BIRDS OF TENASSERIM. 287 



either at Mergui, or southward of this in Tenasserim. It hunts 

 about ou the ground, in among- the trees, and almost always in 

 company with G. moniliger and chinensis, Cissa speciosa, sundry 

 Drongos, Woodpeckers, &c. On the slightest alarm they all fly 

 up into the trees and surrounding bushes, and commence call- 

 ing vociferously, one taking the lead and the others following 

 in rapid succession. This continues for several minutes, then 

 there is a pause, and absolute silence ensues. Then they start 

 again, then pause, and so on. Once having disturbed them, 

 or aroused their suspicions as to one's character and intentions, 

 it is difficult to get rid of them, as they follow one about through 

 the forest, making a most hideous row all the time, and of course 

 disturbing every living thing. You may shoot them one by 

 one ; they seem to care nothing for the gun ; when it is fired 

 there is a dead pause for a moment, and then the uproar is 

 renewed with redoubled vigour. Dogs especially seem to 

 attract their notice, and they follow these, vituperating them 

 from all the surrounding trees even more energetically than 

 they do the sportsman or collector. 



They have another queer habit. Small parties of them — three, 

 four or five — ,will get on to the path or other open space and begin 

 to dance, spreading their tails, lowering their wings, and thread- 

 ing in and out amongst themselves, in the most complicated 

 figures (if they are figures), while the whole of the rest of the 

 mob watches the proceedings with intense interest from every 

 branch of the surrounding trees, and applauds in the heartiest 

 and jolliest fashion. 



It is impossible to describe their note in words ; it is precisely 

 like that of G. leucolophus, a loud laughing chuckle, which the 

 birds seem to take the greatest delight in emitting on the 

 smallest possible, or without any discoverable, provocation. 



When feeding, this and all the other Garvulax have another 

 soft single note, which they utter continuously, and by which 

 their presence can often be detected when completely hidden 

 in the grass. 



They feed much on small reptiles, but chiefly ou insects, 

 bugs, grubs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles, pretty well 

 any thing they can get hold of, though I have never found 

 remains of either small mammals or young birds in their sto- 

 machs. — W. D.] 



The following are dimensions, &c, of a large series ; the sexes 

 do not vary in size : — 



Length, 11-25 to 12-0; expanse, 15'0 to 16-75 ; tail from 

 vent, 4-5 to 5-25 ; wing, 4-8 to 5'25 ; tarsus, 1*75 to 1-82; bill 

 from gape, 1"37 to 1"5 ; weight, 5'0 to 55 ozs. 



Legs and feet dark plumbeous ; bill black ; gape yellow ; irides 

 deep wood brown ; eyelids greenish. 



