383

Colonel E. A. Butler notes :—" The Bank Myna lays about
Deesa in June and July. On the 26th June I lowered a man down
several wells, finding nests containing eggs and nests containing
young ones, some nearly fledged. The nests are generally in holes
in the brickwork, often further in than a man can reach, and several
-pairs oŁ birds usually occupy the same well. The eggs vary much
in shape and number. In some nests I found as many as five, in
others only two or three. In colour they closely resemble the eggs
of A. tristis, but they are slightly smaller, the tint is of a decidedly
deeper shade, and the shell more glossy. July 5th, several nests,
some containing eggs, others young ones. July 13th, numerous
nests in wells and banks, some containing fresh, others incubated
eggs, and others young birds of all sizes. The eggs varied in num-
ber from two to five. I took twenty-six fresh eggs and then
discontinued."

Lieut. H. E. Barnes informs us that in E/ajputana this Myna
breeds about May.

The eggs are typically, I think, shorter and proportionally broader
than those of other kindred species already described; very pvri-
form varieties are, however, common. They are as usual spotless,
very glossy, and of different shades of very pale sky- and greenish
blue. Although, when a large series of the eggs of this and each
of the preceding species are grouped together, a certain difference
is observable, individual eggs can by no means be discriminated,
and it is only by taking the eggs with one's own hand that one can
feel certain of their authenticity.

In length they vary from 0"95 to 1-16, and in breadth from
0*72 to 0*87; but the average of forty-seven eggs is 1*05 by 0-82.

552. JEtMopsar fascus ( Wagl.). The Jungle Myna.

Acridotheres fuscus ( WagL\ Jerd. B. Ind. ii; p. 327; Hume. Rough
Draft N. # E. no. 686.

The Jungle Myna eschews the open cultivated plains of Upper,
Central, and Western India. It breeds throughout the Himalayas,
at any elevations up to 7000 feet, where the hills are not bare, and
in some places in the sub-Himalayan jungles. It breeds in the
plains country of Lower Bengal, and in both plains a,nd hills of
Assam, Cachar, and Burma, and also in great numbers in the
Mlgiris and all the wooded ranges and hilly country of the
Peninsula. The breeding-season lasts from March to July, but the
majority lay everywhere, I think, in April, except in the extreme
north-west, where they are later.

Normally, they build in holes of trees, and are more or less
social in their nidification. As a rule, if you find one nest you
will find a dozen within a radius of 100 yards, and not unfrequently
within one of ten yards. But, besides trees, they readily build in
holes in temples and old ruins, in any large stone wall, in the
thatch of old houses, and even in their chimneys.

The nest is a mere lining for the hole they select, and varies in