BIRDS OF ^TENASSERIM. 93 



in the gardens and Durian and other fruit plantations in the 

 island of Mergui, and I have also seen aud shot it on the trees 

 growing in the town of Mergui. 



This, too, to the best of my belief, never touches fruit ; insects 

 are their food, and often great big ones too ; I have seen one 

 devouring a huge locust. Very likely they also at times eat 

 small lizards, but I have had no proof of this. The note is 

 similar to that of the two previous species, but yet 

 distinguishable at the first sound by a practised ear. South of 

 Tenasserim I found this common everywhere to the southern- 

 most point of the Peninsula. — W. D.] 



Count Salvadori, Atti R., Ac. 8c, Tor. IX, 425, 1874, separ- 

 ates the Malayan Rouge-et-noir* Bird under the name of malac- 

 censis from the Bornean, on the grounds that the Bornean adults 

 have the outer tail feathers devoid of white markings, while 

 the Malayan have more or less of white markings on the 

 inner webs of the three outer pairs of rectrices. 



It appears that three specimens of Doria's collection from 

 Sarawak have the tails entirely black ; that two from Labuan 

 and one from Bangermassingin the Marquis of Tweeddale's 

 collection are similar ; that two others from Labuan from the 

 same collection have a certain amount of white on the exterior 

 pair of tail feathers. (Salvad. U. di B., 110). Mr. Sharpe 

 also informs us (Ibis, 1876, p. 48) that of two specimens 

 collected by Mr. Everett in Borneo, one has only an obscure 

 oblique spot of white on the outer tail feathers, while the other 

 has the two outer tail feathers spotted ; also that of two other 

 Bornean specimens in the British Museum one has an uniform 

 tail with nothing but a faint white shade near the apex of the 

 inner web of the outermost rectrix, and the other has a decided 

 spot on the outer tail feather and a faint one on the penul- 

 timate one. He also notes a Sumatran specimen with the two 

 outer tail feathers marked ; Malaccan specimens with two and 

 three pairs thus marked ; Tenasserim with five and four pairs 

 thus marked ; Siam with five pairs thus marked ; and Cambodia 

 and Saigon specimens with three pairs thus marked. 



Lord Tweeddale, Ibis, 1877, p. 317, notices six Sumatran 

 specimens, all with the three outer pairs more or less marked 

 with white. 



We, I find, have shot and preserved 89 specimens from 

 various parts of Tenasserim and the Malay Peninsula, aud an 

 examination of 80 of these and purchased specimens in which 

 the tails are sufficiently perfect (a large number are imperfect) 

 to enable me to ascertain certainly the number of rectrices 

 bearing white marks, gives the following results. Note that 



* These are not To&ys, neither are they true Broadbills. 



