110 SPOLIA ZEYLANIOA. 



Bill bluish at the base, remainder yellow ; iris pale topaz 

 yellow ; legs and feet pale yellow. 



Length 8*25 ; wing 4 -15; tail 2-75; tarsus 1*15; bUl 

 from gape 1*05. 



Distribution. — Found only in the dry parts of the Island 

 near the coast. It occurs in suitable districts over the whole 

 of India proper. 



Habits. — Although in India this species occurs far inland, 

 with us it is never seen far from the sea. It is rather local, 

 though plentiful where it occurs, as it associates in fairly large 

 flocks, which from time to time shift their quarters to a 

 distance of some miles. It is generally met with in scrubby 

 country, or in grassy spaces dotted with bushes. The birds 

 are w^ary and hard to approach. They feed chiefly on insects, 

 small beetles, &c., but also on seeds and buds. They are said 

 to breed in the north of the Island in July and August. The 

 nest is a flimsy affair of grass and feathers placed in the hole 

 of a tree. The eggs, three to five in number, are pale whitish- 

 blue, and measure about • 97 by • 75. 



Sturnornis senex. 



The White-headed Mynah. 

 Stiirnornis senex (Gates, Vol. I., p. 534 ; Legge, p. 680). 



Description. — ^Adult : Forehead, front of face, chin, throat, 

 and ear coverts buffy-white ; remainder of upper plumage, in- 

 cluding the wings and tail black with a greenish lustre ; the 

 feathers of the nape and neck with white shafts and those of 

 the back faintly tinged with gray ; the white of the upper 

 throat passes into the lavender gray of the remainder of the 

 lower parts, the fore-neck having conspicuous, narrow, white 

 shaft streaks, which are less noticeable on the breast, flank, and 

 abdomen ; vent and lower tail coverts unstreaked, and almost 

 the same shade as the throat. 



In young birds the upper plumage has a bro\^ nish tinge, the 

 white on the top of the head is confined to the forehead and 

 eyebrow, the lower parts are darker, while the shaft streaks 

 on the breast and abdomen are broader and less streakv. 



