THE ISLANDS OF THE BAY OF BENGAL. 211 



283 Us.— Dissemuroides dicruriformis, Hume. 

 (19.) 



For description and dimensions of this species, vide Stray 

 Feathers, 1873, p. 408. I only saw and shot it on the Great 

 Coco and Table Island, which latter is a mere islet of the former. 

 I noticed nothing- peculiar in its " manners and customs," and 

 but for its somewhat larger size and narrower tail might have 

 been mistaken, until in the hand, for our common Indian 

 King--crow. Mr. Davison, who visited the Cocos about a month 

 later than I did, gives me the following- note : — 



"The species was tolerably abundant on the Great Coco- 

 frequenting- principally the jungle immediately within the belt 

 of cocoanut palms that surround the coast. In habits it does 

 not appear to differ from the other Buchangas, and its note is 

 similar. Neither this nor andamanensis were observed on the 

 Nicobar Islands/' 



283 ter.— Dissemuroides andamanensis, Tyt- 

 ler. (56j, vide Stray Eeathees, 1873, pp. 66 

 and 310. 



To the dimensions already given, Stray Feathers, 1873, 

 p. 409, I add the following: — Expanse, 14-75 to 16'5; tail, 

 6*12. to 6*75. The bill, legs, and feet are black; the hides are 

 hair brown, sometimes very deep, and almost blackish. 



I only met with this species at Port Blair and in Macpher- 

 son's Straits. Mr. Davison, who was much longer in the islands 

 than I was, remarks : — ci This species is very common at the 

 Andaraans in the vicinity of Port Blair, but does not extend to 

 the Nicobars, and I did not see it at any other of the islands of 

 the Andaman group that I visited. It has much the same habits 

 as the other drongo shrikes, catching insects on the wing-. Its 

 note is sharp, and with somewhat of a metallic sound, and it 

 has a habit like the others of slightly jerking- its tail up after 

 each note. Lieutenant Wardlaw Ramsay informed me that he had 

 on several occasions seen this bird ascending the trunks of trees 

 like a woodpecker, and pressing- its tail against the bark to aid 

 its ascent. I myself was not fortunate enough to witness 

 this anomalous habit.'" 



In both these species the females are rather smaller than the 

 males. This also is a permanent resident. 



284. — Dissemunis paramseus, Lin. (0.) 



Von Pelzeln gives this bird from the Nicobars, but as he 

 gives malabaricus, raiigoonensu, &c, as synonymes, he probably 



