THE STARLINGS OR MYNAHS. 47 



or given away, if they show no signs of a budding 

 talent for acquiring language. 



Albinism is not very uncommon in this Mynah ; I 

 have seen two white ones with pink eyes, and two 

 others with eyes of the normal colour (a speckled grey), 

 which afterwards reverted, one completely, and the 

 other partially, to the natural colour ; this being likely 

 to happen when the eyes of a white bird are not pink. 



The House-Mynah has been introduced into several 

 other countries Mauritius, the Andamans, the Sand- 

 wich Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. Only in 

 the Sandwich Islands has he proved an undesirable 

 colonist, as he there attacks the eggs and young of the 

 native birds, many of which are only found in these 

 islands. 



THE BANK MYNAH (Acridotheres ginginianus), is 

 called Ganga maina in Hindutsani, and Gang salik in 

 Bengali, is smaller and slighter than the House-Mynah ; 

 it has the same pattern of colour, but the tints differ. 

 The head is black as in the other species, but the body- 

 colour is iron-grey and the light bands on the wings and 

 tail cinnamon ; the bare face is bright red, and the feet 

 and bill orange, instead of yellow. The young birds 

 are sometimes merely dull editions of the adult, as in 

 the Common Mynah, but more often differ strikingly by 

 having drab heads. 



The Bank Mynah derives its name from its curious 

 nesting-habits ; it burrows into banks to make its nests, 

 a number of birds associating to form a colony. It is a 

 curious fact that the bird is particularly partial to the cast 



