FURREEDPORE, EASTERN BENGAL. 261 



136 — Geryle rudis, Lin. 



2itk April 1878, Male.— Length, 11-25; expanse, 18*0; 

 wing, 510 ; tail from vent, 3*0; tarsus, 0-50; closed wings 

 fall short of end of tail, T58 ; bill from gape, 2'85 ; at 

 front, 2-37 ; weight, 3*37 ozs. 



19th June 1878, Female.— Length, 11-50 ; expanse, 18*0 ; 

 wing, 5*42 ; tail from vent, 3*0 ; tarsus, 0'50 ; bill from gape, 

 8*12 ; at front, 2*50 ; closed wings fall short of end of 

 tail, 1*25 ; weight, 3'12 ozs. Irides dark brown ; mouth, inside 

 fleshy yellow ; bill and legs black ; ovaries minute. 



Excessively common. A very cheery bird, always on the move. 

 Nests in holes excavated by themselves in river banks. Length 

 of gallery from 1| to 4 feet, no lining to egg chamber. I 

 have taken a clutch of 5 eggs (fresh) on the 26th October 1877, 

 and found a solitary half grown young one in another nest, 

 on the same date ; the last nest of the season was secured on 

 the 1st March 1878, with two hard set eggs and two callow 

 young ; these birds stick mostly to the large rivers, although 

 there may be beels and tanks near. 



149.— Palaeornis purpureus, Mull* 



Idt/t June 1878, Male.— Length, 925; expanse, 14*50; 

 wing, 5-08 ; tail from vent, 375 ; tarsus, 0*48 ; bill from 

 gape, 0'66 ; at front, 0'75 ; closed wings fall short of end of 

 tail, 2-0; weight, 2*37 ozs. Legs, bluish grey; irides, thin circle 

 of blue inside and one of yellowish white outside. 



Very common during the latter half of the year, flying in 

 large flocks. They are very noisy, and do a deal of damage to 

 the grain crops. The first arrivals this season were observed 

 on the first of June. Very partial to bamboo clumps. In my 

 house at Howrah is a tame bird of this species, a female, which 

 was moulting in July, and the horny covering of the mandi- 

 bles dropped off after first becoming of a black colour ; it then 

 had a sickly white appearance, with patches of yellow about 

 the upper one, and was so tender that the bird could eat only 

 boiled rice. It has done moulting, but there are no signs of the 

 horny covering again growing. After a couple of months the 

 bill became whitish and has remained so for six mouths. 



157 — *Picus macei, Vieill. 



Pretty commou and a permanent resident. One pair exca- 

 vated a hole in the dead branch of a Poinciana regia tree 



* This is quite correct; the specimens belong to the Southern and Western form 

 and not, as from the locality might have been expected, the Eastern form.— Ed. 



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