STARLIN G L I KK M VXAHS. 



lung Coast {Tfic Ihls, 1904, p. 238), says: "One of 

 the commouetsl reeideiit birds, breeding in March, when 

 it builds a large untidy nest of coarse grass, roots, and 

 •dry pandanus-tibres. lined with finer root-fibres. Two 

 .or three nests are often placed in a tree almost bare of 

 leaves, where they are conspicuous objects for milee 

 .around." 



Messrs. La Touche and Rickett, describing the nest- 

 ing of birds in Fohkien {The !!)!.■<, 1905, pp. 39. 40), 

 observe: "The nest is a large domed structure of 

 irregular shape, comi>osed of ary grass, straw, leaves, 

 twigs, and, in fact, any materials that come handy, 

 ^ven such as string, paper, hair, and rags. It is very 

 conspicuously placet! in some pine or tall tree at a good 

 height from tlie ground. 



" The eggs are laid in April, and number from four to 

 .six in a clutch. They are greenish blue, with a con- 

 siderable amount of gloss. In shape they vary from 

 Jiarrowly ovate to oval. Thirty-nine specimens average 

 1.25in. by .91in. There are two, or perhaps three, 

 broods in a season. 



"These birds' antics at pairing-time are most absm'd 

 to watch. One sidles up to its mate uttering its ever- 

 Jasting ■ tev-a-c/iee ' with widely open bill ; the other 

 sits with puffed-out plumage, its bill buried in the 

 breiist-feathers; then follows a sham squabble, consist- 

 ing of much .snapping of beaks and playful peckings, 

 after which they lly off to another tree and repeat the 

 performance. Young birds when following their parents 

 constantly utter a harsh ' tcherk." " 



Although Ru.^s overlooks the fact, two examples of 

 this NIvnah were purchased for our Zoological Gar- 

 dens in 1866, and a third in 1873; in 1876 Charles 

 Jamraoh received two specimens and Mr. Schlechtendal 

 •obtained a .specimen. In 1878 the director of the Berlin 

 Aquarium exhibited two as great rarities at the 

 " -Egintlia " I^xhibition in Berlin, Miss Hagenbeck exhi- 

 liited two in 1887 at the " Oniie " Kxhibition, and in 

 1891 G. Reisz, of Berlin, secured an old bird and a youngr 

 •one. Doubtless other examples of this common Chinese 

 .species have come to hand. 



Bl.\ck-winged 'Myn-Vh {'^raruUpica ineloiwptera). 



White here and there (but ©.specially on the 

 head, rump, thiglie, and_ under tail-coverts tinted 

 Avith creamiy buff) ; bastard wing and primaries black, 

 the latter white at base ; secondaries bronze-brown, 

 ■with bronze-green edges; tail greenish-black, tipped 

 with white; the small tenth primary white below; 

 1)111 and feet yellow ; irides nearly white. Female 

 smaller, but similai'ly coloured. IHab., Java. Madura. ■ 



Mr. F. Nicholson "(r/if /6i'.--. 1881, p. 153) says: 

 "Roof of mouth blaek. Seeds of rice in stomach." 

 The name given to it by the natives appears to be 

 "Kalung putih " or " Kalery Cumbang." Dr. Ruse 

 says that this sjiecies was first imported alive in 1862, 

 when it arrived in the Amsterdam Zoological Gardens, 

 and in 1891 two beautiful examples again reached the 

 same gardens. The dealer, G. Rei.sz, of Berlin, first 

 •secured it in 1891, but only one example, which pre- 

 sently found its way to the" collection of Prince Ferdi- 

 nand of Bulgaria. Miss Hagenbeck exhibited one 

 at the "Ornis" Exhibition in 1893. Since then it hiix 

 come to hand singly here and there, and ha.s reached 

 the Berlin Zoological Gardens. 



Common Myn.-vh {Acridullifres li-Ulis). 

 '~ The prevailing colour is vinous brown, deeper, richer, 

 and more glossy above than below ; the crown, nape, 

 lores, ear-coverts, and sides of face are glossy greenish 

 (black ; the feathers on the forehead erected, but hardly 



forming a crest ; eyelids black, but the naked patch 

 below and behind the eye bright ochre-yellow ; the 

 chin, throat, and breast black, less glossy "than on the 

 upper parts, and seeming almost ashy in certain lights ; 

 bastard-wing black', some of the feathers white exter- 

 nally ; primary coverts white ; primaries black, white 

 at the base, and brownish internally, the inner 

 secondaries blackish, but the outer ones deep glossy 

 brown ; tail dull black, the central feathers slightly 

 greenish, the remainder tipped with white, which in- 

 creases in width from within outwards ; centre of abdo- 

 men brownish white ; vent and under tail-coverts pure 

 white; bill and feet ochre-yellow, the claws browner, 

 iris chestnut brown. The female is very like the male, 

 but the bill appears to be slightly longer and the winge 

 are shorter. Hab., Afghanistan, India generally, 

 Buniia, and Tenasseriin ; inti-odnced] into Mauritius. 



The common "Mynah is not specially striking in 

 colour ; it is about the size of a Blackbird ; Jei-don gives 

 the t-otal length as "about lOin.." and Sharpe as 9iin. 



According to Jeixlon this is "one of the commonest 

 birds in the country, affecting towns, villages, and the 

 neighbourhood of man rather than the jungles. It 

 roosts generally in large numbers, in some particular 

 tree in a village or cantonment, and morning and 

 evening keeps up a noisy chattering concert. Soon after 

 sunrise the birds disperse, and in parties of two, four, 

 six. or more, wing their way in different directions to 

 their various feeding-grounds. Some remain about vil- 

 lages and cantonments, looking out, like the crows, for 

 any fragrnents of cooked rice that may be thrown out 

 by the side of a house, or even coming" into a verandah 

 for that pm-pose ; others attend flocks of cattle, which 

 they follow while grazing, picking up the grasshoppers 

 disturljed by their feet, while some hunt for grain or 

 fi-uit." "It has a great variety of notes, some of them 

 pleasing and musical, othei-s harsh ; some have a reso- 

 nant nwtallic sound." 



This bird breeds, like our English Starling, in nooks 

 and under eaves of houses, or in holes in trees; it lays 

 four or five pale bluish-green eggs. 



The Common Mynah is freely import-ed, and there- 

 fore by no means expensive ; Russ, however, puts the 

 price in Germany at from 15 to 20 marks, and when to 

 a certain degree tamed, at as hiarh a figure as 45 marks. 

 If I ri'rneniber rightly my example cost me Ss. ; it was 

 certainly not much more. 



I purchased an example of this species about 1893 

 or 1894. and kept it in an aviary with Blue-birds and 

 one or two other ."pecies with which I found it agree 

 very well. It did not, however, prove a very interesting 

 or specially intelligent i>et ; possibly it may have been 

 out of sorts, for it certainly did not live many months. 



In captivity the Common, Mynah is said to become 

 very tame, and to learn both words and sentences ; but 

 my somewhat short experience of the s-pecies did not 

 enable me to confirm these statements, which are 

 doubtless true. 



In the trade this is often called the " Brown Mvnah " ; 

 but the latter {A. fiisciis) has no naked patch about 

 the eyes, though in other respects, as in its habits, it 

 is very .similar. It is said to vary also in the colouring 

 of the iris, which is either pale grey or yellow, accord- 

 ing to whether it is caught in Southern or Xorthern 

 India. 



Indian Mtn.\h iAri-ldol/ieres gimjinianus). 

 Above dark grey, rather paler on rump and upper 

 tail-coverts, darker on lesser wing-coverts ; median 

 coverts greenish-black edged with grey ; greater coverts 

 and flights black, green externally, somewhat bronzy on 

 secondaries ; bastard wing black, reddish-buff exter- 



