■ 

 secondaries more bronze-brown; tail black, fringed at 

 tip with white ; crown, nape, and back of neck greenish- 

 black; feathers of forehead and eyebrow tipped with 



white ; lores, eyelid, sides of face, and ear-coverts 



white ; checks black ; tliroat, sides of neck, and chin 

 gi'eenish-black ; sides of upper neck streaked with 

 wliite or drab; some of the feathers of mantle drab 

 externally ; under surface pale vinaceous grey, more 

 buttish on abdomen ; thighs blackish externally, in- 

 ternally white ; under tail-coverts, under wing-coverts, 

 and axillaries white ; flights below blackish, fringed 

 with white internally ; bill red at base, yellow at tip ; 

 feet yellowish ; irides brown ; naked orbital skin orange- 

 ,vellow. Female smaller than male. 



Jerdon says ("Birds of India," Vol. II., p. 324): — 

 " The Pied Starling is more abundant in the Northern 

 Circare tnan anywhere else where I have seen it. It 

 here associates in vast flocks of many hundreds, feeding 

 among cattle. In general it is only found in small 

 parties. It feeds, like the otliers, on grain, fruit, and 

 insects. It is a familiar bird, feeding close to houses, 

 and breeding on trees near houses — sometimes, as at 

 iSangor. in the midst of the town; though, as Mr. 

 Blvtli says, ' It does not venture into the streets in 

 Calcutta.' It makes a large nest of sticks, grasses, and 

 feathers, usually about eight or ten feet from the 

 ground, and laj's three or four eggs of a clear greenish- 

 lilue. It breeds from April to June or July, according 

 tj the locality. It is very often taken young, and 

 caged ; has a pleasant song, and is a great imitator of 

 other birds." 



This handsome iStarling reached the London Zoo- 

 logical Gardens in 1871 ; in 1875 the dealer Karl Gudera 

 received several specimens. According to Schlech- 

 tendal, his example did not live exactly at peace with 

 its associates, " but is not spiteful if they leave it alone, 

 but if another bird repeatedly comes unpleasantly 

 close, lie stretclies his long bill far up to keep it away, 

 and exhibits an extremely extraordinary aspect. When 

 ' he is anxious or distressed one hears him utter clear 

 whistled notes. Finally, the Pied Starling is a musical 

 bird, and its song is altogether the best Starling song 

 that I know of." 



Jalla Mynah (Sturnopastor jalla). 



Differs from the preceding in the absence of white 

 streaks from the forehead, the yellow orbital naked 

 patch extended backwards to above the middle of the 

 ear-coverts ; irides pale yellow. Female smaller and 

 browner. Hah., Sumatra, Java, Bali, !Madura, 

 (Sharpe.) 



According to Dr. H. A. Bernstein, this is " one of 

 the most widely-distributed and commonest birds in 

 Java, and can be found everjTvhere, excepting in the 

 higher mountains and extensive primeval forests ; where 

 men have settled, the land has been built upon, and 

 there are larger or smaller pastures grown with short 

 gras.- ill the neighbourhood ; we see it most abundant 

 upon freshly-enclosed fields and garden plots, where 

 it is so little shy that it often comes quite close to 

 the workers. While, however, it shows its close agree- 

 ment with allied species of Starlings in regard to the 

 choice of its residence, and also in its manner of life, 

 it differs in that it much more rarely, and never so 

 constantly, remains in the immediate vicinity of graz- 

 ing herds of cattle. On the contrary, it regulai'ly visits 

 plouglied ifields, gardens, meadows, and pastures in 

 order to seek its food, consisting of worms, insect*, and 

 their larv^, either upon the freshly-turned earth or be- 

 tween the short grass. As these ai'e for the most part 

 injurious to agriculture, or are creatures hmiful to 

 ueasts or men, one must regard it as belonging to the 

 gixjuip of the most useful bii-ds. Also it searches in the 

 excrement of men and beasts for maggots, etc. If not 



