Genus STURNOPASTOR, Hodgs., 1844.
The genus Sturnopastor contains two very common Mynas, one of which is found in India proper and the other in the Burmese countries. They are almost entirely ground feeders, and they differ from the majority of Starlings in constructing nests on trees and not depositing their eggs in holes in buildings and tree-trunks.
In Sturnopastor the sexes are quite alike. The bill is as long as the head, straight, broad, and blunt; the nasal membrane is completely feathered ; the feathers of the crown are Lengthened and pointed, and the eyelids are perfectly bare. The wing is very blunt, the secondaries reaching nearly to the tip.
Key to the Species.
a. No supercilium; feathers of forehead and crown not streaked ..................S. contra, p. 542.
b. A supercilium; feathers of forehead and crown streaked..................S. superciliaris, p. 543.
