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Soles Q\x ilu gmfaim of sonw i^jmlrills* 



By C. T. Bingham, Esq. 



A FEW miles below the frontier town of Meeyawuddie, a large 

 tributary, the Meplay, joins the Thoungyeen river. This along 

 its course receives several lesser streams, one of which, called 

 the Hteepoyo, a small rocky choung, rising to the west in the 

 Donat hills, empties itself into the Meplay, about half way up 

 frorn its mouth, and just below the present site of the village 

 of Meplay Gratai. 



The banks of this small stream are covered right up to the 

 foot of the hills with the most magnificent evergreen forest, 

 teeming with birds, among which the five northern species of 

 Hornbills, found in Tenasserim, are conspicuous from their size 

 and number. Of these, Dichoceros cavatus and Hydrocissa 

 albirostris are common to a degree, Rhyticeros subruficollis per- 

 haps less abundant, and R. undulatus and Ocyceros tickelli 

 comparatively scarce. 



For three years I had been in search of some man, Burman 

 or Karen, who took enough interest in birds to mark down and 

 search for nests for me, but in vain. However, in November 

 last year, being encamped near the village of Meplay Gatai, I 

 was fortunate enough to light upon a Karen rejoicing in the 

 name of Myat-jo, or the " excellent dove''— a remarkable man 

 who turned out to be quite an ornithologist in his way. 



I chanced on him thus :— One day, my peons being all laid 

 «p with fever, this man had voluntarily offered his services 

 for the day to accompany me round the boundaries of a reserv- 

 ed forest, which I was then examining. In the course of the 

 day's tranip, I shot a number of birds, among which was a 

 lovely specimen of Lamprococc^x maculatus, a rare species in 

 the Meplay forests. While placing this on the bird-stick, to my 

 surprise Myat-jo remarked that "that bird was too lazy to 

 build a nest for itself, but laid its egg in the nest of another" 

 (which, from his description, I thought might possibly be Psari- 

 somus dalhousice.) Struck by this, I subjected my friend to a 

 stiff cross-examination, and found that he knew an awful lot 

 about animals and birds, much of which I was able to corro- 

 borate from my own experience. Of course I instanter entered 

 into a covenant with him, promising reward of powder and 

 shot and two anna pieces for every nest he could mark down 

 for me during the coming season, as I knew that about that 

 time I should have to visit that forest or be somewhere about 

 it once or twice. 



