jETHIOPSAB. 385 



of July. They nest in chimneys, hollow trees, holes in stone 

 walls, c., filling in the hole with hay, straw, moss, and twigs, and 

 lining the cavity with feathers. They lay from three to five long, 

 oval, greenish-blue e^gs, a shade darker than those of the English 

 Starling." 



Prom Kotagherry Miss Cockburn tells us that " these Mynas 

 breed in the months of March and April, and construct their nests 

 (which consist of a few straws, sticks, and feathers put carelessly 

 together) in the holes of trees and old thatched houses. They lay 

 five or six eggs of a beautiful light blue, and are extremely careful 

 of their young. The nests of these birds are so common in the 

 months above mentioned that herd-boys have brought me more 

 than fifty eggs at a time. 



" About a year ago a pair took up their abode in my pigeon-cot, 

 and although the eggs were often destroyed they would not leave 

 the place, but continued to lay in the same nest. At last one of 

 them \vas caught ; the other went away, but returned the next day 

 accompanied by a new mate. At length the hole was shut up, as 

 they committed great depredations in the garden, and were useful 

 only in giving a sudden sharp cry of alarm when the Mhorungtiee 

 Hawk-Eagle, a terrible enemy to Pigeons, made its appearance, thus 

 enabling the gardeners to balk him of his intended victim." 



Dr. Jerdon. states that " it is most abundant on the Nilgiris, 

 where it is a permanent resident, breeding in holes in trees, making 

 a large nest of moss and feathers, and laying three to five eggs of 

 a pale greenish-blue colour." 



Mr. 0. J. W. Taylor informs us that at Manzeerabad, in Mysore, 

 this Myna is common everywhere, and breeds in April and May. 



Captain Horace Terry notes that in the Pulney hills the Jungle 

 Myna nests in April. 



Mr. Rhodes "W. Morgan, writing from South India, says in 

 4 The Ibis ' : " It breeds on the Xeilgherries in holes of trees. The 

 hole is filled up with sticks to within about a foot of the entrance, 

 and a smooth lining of paper, rags, feathers, &c. laid down, on 

 which are deposited from two to six light blue eggs. The young 

 are fed on small frogs, grasshoppers, and fruit. An egg measured 

 1-2 inch by -88. Breeds in May." 



At Dacca Colonel Tytler found them nesting in temples and 

 houses about the sepoy lines. 



Mr. J. E. Cripps tells us that at Purreedpore, in Bengal, this 

 species is " pretty common, and a permanent resident. This 

 species associates with A. tristis, but is seen on trees away 

 from villages, which the latter never is. Prefers well-wooded 

 country, whereas A. tristis never goes into jungle. On the 29th 

 of June, 1877, I found a nest in a hole of a tree, about 12 feet off 

 the ground. The diameter of the entrance-hole was t\vo and a half 

 inches, and inside it widened to six inches and about twenty inches 

 in depth. The nest was a mere pad of grass and feathers, and 

 contained four very slightly incubated eggs. And again on the 

 17th July, seeing the hole occupied, I again sent up a boy, who found 



VOL. i. 25 



