Illustrations of Indian Ornithology. 



The white-headed Myna is only found in the forests of Malabar and the more 

 Southern portions of the West Coast, and here it is by no means either common or abundant. 

 It frequents lofty trees on which it procures its food, consisting of insects and their larva;, 

 and small shells (Bulimi) which I have found entire in its stomach. Its usual cry is neither 

 so loud nor so harsh as that of most of the Mynas, and it has a very pleasing song. I dare 

 say, like the others of it genus, it nidificates in holes of trees, and lays 3 or 4 greenish blue 

 eggs, but I have not had an opportunity of observing this. 



Description. Whole head, neck, throat and breast, beautiful silky white ; back and 

 wing coverts grey ; quills dusky black ; abdomen, sides, and under tail coverts, rufous ; 

 centre tail feathers grey, tipped with rufous and dark shafted, the intermediate ones grey on 

 the outer web, rufous at the tip, and black internally, tlie rufous increasing as far as the 

 outer tail feathers, which are entirely rufous, except at the base. Bill blue at the base, 

 greenish in the centre, and yellow at the tip. Irides blueish white — legs and feet reddish 

 yellow, claws pale yellow — Length 8 to 8| inches — Wing 4i| — Tail 2,^ to o inches — Bill 

 (at front) nearly ~ ths. — Tarsus 1 inch. 



It differs from the common grey-headed Myna in being larger in all its dimen- 

 sions, in the colour of the head and neck, in the primaries not being tipped with grey, and 

 in some other slight points. This last species, Jl/a/aianci/j verus, occurs here only in the 

 cold weather I find, and is generally dispersed through the Southern part of the Peninsula, 

 preferring of course the more wooded portions of the country. 



