Acridotheres ginginianus (_Lath.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 326; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 685.
The Bank Myna breeds throughout the North-West Provinces and Oudh,
Behar, and Central Bengal, the greater portion of the Central
Provinces, and the Punjab and Sindh. Adams says it does not _occur_ in
the Punjab; but, as Colonel C.H.T. Marshall correctly pointed out to
me years ago, and I have verified the facts, it breeds about Lahore
and many other places, and in the high banks of the Beas, the Sutlej,
the Jhelum, and the Indus, congregating in large numbers on these
rivers just as it does on the Jumna or the Ganges.
It builds exclusively, so far as my experience goes, in earthen banks
and cliffs, in holes which it excavates for itself, always, I think,
in close proximity to water, and by preference in places overhanging
or overlooking running water.
The breeding-season lasts from the middle of April to the middle of
July, but I have found more eggs in May than in any other month.
Four is the usual number of the eggs; I have found five, but never
more. If Theobald got seven or eight, they belonged to two pairs; and
the nests so run into each other that this is a mistake that might
easily be made, even where coolies were digging into the bank before
one.
There is really no variety in their nesting arrangements, and a note
I recorded in regard to one colony that I robbed will, I think,
sufficiently illustrate the subject. All that can be said is that very
commonly they nest low down in earthy cliffs, where it is next to
impossible to explore thoroughly their workings, while in the instance
referred to these were very accessible:--
"One morning, driving out near Bareilly, we found that a colony of the
Bank Myna had taken possession of some fresh excavations on the banks
of a small stream. The excavation was about 10 feet deep, and in its
face, in a band of softer and sandier earth than the rest of the bank,
about a foot below the surface of the ground, these Mynas had bored
innumerable holes. They had taken no notice of the workman who had
been continuously employed within a few yards of them, and who
informed us that the Mynas had first made their appearance there only
a month previously. On digging into the bank we found the holes all
connected with each other, in one place or another, so that apparently
every Myna could get into or out from its nest by any one of the
hundred odd holes in the face of the excavation. The holes averaged
about 3 inches in diameter, and twisted and turned up and down, right
and left, in a wonderful manner; each hole terminated in a more
or less well-marked bulb (if I may use the term), or egg-chamber,
situated from 4 to 7 feet from the face of the bank. The egg-chamber
was floored with a loose nest of grass, a few feathers, and, in many
instances, scraps of snake-skins.
"Are birds superstitious, I wonder? Do they believe in charms? If not
what induces so many birds that build in holes in banks to select out
of the infinite variety of things, organic or inorganic, pieces of
snake-skin for their nests? They are at best harsh, unmanageable
things, neither so warm as feathers, which are ten times more
numerous, nor so soft as cotton or old rags, which lie about
broadcast, nor so cleanly as dry twigs and grass. Can it be that
snakes have any repugnance to their 'worn out weeds,' that they
dislike these mementos of _their_ fall[A], and that birds which breed
in holes into which snakes are likely to come by instinct select these
exuviae as scare-snakes?
[Footnote A: "When the snake," says an Arabic commentator, "tempted
Adam it was a winged animal. To punish its misdeeds the Almighty
deprived it of wings, and condemned it thereafter to creep for ever on
its belly, adding, as a perpetual reminder to it of its trespass, a
command for it to cast its skin yearly."]
"In some of the nests we found three or four callow young ones, but
in the majority of the terminal chambers were four, more or less,
incubated eggs.
"I noticed that the tops of all the mud-pillars (which had been left
standing to measure the work by) had been drilled through, and through
by the Mynas, obviously not for nesting-purposes, as not one of them
contained the vestige of a nest, but either for amusement or to afford
pleasant sitting-places for the birds not engaged in incubation.
Whilst we were robbing the nests, the whole colony kept screaming and
flying in and out of these holes in the various pillar-tops in a very
remarkable manner, and it may be that, after the fashion of Lapwings,
they thought to lead us away from their eggs and induce a belief that
their real homes were in the pillar tops."
Colonel G.F.L. Marshall remarks:--"This species breeds in the
Bolundshahr District in June and July. It makes its nest in a hole
in a bank, but more often in the side of a kucha or earthen well. A
number of birds generally breed in company. The nest is formed by
lining the cavity with a little grass and roots and a few feathers. On
the 8th July I found a colony breeding in a well near Khoorjah, and
took a dozen fresh eggs."
Writing from Lucknow, Mr. G. Reid says:--"During the breeding season
it associates in large flocks along the banks of the Groomti, where it
nidificates in colonies in holes in the banks of the river. From some
of these holes I took a few fresh eggs on the 15th May, and again on
the 30th June on revisiting the spot. In the district it breeds in old
irrigation-wells and occasionally in ravines with good steep banks."
Major C.T. Bingham, writing from Allahabad, says:--"Breeds in June,
July, and August in holes in sandy banks of rivers and nullahs. Eggs,
five in number, laid on a lining of straw and feathers."
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 of 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 number from two to five. I took twenty-six fresh eggs
and then discontinued."
Lieut. H.E. Barnes informs us that in Rajputana this Myna breeds about
May.
The eggs are typically, I think, shorter and proportionally broader
than those of other kindred species already described; very pyriform
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.