74 Proceedinrjx, 



As you go about Bombay you now and then hear the scream 

 of a Parrot, and looking up you will see a party of five or six 

 Kose-ringed Parrakeets [Pahromis torquatus) dashing through 

 the air with rapid sti'okes of their long, green, sharp wings. 

 These Parrakeets and their congeners, the Rose-headed 

 Parrakeet {Palteornis i-osa) are found in flocks throughout 

 the Central Provinces. They may be seen feeding in the 

 Tamarind and Peepul trees ; they are very destructive to 

 fiuit, such as Pomegranates and Guavas ; they also plunder 

 fields of corn and of tilly. 



An account of the common birds of Bombay and Central 

 India would be very incomplete if it left out the Myna 

 [Acruloiheres tiistls) ; and a very undeserved slight would be 

 paid to that prim, confiding bird. The Myna is a trifle larger 

 than the Starling. Its general hue is a snuff-brown, the head 

 is black, and white bauds on wings and tail render it con- 

 spicuous as it flies, whilst its yellow bill, orbits, and legs give 

 it an aristocratic air, in keeping with its neat attire. In 

 Bombay the Myuas walk about the maidan and open spaces. 

 Throughout Central India they come close to the bungalows, 

 often perching on the roof and indulging in not very tuneful 

 music. They may frequently be seen following the cattle, or 

 perching on their backs in pursuit of insects. 



A somewhat smaller and less common bird is the Bank 

 Myna lAcridotha-es ginyinianus), readily distinguished by its 

 red bill and white cheeks. I saw it both at Hoshungabad 

 and Sohagpur. At the latter place it was feeding amongst 

 the butchers' leavings, probably finding maggots or beetles. 



Another species of bird common both in Bombay and the 

 Central Provinces is the Black-faced Wagtail {Mutacilla 

 dukhunensis), the Indian representative of the White Wagtail, 

 which it resembles very closely both in plumage and habits. 

 The Indian Field Wagtail [Biuhjtes virUlis) is also abundant 

 during the cold season, often feeding amongst cattle. Ac- 

 cording to age, its plumage is greenish or grey above, and 

 tinged with yellow below. 



In Bombay I first heard the " wheet-wheet-wheet" of the 

 Tailor-bird [Oithotonms lu}iglcaHdus), an engaging though plain 



