1 86 THE MALAY PROVINCE 



pleasing, the rice-bird is often kept in captivity ; it is generally considered an 

 enemy to the rice-cultivator. 



The well-known grackles are glossy black Oriental representa- 



Grackles 



tives of the starling tribe, characterised by their crow-like beaks, 

 which, like their feet, are yellow or red, and bare warty wattle-like patches on the 

 sides of the head. Grackles range from India through the Malay countries as far 

 eastwards as New Guinea. The Malay grackle (Eulabes javanensis), whose habitat 

 extends from Tenasserim to Borneo, is almost as large as a jackdaw ; it easily 

 learns to whistle and talk, a habit very characteristic of all the grackles, which 

 are in consequence frequently called talking mynas. 



Nearly allied are the beautiful glossy starlings, which also have 

 ' a sable plumage, but with a much more brilliant metallic gloss. The 

 most common species (Calornis calibeius) ranges from Tippera, Dacca, and Cachar 

 through the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. 



Although likewise glossy black in plumage, the African and 



Oriental drongos form a very different group of birds, characterised 



by their crow-like beaks, with bristles at the base and round the nostrils, and 



their long and generally forked tails. These birds, which resemble flycatchers in 



their habits, live alike in thin forest, plantations, and open plains dotted with trees, 



from the branches of which they take short flights in pursuit of their insect-prey. 



In spite of their stings, they capture without hesitation numbers of bees and wasps. 



The nest, which is very like that of the golden oriole, contains at the proper season, 



eggs much resembling those of the shrikes. Drongos live in pairs or families ; the 



cocks have an agreeable song, and considerable powers of mimicry. The most 



remarkable of the group are perhaps the racket-tailed species, the smaller of which 



(BJtringa remifer) ranges from the eastern Himalaya and the hill-tracts of Assam 



through Burma to Tenasserim, and also inhabits Perak, Sumatra, and Java. 



In the crow tribe the Burmese crow (Corvus insolens) replaces 

 Crows and Kittas. . _.-.__. . 



the Indian crow in the Malay province. Like its Indian cousin, this 



species generally frequents towns and villages in large flocks, although it will 

 occasionally take up its residence near isolated huts in the forest. In another 

 group, the kittas, which are exclusively Oriental, resemble magpies and their 

 relatives in form and habits, but are more beautiful in plumage. The green 

 kitta (Cissa chinensis) is light bluish green with refldish brown wings, a 

 brown-black band crossing the eyes and extending to the sides of the head, a 

 red beak, and coral-coloured legs. Its area of distribution extends from the 

 Jumna valley to Mergui. 

 Jays and Tree- The jays are represented by the Burmese Garrulus leucotis, a 



Pies. species restricted to tall pine-forests. The tree-pies again, which are 

 distributed over India, southern China, Formosa, Hainan, the Andamans, and 

 Sumatra, are of the size and appearance of magpies ; and they resemble the latter 

 in habits, although keeping to the tops of trees, and live principally on fruits, 

 though they eat also insects and young birds. Among them, the Indian tree-pie 

 (Dendrocitta rufa) ranges from Kashmir to Travancore and from Assam to Mergui, 

 while another, the Himalayan tree-pie (D. himalayanus), is found from the valley 

 of the Sutlej to Tenasserim. 



