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686 EULABES PTILOGENTS. * 
This Myna, which has always been considered one of the finest of the Passerine forms peculiar to Ceylon, ' 
was discovered by Dr. Templeton, and the specimens he obtained were transmitted to Blyth for examination - k 
and description. Like the Ceylon Jay, its numbers in the hills have decreased since the districts now planted 
in coffee have been denuded of their primeval clotliing, its chief stronghold at present being the large forests in 
the main and Peak ranges ; and should these he invaded to a great extent by the woodman’s axe, the Myna will ' ‘ 
no doubt betake itself much more to the low country than it has done up to the present time. It is not unlikely 
that its presenee in the low-lying forests at the foot of the Ambegamoa district may be due to the felling of 
its native forests on those hills. The Blackbird is much oftener seen in open coffee-estates noAv than a few 
years back ; and it is evident that so great an alteration in the face of nature in the Central Province must 
needs produce a corresponding change in the habits of many of the birds which frequent it. ^ 
Habits . — This handsome bird frequents for the most part the tops of tall trees ; it associates in small I 
parties, and is very partial to the sides of deep ravines, lofty precipices, and overhanging woods. It is fond | 
of launching itself out into mid-air from these dizzy heights, uttering its shrill metallic-sounding whistle and loud 
calls ; and circling round, it returns to its lofty perch on the top of some, huge Doon-tree, and there continues 
the exercise of its vocal powers. Its w’ell-knowu voice consists of a piercing and not unharmonious whistle 
repeated several times and then followed by a series of loud guttural calls, some of which resemble the syllables 
choooke, chi-ooope ; these are, however, only uttered as call-notes while it is perched. The Myna talks well, 
and is eagerly sought after as a caged bird, and much prized by the Kandyans as a pet, as it is extremely 
difficult to procure from the nest. It is a restless bird, particularly towards roosting- time ; and in forests where 
it is abundant I have often seen it roaming about in small parties, dashing down the gloomy gullies, and 
sw-eeping backwards and forwards with frequent rapid descents, which cause a loud rustling sound. After 
alighting on the tallest tree to be found, these restless parties indulge in sundry piercing whistles, and then 
start off again on their peregrinations until a suitable spot for their night’s quarters, in the foliage of some 
vast tree, is found. ^ 
In its habits it is, like the rest of the Grackles, entirely arboreal, and its diet is frugivorous. Among the 
many fruits to be found in the forests of Ceylon there are none of which it is so fond as the wdld cinnamon 
and the nutmeg. The latter they swallow w'hole, digesting the mace from the exterior of the nut, which they 
afterwards reject. The habit ascribed by Layard to this species of frequenting pastures and perching on the 
backs of cattle probably appertains to the Common Myna [Acridotheres melanosternus) , for it is essentially an 
arboreal bird and does not descend to the ground at all. 
Nidification . — This species breeds in June, July, and August, laying its eggs in a hole in a rotten tree, or 
in one wdiich has been previously excavated by the Yellow-fronted Barbet or Eed Woodpecker. It often 
nests in the sugar- or kitool-palm, and in one of these trees in the Peak forest I took its eggs in the month 
of August. There was an absence of all nest or lining at the bottom of the hole, the eggs, which were tw'O in 
number, being deposited on the bare wood. The female w'as sitting at the time, and was being brought fruit 
and berries by the male bird. While the eggs were being taken the birds fiew round repeatedly, and settled 
on an adjacent tree, keeping up a loud whistling. The eggs are obtuse-ended ovals, of a pale greenish-blue 
ground-colour (one being much paler than the other), sparingly spotted with lai’ge and small spots of lilac- 
grey, and blotched over this with a few neutral brown and sepia blots. They measure from 1'3 to 1'32 inch 
in length by 0-96 to 0’99 in breadth. 
The figure in the Plate accompanying this article is that of a low'-country female bird shot in the 
Kuruwite Korale. 
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