42 



FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



when I bought it, there were others in the market, and 

 consequently it only cost me ten shillings. Oddly 

 enough, Dr. Russ speaks of it as " a most delightful 

 bird, unfortunately rare in the trade, only scattered 

 .here and there in zoological gardens and the largest 

 private collections," yet he gives the price in Germany 

 as twenty to thirty shillings a pair ; not a very high 

 j>rice for so " rare " a bird, one would think. 



BLTTH'S STARLING (Poliopsar Uythii). 



Above pearl grey ; greater coverts paler, whitish 

 externally; larger wing- feathers black, greenish exter- 

 nally ; primaries at tips and secondaries externally pale 

 grey, the innermost secondaries being almost wholly 

 grey ; central tail-feathers pale grey ; the next pair 

 blackish tipped with chestnut, and grey externally, the 

 others with the tips increasingly chestnut; head all 

 .round, shafts of feathers at back of neck, throat, and 

 breast white; the top of head slightly tinted with 

 j)ink ; remaining under-parts reddish-cinnamon ; thighs, 

 under wing-coverts, and axillaries more or less ashy ; 

 flights below dusky ; bill blue at base, green in centre, 

 .and yellow at tip ; feet yellow ; irides greyish-white. 

 Female smaller, paler, and duller ; upper surface more 

 or less ferruginous, especially on rump and upper tail- 

 coverts ; head greyer ; culmen of bill brownish ; feet 

 olive-yellow; irides grey. Hab., Southern India. 

 ^Jerdon observes {"Birds of India," Vol. II. , p. 332) : 

 " This pretty " Myna is only found in the Malabar 

 forests, both near the level of the sea and uip to a 

 level of 2,000 feet or so in the Wynaad and the slopes 

 of the Ghats. It is found from the extreme south of 

 the Malabar coast to about north lat. 15 deg. or 16 deg. 

 It is entirely arboreal, living in small flocks, and keep- 

 ing to the tops of high trees, feeding on various insects 

 .and larvse, small shells (Bulimi), and occasionally on 

 fruit. Its usual cry is neither so loud nor so harsh 

 as that of t/he Mynas in general, and it has a very 

 pleasing song. Its nails are weiil curved, and it climbs 

 about the trunk and branches of trees with great facility. 

 It is said to nidificate in holes of trees." 



Mr. Iver Macpherson (Hume's "Nests and Eggs of 

 Indian Birds," second edition, Vol. I., p. 371) says: 

 " The only nest I have ever found was taken on 

 April 24th, 1880, and was in a hole of a dry standing 

 tree in a clearing made for a teak plantation, and con- 

 tamed three fresh eggs. 



"A few days subsequently I saw a brood of young 

 -ones flying about a dry tree in the forest, so probably 

 the breeding season here extends through April and 

 May." 



Mr. Hume says : " The eggs axe very similar to those 

 of Sturnia malabarica and S. nemoricola, but perhaps 

 slightly larger. They are moderately elongated ovals, 

 generally decidedly pointed towards the small end. 

 The ehell is very fine and smooth, and has a fair amount 

 of gloss. In colour they are a very delicate pale 

 greenish-blue. They measure 0.99 and 1 in length by 

 0.71 in breadth." 



Dr. Russ omits this species from his work, but it 

 'has been exhibited at the London Zoological Gardens. 



PIED MYNAH (Sturnopastor contra). 

 Above, blackish-brown ; scapulars white externally; 

 -rump white ; upper tail-coverts blackish-brown ; lesser 

 wing-coverts white ; median and greater coverts with 

 greenish margins ; tips of primaries edged with white; 

 secondaries more bronze-brown; .tail black, fringed at 

 tip with white ; crown, nape, and back of neck .greenish- 

 black ; feathers of forehead .and eyebrow tipped with 



white ; lores, eyelid, sides of lace, and ear-coverts 

 white ; cheeks black ; throat, sides of neck, and chin 

 "greenish-black ; sides of upper neck streaked with 

 white or drab; some of the feathers of mantle drab 

 externally ; under surface pale vinaceous grey, more 

 huffish on abdomen ; thighs blackish externally, in- 

 ternally white ; under tail-coverts, under wing-coverts, 

 and axillaries white; flights below blackish, fringed 

 with white internally; bill red at base, yellow at tip; 

 feet yellowish ; irides brown ; naked orbital skin orange- 

 yello\v. Female smaller than male. 



Jerdon says ("Birds of India," Vol. II., p. 324): 

 " The Pied Starling is more abundant in the Northern 

 Circare than anywhere else where I have seen it. It 

 here associates in vast flocks of many hundreds, feeding 

 among cattle. In general it is only found in small 

 parties. It feeds, like the others, on grain, fruit, and 

 insects. It is a familiar bird, feeding close to houses, 

 and breeding on trees near houses sometimes, as at 

 Sangor, in the midst of the town ; though, as Mr. 

 Blyth says, ' It does not venture into the streets in 

 Calcutta.' It makes a large nest of sticks, grasses, and 

 feathers, usually about eight or ten feet from the 

 ground, and lays three or four eggs of a clear greenish- 

 blue. It breeds from April to June or July, according 

 to the locality. It is very often taken young, and 

 caged ; has a pleasant song, and is a great imitator of 

 other birds." 



This handsome (Starling reached the London Zoo- 

 logical Gardens in 1871 ; in 1875 the dealer Karl Gudera 

 received several specimens. According to Schlech- 

 tendal, his example did not live exactly at peace with 

 its associates, " but is not spiteful if they leave it alone, 

 but if another bird repeatedly comes unpleasantly 

 close, he stretches his long bill far up to keep it away, 

 and exhibits an extremely extraordinary aspect. When 

 ho is anxious or distressed one hears him utter clear 

 whistled notes. Finally, the Pied Starling is a musical 

 bird, and its song is altogether the best Starling song 

 that I know of." 



JALLA MYNAH (Sturnopastor jalla). 



Differs from the preceding in the absence of white 

 streaks from the forehead, the yellow orbital naked 

 patch extended backwards to above the middle of the 

 ear-coverts ; irides pale yellow. Female smaller and 

 browner. Hab., Sumatra, Java, Bali, Madura, 

 (Sharpe.) 



According to Dr. H. A. Bernstein, this is "one of 

 the most widely-distributed and commonest birds in 

 Java, and can be found everywhere, excepting in the 

 higher mountains and extensive primeval forests ; where 

 men have settled, the land has been built upon, and 

 there aro larger or smaller pastures grown with short 

 grass in the neighbourhood ; we see it most abundant 

 upon freshly-enclosed fields and garden plots, where 

 it is so little shy that it often comes quite close to 

 the workers. While, however, it shows its close agree- 

 ment with allied species of Starlings ii^ regard to the 

 choice of its residence, and also in its manner of life, 

 it. differs in that it much more rarely, and never so 

 constantly, remains in the immediate vicinity of graz- 

 ing herds of cattle. On the contrary, it regularly visits 

 ploughed fields, gardens, meadows, and pastures in 

 order to seek its food, consisting of worms, insects, and 

 their larvae, either upon the freshly-turned earth or be- 

 tween the short grass. As these are for the most part 

 injurious to agriculture, or are creatures hurtful to 

 beasts or men, one must regard it as belonging to the 

 grouip of the most useful birds. Also it searches in the 

 excrement of men and beasts for maggots, etc. If not 



