FAUNA A^'D FLORA, RATBURI, PETOHABURL 33 



ir Thrush ( Garrulax diardi ) is most plentiful. The Mynas are well re- 

 presented as, in addition to the two species of Pied M3'"na found com- 



^ monly in Bangkok [Graculipica nigricollis and Sturnopastor superciliaris) , -^ 

 there are also the Siamese Myna {Aetkiopsar cjrandis), with short -f- 

 crest and a white patch on either wing — the dun coloured house 



"f- My \^t!k {Acridoiheres tristis), ^\\\ofie Siamese name, i^iom, closely re- 

 sembles the Burmese name for the Talking Mynas ; the migratory 

 AChinese Myna {Slurnia sinensis) — a light gvQj aiul white bird seen in 

 Bangkok during the winter mouths ; and the Grackle or Talking 



Myna {Ealihes sp., Siamese Dfl 11 U VlEl'3) — a handsome black bird, 

 with yellow wattles. 



Hares are plentiful on the higher ground and presumably belong 

 to the same species as that founded on Mr. Lyle's specimens, which 

 have been classified as Lepus siamensis. They are snared, driven, and 

 also shot at night by the aid of a lantern. 



In this second class of country occur the abrupt, jagged-topped 

 limestone hills. These are the home of the Goat-Anteiope (Nemor- 

 haediis or Capricornis sp.) or " Lieng pa ;" and having only seen one 

 adult and one dead calf, I will not attempt to describe a very variable 

 species. I have found the droppings on nearly all the limestone 

 iiills in llatburi and Petchaburi, and I have always regarded the animal 

 as a very alert one — quite unlike the apparently rather tame creature 

 which has several times been shot at Koh Lak in Muang Pran. The 

 dead kid was probably less than two months old, and was well 

 covered with soft black hair, with a pure white patch at the base of 

 the neck between the fore legs. 



On these hills, also, may be found a Langur, one of the leaf 

 eating monkeys ( Semnupiikcius sp. ), black in colour, with poll and tail 

 French grey. It has also bare rings around the eyes, of a pinkish 

 white. 



It is a curious fact that tortoises abound on even the steepest of 

 of these abrupt hills. Seen in captivity in Europe, the tortoise is a 

 sluggish animal, feeding on su;cuhnt vegetables and grasses, and 

 apparently a creature beat fitted for a life on the flat. Hills of 100- 

 300 metres elevation, both in the second and third classes of country, 

 have seldom been visited without several tortoises having been found 

 and brought into camp for food, and the coulies call them " Tao 



