264 LIST OF BIRDS IN MANIPUR, 



numerous white splashes or marks or shaft stripes on the fea- 

 thers adjoining the ends of the spots that point to the intersea- 

 pulary region ; the entire mantle, rump and upper tail-coverts 

 are deep brown, but the interscapular region, scapulars, rump, 

 and all but the longest upper tail-coverts are glossed with a 

 dull greenish black, the two former most strongly so ; the 

 tail blackish brown, all but the two central feathers conspi- 

 cuously tipped with pure white ; entire lower parts from the 

 breast dusky ashy, much the same as, though a shade paler 

 than, the throat, becoming more or less brownish on the longest 

 flank feathers ; vent feathers and lower tail-coverts, all of 

 which are tipped (the latter conspicuously so) with white, and 

 tibial plumes, blackish brown ; axillaries, greater primary 

 coverts, &c., a pale grey brown, tipped white ; all the 

 coverts about the shoulder of the wing blackish-brown, 

 faintly margined paler ; wings a deep brown, almost black- 

 ish in some specimens on earlier quills, winglet and lesser 

 coverts ; the second feather of the winglet is always white 

 on the outer web near the tip, and occasionally this 

 extends to the inner web just at the tip ; all the pri- 

 maries are broadly white towards their bases, the first long 

 one almost exclusively on the inner web, the others on both 

 webs. 



In fine specimens there is a more or less faint greenish or 

 purplish gloss over wings and tail and even the lower parts. 



These birds are at times very shy, and generally become so 

 when in flocks, after they have been fired at once, but at times 

 they are just as tame as the common Myna. When sit- 

 ting or flying with the light behind them, it is impossible 

 to distinguish them from trisiis ; they are the same size, 

 have the same wing patch, &c., but when on the ground, 

 or with the light falling on them, their dark colour and 

 the white neck patch distinguishes them at once. 



So far as is yet known this species occurs nowhere in 

 Assam, Sylhet, Cachar or British Burmah. 



686^wa^— Acridotheres siamensis, Swinh. 



I only observed this in the south and south-east of the 

 Manipur basin, and even there it was extremely scarce. Once 

 in a hundred times one sees a pair of these consorting with 

 a lot of A. albocinctus, where these are feeding upon the 

 simul (or silk-cotton) trees. According to the people they 

 arrive with and disappear at the same time as A. albocinctus. 

 Both species are taken from the nests and kept in cages and 

 taught to say a few words. You constantly see albocinctus 



