NOTES ON SOME BIRDS FROM THE RUBY MINES, BURMA, 109 



but the Ruby Mines Company works on a much larger scale by opening 

 out a hill-side or excavating a huge hole or tank, which is kept free 

 from water by steam pumping machinery. The ruby-bearing earth is 

 carried away by tramway and washed in elaborate machines. The final 

 result is a collection of rubies, pebbles and gems of various kinds, which 

 are carefully sorted by a trusted agent of the Company. 



Bemardmyo is a small cantonment with accommodation for two 

 companies of British Infantry. Its elevation is 5,500 feet. The cold 

 is considerable in the winter and the rains are very heavy, but it has 

 proved a healthy place. There are very few native inhabitants at 

 Bernardmyo now, but at one time it must have been well populated 

 for the forest for miles round has been cleared away and the soil 

 cultivated. The hills are now covered with a thick growth of grass 

 and bracken, and the former inhabitants have migrated elsewhere. 



My list of birds is very small, but it would have been much smaller 

 had it not been for the kind assistance of Captain E. W. Mills 

 Commanding the troops at Bernardmyo, Mr. F. Atlay, the Manaoer 

 of the Ruby Mines Company, and Mr. C. H. WoUaston, Executive 

 Engineer. These gentlemen did their best to help me, and each of 

 them procured some birds which I failed to observe myself. 



The following list comprises forty-six species only : — 



1. Corvus macrorJiynchus, Wag],, the jungle- crow, was universally 

 distributed. 



2. Corvus insolens, Hume, the Burmese house-crow, was not very 

 abundant at Mogoke, and I am not sure that I saw it at Bernardmyo 

 at all. 



3. Pica rustica, Scop., the magpie, was frequently seen. It also 

 occurs much farther south at Toungyi in the Southern Shan States. 



4. Urocissa occipitalis, Blyth, the red-billed blue magpie, was 

 common in the well- wooded parts of the country. 



5. Paruslminor, Temm. and Schleg., the Japanese grey tit, was 

 common. 



6. Paradoxornis guttaticoUis, A. David, Austen's crow-tit, has 

 already been recorded from Western China. Its occurrence therefore 

 at the Ruby Mines was not unexpected. I found a pair at Bernardmyo 

 in thick bracken on a hill-side. It has a pleasant call of four notes ; and 

 secretes itself so well that it is most difficult to shoot. 



