MASON AND LEFROY. 101 



and flower buds and occasionally insects. Adam says that in Kash- 

 mir it feeds on seeds and buds of pines. When the silk-cotton tree 

 comes into flower, it is always to be found feedirg on the insects 

 that harbour in the flowers. Jerd. B. I. II, 230. 



I once saw one of these Mynahs pick up a large caterpillar in 

 some grass by the side of a road. 



547. Graculipica burmanica. Jerdon's Mynah. When the 

 big cotton trees (Bombax maabaricum) are in Lower, these bhds 

 may be seen and heard in immense numbers. B. N. H. S. J. XVII, 

 189. 



Acridotheres. The true Mynahs prefer insect food but will also 

 eat grain, and indeed are almost as omnivorous as the ciows. Jeid. 

 B. I., II, 324. 



549. A. tnstis. Common Mynah. Fragments of cooked lice 

 round houses : others attend flocks of cattle picking up grasshoppers 

 disturbed by their feet while some hunt for grain or fruit In- 

 troduced to Mauritius from India to destroy grasshoppers and is per- 

 fectly naturalized there. Jerd. B. I., II, 325. 



Some kinds of birds, such as Sparrows, Mynahs and Wagtails 

 eat weevils (Calandra oryzae) I. M. N., 1., 28. 



This objectionable bird is doing its best to oust Slurnia anca- 

 manensis from the Andamans. It was introduced in 1873. B. N. 

 H. S. J., XVII, 159. 



They have also been introduced to Hawaii, and New Zeals hd 

 and in some localities are said to be a great nuisance, as they drive 

 away pigeons and fowls and are said to destroy nests and eggs of 

 domestic birds. 



The " gurral " (t A. tristis) is another bird which has a well 

 developed taste for standing crops. Punjab Gaz., Hissar., 20. 



Gulgul is a local name in the Central Provinces for A. Iristis 

 and therefore gurral may possibly refer to the same species. Grain, 

 fruit and insects. Bombay Gaz., Ahmedabad, IV, 82. 



