278 
CATALOGUE. 
neighbouring compounds, I was attracted by cries of distress from 
various birds and squirrels, and, above all, I heard the seemingly- 
plaintive mewing of a cat ; I had no living specimen of the last 
in mj Museum, so, wondering what could be the matter, went 
into my garden to see. I found the mewing proceeded from my 
friends the Eobins, who were furiously attacking something in a 
bush, whilst the birds and squirrels screamed in concert. There I 
found one of the young Robins (whose plumage, by the way, at that 
early age, much resembles that of the European bird, being speckled 
with yellow), caught, as I thought, in the tendrils of a creeper; I 
put out my hand to release it, when, to my surprise, I saw the 
glittering eyes of the green whip-snake (Trimesurus viridis, Lacep.), 
in whose fangs the bird was struggling. I seized the reptile by the 
neck and rescued the bird, but too late ; it lay panting in my hand 
for a few moments, then fluttered and died. On skinning it, I found 
no wound, except on the outer joint of the wing by which it had 
been seized, and am confident that fear alone deprived it of life. A 
favourite attitude of this bird is standing with the tail elevated over 
the back, either perpendicularly, or thrown so much forward as to 
nearly touch the head, the wings drooping; in this position, they 
only utter a low note. During the dry season, some of our birds 
become so discoloured with the dust of our red kabook soil, that 
they are useless as specimens for preserving." — (Layard, Ann. Nat. 
Hist. (1853), p. 263.) 
423. COPSYCHUS MINDANENSIS, Gmel Sp. 
Turdus mindanensis, Gmel., S. JV. L. I. ^. 823. Lath., 
Hist. Y. p. 77. 
Copsychus mindanensis, Blyth, J. A. S. JBeng. XVI. 
p. 139 ; Cat. B. Mm. A. S. Beng. p. 166. Bonap., 
C. G. Av. p. 267. 
Lanius musicus. Baffles, Trans. Linn. Soc. XIII. p. 307 
{ea^cl. syn^. 
Gryllivora magnirostra et rosea, Swains., 2i Cent. 
pp. 291, 342. 
Choche, Malay, Bh/tTi. 
MooEAi or MooEAi KiCHoiJ, Sumatra, Baffles. 
K.h.S ? • Malacca. Presented by the Asiatic Society 
of Bengal. 
c. S- Drawing. Sumatra. From Sir T. S. Raffles's 
Collection. 
