THE STARLINGS OR MYNAHS. 45 



example. The bill is often very straight, and the legs 

 rather long, the birds usually running instead of hopping 

 when on the ground, where they find most of their food. 

 But they are also active on trees, and strong fliers, the 

 flight being level and steady, with none of the undulat- 

 ing action so common among the smaller species of birds. 

 Not that Mynahs are very small ; their size always ex- 

 ceeds that of a Sparrow. Male and female are alike, 

 but the young may differ greatly. Mynahs feed mostly 

 on insects, but will eat fruit and even seed also ; they 

 build in holes for the most part, and their eggs are 

 generally plain unspotted blue. They much affect the 

 neighbourhood of man, and are usually harmless, not 

 to say useful birds, besides being handsome and interest- 

 ing to watch. Their natural song is not pleasant, but when 

 brought up from the nest they show great talent for 

 mimicry. They are sociable in a wild state and not 

 quarrelsome with other birds in an aviary, though they 

 can hold their own, even with larger species. They are 

 particularly easy to feed and will thrive well for a long 

 time. In Bengal they are called Salik. 



THE HOUSE-MYNAH OR COMMON MYNAH (Acri- 

 dotheres tristis) is found all over India, ascending 

 the hills to a considerable height, as it has of late years 

 become common at Darjeeling. It is a very domes- 

 ticated bird, building a great untidy nest of rags, straw, 

 &c., in any hole it can find about a house, and walk- 

 ing about the verandah with a view to picking up any 

 remnants of boiled rice, <fcc., that may be handy. At 

 the same time, the Mynah is not offensively familiar 



