

THE WHITE-THROATED BABBLER. 



The " Zay-vve " is one of the most familiar birds of Mandalay 

 and the dry-zone in general, haunting both compounds and jungle, 

 and goes by the name of the " seven sisters " or " rat-birds ;" both 

 names, however, I believe, belong to Indian birds, which are not 

 found in this country. This being one of Burma's own produc- 

 tions, not being found in any other parts of the east. There is no 

 mistaking them, with their untidy dress, and dirty white shirt fronts, 

 and long ragged tails. They cannot be exactly called " laughing 

 thrushes" although they belong to the same'family, as they seem 

 never happy but always complaining with their harsh grating voices. 

 They have however the family characteristic of going about together 

 in parties, and generally seem very busy as they hop about with 

 tails held at different angles, hunting and turning over the fallen 

 leaves. When they have to fly, which they always seem very loth 

 to do, they go in for a regular rocketing flight, with their small 

 round wings extended, and their tails spread out in a fan. They 

 nest during the hot w r eather, building a cup-shaped nest in any 

 convenient bush or bamboo clump, and lay four beautiful hedge- 

 sparrow-blue eggs. 



Burmese name Zay-we. 

 (No. 106. A. gularis.) 



Another bird very like the above, but wanting the white shirt- 

 front, is to be found in patches of grass jungle near swamps, and 

 along the river bank, and is especially common at Bhamo below the 

 Polo ground, and is the Seriated Babbler, it has the same harsh 

 notes, and rocketting flight of the last. 



(No. 104. A. earlii.) 



I have omitted a great number of birds as they are not common or 

 familiar, being found only in dense jungle or on the higher hills. 

 There is, however, one family of the Laughing Thrushes which may 

 b? met with or noticed as they are striking looking birds. 'I hey 

 are more or less solitary, generally going about in pairs. Their 

 chief characteristic lies in their bills, which are rather elongated and 

 curved from which they get their names of Scimiter Babblers. There 

 are a good many varieties found in the different parts of Burma and 

 it would be impossible to describe them all. Some are birds havin^ 

 a bright yellow curved beak, slate coloured heads, and white and 

 chestnut under part-, others having horn coloured curved beaks, and 

 nearly all brown bodies and white under parts. 



Sinlum-Kaba, Bhamo district is very rich in its variety of Laugh- 

 ing Thrushes, some of them be ng extremely handsome birds, I 

 therefore give a short list of them with their Kachin names. 



The White browed Laughing Thrush. Very common. 

 Kachin name Wo^frow and Shong shay, 

 (No. 67. D, sannio./ 1 



