540 STURNIDJE. 



Acridotheres malirattensis (Sykes), Hume, Cat. no. 686 bis ; Barnes, 

 Birds Bom. p. 2-55 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii, p. 89. 



^Ethiopsar fuscus (Wagl.}, Oates in Hume's N. fy E. 2nd ed. i, 

 p. 383. 



Pahari maina, Hind. ; Jhonti maina, Hind, in Bengal ; Jhont salik, 

 Beng. ; Tau zayet, Burm. 



Fig. 161. Head of JE.fmsc-us. 



Coloration. Forehead, lores, nasal plumes, ear-coverts, top of the 

 head, and nape black ; back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and scapulars 

 cinereous brown tinged with ruddy; winglet glossy black ; pri- 

 mary-coverts white ; primaries black tipped with bronze, each 

 feather with a large white spot at the base ; secondaries black, 

 broadly edged with bronze on the outer webs ; tertiaries and upper 

 wing-coverts wholly bronze-colour ; tail brownish black, the 

 middle pair of feathers slightly, the others broadly tipped with 

 white; chin, throat, and breast dark ashy brown, becoming albes- 

 cent on the middle of the abdomen ; under tail-coverts fulvescent 

 white ; under wing-coverts black. 



Iris bright yellow in Northern India and Burma, grey or pale 

 blue in Southern India ; basal half of bill bluish black, terminal 

 half orange-yellow ; mouth bluish ; legs orange-yellow ; claws 

 greenish horn-colour. 



Length 9'5; tail 3; wing 4-7; tarsus 1-45; bill from gape 1'25. 



Distribution. The hilly and well-wooded parts of the whole 

 Empire except the western portion including Sind, Eajputana, 

 and Guzerat. There are also certain tracts in Upper and Central 

 India which appear unsuited to the habits of this species. With 

 these exceptions this Myna is found from the Himalayas to Cape 

 Comorin and throughout the whole region east of the Bay of Bengal, 

 extending some way down the Malay peninsula. It ascends the 

 Himalayas up to about 8000 feet, and is everywhere a resident. 



Some ornithologists have sought to separate this species into 

 two races, assigning Wagler's name to the bird with yellow irides, 

 found throughout Northern India and Burma, and Sykes's to the 

 bird with pale blue irides, which is confined to Southern India. I 

 can discover no other differences between these so-called races and 

 consequently I have united them. Sharpe states that ^2?. maliratt- 

 ensis is a much larger bird, but as he gives the wing of JE. fuscus 

 as measuring only 4-45 inches, whereas the wing of this bird is not 

 unusually 5 inches and seldom less than 4*7, this character cannot 

 be considered of any value. 



Habits, $c. Affects forest country, feeding on the ground and 



