SHOUT NOTES. 105 



Short Notes. 



Habits of the Drongo. 



It may often be noted that the common racket tailed Dron- 

 go, Dissenmrus platyurtis, has a habit of accompanying- the com- 

 mon monkeys known as the K'ra (Macacus cynomolgus) as they 

 wander along among the branches of the trees ; so conspicuous 

 indeed is this that the Malays sometimes call the bird Hamba 

 Kerah ; the slave of the monkey. Why the birds did so puzzled 

 me for some time till I noticed that the monkeys as they go 

 through the foliage disturb many insects such as the grasshop- 

 pers, moths and mantises. The drongo which always takes its 

 food on the wing waits in a more or less open space generally 

 behind the advancing monkey and catches the insects as they rly 

 so that it is the monkey who is serving the drongo by driv- 

 ing its prey for it rather than the drongo who is the slave of 

 the monkey. 



The short-eared Owl in Singapore. 



A tine specimen of the short-eared owl (Asia accipitrinus 

 Pall.) was captured in December last in the Alexandra Road, in 

 Singapore, by a native who brought it to the Gardens where it 

 is still alive. This owl has a very wide distribution, occurring 

 in Europe including England, Siberia, China, India and Ceylon, 

 but has never apparently been previously obtained in the Malay 

 Peninsula. The bird was identified by Mr. A. L. Butler. 



The Soiatran Rhinoceros. 



It is well known that two species of Rhinoceros occur in the 

 Malay Peninsula, the Javanese one-horned species 11. javanic us 

 and the two horned R. sumatrensis, but though many of these 

 animals have been recorded as having been trapped or shot in 

 various parts of the Native States, there are no records as to 

 where the different species have been obtained and it is very 

 seldom that any portions of the specimens have been preserved. 

 Lately, however, two examples of B. sumatrensis have been on 



