37 
According to Dr. Jerdon, the Burmese Boiler does not differ in its habits from C. indicus ; and 
Mr. Oates, writing on its habits as observed by him in British Burmah, says that it frequents in 
preference “ compounds, gardens, and places where the trees are not very thickly placed. Perched 
usually on a dead branch, it likes to have a good view all round, in order the more easily to detect the 
larger insects, which it catches by gliding to the ground. After killing and eating its prey, it returns 
to the same or a similar perch.” Sir H. Schomburgk says that at Bangkok in Siam, where this Boiler 
frequents the gardens attached to the houses, it is subjected to great persecution on the part of the 
Crows, and that “ scarcely have the Crows in the precincts discovered one, when they make a simul¬ 
taneous attack upon him. The Boiler endeavours to avoid them, now by making gyrations in the air, 
now by alighting upon the branches of some tree, uttering all the time pitiful cries, nor are his 
tormentors satisfied until he leaves the grounds. The beautiful blue wing-feathers of this bird, 
principally the primaries and scapularies, are exported to China for tiny fans; and such are even 
manufactured here, but they are not so well made as those that come from’ China.” 
Like its allies, the Burmese Boiler makes its nest in hollow trees and deposits pure white eggs. 
Mr. Inglis, who met with it in North-eastern Cachar, says that it breeds in March, April, and May; 
and Mr. Oates writes respecting its nidification (‘Nests and Eggs of Ind. Birds’) as follows :—“The 
eggs, four or five in number, are laid on the bare wood at the bottom of large natural hollows in 
decayed branches of large trees. The holes selected are generally not less than 20 feet from the 
ground. The shell is pure white and excessively glossy. My eggs were taken from the 26th March to 
the 2nd April, and were in all cases either fresh or only slightly incubated. In size they vary from 1-45 
to 1*26 inch in length, and from 1T3 to 1'07 in breadth. The average of 12 eggs is 1-37 by 1’09.” 
As above stated, the present species interbreeds commonly with Coracias indicus in districts where 
the two species meet. I am indebted to Mr. Davison for two very interesting intermediate specimens, 
one of which, specimen h in my collection, is nearly pure C. ajffinis, whereas the other (specimen i) 
much more nearly resembles C. indicus ; and through Mr. W. E. Brooks I have received two others from 
Sikkim (specimens 6, f) which are exactly intermediate between these two. In the British Museum 
there is a very large series, in the Hume collection, showing every gradation between the two species. 
The specimens figured and described are in my own collection. 
Besides the rich series in the British Museum, I have examined the following specimens:— 
E Mus. II. E. Eresser. 
a, S' ad. Sikkim {IVhitely). h, $. Sikkim Terai, 25th May, 1880; c, $. 26th May, 1881 [W. Davison), 
d, $ juv. 11th June; e,f, S (hybrids). 28th October, 1880; g. 30th October, 1880, Sikkim Terai (TV. E. 
Brooks ). h, i, S (hybrids). Calcutta Bazaar, January 1883 and December 1880 [TV. Davison), j, S • Dilkolka, 
Cachar, 16th March, 1880 {J. Inglis). k, S ad.; I, $ ad. 2nd March, 1878, Lower Pegu {E. W. Oates), 
m, $ ad. Pegu, 24th November, 1880 (-E. TV. Oates). 
E Mus. H. Seehohm. 
a, S ad. Labharee, 5th January, 1880. b. Sikkim, c, (hybrids). Darjeeling, e. Siam {Sir R. Schomburgk). 
E Mus. E. R. Tristram. 
a. Assam [C. J. Langlands). b, Si c, ^ . Sikkim Terai, 12th January, 1880 {TV. E. Brooks). 
