MYIOPHONEUS. 123 



and are larger than those of any European Thrush with which I 

 am acquainted. Their coloration, too, is somewhat unique ; a 

 French grey, greyish-white, or pale-greenish ground, speckled or 

 freckled with minute pink, pale purplish-pink, or pinkish-brown 

 specks, in most cases thinly, in some instances pretty thickly, in 

 some only towards the large end, in some pretty well all over. In 

 the majority of the specimens there is, besides these minute specks, 

 a cloudy, ill-defined, purplish-pink zone or cap at the large end. 

 In some few there are also a few specks of bright yellowish brown. 

 The eggs have scarcely any gloss. 



In length they vary from 1-24 to 1*55 inch, and in breadth from 

 0-95 to 1 - 1 inch, but the average of fifty eggs is 1*42 by about 

 1-0 inch. 



188. Myiophoneus eugenii, Hume. The Burmese Whistling- 

 Thrush. 

 Myiophoneus eugenii, Hume ; Hume, Cat. no. 343 bis. 



Major C. T. Bingham contributes the following note to the 

 ' Birds of British Burmah ' regarding the nidification of this species 

 in Tenasserim : — " On the 16th April I was crossing the Mehk- 

 haneh stream, a feeder of the Meh-pa-leh, the largest tributary of 

 the Thoungyeen river, near its source, where it is a mere moun- 

 tain-torrent brawling over a bed of rocks strewed with great 

 boulders. A small tree, drifted down by the last rains, had caught 

 across two of these, and being jammed in by the force of the water, 

 had half broken across, and now formed a sort of temporary V- 

 shaped dam, against which pieces of wood, bark, leaves, and rub- 

 bish had collected, rising some six inches or so above the water, 

 which found an exit below the broken tree. On this frail and 

 tottering foundation was placed a round solid nest about 9 inches 

 in diameter, made of green moss, and lined with fine black roots 

 and fibres, in which lay four fresh eggs of a pale stone-colour, 

 sparsely spotted, especially at the larger ends, with minute specks 

 of reddish brown. Determined to find out to what bird they be- 

 longed, I sent my followers on and hid myself behind the trunk of 

 a tree on the bank and watched, gun in hand. In about twenty 

 minutes or so a pair of Myiophoneus eugenii came flitting up the 

 stream and, alighting near the nest, sat for a time quietly. At 

 last one hopped on the edge of the nest, and after a short inspec- 

 tion sat down over the eggs with a low chuckle. I then showed 

 myself and, as the birds flew off, fired at the bird that had been 

 on the nest, but unfortunately missed. I was satisfied, however, 

 about the identity of the eggs and took them. In shape they are 

 somewhat like those of Pitta, and measure l-45xl'02, 1-50x1-02, 

 1-46x1-0], and 1-50 x 1-01." 



