1846 



THE PIC A RI AN BIRDS 



blackish as well as the mantle; the back green, and the under surface blue, with the 

 throat streaked with bright purplish blue, forming a gular patch, the total length 

 being eleven inches. It inhabits the Burmese countries, extending down to the 

 Malayan Peninsula and to the islands of Borneo, Java, and the Philippines. 

 Bourdillon, after stating that he was attracted by the chattering of a pair of these 

 rollers, says that "on going to the spot I found them engaged in ejecting from a 



ORIENTAL ROLLER. 



(One-half natural size.) 



hole in a stump, about forty feet from the ground, a pair of our hill mynas. One 

 of the rollers was in the mouth of the hole, and enlarging it by tearing away with 

 its beak the soft rotten wood; the other roller, seated on a tree close by, was 

 doing most of the chattering, making an occasional swoop at the mynas whenever 

 they ventured too close. I watched the birds for some time until the mynas went 

 off, and there and then began building in a pinney tree within the distance of one 



