Breeding of Malabar Mynahs. 
239 
Length 31 inches. The female is like the male, but is smaller and 
has never any knob on the bill. 
{To he Continued). 
Breeding of Malabar Mynahs. 
{Poliopsar malaba/rica) . 
By Dr. P. Gosse, M.B.O.U. 
This species has previously reared young in captivity, 
though not frequently, and I think the fact may be worth 
recording. 
In April I put a pair by themselves in an aviary 
some IS feet long by 10 feet wide, with a Berlepsch nesting 
box (starling size). 
But April went and "May also, but no sign did the 
Malabars show of nesting; when June came I decided to put 
the birds elsewhere, as I wanted the aviary for other birds. 
On June 12th, I went down with the intention of doing this, 
and was surprised to find that my arrival was causing the 
utmost excitement, 'the Malabars tlying about excitedly and 
holding on to the wire netting. I threw in a few mealworms 
which were at once gathered up and taken into the nest -box. 
I quickly got a key and opened the lid of the nest -box, and 
to my great delight found two young Mynahs, apparently 
about 24 to 36 hours old. 
By June 16th: The wing feathers were just begin- 
ning to show. 
June 18th: The young were growing rapidly, land 
their wing feathers developing fast. I fed them with a few 
mealworms every hour. 
I did not look at the young again till the 27th, when 
I found one of them grown quite large and sitting on the' 
veriy decomposed corpse of its dead brother. 
June 28th: The young bird left the nest and a^t once 
ceased calling loudly for food. Its first adventure was to try 
and drink, without any marked success. Soon the cock bird, 
who had been most attentive, ceased to feed the young one, 
but the hen continued to do so until the end of July, by 
which time the offspring was almost as quick at catching a 
mealworm as its parents. 
