204 JOURNAL, NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY OF SIAM Vol. L 



Iris dull white. Bill, anterior half yellow, basal half plum- 

 beous — the culmen greenish. Legs pinkish flesh-colour. 



Distrihuiion. I obtained a pair of these birds from a Siamese 

 bird-catcher in Bangkok in December 1914. He assured me he had 

 trapped them here, and that in the course of a season he gets as 

 many as 40 or 50. 1 have no reason to doubt this statement, as the 

 man appears to devote himself to the business of catching birds in 

 Bangkok and selling them either to private individuals or to the pro- 

 prietors of the numerous bird shops here. 



I can trace no other record of this bird in Siam. Mr. Emil 

 Eisenhofer (Gyldenstolpe) records S. malabarica from Northern Siam, 

 and though the two species are very similar in appearance, S. me- 

 moricola can be distinguished by the white edge to its wing which is 

 entirely lacking in S. malabarica. The identification of my specimens 

 has been confirmed by Mr. H. C. Kobinson. 



f 30 (546). Graculipica iiig:ricollis. The Black-necked 



Mjina. 



Siamese, m iQU^lni^ IvinJ ( Nok iang-khrong yai ).* 



Description. Length, up to 304 mm. (12 in). Whole head and 

 neck white, bordered all round by a black collar ; behind this, on the 

 back, is an indistinct band of feathers with whitish tips, while the re- 

 mainder of the back is dark brown, the feathers with paler tips ; rump 

 and shorter tail-coverts white, primar}' wing coverts white ; remaining 

 wing-coverts and quills dark brown with white tips — minute on the pri- 

 maries. Lower plumage, with the exception of the black collar, white. 



Iris rich dark brown, surrounded by a narrow ring dull white. 

 Bill dark hornj\ Mouth dark slate to blackish. Legs dull fleshy 

 white. Bare skin round the e3'es pale to deep yellow. Young birds 

 have the head and neck brown. 



Habits, etc. One of our commonest resident birds, usually 

 going about in pairs or small flocks, and frequently to be seen walking 

 about on the ground searching for insects, of which its food appears 

 chiefly to consist. This Myna is a very nois}' bird and has a number 

 of loud and cheerful but not unmusical notes. Being of a gregarious 

 nature, it usually'" roosts, out of the breeding season, in considerable 

 companies, selecting some leafy tree or bamboo clump for the purpose. 



• Colloquially known as Xnl hing-Lln-tnuf yai. 



