STTJR^IA.	373
nest here, though I failed to find one. In front of my verandah
was a large Poinciana regia, in the trunk of which, and at about
seven feet from the ground, was an' old nest-hole of XantJiolc&na
which a pair of these birds widened out. During all May and
June I watched these birds pecking away at the rotten wood and
throwing the bits out. They generally used to engage in this
work during the heat of the day; and, although I several times
searched the hole, no eggs were found; the pair were not pecking
at the decayed wood for insects, for I watched them through
a glass. Had I remained another month at the factory most
likely they would have laid during that time; it was on this
account their lives were spared. This species associates with its
congeners on the peepul trees when they are in fruit, which they
eat greedily."
Subsequently detailing his experiences at Dibrugarh in Assam,
he adds:—" On the 27th May I found a nest with three callow
young and one fresh egg. The birds had excavated a hole in a
rotten and dead tree about 18 feet from the ground, and had
placed a pad of leaves only at the bottom of the hole. They build
both in forest as well as the open cultivated parts of the country."
Mr. Gates remarks:—" This Myna lays in Pegu in holes of
trees at all heights above 20 feet. It selects a hole which is diffi-
cult of access, and I have only been able to take one nest. This
was on the 13th May. This nest, a small pad of grass and leaves,
contained three eggs, which were slightly incubated. They
measured 0-86 by 0-7, 0-8 by 0*7, and 0-83 by O72."
Major C. T. Bingham writes from Tenasserim :—" I shot a
Myna as she flew out of a hole in a zimbun tree (Dillenia penta-
gyna). I had nearly a fortnight before seen the birds ; there was
a pair of them, busy taking straw and grass-roots into the hole; and
so on the 18th April, when I shot the birds, I made sure of finding
the full complement of eggs, but to my regret on opening the
hollow, I only found one egg resting in a loose and irregularly
formed nest of roots and leaves. This solitary egg is of a pale
blue colour."
The eggs vary a good deal in shape: some are broad and some
are elongated ovals, but all are more or less pointed towards the
small end; the shell is very fine and delicate, and rather glossy;
the colour is a very delicate pale sea-green, without any markings
of any kind. They vary from 0-89 to 1*0 in length, and from 0-69
to 0*72 in breadth; but the average of ten eggs is 0-93 by O7.
539. Sturnia nemoricola, Jerdon.    The White-winged Myna.
Sturnia nemoricola, Jerd., Hume, Cat. no. 688 bis.
Mr. Gates writes from Lower Pegu :—" Of JS. nemoricola I have
taken two sets of eggs : one set of two eggs fresh, and one of
three on the point of being hatched; the former on 12th May, the
latter on 6th June. In size the two clutches vary extraordinarily.