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CAPEIMULaUS ASIATICUS.
345
Nidification . — ^The breeding-season on the western side of the island is during the first three or four
months of the year. It lays usually two eggs on the bare ground, often without any depression or nest-
formation; but the shelter of a bush or stump is generally chosen. The eggs are ovals in shape and smooth
in texture, of a light salmon or reddish-grey ground-colour, marbled slightly and blotched openly tliroughout
the surface mth sienna-red over faint clouds of bluish grey. An egg obtained in the cinnamon-gardens
measured 1‘13 by 0'73 inch ; but in ‘Nests and Eggs ' the average is given at 1'04 by 0-77 inch. The eggs
are much more salmon-coloured than those of the last species and smaller. In India this species breeds
chiefiy in April and May, but its eggs have been taken in July; and Captain Butler is of opinion that it lays
twice in the year, he having shot a hen bird, in company with a yonng one just fledged, on the 20th of July,
and found, on dissecting her, that she was about to lay again. It is said not to be so particular in choosing
its situation as other Nightjars. Mr. R. Thompson, as quoted by Mr. Hume, says that he has found the eggs
“ in a quite unsheltered spot in the middle of a dry pebbly nullah.”
Order PASSEEES.
Primaries usually 10, in one section only 9 ; greater coverts arranged in a single row, not
reaching beyond the middle of the secondaries ; rectrices usually 12, rarely 10. Hallux stout,
furnished with a larger claw than the other toes.
Sternum with a single notch at each side of the posterior margin.
Sect. A. Tuedoid or Theush-like Passeees*. Wm^ with li) primaries, the 1st reduced in size.
Earn. CORVIDiE.
Bill without a distinct notch in the tip of the upper mandible ; stout and straight in most
genera, curved in some. Wings variable. Legs and feet stout, the tarsus strongly scutate.
Hind toe very strong, claws well curved.
Sternum broad, the keel rather high, the posterior edge with a wide deep notch in each
half near the side.
Subfam. CORVINA:.
Bill more or less long and straight, stout, and the culmen high and much curved, an obsolete
notch near the tip of the upper mandible. Nostrils placed in a deep depression, and protected
by an impending tuft of bristles.
* The system of classification of the great Order Passeres which I shall follow in this work will be that of Mr. "Wallace,
as drawn up in ‘ The Ibis ’ for 1874, with such modifications adopted by Mr. Sharpe in the ‘ Catalogue of Birds ’ as seem
to me justified by my own personal experience.
Q-enus COEONE.
Bill very stout, straight, the culmen very high, and curved from the base, the ridge Keeled.
Nostrils round, concealed by overlying bristly plumes. Wings long and pointed, the 3rd and
4th quills much exceeding the 2nd and 5th ; the 1st about half the length of the 3rd, and longer
than the outer secondaries, but shorter than the innermost. Tail moderate and rounded. Legs
and feet stout ; the tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw, and protected by strong trans-
verse scutse. Toes strongly shielded, lateral ones nearly equal.
COEONE MACEOEHYNCHA.
(THE BLACK CROW.)
Corms macrorhynGhiis, Wagler, Syst. Av. Comes, sp. 3 (1827) ; Hume, Stray Feath. 1877,
p. 461 ; id. ibid. (B. of Tenasserim) 1878, p. 660.
Corms lemillanti. Less. Traite, p. 328 (1831); Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 460 ; Hume, Nests
and Eggs, ii. p. 411 ; id. Str. Feath. 1874, p. 243 ; Ball, ibid. p. 418 ; Hume, ibid. 1875,
p. 143.
Corvus cxhlmmaius. Gray, Cat. Mamm. &c. Nepal Coll. Hodgs. p. 102 {nec Sykes) (1844);
Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 89 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852) ;
Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. xiii. p. 213 (1854) ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus.
E. 1. Co. ii. p. 553, in pt. (1856) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 295 (1863); Legge, Ibis,
1874, p. 23, et 1875, p. 398.
Corvus sinensis, Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 556 (1856),
Corone levaillanti (in pt.), Sharpe, Cat. Birds, hi. p. 39 (1877).
The Indian Corhy, The Bow-hilled Corhy, The Indian Haven (of some) in India.
The Carrion- or Jungle-Crow in Ceylon.
I)har, Hind, in the north ; Dheri-Icowa, Hind, in the south ; I)ad-kag, Beng. ; Kaki, Telugu ;
Uldk, Bhotias.
Kaka or Goyegamnia kaka, lit. “ High-caste Crow,” Sinhalese ; Kaka, Ceylonese Tamils.
Adult male. Length 17-0 to 19-5 inches ; wing 11-5 to 12-3 ; tail 6-75; tarsus 2-1 to 2-2 ; mid toe 1‘3 to 1-35, its
claw (straight) 0-6 ; bill to gape 2-0 to 2-2 ; culmen 1‘9 to 2T. In this species the culmen is much arched.
Female. Length 16‘5 to 18'0 inches ; wing 10'75 to I1‘5.
'J’he smallest birds are from the south of the island.
Iris hazel-brown ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Entire plumage black, highly glossed on the scapulars, wing-eoverts, and rump with purple ; outer webs of the tail-
feathers glossed in a less degree with the same ; feathers of the throat and breast more or less illumined with steel-
blue reflections.
The throat-feathers are stiff and furcate at the tips.
Ohs. The Ceylon Crow is the smallest race of the species, upon which Wagler bestowed his title of macrorhyncha
(cf. Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 38), and which is spread over a great part of Asia and its archipelago, culminating in
the very large form inhabiting Japan, which is named japonensis by Bonaparte. In Malacca and the Malayan arehi-
COEONE MACEOEHTNCHA.
347 ,
pelago it is of medium size, and exhibits the peculiar character of white bases to the feathers of the body' ; passing
round into India it gradually decreases in size southwards towards Ceylon, the white bases becoming scarcer until,
in the latter locality (as far as I can judge from a small series), they disappear altogether ; while stretching north-
wards through China and Eastern Siberia to Japan, it increases in bulk and also again loses the white-based feathers.
Our bird has usually been styled C. levaillanti, in common with that from South India ; but in accordance with
the results arrived at by Mr. Hume on an examination of an immense series of examples from India, Burmah, and
Malacca, as well as by myself from an inspeetion of a number of specimens from a still wider range, in the British
Museum, I do not see the propriety of separating it from the Malaccan species. Mr. Hume, in his exhaustive
notice of this bird in ‘ Stray Eeathers,’ 1877, p. 461, shows that the characteristic of the white bases to the body-
feathers is not of much value, as it is found in Indian examples and is absent in some from Malacca. He, more-
over, remarks that this character is not consiant in the same bird, as in some specimens the bases of the mantle-
feathers were of one colour and those of the rump or the breast of another. I would surmise, in passing, that
these were not fully adult birds, which would eventually have acquired the white bases throughout. As regards
size, Mr. Hume’s tabulation of seventy specunens shows that the wing in males from Malacca, Pegu, and the
Andamans varies from 11'7 to 13‘5, and in the Indian race as far south as Ootacamund from 11'5 to 14‘0 (the
tatter dimension being, however, very exceptional, and that of an example from Cashmere). In Ceylon, as will be
seen above, it diminishes still further. The Andaman birds are characterized by their length of bill ; the culmen
of one measured by Mr. Hume was 2-85 inches, and the length of another, from gape to tip, examined by myself,
2-5 ; the latter had the wing 13-3 inches, and the bases of the body-feathers white ; the smallest bill in the series
in question was 2-lo along the culmen. One example from Eokien, in the British Museum, has the wing 13-8,
and the bases of the feathers the same as in Ceylon specimens ; the wdug-coverts and secondaries have the same
amount of purple reflection : one from Sumatra, wing 12-75, bill to gape 2-3, white bases to body-feathers ; another
from N. India, wing 14-0, bill 2-3, feathers whitish at the base : one from Timor and another from India are greyish
white at the base of the bod^'^-feathers, but the first-named has the bill very long, 2-6 to gape. Two from Jai)an
have wings 14-16 and 15-0, bills 2-75 and 2-85 to gape ; the wing-coverts in these are a richer purple than in any
others. The tint of the hind neck varies : in some it has a greyish-green hue ; but this is not constant in any
locality, and a specimen from Nynee Tal is identical with one from Ceylon in this i-espect.
Concerning the coloration of the bases of the clothing-feathers in our birds, 1 am unable positively to say whether it is
ever found to bo white, as I did not procure a sufficient series to form an opinion ; in one example some of the
feathers have a tendency to a light greyish hue about the base, the others being pale brownish. I commend
this subject to future workers in Ceylon ornithology. The tendency with Malayan birds to exhibit white bases
to the feathers may be analogous to the grey plumage in the Hooded Crow of Europe (C. cornix), which freely
interbreeds wdth the black form, and is, according to the opinion of many writers, a mere variety of the latter.
Distribution. — The Black Crow is very abundant in Ceylon, being found throughout the whole island, but
chiefly in the interior, with the exception of the coast between Kalatura and Hambantota,. along which it
replaces the next species as “ a citizen ” of the towns and villages there. At Colombo it is common in the
cinnamon-gardens, but does not come into the bazaars and streets of the town. Some miles to the south of
that place it commences gradually to inhabit the cocoanut-liued coast, until it becomes common along the
above-mentioned strip. It is very numerous throughout the whole interior, being found in the forest as well
as in the open regions, in which latter it locates itself principally near native villages. In the Central Province
it is common up to 2000 feet, frequenting the towns of Kandy, Gampola, IMatalc, &c. ; above this altitude its
numbers materially decrease, and it seldom ranges above 4000 feet. It has, however, been reported of late
years several times to have visited Nuwara Elliya for a few days, departing as suddenly as it came.
Jerdon writes as follows concerning this bird’s distribution : — “ The Common Carrion-Crow of India is
found throughout the whole country, from the extreme south to the Himalayas, as far west as Cashmere, and
eastwards it occurs in Assam, Burmah, and the Malayan peninsula In the south of India, as at Madras,
the Nilghiris, and elsewhere, it is almost as familiar and as impudent as the Common Crow, but tow'ards the
north it is perhaps less seen about towns and villages.” Mr. Ball remarks that in Chota Nagpur its distribution
is somewhat capricious, and its presence or absence in particular tracts it is not alw-ays easy to account for.
It occurs as high up in the Ilimalajms as Mussoorie throughout the year ; and Mr. Hume records it from
Simla. In Pegu it is common away from large towns {Oates), and southward of this it extends through the
peninsula to Malayana, w'here it has been found in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Flores, Timor, and Bali {Sharpe,
Cat. Birds). It occurs, according to Mr. Davison, all over the Andamans, including the uninhabited islands ;
2y2
348
COKONE MACEOEHTNCHA.
but in the Nicobars it is only found in Caraorta and Trinkut, having been introduced into the former place
from Port Blair.
From Burmah its range extends as far east as China and Eastern Siberia. Swinhoe notes it as being
found throughout theformer^ including Formosa and Hainan; and^ in its large form of C. japonensis, it inhabits
North China and Japan. The smaller Bavenj designated Corvus culminaius by Sykes, and kept distinct by
Mr. Sharpe, has been found at Yarkand.
Habits. — This bold bird frequents native villages, some of the towns in Ceylon, pasture-lands, and other
situations in open eountry, as well as the wildest forest and jungle of the low country. It is usually found in
pairs, except when eollected to feed on carrion, when large flocks come together. They are constantly in
attendance on cattle and buffaloes, perching on their backs and feeding on the ticks which infest these animals.
In the interior it is very destructive to poultry and young chickens and is particularly partial to eggs. Several
pairs always take up their quarters during the breeding-season in the swamps and tanks where Herons and
Egrets breed, and rob the nests right and left while the owners are absent. I have seen one di-op into the
nest of a Purple Heron, turn over the eggs, and selecting one, adroitly carry it off in his bill, in less time than
it takes to Avrite this. On two occasions I have known them to kill squirrels {Sciurus penicillatus) , in one of
which the marauder seized the animal by the tail and dashed it against the limb of a tree until it Avas killed ;
in the other, which I witnessed myself, my attention was attracted by the creature’s cries, when I observed it to
be doubled up, in its agony, round the bird’s bill, which had transfixed its stomach, the Crow holding it firmly,
without any apparent exertion. It is a bird of powerful flight, traversing wide tracts of country high in the
air, and frequently mounting to considerable altitudes in its pursuit of Hawks and Eagles. In its own turn it
is subject to the feeble but troublesome attacks of the “ King-CroAV ” (Buchan.ga leucopygialis) . The " caw ”
of this Crow is louder than that of C. splendens, but it has the power of modulating it and altering the tone
to an extraordinary extent.
J erdon speaks of it in India as eminently a carrion-crow, and often the first to discOA^er a dead animal ;
AA'hile Mr. Ball Avrites of it as being a most useful guide to the sportsman as to the whereabouts of both dead
and living game, for, he says, “ A tiger or a bear cannot walk about in the daylight without being made the
subject of some loudly- expressed remarks on the part of the Crows of the neighbourhood.”
I have myself observed this inquisitive tendency in the Corby in Ceylon ; and Layard remarks that though
a Avounded deer may retire to the most tangled brake to die, its covert is invariably revealed to the hunter by
the Crows, Avho, congregating in small parties on the surrounding trees, patiently wait till life is extinct to
begin their repast with the jackals and wdld hogs.
Nidification. — The principal months for breeding are May, June, and July, most nests being built during
May. The nest is placed in the fork of a top bough, often so slender that it will not admit of the eggs
being safely reached; or it may rest at the bases of cocoanut- fronds, entirely concealed from sight below. It
is a large structure of sticks and tAvigs, lined with fine roots, hair, aa'ooI, &c. The exterior is often very
straggling ; but the nest is very little larger on the Avhole than that of C. splendens. As remarked in a former
article, it is the favourite receptacle for the eggs of the Koel, containing sometimes as many as three or four
of them. The eggs are usually four in number, and much resemble those of C. splendens. They are long
ovals, and in many cases somewhat pyriform, of a pale sea-green or light bluish-green ground, some being
thickly spotted with small specks of pale broAvn or nmber-brown over the Avhole surface, mingled with linear
spots of the same ; others have the markings much darker, larger, and more openly distributed. They vary, in
general, from I’7 to I'58 inch in length by 1'2 to I'7 in breadth; but Mr. Hume records one specimen as
1‘95 in length, and says that in India they vary inter se surprisingly in size, in tone of colour, and in character
of marking, and that the birds of the plains lay slightly larger eggs than those of the Himalayas or Nilghiris,
the average of twenty of the former being I'74 inch by 1'2 against 1-73 by 1‘18 and 1-7 by 1-18 respectively.
COEONE SPLENDENS.
(THE COMMON GREY CROW.)
Corms splendens, Vieill. N. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. viii. p. 44 (1816) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S.
B. p. 90 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852); Layard, Ann. Sc Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 214 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 559 (1856); Jerdon,
B. of Ind. ii. p. 298 (1863); Nevill, J. A. S. (Ceylon Br.) p. 33 (1870-71); Legge,
ibid. p. 52; Holdsworth, P, Z. S. 1872, p. 460; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 23; Butler,
Str. Feath. 1875, p. 493; Hume, ibid. 1876, p. 463.
Corvus hn^udicus, Gray, Hand-1. B. ii. p. 14 (1870) ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 413 (1873) ;
id. Str. Feath. 1873, p. 206 ; Adam, ibid. p. 386 ; Ball, ibid. 1874, p. 418.
Corone sj)lendens, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 33 (1877).
The Indian Hooded Crow, Kelaart ; The Common Indian Crow, Jerdon.
Kowa, Patti-Jeowa, TJesi-lcowa, Hind., in various districts ; Kag or Kak, Beng. ; Manchi-kaki,
Telugu ; Nalla-kaka, Tara. (Jerdon).
Karavi-kaka, lit. “ Low-caste Crow,” Sinhalese ; Kakum, Ceylonese Tamils ; Grwya,
Portuguese in Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 15'75 to 17’0 inches ; wing 10-0 to ll'O ; tail 6'0 to 6'5 ; tarsus 1'9 to 2'0 ; mid
toe 1’4 to 1'5, claw (straight) O'o; bill to gape 1‘9 to 2'0. This species is as variable as the last in size, but
females average smaller than males.
Iris dark brown ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Eorehead, crown, chin, cheeks and throat, back, wings, and tail black ; the back, wing-coverts, and outer webs of
secondaries with purple, and the throat, primaries, and tail with green reflections; nape, ear-coverts, sides and
back of neck cinereous grey, blending into the black of the surrounding parts, and passing on the chest into
a slightly duskier hue than that of the hind neck ; breast and lower parts greyish black, glossed slightly with
greenish and blending into the hue of the chest ; under surface of primaries, particularly near the base, pervaded
with greyish.
Young. Birds of the year have the w'ing varying from 9'0 to 10‘0 inches.
In the nest-plumage the hind neck is dull grey and the crown is pervaded with the same ; the chest and under surface
are of an earthy brown, and at the age of three or four months the greenish-black feathers appear on the breast.
Ohs. The plumage of this Crow is subject to variation dependent on age and freshness of the feathers ; in abraded
plumage the hind neck becomes quite fulvous, losing the grey tint of the newly acquired feather. This character
is not the result of age in the individual : birds that are in moult may be seen with grey feathers intermingled
with old fulvous-coloured ones. The amount of metallic reflections present on the upper-surface plumage increases
somewhat as the bird grows to maturity.
Ceylonese specimens have been said to be blacker than Indian ; but I do not know whether this alleged character would
invariably hold good as regards the upper surface, were an equally large series of adult examples from the two
localities compared ; certainly continental birds are paler on the chest, and the grey tint descends lower down
than in those from Ceylon, but some examples from India will coincide as regai’ds the hiud neck with insular
ones. Birds which I have examined from Nepal and Darjiling are very pale on the hood and chest. The wings
of eight specimens measure respectively 11-2, 11-0, 11-4, 10-8, 10-0, 11-9, ll'O, 10-8 inches; the largest are
from Nepal. Ceylonese examples compared, therefore, with the above series will be seen to be smaller than their
Indian fellows ; but in regard to size insular birds vary very much ; one has only to look at a number of adults
as they hop about in the streets to notice at once the variation in size which exists among them. Mr. Hume
writes that specimens shot in the Laccadives were very dark, recalling 0. insolen-s.
In Burmah is a nearly allied race or subspecies of the present, the Corvus insolens of Hume. It differs from the
Indian bird in being blacker with a somewhat dull appearance about those parts which in the Indian Crow are
350
COEONE SPLENDENS.
of a pale brownish grey or pale greyish white, and it has moreover, says Mr. Hume, a somewhat longer, slenderer,
and more compressed bill. Examples in the British Museum resemble C. splendens in the back, wings, and tail,
but have the hind neck, its sides, and the chest blackish grey, faintly snfiused with greenish, and the upper part
of the breast concolorous with the rest of the under surface, which is greenish black suffused with grey. The
wings of six examples measure respectively 10-4, 9’5, 10-6, 10'2, 9'5, 10-5o inches.
Distribution . — This Ci’ow, which is very abundant in Ceylon within its limits, is localized in a curious
manner round the coast. It is found on both sides of the north of the island, following the west coast down
to about Kalatura, and the east to somewhere in the neighbourhood of Arookgam Bay ; beyond this, towards
Hambantota, it may occur as a straggler, but certainly not in any numbers. Its cessation on the west coast
under similar conditions of climate and food to those at Colombo, where it is so abundant, is most singular.
The fact was first noticed by Mr. Nevill, C.C.S., in the J. A. S., C. B., 1870-71, and was at that time
received by many with some little reserve. For my part, however, I very soon verified his statement on
going to Galle, at which place, as likewise round the whole southern sea-board, I found it entirely absent.
It is chiefly confined to towns and their immediate environs, being found in the interior only as a straggler,
and even then is not met with many miles from the coast. Even at small villages on tlie sea, between
many of its favourite resorts, it is almost replaced by its inland relative, thus appearing to congregate almost
entirely where large native populations afford it an abundance of food.
Mr. Nevill, in his above-mentioned notice of this Crow, remarks that there “is no doubt that it is not
indigenous to the south of the island, having been introduced by tlie Dutch at their various stations as a
propagator of cinnamon, the seeds of which it rejects uninjured.” I do not know whether there is, in the
records of the former rulers of Ceylon, any thing to support this statement ; but I am inclined to think, with
Mr. Holdsworth, that it is the habits and inclinations of the species which prevent it from spreading into the
south ; being a bird of powerful flight it has been long enough in the island to diffuse itself over the whole
surface of the low country, no matter in what manner it was first introduced ; and the fact that it is still
remarkably local goes to prove that it confines itself to districts which suit its disposition, and that probably
it avoids the south-west corner of the island owing to the humidity of the climate, a cause which alone
localizes so many Ceylonese species.
This well-known bird inhabits the whole of India from the south to the Himalayas ; it is found in
Nepal, but does not extend as far into the range as the interior of Sikhim j it is obtained at Darjiling,
however, whence there are specimens in the national collection. To the eastward of the Bay of Bengal the
dark race, Corvus insolens of Hume, replaces it, but it reappears, whether as a migrant or resident is still
uncertain, in Malacca. The specimen in the British Museum from this region was purchased from
Mr. Boucard, who got it from a collector who shot it himself. I do not observe any other instance of its
capture in Malacca, and some further light upon its presumed existence in that country is much to be
desired.
As regards the peninsula of India it extends as far to the north-west as Sindh, where it is plentiful. In
Cliota Nagpur Mr. Ball remarks that it is more plentiful than the preceding species, and that it usually
inhabits a distinct tract of country from that bird, although sometimes found with it about towns and villages.
In the south it does not ascend the hills as it does in the Himalayas ; Mr. Fairbank only found it at the
base of the Palanis, and it is not recorded from the Travaucore ranges at all. It extends across to the
Laccadive Islands, in which group Mr. Hume found it at Amini, and heard of it at one or two of the islands
nearest Cannanore.
Habits . — The space allotted to me in such a work as the present is far from sufficient to describe
the habits of this bold “ citizen ” of Eastern towns. He is gifted with as much as, if not more intelligence
than any member of his sagacious family ; and annoying as he is, on account of his large share of brains, he is
nevertheless a most useful adjunct to the sanitary regulations of Indian towns. He thrives to a marvellous
degree in all these, his prosperous condition depending mainly on his utter audacity, his entire disregard
of man, his thieving propensities, and his accurate powers of observation. He devotes himself to the timely
occupation of the back yard, the bungalow verandah, the barrack -square, the abattoir, and the commissariat meat-
COEONE 8PLENDENS.
351
store ; or he resorts to the scene of the fisherman’s occupations on the sea-beach^ or the door of the native
cottage at the morning hour of cooking, in all cases exactly at the opportune moment, and he is sure not
to come away without his wants being satisfied. While living at Trincomalie I always found him winging
his way at early morn, while it was yet dusk, in long lines to the sea-heach and to the troops’ meat-store, to
he in time for the dragging of the scin-net or the cutting up of the oxen ; and gathering on the sands in noisy
knots, or lining the branches in “ cawing ” rows, these skilful robbers would never miss a chance of snatching
up an unguarded morsel. But it was at meal-time in the barrack-squares of Colombo that he was more
particularly in his element j crowding in scores round the verandahs at the bugle-call of “dinners up,” the
audacious thieves waited until the tables were spread and eagerly watched for the opportunity of acquiring a
midday repast. Luckless was the soldier who turned his back for an instant ! Prom the adjacent branches to
the table and back was the work of a second, and in this space of time the savoury meat had disappeared
from the gunner’s plate and was being discussed by half a dozen sable beaks. In the bungalow verandah
the Crow proves himself a terrible nuisance ; seated on the tops of the green “ tats,” or slyly perched on the
window-sill with his head awry, he does not scruple to pounce down, and in the momentary absence of the
Ayah snatch the bread from the children’s hands, or dart into the nursery and upset the milk-jug on the
table ; or he will glide noiselessly through the breakfast-room window and in an instant pounce upon the
sideboard or table, and having from afar selected the most tempting-looking cutlet or the best viand is off
again before the Appu, who is laying “ master’s ” breakfast, can, with a well-aimed blow, effectually stop the
thief. The only satisfaction that “master ” gets is the Appu’s tale, “ Sar ! I go to kitchen for a minute, and
that Crow take away master’s breakfast.” I have witnessed one of these birds come into the mess-room at
Colombo, pull off the napkin that had been placed over a cold joint on the sideboard, and begin pecking
away most vigorously at the meat.
Concerning the Crow’s exjjloits in Ceylon, Layard writes as follows : — •“ He levies contributions on all
alike : leave but your breakfast-table for a moment, and as you return the rustling of hurrying wings, the
marks of many feet on the white table-cloth, the gashes in the pat of butter, and the disappearance of
plantains and small viands, proclaim who have been the robbers. The old Hioppcr woman’ sits frying her
cakes under the lonely 'pandal’ of her cadjan hut, and over her, with head inclined, taking a bird’s-eye
view of her cookery, sits the ‘ caca ; ’ and now the ‘ appah ’ (anglice ' hopper ’) is done, lifted from the
pan, and laid on the little circular basket ready for a customer. With a grunt of satisfaction the aged crone
surveys her handiwork, and drops her spoon to feel for her beloved betel-pouch ; a tiresome little bit of
areca-nut has got into a corner, and the old dame bends over it, unmindful of her charge ; a dark figure drops
from the roof, and though she is instautly on the alert and aims an ineffectual blow at the thief, the nice
white ‘ appah ’ is borne off. Sometimes, however, the robber has but a poor hold on it and drops it on the red
cabook road ; down pounce a host of Crows that have been looking on from many a tree, and a scuffle
ensues : but anxious at least to cheat them of their booty, if not to retain the damaged article for her own
eating, the old woman hurries to the rescue ; but this makes matters worse, the castle is defenceless, and
unseen foes drop down from beam and rafter or fly in through open doors. The rice-basket is invaded,
the chilli-box overturned, the dried fish stolen, and lucky is the dame if the crash of most of her little store
of crockery and glass, swept to the ground and scattered in shining fragments, does not hastily recall her to
her hut.”
This account is by no means overdrawn, for to the natives of the bazaars the Crow is an utter pest.
I question, however, whether his absence from the towns would not in the end lead to much harm, for he is
a most useful scavenger, and clears the streets and back premises of every thing thrown out from the houses,
which would otherwise speedily decomjjose in the rays of the tropical sun. Notwithstanding its utter dis-
regard for the native (which is so great that I have seen one pounce on to a basket carried on a boy’s head and
seize from it a cake or a fruit), it entertains a marked respect for the white man, and stands in whole-
some dread of the gun, flying off the moment a stick even is pointed at it ; and so quick -sighted is it that it
espies any one trying to stalk it and decamps at once, though it has not seen the gun in the enemy’s
hand !
At certain hours in the day these Crows assemble in large flocks and hold a noisy parlance which lasts
for some time. At Colombo it was usually on the beach at the “ Galle Buck,” over an evening meal
352
COEONE SPLENDENS.
on sandflies, which they arc very fond of, or engaged in pranks with the hermit-crabs, that the affairs of
the day seemed to be discussed. Often at midday a noisy meeting would take place on the banks of the
lake, and while several dozen birds held an angry debate on some fellow Crow who was posted in the middle
of the circle, others would bathe up to the thighs in the water, ducking themselves and splashing in all
directions. A striking instance of the Crowds love of mischief and his innate impudence was exemplified at
Colombo in his habit of annoying the unoffending little Grebes which frequented the lake ; apparently for
the sake of seeing them disappear under the water, he would dai’t down on them over and over again.
In the towns the Grey Crow invariably roosts on the fronds of cocoanut-trees, sitting close together in
rows, but not settling down for the night until a considerable time has been spent in noisy discussion. It
appears to feel the tropical heat at midday, taking shelter under the shadiest branches, and often panting
witli its bill wide open.
Nidijication . — The breeding-season on both west and east coasts lasts from May until July. The nests
' are built in trees near human habitations, generally at a considerable height from the ground. Scarcely ever
more than two are found in the same tree, and it is usual to find but one. They are placed in the fork of a
tree and made of sticks lined with coir-fibre, small roots, wool, hair, or any substance which will suit the
purpose ; the interior is very shallow in some and moderately deep in others, and usually measures about
fi inches across. The eggs are from three to four in number and vary much in shape, although typically
they are slightly pointed ovals. The ground-colour is also somewhat varied, being in some of an olivaceous
bhiLsli green, and in others of a light blue-green. Normally they are rather closely freckled and spotted
with brownish grey and light brown all over, but chiefly at the large end, where there are, in some instances,
a few darker brown streaks. They vary considerably in length, but not in general bulk, averaging about
P4 by 1‘06 inch, the largest that I have measured not exceeding I’6 by I’OSinch.
It breeds in the Himalayas up to 4000 feet; the season, par excellence, says Mr. Hume, “is June and
July ; but occasionally nests will be found earlier even in Upper India, and in Southern and Eastern India
a great number lay in May.” Miscellaneous material is used for the construction of the nests, particularly in
the matter of lining ; and Blyth speaks of some nests being exclusively composed of wires taken from soda-
water bottles, which had been purloined from heaps set aside by native servants for sale.
The same variety of form and marking of the eggs is observable in Indian specimens, and the average
of a large number “is I'44 by I'OGinch.”
Genus CISSA.
Bill moderately short, stout, wide at the base ; culmen well curved, the tip with a plainly
indicated notch ; nasal bristles short ; gape furnished with short rictal bristles. Eye surrounded
by a prominent naked wattle. Wings short, rounded, the 6th quill longest. Tail long and
graduated. Legs and feet stout. Tarsus equal to the middle toe with its claw ; lateral toes
subequal.
2 _
3
CISSA
ORNATA
CISSA OENATA.
(THE CEYLONESE JAY.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Pica ornata, Wagler, Isis, 1829, p. 749.
Cissa puella, Blyth, J. A. S. 1849, xviii. p. 810 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 93 (ex Layard,
MS.) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852) ; Layard, Ann, & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1854, xiii. p. 213.
Cissa pyrrhocyanea, Gould, B. of A.sia, pt. i. pi. 13 (1850, ex Licht. MS.).
Kitta ornata. Bp. Consp. i. p. 166 (1850).
Citta ornata, Licht. Nomencl. Av. p, 9.
Cissa ornata, Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 298; Schlegel, Coraces, p. 69 ; Gray, Hand-1. B. ii. p. 7
(1869); Holdsworth, P. Z, S. 1872, p. 461; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 23; Holdsworth,
ibid. p. 124; Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 87 (1877).
The Mountain- Jay, Europeans in Ceylon ; also Blue Jay.
Kahihella, Sinhalese.
Ad. capite et collo undique castaneis : dorso laste ultramarino, uropygio cum dorso postico et sujiracaudalibus magis
cyanescentibus : tectricibus alarum omnibus ultramarinis : primario primo uigro : remigibus reliquis extus
castaneis, intus nigris : caudft cyanea, rectricibus late albo terminatis, fascia subtemiiiiali nigra transversim
notatis : subalaribus ultramarinis, interioribus cineraceis : remigibus iufrii nigris, extus castaneis, intiis versus
basin rufescentibus : palpebra et iride sanguineis : rostro rubro : pedibus corallinis.
Adidt male and female. Length 18'0 to 18'5 inches; wing 6'5 to 6'7 ; tail 10’25 to lOw, outer feathers 6-5 shorter
than central; tarsus 1‘6 to 1’8 ; mid toe and claw I'O ; bill to gape 1'5 to 1’6. Expanse 20‘5.
Iris light brown ; eyelid deep red, orbital shin somewhat paler ; bill, legs, and feet coral-red ; claws reddish yellow at
base, dusky at tip.
Whole head, neck, and chest deep shining chestnut ; interscapulary region, lesser wing-coverts, and beneatli the hue
of the chest cobalt-blue, paliug into light easrulean blue on the lower back, rump, and uuderparts ; greater wing-
coverts duller blue than the lesser ; quills light chestnut on their outer webs, and dull black on the inner, those
of the tertials overcast with blue, basal inner edges of quills rufescent grey ; tail gi-eenish blue, the edges brightest
and the terminal inch white with a dividing black band chiefly developed on the inner web, the four lateral pairs
of feathers with the white running up the outer edge ; thighs dusky cobalt-blue.
Young. Tail in nestling plumage about (i inches in length ; feathers pointed. Iris brown, with the outer edge
pale, orbital skin brown ; bill dusky orange with a pale tip ; legs and feet dusky red.
Head, hind neck, throat, and chest pale chestnut : back and upper breast bluish green, becoming dusky on the lower
breast, with the belly albescent ; lesser wing-coverts as the back ; the greater coverts and quills as in the adult.
At a further stage the chestnut of the head and throat becomes darker, and the back and breast more blue, but
not nearly so pure as in the second year or fully adult dress.
Distribution. — The Ceylon Jay inhabits the mountains of the Central Province, including the detached
Muneragala range beyond the south-eastern slopes of Madulsima, and all the peak forests which descend into
the Western Province and form the northern slopes of Salfragam. Beyond this district, to the south and
west respectively, it is found in the jungles of the Rakwana district, the Morowak and Kukkul Korales,
and the immense forests covering the low ranges between the Singha-Rajab jungle and the Kaluganga. This
latter district comprises the lower part of the Kukkul Korale and the Pasdun Korale, and the highest parts
do not exceed 1700 feet. I found it in the valleys of this Avild and little-known I’cgion during the rainy month
of August at an elevation considerably under 1000 feet, w'hich leaves no doubt that it is a resident there.
“ ' ■ ' 2 z
354
CISSA OENATA.
Since the jungle in the Central Province has heen felled to such an enormous extent for coffee-planting, the
Jay has decreased very much in numbers below 4000 feet. Its chief home now is in the forests of the main
range, the Nuwara-Elliya plateau, the Peak wilderness, the upper part of Haputale, and the summits of the
Knuekles. In patna-jungles, however, it is always liable to be found, particularly during the boisterous
weather of the S.W. monsoon, when it is driven down from the mountains above.
The Jay was first made known by Waglcr, who described it in the ‘Isis' for 1829, from a specimen in
the Berlin Museum, to which the East Indies was assigned as the habitat.
It seems to have escaped the notice of subsequent ornithologists until Layard's time ; while collecting in
Ceylon he met with it, and, being under the impression that it was new to science, he gave it its appropriate
synonym, C. puella, and transmitted his specimens to Blytli, who established the name. Layard writes of it,
“ This, tJie most lovely of all our Ceylon birds, was discovered by me along tbe course of a mountain stream in
the jungle near Ambegamoa.”
I am glad to hear that many gentlemen in the planting districts are endeavouring to preserve this hand-
some species, and thus prevent the disappearance of such a pleasing ornament to the woods in the vicinity of
their estates. These efforts, I understand, are chiefly being made in the Dimbulla and Lindula districts.
Habits . — This beautiful bird is of a shy disposition ; it associates generally in parties of about half a dozen,
and passes most of its time in the branches of tall trees, searehing for lizards and large beetles, and partaking
of fruit of many kinds. It is, however, often met with in low underwood j and I have several times flushed it
from the ground, when it flies on to low branches and speedily makes its way off. It is fond of the green
lizard {Calotes), which I have on several occasions found in its stomach in large fragments. At early morning
they roam about the forest, keeping to the tops of the trees, and following each other with a loud clanking cry,
until suitable trees to feed in have been found, in which they settle down, uttering a harsh croaking note as
they move from branch to branch. When feeding in underwood or on the ground I have noticed that they
are usually silent and very watchful, which they have need to be, for their beautiful blue plumage quickly
attracts the attention of the sportsman. It has, notwithstanding its wary habits, a considerable amount of
inquisitiveness in its disposition. Layard writes thus of it : — “ The last I procured fell a victim to that
curiosity so characteristic of the Jays. I was creeping through some thick jungle to get a shot at a large
Wood-Pigeon, when a Cissa flew down from some lofty trees, and, coming close to me, peered into my face.
1 waited until the bird had leisurely surveyed me and flown to a little distance, still watching my
movements. This enabled me to shoot it.” Mr. Iloldsworth remarks, “ They are very noisy, continually
uttering a J ay-like scream, both when perched and flying. There is consequently little difficulty in finding
them out w-heu they arc in the neighbourhood; but from their keeping so much to the dense jungle, I have on
several occasions worked my way quietly through the bushes to within a few yards of the birds without being
able to get sight of them.”
The beauty of the Jay’s plumage has caused it to be recklessly shot for the sake of its feathers ; but in
this matter people in Ceylon are no more to blame than those in Norway, South America, and Australia, who
have so ruthlessly slaughtered Kingfishers, Humming-birds, and Parrakeets to satisfy a culpable taste on the
part of the fair sex for the ornamentation of their hats with the feathers of many of the most lovely members of
the bird creation !
Nidijication . — This bird breeds during the cool season. I found its nest in the Kandapolla jungles in
Januaiy; it was situated in a fork of the top branch of a tall sapling, about 45 feet in height, and was a
tolerably bulky structure, externally made of small sticks, in the centre of which was a deep cup, 5 inches in
diameter by 2^ in depth, made entirely of fine roots ; there was but one egg in the nest, which unfortunately
got broken in being lowered to the groimd. It was ovate and slightly pyriform, of a faded bluish-green ground
thickly spotted all over with very light umber-brown over larger spots of bluish grey. It measured 0-98 inch
in diameter by about 1'3 in length.
The front figure in the Plate accompanying this article is that of a fine female example shot in the
forest surrounding the Horton Plains, and the one in the background that of a young bird.
♦
PASSERES.
Earn. ORIOLID^.
Bill rather long, wide at the base ; culmen curved towards the tip, which is distinctly notched.
Nostrils exposed, linear in form, placed in front of the base of the bill and near the margin of
the mandible. Tarsus considerably longer than the middle toe. Feet small.
Sternum narrow in front, widening posteriorly, with a deep pointed notch in each half of
the posterior edge ; the posterior part of the opening almost united.
BJl „,th the characters of the family. Wings rather long, the 4th guill the longest; the
stout coverirw Tnl T ‘“S* “ 1“““*
the onto on • r .Tl, u ‘"'■'“verse scales. Feet rather small ,■ the lateral toes unequal,
tile outei one joined at the base to the inner.
OKioLus Dirnrsus.
(TIIK BLACK-NAPED INDIAN ORIOLE.)
Oriolus sinensis, Swains. An. in Menag. p. 342 (sub 0. coronatws)
Onolm chin^^c 11..".), Jerd. Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1869, x. p. 262 ; Swinhoe.
i . A S. 1871, p. 374; Hume, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 477.
Onohts indicus, Jerd. 111. Ind. Orn. pi. 15 (1847) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 216 (1849) •
ayar et Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. Birds Ceylon, App. p. 58 (1853); Horsf. & Moore’
(1854); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii.
Onolns dtffusus, Sharpe, Cat. Birds, hi. p. 197 (1877). ^
tail 4.0 to 4-1. tarsus 0-0. .14 toe CB, claw
wings of the two examples
including
of the greater coverts 1 ^ ’^“‘terwmg bright yellow, as also the lesser wing-coverts, the" outer webs
and edge of winir ntder tail-feathers; tips of the primary-coverts
same as follows the e aforesaid parts, and the- outer webs of the secondaries marked with the
edgiiiff on the onhrur, ° mnemost and those of the remaining feathers decreasing gradually to au
Je, po.zJi:pTzzu'"':z‘7 "f'" 1
named, jet-black. ’ P*^*’ ”^P®’ and tail, with the exception of the parts above
Female.
Back and scapulars slightly tinged with olivaceous.
Youmj. Bill dusky or dingy pinkish.
Lpper surface with the scapulars and those parts of the wing which are bright yellow in the adult dusky greenish
2z2
356
OEIOLUS DIFFTJSUS.
yellow, brightest on the upper tail-coverts ; in front of the eye a small black spot ; outer webs of greater coverts
clear yellow, the parts of the wing which are black in the adult dark brown ; sides of neck yellower than the
back part ; throat, chest, and breast whitish, tinged strongly with yellow on the sides of the breast, flanks, and
under tail-coverts, and streaked on the fore neck and under surface of body with blackish lines, finest on the
fore neck, and boldest on the breast and flanks.
Ohs. Mr. Sharpe has given this species the above title, although it has generally been known by that of indieus, as it
appears that the name given by Brissou is not admissible, inasmuch as it related to a bird which had blue in its
plumage, a character not to be found in any Oriole. As it is found in China it is more widely diffused than any
other Black-naped Oriole, and hence Mr. Sharpe’s ]iaine for it. Linnrous’s name chinensis is said to be referable
to the Phihppine bird. Examples from China differ somewhat from Indian ones in having a “ slightly larger
bill, a somewhat larger wing-spot, and decidedly more yellow on the tertiaries ” than the latter ; but Mr. Hume,
whose remarks I quote, finds Tenasserim specimens to match both Chinese and Southern-Iiidian, thus establishing
an unbroken chain.
The Black-naped Orioles form a closely allied and very interesting group. 0. tenuirostris from Burmah, as its name
implies, has a slenderer bill and has more yellow on the primary-coverts and tail than 0. diffusiis. 0. andamamnsis
from the Andamans and 0. frontalis (a splendid species) from the Sula Islands are chiefly distinguished by their
black, almost unmarked wings ; and the latter has the head nearly all black, with only a narrow frontal band of
yellow.
0. macrurus, Blyth, from the Nicobars is another black-winged species of Black-naped Oriole with a broader occipital
band than 0. andamamnsis.
Disiribution. — The present species has proved to he only a straggler to the island of Ceylon, hut two
specimens of it having been procured as yet. Layard, who introduced this Oriole into our lists, writes of it
(/. c.) : — “ A single pair of these birds fell under my notice ; they were shot by a native at the back of the
Bishop’s residence near Colombo.” It enjoys a wide range, and no doubt is much in the habit of moving from
place to place, so that it may occur again at some future period within our limits.
J erdon remarks that it is spread moi’e or less throughout India, but is rare everywhere ; he procured it in
the Malabar jimgles. Mr. Elliott found it at Dharwar, and it occurs near Calcutta; it is, however, as Jcrdon
says, much more common in the countries to the east of the Bay of Bengal, extending southwards into the
peninsula of Malacca as low down as Pinang. Mr. Hume records it from Tenasserim, in which province
Mr. Davison procured it south of Moulmein. It is spread eastward fj-om Burmah as far as China, where
Swinhoe remarks of it as follows : — “ Throughout China, and Formosa in summer. Eesorts in winter to
Cochin-China, Tenasserim, and India.” It would appear from this that it is merely a visitant to India, a
fact which would well explain its being a casual straggler to the shores of Ceylon. As it is a summer inha-
bitant of China, it probably breeds there, and that country may be considered to be its proper headquarters.
Habits. — But little is recorded concerning the habits of this Oriole. It appears in India to frequent forest-
districts, and to keep more to jungle than most other species of its family. It is evidently a bold bird, and
well able to hold its own in the forests. Mr. Swinhoe, in writing on the ornithology of Formosa in 1865, gives
the following account of its prowess : — “ Walking along the avenue this morning, my attention was attracted by
a Halcyon’s scream, and two birds, one chasing the other, dashed through the thicket. The first bird 1 was
not quick enough to catch sight of. The pursuing bird was an Oriole {Oriolus chinensis). The Oriole discon-
tinued the chase, and, perching on a tree not far from me, began to whistle its absurd attempt at a song, as
if glorying in the defeat of its enemy. It was a mature bird, and looked very showy in the sunlight.” The
diet of this species is probably of a mixed nature, as is the case with many of its congeners, who are both
insectivorous and frugivorous.
1 know nothing of its nidification.
OEIOLUS MELANOCEPHALTJS.
(THE BLACK-HEADED ORIOLE.)
Oriolus melanocephalus, Linn. Syst. Nat..i. p. 160 (1766) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 215
(1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p, 122 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854,
xiii. p. 123; Horsf. & Moore (in pt.), Cat. B, Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 269 (1854); Jerdon
(in pt.), B. of Ind. ii. p. 110 (1863) ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 301 (1874) ; id. Str.
Feath. 1874, p. 230 ; id. t. c. (1878) (B. of Tenass.), p. 330.
Oriolus ceylonensis, Bonap. Consp. Av. i. p. 347 (1850); Jerdon (in pt.), B. of Ind. ii. p. Ill
(1863) : Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 453 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 439 ; Fairbank, ibid.
1877, p. 406; Sharpe, Cat. Birds, iii. p. 216 (1877).
The Black-headed Indian Icterus, Edwards, Birds, p. 77, pi. 77 ; Le Loriot de Bengale,
Brisson ; The Southern Black-headed Oriole, Jerdon, B. of Ind. ; Mango-bird, Euro-
peans in Ceylon. Pilak, Zardak, Hind. ; Konda-ranga pandu, Telugu.
Ka-kurulla, lit. “ YelloAv-bird,” Sinhalese ; Mamkoel, Mamhala kuruvi, Tamils in Ceylon.
Adult male. Length 9’o to 10-0 inches ; wing 5-0 to 5-2 ; tail 3-2 ; tarsus O-O to 1-05 ; middle toe and claw 0-95 to 1-0 ;
bill to gape 1-25, width at nostrils 0-37.
Iris bright ruby-red ; bill faded lake-red, paler about the base beneath ; legs and feet dusky bluish, claws dusky.
Entire head, hind neck, throat, and fore neck down to the centre of the chest shining jet-black ; wings and a patch on
the centre of the four middle tail-feathers black, loss lustrous than the head ; rest of upper and under surface,
wing-coverts, upper and under tail-coverts, tail and under wing rich yellow, with a slight greenish tinge on the
back and rump ; tips of the primary-coverts, varying from 0-3 to 0-5 inch in depth, tips of the secondaries, varying
on the outer webs of the innermost feathers from 0‘3 to 0‘6 inch in depth, bright yellow ; primaries more finely
tipped with pale yellow' ; in most specimens, except those which are evidently very old, the yellow of the central
rectrices next the black is sullied with greenish ; the black band varies from | to 1 inch in width on these feathers.
In some examples the outer web of the shortest secondary feather, which is almost concealed by the scapulars, is
entirely yellow.
Adult female. Length 9'5 inches; wing 4'8 to 5'0. The yellow of the back and breast is less vivid than in the male.
Examples not fully adult of both sexes have the back strongly tinged with greenish.
Young. The bird of the year measures 8'7 to 9-1 inches, aud has a wing of 4-7 to 4-8. Iris brown ; bill black or blackish
brown, with the edge of the base of low’er mandible light ; legs and feet slightly duskier than in the adult ; a
yellowish stripe runs from the nostril over the eye ; orbital fringe yellowish ; throat white, with black mesial stripes ;
the wing-coverts, which are yellow in the adult, have blackish centres ; tips of secondaries less conspicuous ;
margins of primaries whitish at the centre ; tail-band brownish, very broad, and extending across all the feathers,
but limited to the outer web on the tw'o laterals ; the breast striated with black, aud apparently more so in males
than in females ; back washed with brownish. In the nestling just plumaged the head has the feathers edged
greenish.
Obs. The Oriole inhabiting Southern India and Ceylon has been usually styled 0. ceylonetisis, a name given by Bona-
parte to a bird with less yellow on the wing than he supposed the species described by Linnasus, under the name
of 0. melanocephalus, exhibited. Linnmus, however, founded his species on Edw'ards’s plate of the Black-headed
Indian Icterus, which is no other than a representation of the Ceylonese and Peninsular-Indian Oriole with the
tertials tipped only with yellow; the spot formed by the yellow tips of the primary-coverts is, it is true, very large,
and answers well to that which exists in the Himalayan bird usually styled 0. melanocephalus. This is, how’ever, a
mistake of the artist, as is manifest by the letterpress, which runs as follows ; — “ The remainder of the quills next
the body are tipped with yellow, which colour extends a little way along their outer webs ; the tips of the covert-feathers
where they fall on the greater quills are yellow, which form a distinct spot of yellow a little above the middle of
358
OJRIOLUS MELANOCEPHALUS.
the wmg.” Now the alleged differences between Linnaus’s and Bonaparte’s species lie in the smallness of the
wing-bar^ and the scanty amount of yellow on the tertials of the latter, characters which in reality, by virtue of
Edwards s plate, apply to the former (0. melanocepkahts). IE, therefore, there be two races of this Oriole which
eserve subspecific rank, it is the northern bird, whicli must be separated from the southern and receive a name,
which I would propose as 0. himalayanm*, because the birds from that region principally, as I shall presently
s ow, exhibit the characteristic on which they could alone be specifically separated.
As much has been written for and against the characters which have been held to separate the northern and southern
races of this Oriole, I have carefully examined the whole series in the British Museum, and give here a Table of
the results of my examination. The specific names are those used on the labels of the specimens from the localities
named.
a. Oriolus
rnelanoeepJialus. N.W. Himalayas
>>■
JJ
Nepal
N. W. Himalayas
55
Nepal
55
Nepal
/•
55
Pegu
55
Kamptee
55
Madras
»■
55
Madras
55
Madras
„
55
Travancore
w. „
55
Tenasserim
55
Behar
0-
55
Behar
Oriolus ceylonetisis.
Nuwara Elliya
55
N uwara EUiva
55
Galle
s- • »
55
Nuwara Elliya
Wing.
Bill to gape.
Wing-spot
(broad).
Coloration of outer
web of innermost
exposed secondary.
in.
in.
in.
5-6
1-32
0-7
Entirely yellow.
5‘45
1-3.5
0-65
55 55
5-4
1-45
0-45
55 55
5-65
1-3
0-7
55 55
5-7
1-3
0-62
55 55
5-4
broken
0-7
55 55
5-12
1-35
0-4
Large spot at tip,
5-1
1-3
0-55
55 55
5-2
:i-25
0-45
55 55
5-4
1-3
0-5
5-61
1-35
0-75
55 55
55
6-2
1-28
0-4
5-4
1-3
0-4
” 55
55 5 5
5-5
1-3
0-6
.55 55
5-1
1-32
0-3
4-8
1-2
0-3
55 55
55 5 5
5'2
1-25
0-.5
55 55
5-0
1-25
0-5
55 55
Examples g io o are not to be separated from the four last Ceylonese specimens ; the size of the spot at the tip of the
outer web of the innermost secondary, as well as the extent of yellow at the termination of the adjacent feathers,
varies in each, but it is no larger in the South-Indian than in the Ceylonese series ; it will also be seen that no
dependence can be placed on the width of the wing-spot formed by the yellow tips of the primary-coverts, the
Travancore specimen having it as wide as any Himalayan, although it must be acknowledged that it is larger as
a rule in the northern form than in the southern. There is, however, a constant difference in the coloration of
the long, exposed inner secondary of the Himalayan bird, which is very remarkable when seen in a series laid side
by side with another from the various localities indicated in the above table ; so that in the birds from the region
above mentioned, in addition to the secondaries having more yellow at the tips than others, there is the fact that
the feather in question has always (as far as I can judge from the series examined) the entire web yellow, while
others (the true 0. melanocepJialiis) have merely a large spot at the tip of the outer web. In most families of
biids it would amount to an absui'dity to base a separation of two species on the coloration of a single feather;
but in the Orioles, which depend so much on the distribution of the yellow for their specific rank, it may not seem
an unnatural point to lay stress upon. As long as the distinction which I have pointed out is found to hold good,
I see no reason why the Himalayan and Pegu form should not stand as a subspecies or local race of the Indian.
Distribution. This Oriole is a very common bird in Ceylon, being found tlu’oughout the entire low
country and the hills, ranging up to an altitude not unfrequcutly of 6000 feet. It has, indeed, on several
occasions been found at Nuwara Elliya; and in Uva, where it is very common, it often occurs at 5000 feet.
In the north it is numerous, inhabiting the island of Manaar and tliose adjacent to Jaffna, as well as the
extreme north of the mainland ; and in the dry forests of the north-central district, in the Seven Korales,
and interior of the Eastern Province it is likewise common. In the west and south it is chiefly found in
* Oriolus mdanocephalus, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 215 {nee Linn.).
OEIOLUS MELAXOCEPHALUS.
359
the cultivated portions of the interior and on the sea-hoard, and in the Galle district retires inland during tlie
rains of the south-west monsoon. In the arid country between Ilaputale and the sea it is mostly confined to
the forest on the rivers. On the Kandy side it is noticeable chiefly in Dumbara and the open valleys through
which flow the numerous affluents of the Mahawelligauga.
In India this species is found throughout the greater part of the peninsula from Bengal southwards.
Jerdon writes of the race which he styles 0. ceylonensis, that it is found in Southern India, being common
on the Malabar coast, comparatively rare in the Carnatic, and almost unknown in the bare Ucccan. On
the western confines of this district, however, it has been found by Mr. Fairbank, who records it from
“ Konkan and the western declivities of the Sahyadris, from Khandola to Goa.” There are specimens in
the British Museum from Mada-as, where it is said to he common. As the examples above cited from Behar
l)elong to this species it may he presumed that the Oriole which Mr. Ball says is common in Chota Nagpur
belongs to the scantily marked form and not to that which inhabits the sub-IIimalayan region. Passing over
Pegu, in going eastward of Bengal, we find it again in Tenasserim, whence comes one of the specimens enume-
rated in the above table. Mr. Hume says that it “ extends through the Province as far south as Mergui, but
is rare south of Tavoy.” I conclude the birds spoken of are the same as the example cited. In the Andamans
ilr. Davison says it is a seasonal visitant, leaving them in October and returning in March.
Habits . — This showy bird, which is one of the ornaments of Ceylonese cultivated nature, frequents open
paddy-lands studded with woods, detached groves, wooded compounds, the interior of forests in the dry parts
of the island, and the borders of rivers and large tanks. Being a tame species, it dwells much in the proximity
of houses, and remains perched sometimes on the top of a prominent tree, repeating its well-known note,
ko-ko-wak, which it also utters on the wing. It has considerable powers of flight, progressing with alternate
beating and closing of the wings. Its food consists chiefly of fruits and seeds of jungle-trees, and it consumes
largely the berries of the Lautana. The Oriole is almost universally styled the “ Mango-bird ” by Europeans
on account of its yellow plumage ; but I imagine the name was imported from India in the first instance.
It is a well-known species in the western parts of the island to sportsmen, and often pays with its life the penalty
usually imposed upon the unfortunate members of the feathered creation who, unhappily for themselves, are
arrayed in more gorgeous dress than their fellows. The first shot fired in the dawn at the much sought after
“ Kaswatua”* usually arouses the Oriole, and cuts short the morning preening of his yellow^ dress, frightening
him across the misty paddy-field, out of which the Snipe are getting up before the sportsman's gun. When
thus frightened it does not fly far, hut quickly settles in some thickly foliaged tree and gives out its not
un melodious whistle. It is not a sociable bird, although two or more are often seen not far from each other,
and occasionally I have aroused a pair from the same tree.
Concerning its habits in India Jerdon w'rites : — “It frequents both forests, gardens, and groves. It is a
lively and noisy bird, constantly flying from tree to tree, and uttering its loud mellow whistle, whicli
Sundevall has put into musical form. It feeds chiefly on fruit, especially on the figs of the Banian, Pecpal,
and other Fid, and it is said also to eat blossoms and buds.”
Nidification.— ^\i& “ Mango-bird ” breeds, on the western side of the island, during the first six months
of the year, the favourite time being March and April. In the north-east I have found its nest in December.
It builds at the fork of a horizontal branch some distance out and high above the ground, suspending its
nest by twining the material of the top round the branches. The nest is variable in construction, but is
generally large and loose, composed of grass, bark, and small twigs, ornamented wdth lichens and bleached
leaves. The eggs are usually three in number, pointed ovals in shape, and some so much so that they
might be called pyriform ; the texture is smooth and the ground-colour pinkish wdiite, sparsely spotted
and blotched with opeidy distributed smooth-edged markings of reddish brown, umber, and purplish black.
In some eggs the markings are more confined to the large end than in others, and ^ in one or two I
have seen sundry hiei’Oglyphic-like spots. Mr. Hume remarks, in ‘ Nests and Eggs, that the dark
spots are not unfrequeutly more or less enveloped in a reddish-pink nimbus. The average dimensions
are 1'2 by 0-82 inch.
* Native name for Snipe.
PASSEEES.
Earn. CAMPOPHAGID^.
Bill generally stout, moderately hooked and moderately notched ; generally thick at the base,
rather widened ; the nostrils hidden. Wings in most species lengthened, never short.
Shrike-like birds of soft plumage ; the feathers of the lower back and rump with stiffened
shafts. {Sharpe, Cat. Birds, iv. p. 7.)
Genus GEAUCALUS.
Bill stout, massive, wide at base ; culmen keeled and much decurved, with the tip notched
distinctly. Nostrils covered with setaceous feathers; rictal bristles moderate; the lores bristly.
Head massive. Wings long ; the 4th quill the longest, and the 1st less than half the length of
the 4th. Tail tolerably long, and slightly graduated at the exterior. Tarsus longer than the
middle toe. Feet strong, claws curved and strong.
GEAUCALUS MACIL
(THE LAEGE INDIAN CUCKOO-SHEIKE.)
Graucalus macii. Lesson, Traite, p. 349 (1831) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 190 (1849) ;
Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 173; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 417 (1862);
Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 368; Hume, Nests and Eggs,i. p. 181 (1873); Walden, Ibis, 1873,
p. 310 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 204 ; Adam, t. c. p. 400 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1875,
p. 94; Butler, t. c. p. 464; Blyth & Walden, B. Burm. p. 123 (1875); Armstrong!
Str. Feath. 1876, p. 316 ; Hume, ibid. 1877, p. 29; Fairbank, t.c. p. 400; Hume &
Davison, ibid. 1878, p. 210; Sharpe, Cat. Birds, iv. p. 34 (1879).
Graucalus nipalensis, Hodgs. Ind. Eev. i. p. 327.
Campephaga macei (Less.), Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 283 (1845) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 123
(1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 128.
Graucalus layardi, Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 368; Jerdon, Ibis, 1872, p. 117; Holdsw. P. Z. S.
1872, p. 437 ; Wald. Ibis, 1873, p. 311; Hume, Stray Feath. 1873, p. 435; Legge,
Ibis, 1875, p. 287.
Mace s Caterpillar-catcher, Kelaart ; The Large Caterpillar-catcher. Kasya, Hind. ; Kahasi,
Beng. ; Pedda akurai, Tel., lit. “ Large File-bird.”
Adult male and female. Length 10-1 to 10'4 inches ; wing 5-8 to 6-05 ; tail 4-3 ; tarsus 1-0 to 1-1 ; mid toe 0-85,
claw (straight) 0 39 ; hind toe 0'5, claw (straight) 0'35; bill to gape 1'3 to 1’4. These measurements are from
a good series of Ceylonese examples, in which the females average the larger of the sexes.
Iris reddish brown, variable in intensity of colour; bill blaeli; ; legs and feet black, edges of tarsal scales whitish.
Male. Above the nostril, lores, round the eye, and the gape and point of chin jet-black, passing into blackish on the
ear-coverts. The feathers of the lores are bristly. Above slate-grey (individuals varying in depth of colour), paler
on the forehead and rump, which latter part is indistinctly barred with white ; head and back in some examples
with dark shafts ; wing-coverts duskier than the back and with dark shafts ; wings and tail black, the former
GKAUCALU8 MACH.
361
with the quills edged white, and the outer webs of the tertials and secondaries paling into grey towards the edge ;
central rectrices dark grey, and the whole tipped white, the two external pairs mostly so, and the white extremity
passing up into the grey.
Throat, sides of neck, chest, and upper breast slate-grey, lighter than the upper surface, and paling ou the breast
gradually into the white of the lower parts, leaving a few very faint traces of barring on the sides of the breast ;
under tail- and under wing-coverts w'hite, the edge of the wdng with a few light bars of bluish grey ; thighs
slate-grey, the edges of the feathers more or less edged with white. The generality of adult examples have a
not inconsiderable amount of light barring on the lower breast.
Adult female. In this sex the lores are less black than in the male, as also the space beneath the eye and the ear-
coverts, and the upper surface is not so blue ; the very old bird has the under surface as in the male.
Youny. The nestling, as described by Mr. Hume from the Andamans, has the lores, cheeks, and ear-coverts pale grey,
each feather tipped with fidvous ; the head and hind neck greyish white, tipped and margined with pale fulvous ;
back and scapulars French grey, tipped fulvous, and with a subterminal dusky spot on the feathers ; the secon-
daries, tertiaries, and greater and median wing-coverts greyish brown, very broadly margined on the outer webs with
creamy white ; the primaries margined and tipped with fulvous ; chin, throat, and breast greyish white, the feathers
tipped and margined with pale, slightly fulvous white ; the lower parts pure white and unbarred.
The immature male has the chest and centre of the breast barred on a bluish-grey gi’ound wdth dark slate-grey bars,
which extend to the lower flanks and borders of the abdomen ; the throat and fore neck are uniform grey, as in
the adult ; lores black.
The female has the throat whitish, the ground-colour being pervaded with grey, which changes into white on the chest,
and the whole under surface, from the chin to the lower breast and flanks, barred with dark grey : with age the
throat and fore neck gradually assume a uniform appearance as the light interspaces darken ; in an example before
me in this stage the barring is just perceptible on the throat, and the breast is white crossed with dark grey bars.
Ohs. The Ceylonese and South-lndian race was separated by Blyth {he. eit.) as Q. layardi, without further diagnosis
or description than that it was of the same small size as (?. javanensis, and had the anterior surface of the wing
underneath strongly barred, and the outer tail-feathers very slightly white-tipped. The first-named feature in
the plumage refers to an immature bird, and the latter is a variable character. Ceylon birds certainly, as a rule,
are smaller than those from the Andamans, Burmah, North-east India, and many parts of the Peninsula, but in
the south of the empire they vary in size. One example from Coorg, tabulated by Lord Tweeddale (‘ Ibis,’ 18711),
has the wing 6-0 inches, while another in my own collection from the island of Eamisserum measures 6-5 inches.
Mr. Sharpe, moreover, finds that North-west Indian specimens are intermediate in size between Himalayan and
Ceylonese ; in fact there is one in the British Museum from Kattiawar measuring only 6-0 inches, another from
Kamptee 6-4, and a third from Mahabaleshwar ti-3 ; while a specimen from Mysore is again as large as a North-
Indian one — wing 7-1, bill to gape 1-35. Three Maunbhoom specimens, recorded by Lord Tweeddale, measured
6-37, 6-6, and 6'3 in the wing. An Andaman female in iny own collection has a length of 6-9 ; and one
from Debra Boon is noted at 7-37. These data show, therefore, that there is great variation in size in this
species, and that while the largest birds come from the sub-Himalayan districts and the Andamans, those from
India and Ceylon (widely separated regions) are nearly alike in dimensions ; and these latter are, as
regards plumage, when compared with the larger examples of the same age, identical with them.
Distribution . — This fine bird is generally distributed throughout the northern forest-tract from the country
lying to the north-east of Trincomalie to the limit of the dry district a little south of Chilaw, likewise through-
out the eastern portion of the island (where it is more particularly found about the dead trees in the newly-
restored tanks) and the arid jungles between Haputale and the south-east coast. In the Kandyan Province it
inhabits Uva pretty generally and the district round Kandy, including the Knuckles and the valleys of the
southern affluents of the Mahawelliganga fiowing through Hewahette and Maturata. Mr. Bligh has procured
it also in Kotmalie, which is on the other side of the Pusselawa range. Among the above-mentioned districts
it is especially numerous in the Wellaway Korale and the wild jungles lying between Anaradjapura and Chilaw.
Concerning its general distribution in India, Jerdon writes that it is found over the whole country, from
the Himalayas to the extreme south, wherever there is a sufficiency of wood. Its location in the north-west is
362
GEAUCALrS MACn.
somewhat peculiaPj for Captain Lloyd says it is common in Kattiawar. Captain Butler observes that it is the
reverse in the Guzerat district, for he only saw it near Dcesa and in one or two other parts of the idains; while
Mr. Hume wi’ites that it has not been recorded from Sindh, Cutch, Jodhpore, or Sambhtir. In Chota Nagpur
it is, says Mr. Ball, pretty generally distributed; in the Khandala district it is found everywhere, but is
nowhere abundant. Mr. Fairbank records one specimen as seen in the Palani hills; and Mr. Hume has
received it from Anjango, and myself from Ramisserum Island. Turning towards the north-east we have it
not uncommon along the bases of the Himalayas, and procured at such places as Dehra, Kumaon, Gurwhal,
and Daqiling; further east still, Mr. Inglis says that it is very common in Cachar during the cold season,
being met with there in flocks, but that it is only occasionally seen during the rains. In the Irrawaddy
delta Mr. Armstrong met with it in abundance ; and Mr. Oates writes that it is common within the limits of
Upper Pegu and also in the Arracan hills. In the northern portion of the province of Tenasscrim it is also
not uncommon, extending thence across the bay to the islands, where it inhabits those of the Andaman group
and is a permanent resident in them.
Habits . — The large Cuckoo-Shrike is decidedly a shy species. In the immature stage ehiefly it associates
in small flocks or troops, which keep in scattered company among tall trees near forest-lined rivers or
surrounding the wild tanks of the Northern Province. Single birds are often met with flying high in the
air and uttering their shrill call, kur-Hech, sometimes suddenly darting down in their course and alighting on
the top of a lofty tree, on which they will continue this harsh and far-souiidiug note. “When in small troops,
if disturbed, one bird will leave the tree and is then followed by its mates one after the other, w’ho pursue
their companions to a new perch and again settle down in company with them. It is consequently difficult
to approach within shot, and is usually only procured when it happens to alight by accident in a tree near the
position of the sportsman or collector. Though not loud its note is very harsh and peculiarly far-reaching ;
it is in the evenings that it is peculiarly fond of uttering its dis-syllabic cry, and it will remain for some time
perched in the same spot, now and then, in the breeding-season, giving out a low chirping song. Its food
consists of caterpillars, grasshoppers, and various kinds of coleopterous insects. Hodgson states its food to be
“ Mantides, Scarabcei, berries, vetches, and seeds.” I have no record, in my field-notes, of having found the
diet of any example of so mixed a nature as this ; but, doubtless, the food of this species is as varied as that
of many Passerine birds.
Nidification. — Mr. Parker, of the Ceylon Public Works Department, who has had much opportunity of
observing these birds in the N.E. and N.W. Provinces, says that they breed in June in the forests of that
part, but he did not succeed in procuring their eggs.
Mr. Blewitt, as quoted by Mr. Hume in his ' Nests and Eggs," says “ that the nest is built in the most
lofty branch of a tree, near the fork of two outlying twigs ; it is circular in form, and the body is thickly
made of thin twigs and grass-roots, while the outer part of the nest is covered with what appears to be
spiders’ webs; the interior is moderately cup-shaped. The breeding-time is in May and June.” Jerdon
found the nest in a lofty Casuarina-tree, and it was composed of small twigs and roots. The eggs are three
in number and are rather elongated ovals, a good deal pointed towards one end ; the ground-colour is greenish
stone-colour, with, as Mr. Hume remarks, a creamy tinge in some. “ The markings are very Shrike-like,
and consist of brown blotches, streaks, and spots, with numerous clouds and blotches of pale inky purple,
which appear to underlie the browm markings.” Average dimensions of eight eggs 1'22 by 0’9 inch.
Genus PEEICEOCOTUS.
Bill not so massive as in Graucalus ; culmen straighter and more suddenly bent down at the
tip, which is plainly notched. Nostrils oval, placed in a depression concealed by the plumes ;
rictal bristles feeble. Wings pointed ; the 4th and 5th quills subequal and longest ; the 1st
and 2nd in the same proportion as in the last genus. Tail long, much graduated. Legs and feet
small.
Of brilliant plumage ; sexes differing in coloration.
PERICKOCOTUS PLAMMEUS.
(THE OKANGE MINIVET.)
Muscicapa Jlammea, Forster, Indische Zoologie, p. 25, pi. 15 (1781).
Phcenicornis flammeus, Swainson, Zool. 111. 2nd ser. pi. 52 (1831); Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India,
Madr. Journ. 1839, x. p. 244 ; id. 111. Ind. Orn. pL 11 (1847).
Pericrocotus flammeus, Gray, Gen. Birds, i. p. 282 (1845) ; Blyth, Cat. B. M. A. S. B. p. 192
(1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 123 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1854, xiii. p. 127 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 142 (1854) ; Gould, B. of
Asia, pt. ix. (1857) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 420 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 438 ; Hume,
Nests and Eggs, p. 182 (1873) ; Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 288 ; Shai-pe, Str. Feath. 1876,
p. 208; Hume, ibid. p. 394, et 1877, p. 197; Sharpe, Cat. Birds, iv. p. 75 (1879).
Flammeous Flycatcher, Lath. Gen. Hist. ; The Elegant Bed Flycatcher, Kelaart ; Sultan-bird,
Europeans in Ceylon ; Orange red Bird, Swainson.
Phari-Balal-chasm, Hind., Jerdon.
Gene-kurula, Sinhalese.
Adult male. Leugtli 7'7 to 7'85 inches ; wing 3‘5 to 3-6 ; tail 3'5 to 3-G ; tarsus 0-65 ; mid toe and claw 0’65 to 0-7 ;
bill to gape 0-9.
Iris reddish brown ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Entire head, throat, hind neck, upper part of back, wings, central rectrices, nearly the whole of the adjacent pair, and
the basal half of the others black, highly glossed on the head, throat, and back ; under surface from the throat
downwards, under tail-coverts, the tip and terminal half of the outer web of the above-mentioned central tail-
feathers, the terminal half of the rest, a baud across the wing, commencing on the outer web of the 5th primary,
the tips of the greater secondary wing-coverts, and an external spot near the tips of the inner secondaries fiery
orange-red, most intense on the chest, tail-feathers, and upper tail-coverts ; under wing-coverts and under surface
of the scarlet wing-band, as also an inner marginal spot on the 3rd and 4th primaries, pale yellowish red ; thighs
dusky black.
Female. Smaller than the male; wing 3’4 to 3’5 inches.
Iris brown ; head, back of neck, scapulars, and lesser wing-coverts dark bluish ashy ; the forehead and that portion of
the wings and tail which is red in the male, together with the entire under surface, primrose-yellow ; the wing-
spot commences on the 5th primary; lores dark grey; the yellow of the forehead produced above the eye ; quills
and tall dusky blackish ; rump and upper tail-coverts greenish j'ellow, blending into the hue of the back.
Yoitng. Iris brown.
Immature males are clothed in the garb of the female. A specimen in my collection assuming the adult plumage has
the head, hind neck, back, and wing-coverts bluish grev, intermingled with black feathers ; throat yellow, mixed
3a2
364
PEKICEOCOTUS ELAMMEUS.
with black ; under surface bright yellow, with orange feathers appearing on the chest ; rump greenish yellow, with
the upper tail-coverts orange-red ; part of the wing-bar is yellow and part orange-red, and the same with the
spots on the inner secondaries ; the wings and central tail-feathers are black, and the pale portions of the tail
yellow.
Ohs. Mr. Hume gives the measurements of the wings of a series of males from South India as varying from 3-6 to
3-75 inches, and of females from 3-45 to 3-7. These, it will be seen, exceed the usual size of Ceylonese individuals.
Two examples in the British Museum, from Travancore and Madras respectively, measure in the wing 3-5 and 3-6,
and they have the wing-spot extending as far as the 5th primary; there is another, collected by Captain Elliott, the
locality unknown, with the spot extending upon the 4th primary, but it does not reach across the web from the
margin quite to the shaft. The northern species {P. speciosus), which inhabits the eastern portion of the slopes of
the Himalayas as far as Western Bhotan and also Central India, and the eastern and smaller race of that bird,
which inhabits Burmah and Assam (P. elegans), are allied to the present. The former is a larger bird than P. flam-
mem (wing, d, from 4-0 to 4-3), and has the wing-band extending further out than in the latter— that is to say,
the first tiw primaries only, according to Mr. Hume, in the male, and the first three in the female and young male
want the bright patches on the outer webs. The female is of a more orange hue than that of the present species.
Mr. Hume speaks of it as follow-s “ Is a clear full gamboge- or orange-yellow below, the orange of the forehead
extending over the anterior half of the crown, and sometimes further.” The wing in P. eUgans is similarly marked ;
but the outer webs of the central tail-feathers are red, whereas in the larger form they are w'holly black, as in
P. flammem. ' ’
Distribution.— Hhis conspicuously-plumaged bird is found in most of the forests and wild jungles of
Ceylon. It is numerous in the coffee-districts of the centre and south of the island and in the main'ran^-e
including the Horton Plains, in the woods of which it was one of the commonest birds I saw there during the
month of January. Among other places in the Kandyan Provinee where it is frequent is the Knuckles
district. It is found pretty generally in the forests between Colombo and Saffragam, in the Pasdun Korale,
and in the wild country on the banks of the Grindurah from Baddegama up to the Singha-Rajah forest. In
the jungles of the flat country lying between Hapntale and Kattregama, in the Friars-Hood hills, and in the
interior of the northern portion of the island it may always be met with where the trees are large and shady.
Mr. Parker tells me it is veiy common at Uswewa, near Puttalam. It is not found in the Jaffna peninsula, as
far as I am aware— its northernmost limit being fixed by Layard at Vavonia Velankulam ; as there' is"
however, much heavy forest north of that place, I am of opinion that it will be found between it and
“ Elephant Pass.”
On the mainland this Minivet is confined to the south of India. Mr. Hume thus sketches out its distri-
bution (Str. Feath. 1877, p. 198) It is essentially a bird of the hills of Southern India In the
Assamboo hills and their continuation, the Andaman hills, the Western Ghats, as far north, at any rate, as
Khandala, whence I have specimens, the Pulneys, Anamallis, and Nilghiris, the bird is common, and in the
cold season it may even be found, at some little distance from the bases of these, in convenient jungles, and on
the Malabar coast to the shores of the sea; but it is in no sense a plains bird, and never occurs in India in
the open country at any distance from one of these hill series.” Now it is singular that though it cannot be
called a denizen of open country in Ceylon, it should be so plentiful an inhabitant of low-country forest
in many parts of the island. The solution of this problem, no doubt, lies in the fact that the flat or low districts
of South India are not covered with forest as in Ceylon. Jerdon remarks that it is found in all the lofty
jungles from near the level of the sea to 6000 feet on the Nilghiri slopes, and says that it is, perhaps most
abundant at moderate elevations. ’ ’
Habits . — The Orange Mini vet affects lofty trees in the up-country forests and in patna-woods, keeping
much to the topmost branches, or flying gaily about from limb to limb ; in the low country it is parti'al to fine-
jungle bordering rivers or surrounding remote or secluded tanks. The male is a very showy bird, enlivening
the gloom of the primeval forest as it flies from tree to tree or displays its bright red plumage among the
green boughs far overhead. When not breeding, it associates in little flocks, either of several females alone
or one or two males aceompanied by a little party of the other sex ; and from this habit it has aequired its
name of “ Sultan ” in the coffee-districts. It is constantly uttering a weak, though cheerful, little warble, or
PERICEOCOTrS ELAMMEUS.
865
otherwise it worild be generally overlooked by the collector while threading his way in the underwood beneath
it. Its diet consists of small butterflies and various winged insects, some of which it will occasionally take on
the wing as they pass through the branches. In the woods of the Horton Plains I saw it catching insects in
the moss with which the trees are entirely covered in that cool region, and its brilliant plumage furnished a
striking contrast to the cold grey-looking aspect of the jungle.
Jerdon notices that in India " it keeps generally to the tops of high trees, usually in flocks of four or five ;
the sexes often apart from one another, all frisking about, picking insects off a branch or leaf, or occasionally
catching one in the air.”
Nidification . — I have never been able to obtain any information concerning tbe nesting of this species in
Ceylon ; but Mr. Hume describes the nest, in his ' Rough Draft of Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds,' from
information received from Miss Cockburn. He says, “ The nests arc comparatively massive little (;ups placed on
or sometimes in the fork of slender boughs. They are usually composed of excessively fine twigs, the size of
fir-needles, and they are densely plastered over the whole exterior surface with greenish-grey lichens, so closely
put together that the side of the nest looks exactly like a piece of lichen-covered branch ; there appears to be
no lining, and the eggs are laid on the fine little twigs which compose the body of the nest.” The season for
laying is confined to July, which is probably the same in the damp districts of Ceylon. The egg is described
as pale greenish, “pretty thickly streaked and spotted, mostly so at the large end, with pale yellowish
brown and pale rather dingy purple.”
PEEICEOCOT0S PEEEGEINUS.
(THE LITTLE MINIVET.)
I
Parus peregrinus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 342 (1766).
Muscicapa flammea, Forster, Ind. Zool. pi. 15. fig. 2 (1781).
Phoenicornis peregrina, Gould, Cent. Him. B. pi. 9 (1832); Jerd. Cat. B. S. India, Madr.
Journ. 1839, x. p. 244.
Pericrocotus peregrirms, Gray, Gen. Birds, i. p. 282 (1845) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus, A. S. B.
p. 193 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 123 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. &. Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 127 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. p. 140 (1854) ; Gould,
B. of Asia, pt. ix. (1857); Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 423 (1862) ; Holdsworth, P. Z. S.
1872, p. 438 ; Hume, Nests & Eggs (Eough Draft), p. 184 (1873) ; id. Str. Feath. 1873,
p. 184; id. ibid. 1874, p. 209; Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 284; Sharpe, Str. Feath. 1876,
p. 209; Armstrong, t.c. p. 318; Hume, ibid. 1877, p. 179; Tweeddale, Ibis, 1877,
p. 315 ; Flume and Davison, Str. Feath. 1878 (Birds of Tenass.), p. 212 ; Sharpe, Cat.
B. iv. p. 76 (1879).
The Crimson-rwmped Flycatcher, The Malabar Titmouse, Latham ; Small Peel Flycatcher,
Sportsmen in Ceylon.
Bulal-chasm, Hind. ; also Sath-sayili and Chota sath saki Tcapi, Bengal. ; Kunkum-pu-jitta,
Telugu (Jerdon) ; Batu gene kurula or Kos-kunda, Sinhalese.
Adult male and female. Length 5-8 to 6-0 inches ; wing 2-6 to 2-75 ; tail 2-G to 2-7; tarsus 0-65 ; mid toe and claw
0‘55 ; bill to gape 0‘58 to 0‘6.
Male. Iris sepia-brown ; bill black ; legs and feet black..
Forehead and head above, hind neck, and back dark ashy ; lores, face, ear-coverts, chin and throat, wings, and three
central pairs of tail-feathers, with the bases of the remainder, black ; upper tail-coverts, a band across the
Becondarie,s, and all the primaries but the first four (in all specimens I have seen), breast, and flanks flame-red or
scarlet, palest on the wings ; two outer rectrices on each side and a terminal spot on the next pair orange-red ;
abdomen yellowish red, blending into the scarlet of the breast ; under tail- and under wing-coverts yellowish red ;
thighs blackish.
Female. Iris and bill as in the male ; legs and feet brownish black.
The upper parts, which in the male are ashy, are in the female brownish cinereous ; wings aud tail brownish black,
with the same markings as in the male but of a more yellowi.sh colour ; upper tail-coverts scarlet, gradually
blending with a greenish hue into the brownish grey of the back ; aboye the lores, which are concolorous with
the crown, a whitish stripe extending to the anterior upper edge of the eye ; beneath whitish grey, washed with
orange-yellowish, which becomes the ground-colour on the lower parts ; under tail-coverts pale orange-red,
concolorous with the outer tail-feathers ; under wing-coverts yellowish red.
Oha. In India this species varies to an extraordinary extent in the tone of the orange coloration, which is particularly
noticeable in the wing-markings. Mr. Hume, in an exhaustive article on the species (‘ Stray Feathers,’ 1877,
p- 179)5 gives the result of his elaborate researches into the question, from which it may be gathered that males
vary in their colours from the blackish iron-grey mantle aud orange-scarlet of the breast, abdomen, under tail-
coverts, rump, and wing-spot observable in specimens from the extreme south of India, to the pale grey mantle,
greyish dusky throat, whitish lower parts (tinged with fiery saffron on the breast), and mingled pale yellow and
pale scarlet rump and wing-spot existing in specimens from Sindh. Elsewhere, in the same journal for 1878,
he remarks that the deepest-coloured specimens are from peninsular India, then those from Lower Bengal and
the eastern portions of the Central Provinces are somewhat paler, those from the rest of the Central Provinces,
1
PEEICROCOTUS PEREGEINUS.
367
the North-west Provinces, and the Punjab paler still, and finally those from Sindh much the palest of all. As
regards size, examples from different parts of India, Burmah, and the Andamans are shown to vary in the wing,
both in males and females, from 2-6 to 2-9 inches. I observe that three specimens in the British Museum from
Kamptee measure 2-6 in the wing, and they have the upper surface precisely as in Ceylonese birds, the breast
perhaps a trifle less brilliant, and the wing-bar extending out to the 6th primary. A fourth, from Madras, has
the wing 2-8, and the wing-bar reaching to the 5th primary. In Ceylon specimens I have always found this
band limited to the 5th quill, the first four being without any orange marking. Mr. Hume notices that from
Anjango, Sindh, Dehra, Tenasserim, and Elephant Point males sometimes have the wing-bar extending upon
the 5th quill, and from Akyab, Amherst, Port Blair, Moulmein, and Altei’an river females exhibit the same
character.
Distr'ibution . — The Little Minivet is generally diffused throughout Ceylon, but it is more numerous in the
northern half, from Colombo to Jaffna, than to the south of the former place. It may often be seen in the
cinnamon-gardens and in the adjacent cultivated, though woody, country. It is plentiful in tlic Jaffna
peninsula, where it replaces the last species, and is also numerous throughout the dry forest-regions between
there and Dambulla, as also in the Seven Korales and corresponding low country on the other side of tlie
island. To the south of the Haputale ranges it is likewise to he found in the forests. In the damper portions
of the south-west of the island it is not so frequent. I have observed it in most of the coffee- districts ; and
IMr. Holdsworth records it as a winter visitor to Nuwara Elliya, but it is neither so common there nor in the
hills of the south as the foregoing species.
On the continent this bird enjoys a more extended range than any of its congeners. Mr. Hume writes ;
“I have the species from almost every part of India, Burmah (including Pegu, Arrakan, Tenasserim), and
the Andamans ; but it is not known to occur in the Nicobars, and is not found, to the best of my knowledge,
in the north-west Punjab (Trans-jhilum, in fact), and it neither ascends the Nilghiris nor the Himalayas.”
In the latter assertion, as regards the south of India, the experience of Messrs. Bourdillon and Fairbauk bear
him out ; for the former does not record it from the Travancore hills, and the latter did not find it above
5000 feet in the Palanis. Mr. Armstrong says it is abundant in Eangoon, and Mr. Davison found it to be a
permanent resident in the Andamans. From the latter island its range extends still further to the south, as
Lord Tweeddale records a specimen in Mr. Buxton’s collection from Lampong, S.L. Sumatra. Mr. \\ allace
also procured it in Java.
Habits , — This pretty little bird frequents a variety of open situations, but does not like the inteiioi ot
heavy forests. It is found in the compounds about native villages, among isolated groves, in bushy jungle
dotted with large trees, in woods surrounding paddy-fields, and in forest near the edges of tanks and liveis.
It usually frequents large trees and keeps mostly to the upper branches. It associates in small parties, which
often consist of several females in company with one male, the whole uttering a weak sibilant note resembling
the syllables tsetze, tsetze, and moving on in the pursuit of insects from one tree to another. It may some-
times be seen in company with the preceding species, and often launches out into the aii to captuie a
passing insect. Mr. Holdsworth noticed that at Nuwara Elliya it frequented bushes; but in low country it
is usually seen seeking for its food in the top branches of umbrageous trees. Jerdon remarks that it is a
“ restless and active little creature, ever engaged in diligently examining the extreme branches of trees,
gleaning among the foliage, and hanging from the slender twigs like a Titmouse. It feeds upon various
larvae (which are its favourite food) and small insects.”
Nidification . — I have reason to believe that this bird breeds in the W estern Province in May an une,
but I was never fortunate enough to obtain its nest. In India it nests during the months of June, u y, and
Auo’ust. Mr. Hume writes that the nest is small and neat, and done up generally, like a la nch s, to
resemble the bark of the tree on which it is placed. It is sometimes " composed of very fine necdle-like
twi‘'s carefully bound together externally with cobwebs and coated with small pieces of bark or dead leaves.
. . ” . There appears to be rarely any regular lining; a very little down or cobwebs form the only bed for the
eo^gs and even this is often wanting.” Mr. F. Blewitt writes that in Jhansie and Saugor the tamarind is the
favourite tree : nests built in them were composed of “fine petioles of leaves with a thick coating all over
368
PEEICEOCOTUS PEEEGEINUS.
of what looked like spiders webs attached to this were the dry leaves of the tamarind-tree. The nests were
fixed in between two delicate forks at the extreme end of a branch near the top of the tree. The c-gs which
are usually three in number, are pale delicate greenish white, and they are richly marked with bright slightly
d or blots “which, always more numerous at the large end, have a tendency there to form
a mottled irregular cap. They average in size 0 67 inch in length by 0-53 in breadth.
Genus LALAGE.
Bill more slender and narrower at the base than in Pericrocotus ; the «ilmen gently curved
from the base and not suddenly bent at the tip. Nasal bristles short and stiff; rictal bristles
scanty. Wings longer than the tail, pointed, and with the 3rd and 4th quUls subequal and longest ;
the 1st longer than in the last genus. Tail moderately long, rounded at the tip. Tarsus about
equal to the middle toe and its claw, and shielded with broad scutae. Toes slender ; the middle
toe equal to the inner with its claw.
LALAGE SYKESL
(THE BLACK-HEADED CUCKOO-SHRIKE.)
Cehlepyris canus, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p, 87.
Lalage syJcesi^ Strickl. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Plist. 1844, xiii. p. 36 ; Horsf. &c Moore, Cat. B.
Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 175 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 89 (1879).
Campephaga sykesii, Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 283 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 191 (1849) ;
Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 128 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 368.
Volvocivom sykesii, Bp. Consp. i. p. 356 ; Jerd. B. of Ind. i. p. 414 (1862); Plume, Nests
and Eggs, i. p. 179 (1873) ; Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 399, et 1875, p. 291 ; Butler,
ibid. 1875, p. 464 ; P''airbank, ibid. 1876, p. 256, et 1877, p. 400 ; Butler, ibid. 1877,
p. 220.
Lesser Caterpillar-catcher of some.
Jungli kasya, Hind. ; Chuma akurayi, lit. “ Lesser File-bird,” Telugu.
Adult male. Length 7'3 to 7'75 inches ; wing 3-8 to 4-0 ; tail 3-0 ; tarsus 0-8 ; middle toe and claw 0-75 to 0-8 ; bill
to gape 0-85.
Iris brownish red ; bill black ; legs and feet black, with slaty edges to the scales of the tarsi ; claws black.
Head, back, and sides of neck, chin, throat, and fore neck glossy black, abruptly divdded from the pale gre}^ of the
chest and flanks, and blending into the slate-grey of the back, scapulars, wing-coverts, and upper tail-coverts, on
which latter this colour is palest; wings and tail black, the 1st primary wholly so, the remainder with the basal
portion of their inner webs white ; secondaries and greater coverts margined with the grey of the back ; the three
outer pairs of tail-feathers white at the tips ; the next p.air have their e.xtreme tips slaty white, the two central ones
slaty, darkening into blackish near the tips ; lower parts white, blending into the grey of the flanks and chest ;
under wing-coverts whitish, washed with slaty ; thighs slaty.
Adult female. Shorter in the wing, which usually measures 3’7 inches.
Iris brown ; bill blackish, light at the gape and base of lower mandible ; legs and feet brownish slate.
Above dusky bluish grey, wanting the black head ; a light line above the brownish lores ; ear-coverts striped with
white ; rump barred with white ; wings brownish black, with the edgings whitish ; the central rectrices without
the black patch. Beneath white, barred, except on the belly and lower tail-coverts, with blackish brown ; thighs
slaty, barred with dark g^e 3 ^
Young. Bill not so black as in the adult female; Upper surface brownish slate, the feathers with a blackish subterminal
bar and white tip, Tertials very broadly edged with white, and the quills and tail-feathers all tipped white.
Beneath barred as the female.
Male in second stage very similar to the adult female. The lores and ear-coverts black, and the head generally mingled
with black feathers ; a bluish wash over the throat and chest ; the bars on the flanks and lower breast not so bold
as in the adult female. The loral spot is blacker than adults of the other sex. An example in this stage before
me has also the ground-colour of the throat pervaded with greyish, but nevertheless barred quite u]) to the chin ,
there are a few black feathers on the crown, some of which are new, while others are old and appear to be t ranging
from the grey to the black colour.
OU. Blyth has stated that the adult female has a black head and neck, as in the male. Mr. Holdsworth’s experience
o£ t^e plumage of this sex accords with my own ; and I cannot come to any other conclusion but that Blyth s
specimens from which he drew this inference were wrongly sexed. Mr. Adam, I observe, speaks of an immature
female, shot at Sambhur, having some of the head-feathers black, and the under surface, from the throat to the
abdomen, crossed with wavy lines ; this is the precise character of the change of pluma,ge in the young male.
Ceylonese specimens of this bird compare well with Indian. The latter are, perhaps, a trifle larger. ^ I wo examples
3 B
370
LALAGE SYKESI.
(males) in the British Museum, from Mysore, have the wings 3'9 and 4-0, and the tails 3-0 and 3-3; both these
are slightly more nigrescent on the interscapular region than Ceylonese birds, and the slate-colour of the breast
descends further down the under surface. A young male from Vingorla has the wing 4‘1, and is somewhat more
cinereous on the back than immature Ceylonese examples.
Distnbution . — This small Cuckoo-Shrike is found in most lowland districts in the island, and ascends into
the Kandyan Province to a general altitude of 3000 feet, although in Uva and Madulsima I have seen it
much higher than this. It probably finds its way to the Nuwara-Elliya district from the Uva patnas in the
dry season, for I find there are some examples from the Sanatarium in the British Museum. They were
collected by Mr. Boate, and, I imagine, must have been stragglers thither during the N.E. monsoon. Neither
Mr. Holdsworth nor Mr. Bligh have seen it at Nuwara Elliya ; but I observe that Layard says it is found
“ over the whole island.” This expression, however, may refer to the low country. As regards the latter
legion, I may remark that it is a common bird in the maritime districts of the south-east and north, and in
the M estern district between Puttalam and Galle it is likewise frequent. According to my experience its
numbers decrease towards the hills, except perhaps in the Eastern Province, throughout which I found it
plentiful ; for it evidently prefers the low open jungles of the sea-board to the thick forests of the interior.
In the TV estern Province it is, however, more plentiful in Saffragam and in the Raygam and Pasdun Korales
than near Colombo.
On the mainland it is found, according to J erdon, throughout the whole of India ; but is neither
common nor abundant. It is most plentiful in wooded countries where there are considerable tracts of low
jungle, not being found in the forests of Southern India, although it is met with in avenues in that part of
the country. I do not find it recorded from the Travancore hills ; but Mr. Fairbank obtained one example
at Periur in the Palanis ; he also found it rare at Ahmednagar, though common in certain localities in the
Belgaum district. Proceeding north we find Mr. Ball recording it as a rare bird in Chota Nagpur, Mr. Levin
having shot a single example at Palamow ; further to the north-cast it is found, according to Jerdon, at
Calcutta ; on the western side of the peninsula it does not appear to be common. Captain Butler obtained
a few specimens at Mount Aboo, but none elsewhere; and Mr. Adam records it from the Sambhur-Lake
district, though only as a straggler.
Habits. This species frequents tall trees in open forest or in native compounds, low bushes on the
borders of waste land on the sea-coast, isolated clumps in partially cleared forest, and low scrub jungle. Out of the
breeding-season the males wander about alone, and the females and young birds become gregarious, associating
in flocks of 5, 10, or 20, and may be seen at evening time flying from bush to bush on the flats round the
salt lagoons in the north. In the south it afiects Jack-trees in preference to others, climbing about the small
branches and among the leaves, preying on the caterpillars and various insects which abound in them. The
note of the male is a melodious whistle, and the females have a monosyllabic chirp. Layard merely remarks
of it that it is “ found in pairs, frequenting high trees and avoiding the neighbourhood of habitations ; it
feeds on insects.” This observation as to its consorting in pairs is only true of it as regards the breeding-
season. Jerdon writes more correctly of it that ^'it hunts usually in small parties, occasionally singly or in
pairs, flying from tree to tree, and slowly and carefully examining the foliage, prying searchingly all round
and under the leaves to discover a suitable morsel. It continues its search, hopping and flying from branch
to branch, till the tree has been well inspected, when the flock flies off together to another tree. Its favourite
food is caterpillars and other soft insects. It is usually a silent bird, but has a harsh call ; and on one
occasion in June I heard the male giving out a clear whistling call as he was flying from tree to tree.'’'
Nidification . — ^With us this Cuckoo-Shrike breeds in April in the Western Province. Mr. Mae Vicar
writes me of the discovery, by himself, of two nests last year near Colombo. One was built in the topmost
branch of a young Jack- tree, about 40 feet high. It was very small and shallow, measuring 2-8 inches in breadth
and only OB inch in depth, and the old bird could be seen plainly from beneath sitting across it. The other was
situated on the top of a tree about 20 feet from the ground, and was built in the same manner. The materials
are not mentioned ; but I conclude they consisted of thin twigs and roots with most likely a coating of
LALAGE SYKESI.
371
spiders' webs on the exterior, as has been found to be the case iu India. The eggs measured 0-87 inch by
0-63 and 0-85 by 0-63 respectively.
Mr. Blewitt found the nest in India in July, and describes its construction as above, with the remark
that its formation was exactly that of the Large Cuckoo- Shrike, Graucalus macii. The eggs were two in number,
deep green, mottled densely with brown towards the large end, and blotched and streaked throughout with
pale blue ; they measured 0'85 by 0'65 inch.
PAS SERES.
Earn. PEIONOPID^.
Bill Shrike-like, with a distinct notch in the tip of the upper mandible. Tail moderate,
rounded or even. Legs and feet small.
Feathers of the rump not stiff, as in the last family.
Subfam. PRIONOPINAl.
Bill broader than it is high. {Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 270.)
Genus TEPHRODOENI8.
Bill stout, wider at the base than high ; culmen keeled and curved rather suddenly near the
tip. Nostrils covered by bristly plumes ; rictal bristles long. Wings with the 4th quill the
longest, the 2nd equal to the secondaries, and the 1st about half the length of the 2nd. Tarsus
longer than the middle toe, and feathered slightly below the knee. Outer toe slightly syndactyle
and longer than the inner ; claws W'ell curved.
3b2
TEPHEODOENIS PONDICEEIANES.
(THE COMMON WOOD-SHRIKE.)
Mu8cicaj)a ^ondiceriana, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 939 (1788).
Tephrodornis siiperciliosus, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1839, x. p. 237.
Tephrodornis pondicenana, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1840, xv. p. 305 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 153 (1849) ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 169 (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of
Ind. i. p. 410 (1862); Holdsworth, P, Z. S. 1872, p. 437 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i.
p. 176 (1873) ; id. Str. Feath. 1873, p. 177 ; Adam, t. c. p. 376 ; Ball, Str. Feath. 1874,
p. 399; Hume, ibid. 1875, p. 92; Legge, ibid. 1876, p. 243 ; Hume, t.c. p. 458.
Tephrodornis affinis, Blyth, J.A. S. B. 1847, xvi. p. 473; id. Cat. B.Mus. A. S. B. p. 153(1849);
Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854,xiii.p.l31;
Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 305; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 437 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 16.
Tephrodornis pondicerianus, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 275.
Gobe-mouche de Pondichery, Sonnerat ; The Keroida Shrike, Latham ; Butcher-bird, Kelaart ;
The Bush-Shrike in India.
Keroula, Hind.; Chudukka, Beng. ; Via pitta, lit. “Whistling-bird,” Tel.
Adxat male and female. Leugth 5-9 to 6-4 inches ; wing 3-2 to 3-5; tail 2'4 to 2-o; tarsus 0-7 to 0-8 ; mid toe and
claw 0‘65 ; bill to gape 0'95 to 1'05.
Iris pale olive or yellowish olive, sometimes with the inner half briglit yellow, at others with a green inner ring ; bill
with the upper mandible and terminal half of the lower dark brown, base beneath light fleshy ; legs and feet dusky
slate-blue or bluish slate, claws blackish.
Above slaty grey in specimens from the hills and Western Province, duskier or ashy brown in those from the northern
parts of the island ; loros, upper part of cheek, and the ear-coverts blackish brown ; a whitish snpercilium, variable
in size and in length, but always more or less well defined ; beneath the brown cheek-patch a whitish stripe ; wings
brown, the tertials pale-edged ; tips of the longer rump-feathers and the shorter upper tail-coverts white, forming a
bar across the rump, which is variable in width and usually broadest in birds which are most slaty in hue ; longer
upper tail-coverts black, four central pairs of rectrices blackish brown, darkening to black at the base ; two outer
pairs white with dark bases, and the tips marked as follows : — a brown stripe near the tip of the external web of
the outermost, the same at the tip of the next, wdth an adjacent spot often across the inner web ; in some specimens,
probably not very old, this latter does not exist, the streaks on the outer webs are v'ery small, and the outer web
of the 3rd feather has a white streak at the centre.
Throat, lower breast, belly, and under tail-coverts white ; the sides of the throat more or less washed with brownish,
in the form of streaks, and the chest and upper part of the breast pale cinereous ashy ; thighs brownish.
Ohs. As already remarked, the tints in the plumage of this species vary. I have found that the most slaty-coloured
specimens come from the AVestern ProAunce and the Nuwara-Elliya district ; a Haputale and a Dumbara specimen
are both brownish, nearly as much so as a Triueomalie and an Aripu example. Birds from the Halle district
do not seem to be as slaty as those from Colombo. It must be also observed that when newly acquired, the
feathers are most bluish ; on becoming abraded, they lose the slaty tint and present an ashy appearance.
Foantj. Bill lighter than the adult, as a rule ; iris olive.
in nestling plumage pale rufous-brown above, the forehead and head very conspicuously spotted with white, the back less
so; greater wing-coverts and tertials fulvous, with a dark crescentic line and white tips; the three outer rectrices
are white and more marked at the tips ; the dark stripe from the base of the lower mandible is more defined and
the supercihum absent, although the white spots sometimes take the form of a stripe.
In the next stage the upper surface is darker and less spotted ; there is a trace of a supercihum beyond the e3'e ; in
some the upper tail-coverts are partially white; the third rectrix from the exterior is now blackish brown, as in
the adult, and all are tipped with white. Under surface much as in the adult ; the chest, perhaps, a little darker.
TEPHRODOENIS POXDICERIANUS.
373
Ohs. Concerning few species of Indian birds have opinions diilered so much as with reference to the present. The
Ceylonese race was separated by Blyth {loc. dt.) on account of “ its being greyer, and wanting the conspicuous
white supercilium.” Layard followed Blyth ; and then Mr. Holdsworth, in his admirable ‘ Catalogue of Ceylon
Birds ’ after the examination of a large series of Indian and insular examples, reunited it with the Indian form.
Mr. Hume, in a review of some of the Ceylonese species mentioned in Mr. Holdsworth’s paper, expressed his
doubts as to the possibility of keeping the Ceylon race distinct, on account of the extremely variable character of
the bird throughout its entire range from Burinah across to Sindh, and thence to the south of India and Ceylon.
Finally, Mr. Sharpe, in his ‘ Catalogue of Birds,’ vol. iii., adheres to Blyth s determination, and remarks that he
considers it not only distinct, but more nearly allied to the Malaccan T. gularis than to the Indian bird. I entered
upon the battle-field, I must say, somewhat biassed in favour of Mr. Sharpe’s weighty verdict; but after a most
careful examination of all the Ceylonese and Indian examples I could ky my hands on, I find that it is a species
which is most unreliable in all those characteristics which are alleged as sufficient to divide it into the two races
in question ; and I consider that if the Ceylonese bird is separated from the South-Iudian on account of its more
slaty tints, so must the N.W .-Himalayan bird be held to be distinct from the Nepal and Pegu race on account of
the cinereous hue of the former, as distinguished from the sandy colour of the latter. The colour of the upper
surface varies throughout the whole range of the bird ; and though the supercilia in the Indian birds are lougei
and generally broader, and the white rump-band less in extent than in the insular form, yet these characters are
not alwayff abke in either one race or the other. The distribution of the facial markings is absolutely the same
in the Indian and the Ceylon birds, and the coloration of the outer tail-feathers precisely alike in both. Climate
has no doubt much to do with the brownish and the slaty tints in this bird throughout its Indian range : it has
in Ceylon ; for the northern birds are, as a rule, the brownest, and those from the damp parts the bluest.
Mr. Hume shows the same to be the case in the south of India, as he finds the birds from the hot arid island of
Ramisserum earthy brown, and those from the wet district of Anjango as ashy almost as those from Ceylon.
With regard to size the Indian birds are slightly larger ; but this is the rule with most species found in both
localities. The following are some of the wing-measurements I have taken from a large series examined : —
Pegu, w. 3-4 inches; N.W. Himalayas, w. 3 - 55 ; Bebar, w. 3 - 46 ; N.W. Himalayas, w. 3 - 5 ; ditto, w. 3 - 6 ;
Kamptee, w. 3 - 55 . Birds frotn Pegu and N.E. Bengal appear to have the largest supercilia. ,
Distribution. — The Bush-Shrike is found throughout all the low country and the hill-regions to about
5000 feet. Large traets of country may, however, be traversed without seeing it, showdng that it confines
itself to particular localities. It is generally distributed over the northern and eastern portions of the island,
and is resident there during both monsoons. It is likewise numerous in the south-west, and slightly less so
on the west coast ; but in the latter part it retires from exposed idaces on the sea-board to some distance
inland during the wet weather of the south-west monsoon. I have, however, found it between Kotte and
Colombo in June and July, so that its migration is only partial. Mr. Holdsworth, I believe, observed that
it left the Aripu district in May; and this movement would be occasioned by the force of the S.W . monsoon.
I did not observe the same inland march in the south-western part of the island, probably on aecount of
the sheltered nature of the country, which is hilly close to the sea-coast. Layard, who speaks of it as being
commou about Jaffna, Colombo, and Kandy, thought it to be migratory. It appears to be a straggler to the
upper hills, as there is a specimen in the national collection from ‘^near NuwaraElliya,” collected by Mr. Boatc.
I have never heard of any one else having obtained it there; and it is possible that the locality may be
wrong in this instance, as near Nuwara Elliya might well mean Wilson’s bungalow or other locality down
the pass towards the Uva side, where it is no doubt met with. Mr. Bligh has obtained it in Haputale
at about 5000 feet elevation.
On the continent it is found in the north of ludia from Tenasscrim and Burinah, thiough Benga am
the sub-Himalayan districts to the N.W. Himalayas and Sindh, and thence through the jieuinsula to the
extreme south and Adam’s Bridge. At Thayetmyo Mr. Oates says it is often seen, and it was obtained as far
south as Tonghoo by Lieut. Ramsay. There are specimens from Nepal, N.W . Himalayas, and Behar in the national
collection. About the Sambhur Lake Mr. Adam did not find it common ; but in Sindh it is the reverse in
cultivated regions, though never seen in bai-ren districts. At Mount Aboo Captain But er remarks that it is
somewhat common, though less often seen in the plains. In Chota Nagpur it is resident, says Mr. Ball ; and
at Maunbhum Captain Beavan noticed that it bred chiefly. Mr. Eairbauk procured it at Ahmednagar, and
remarks that it is more common along the Sahyadri hills; he likewise met with it in the Palanis. It is not
374
TEPHEODOENIS PONDICEEIANUS.
recorded from the Travancore hiUs, where Mr. Bourdillon procured the allied species T. sylvicola ; and I
observe that he says it is more abundant in the Carnatic than either on the Malabar coast or on the bare
tableland.”
Habits.— This little Shrike frequents isolated trees standing in low scrub or in young cocoannt- or
cinnamon-plantations, the edges of forest, small groves in open land, and compounds surrounding viDages
and native houses. It usually associates in small troops of four or five, which wander from tree to tree,
flying one after the other when they move untd the flock are again reunited. They are not very active in
their movements, hopping slowly about among the leafy boughs of trees, and peering under the leaves in
search of their food, all the while uttering a melancholy little whistle of several notes, which has the
peculiarity of being very easily carried on the wind, and being, consequently, heard at a considerable distance.
Moths and small butterflies form a considerable portion of its food. Jerdon says that the Telugus give it
the name of “ Whistling-bird” on account of its mellow notes ; and Mr. Oates writes that it occasionally “ seats
itself upon the top of a bough and sings a well-conducted and rather pretty song.”
Nidijicaiion.—l have no information concerning the nesting of this Wood-Shrike in Ceylon; but its
nest appears to be well known in India; and in ‘ Stray Feathers' we gather that it breeds from the latter
part of March until Angust, although April is the usual month for rearing its young. I have procured the
immature bird in spotted plumage in April, and judge from the appearance of its feathers that it had arrived
nearly at the end of its first year, which would make the nesting-season in the west of Ceylon about the
middle of the S.W. monsoon. Mr. Hume describes the nest as “a broad shallow cup, somewhat oval
interiorly, with the materials very compactly and closely put together. The basal portion and framework of
the sides consisted of very fine stems of some herbaceous plant about the thickness of an ordinary pin ; it
was lined with a little wool and a quantity of silky fibre ; exteriorly it was bound round with a good deal
of the same fibre and pretty thickly felted with cobwebs. The egg-cavity measured 2-5 inches in diameter one
way and only 2-0 the other way, while in depth it was barely 0-86.” This nest contained three eggs ; but
the number varies, as Captain G. Marshall found four and Captain Bcavan two in a nest. They are described
as very Shrike-like in appearance, of a pale greenish-white or creamy stone ground-colour, more or less
thickly spotted and blotched with different shades of yellowish and reddish brown, many of the markings
being almost invariably gathered into a conspicuons, hut irregular and ill-defined zone near the large end
which is intermingled with pale and dingy purple clouds. The average of a dozen eggs is 0-75 by 0-61 inch”
[Hume) .
Genus HEMIPUS.
Bill wide at the base, triangular ; the culmeii keeled, straight at the base, and suddenly curved
at the tip, which is distinctly notched. Nostrils protected by a tuft of bristles. Wings long,
with the 4th and 5th quills the longest, and the 2nd shorter than the secondaries. Tail
rather long, the lateral feathers falling short of the middle pair by about the length of the hind
toe and its claw. Legs and feet weak ; the tarsus longer than the middle toe and its claw.
HEMIPTJS PICATUS.
(THE LITTLE PIED SHRIKE.)
Mumcapa, pkata, Sykes, P. Z. S, 1882, p. 86 ; Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1842, xi. p. 458 ; Gray,
Gen, Birds, i. p. 263 (1845).
Ilemipus picatus, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1846, xv. p. 305 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. ) ;
Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 123 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist 18 4, xni.
p. 126 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 413 (1862); Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 437 ; Hume,
Nests and Eggs (Bough Draft), p. 178 (1873) ; id. Str. Feath. 187o, p. 43 , a ,
1874, p. 399; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 16; Hume, Str. F. 1875, p. 93 ; Bourdillon, i i .
1876, p. 393; Sharpe, Cat. B.iii. p.307 (1877); Hume,Str.Feath.l878(B.of Tenasserim),
The Black-and-white Flycatcher, The Shrike-like Flycatcher of Indian authois, The Black
and-white Hemipus, Kelaart.
Adult male and female. Length 5'2 to 5'4 inches ; wing 2‘2 to 2‘4 ; tail 2'2 to 2'3 ; tarsus 0 6 , mid toe and claw
bill to gape 0'65 to 0‘75.
Iris reddish brown, with a light mottled outer circle ; bill black ; legs and feet blacldsh, claws pa er. i v,o .U- • nn
Head, hind neck, back, wings, upper tail-coverts, and tail deep black, glossed with green on e ea anc ’
incomplete nuchal collar, a broad band across the rump, a bar on the wing forme 7 J' ® ° ^ ® ® niitPT-
coverts, the edges of the longer tertials and of several of the secondaries, and the termina por ion o .
rectrices white; the white marking extends up most of the outer web of the lateral tai ea er an . ,
a small spot at the tip of the 4th ; chin, lower part of cheeks, sides of neck, belly , under ai - anc un er
whitish, passing into the reddish ashy of the lower throat, breast, and flanks.
Ohs. The northern form of this little Shrike (H. capitalis of M'Clelland) is united with „ 475)
but kept distinct by Mr. Sharpe, on account of its brownish back. The former contends (^r lea h. J
that the brown birds are females. 1 have not observed this feature m Ceylon examples, j.
black as the males ; and Ceylonese birds are identical with examples which I have examine lom ^ male
Mahabaleshwar, as regards size, colour o£ upper and under surface, and cUstribution o w i e mar tinned
from Darjiling, in the British Museum, is similar to the Mahabalesh war bird, but as e ai mor . .g
with white ; but several others from the former locality, which may, perhaps, be ma es, lave ® '^‘PP , • j, jg
wings, and wing-coverts brown. The latest testimony, however, with regar to enor ‘ , Kuinaon
contained in Mr. Hume’s admirable paper on the birds of Tenasserim, sh^s that Assam, 8i n ,
specimens of both sexes have brown backs, and that out of ten males goes to wove
Others, again, from various localities along the Himalayas have the bac b ac^ , an s, Wack head and
that there ws two different races-the southern with black head and^back. -<1
brown back, both of which may occur, as Mr. Hume suggests, in the ima ayan is ric s. . Mahabale.shwar
the larger, measuring in total length from 5-35 to 5-45, and in the 'ving from 2-3 to 2-4. Ihe Mahabale.shi
example above noticed measures— wing 2-3 inches, tail 2-3, tarsus 0 , i ° ^P® ' , oreen-black, no
Uemipus obsnirus, Horsf., from Java, is not distantly related to our ir ; i as ^ gg bar of black in the
bar or white marking on the wing; the upper tail-coverts white, without the tran ve^e bar
centre of the white patch; tail black, the lateral feathers with an outer and an inner white ed.
white ; chest washed with grey.
DistribuHon.-T:h\s little Shrike is dispersed throughout
is generally more numerous in the Kandyan Province, even at high al ^ ^^^ut Nuwara
districts than in the low country. Although scarce at Norton Pla n , coffee-districts.
Elliya, Kandapolla, and m the mam range, and is likewise met south-west it is tolerably
In the timber-forests and also in the cultivated country near the sea- r xi. • i n i r +i, r +
in tne timDer-ioie»i.o • j r xr, • +i,p eastern portion of the island, and of the forest-
plentiful ; and the same may he said of the jungles in the eastern poitio
376
HEMIPUS PICATUS.
tract of the northern plains, stretching from Pnttalam across to the Mahawelliganga, in a part of which (the
liigrh jungles between Minery and Kowdella) I found it as plentiful as in the hills. In the Saffragam forests
and the wilder districts of the Western Province nearer the sea it is likewise found ; and I have procured it
as near Colombo as the jungle at Atturugeria, on the Kotte and Eop^ road.
Tliis little Shrike is common in the south of India and the central portions of the peninsula. Jerdon
ound It in the Nilghiris and along the crest of the Western Ghfits. On the Nilghiris he obtained it as
high as 7000 feet. Mr. Bourdillon remarks of it that it is not very abundant in Travancore ; and
Mr. I airbank observed but few on the Palanis. Should Mr. Hume be correct in joining the two species,
.capttalis and H. picatus, the range of this little bird becomes considerably extended, as the northern form
IS found in Chota Nagpur, Northern India, the Himalayas up to an elevation of 5000 feet, and also in
Eurmah In Tenasserim Mr. Davison procured it in the neighbourhood of Pahpoon only ; and I conclude
this is the most southerly point to which it has been traced on the eastern side of the Bay.'
is a tame but at the same time an interesting little bird ; so unobservant is it of human
intrusion on its haunts that it may be watched most closely without its being disturbed ; and I know no dimi-
nutiye denizen of the tall forests of the Ceylon mountains, save perhaps the lively little Grey-headed Flycatcher
iCultcicapa ceylonensis) , which better repays a cursory glance at its manners and occupations. It is
generally found in paii-s, frequenting tall trees near the edges of forest and heavy jungle; and it perches
high aloft among the branches, sallying out from its seat after the manner of a Flycatcher, and catching a
passing insect, which it will frequently convey to its original perch before devouring. It is slower in its
movements than the members of the family Muscicapida;, but on the whole its habits are more those of a
Flycatcher than a Slirike. It is of stationary habit, frequenting the same spot for hours together • and it
usually prefers the company of its own fellows to that of other small birds, though it may at times be seen
with Minivets, Bluetits, and Grey-headed Flycathers. It constantly utters its shrill little note, which may
be likened to the syllables tcheetiti, tcheetiti, tcheetiti-chJFe. Jerdon remarks that in India » it is generally seen
ui small parties of five or six wandering about from tree to tree, and every now and then darting on insects
in tie air. It has a pleasing little song, not often heard however.” My experience of it in Ceylon difl'ers
from this, for there it constantly utters the above-described note. Mr. Oates, in writing of the Tenasserim
bird, likewise comments on its Flycatcher-like habits as follows “ They are rather Flycatchers than Shrikes
in their habits, moving about, no doubt, amongst the leaves at the tops of trees like the Wood-Shrike but
continually darting out and seizing insects on the wing, which the Wood-Shrikes, I think, never do Thev
continually call to each other, uttering a sharp soft note.” ' ^
Nid^cahon.—ln the south of India this little Shrike breeds in March. Mr. Davison thus describes a
nest he found “ For the size of the bird it was an exceedingly small, shallow nest, and might very easily
have passed unnoticed ; the bird sitting on it appeared to be resting only on a small lump of moss and lichen ”
It was placed in the fork of an upper branch of a rather tall Berberis leschenaulti, and was composed of nrass
and fine roots, covered externally with pieces of cobweb, grey lichen, and bits of moss, taken evidently
from the same tree on which the nest was built. The eggs were three in number, elongated ovals, and entirely
devoid ot gloss ; the ground-colour pale greenish or greyish white, profusely blotched, blotted, and streaked
with darker and lighter shades of umber-brown, more or less confluent, in one case, at the larger, and in the
other at the smaller end. Dimensions 0-7 by 0-5 inch, and 0-69 by 0-49 inch.
P A S S E R E S.
Earn. LANIIDA3.
Bill strong, deep, much compressed, with the culmen curved from the base to the tip, which
is very deeply notched. Nostrils placed nearer the margin than the culmen; gape armed with
stout bristles. Wings shorter or equal to the tail. largs and feet short. Tarsus covered with
stout shields. Outer and middle toes joined at the base ; hind toe large.
Grenus LANIUS.
Bill with the characters of the family. Nostrils round, protected by a few weU dev p
bristles. Wings rather short ; the 2nd quill longer than the secondaiies, and the r an
the longest. Tail long and graduated, exceeding the closed wings by about theii own eng
Tarsus slightly longer than the middle toe with its claw.
LANIUS CEISTATUS.
(THE BROWN SHRIKE.)
Lanius cristatus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 134. no. 3 (1766) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. P"
W^alden, Ibis, 1867, p. 212 ; Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 375 ; Holdsworth, P. Z. S 187.,
p. 436 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i. p. 175 (1873) ; Str. Feathei’S, 1874, p. , e ,
p. 91 ; Butler, ibid. p. 464 ; Armstrong, ibid. 1876, p. 316. v -r i r’
Lanms phcenicurus, Pall. It. iii. p. 693. no. 6 (1776) ; Prjevalski, B. of Mongo la,
Orn. Misc. vol. ii. p. 274 (1877). _ .
Enneoctomis lucionensis, G. R. Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 291 (1845); Swinhoe, Ibis, ’ P
Enneocfonus cristatus (Linn.), Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. L. I. P' „
Lanius superciliosus (Lath.), Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p.
Lanius lucionensis (L.), Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 304.
Otomela cristata, Schalow, Joum. fur Orn. p. 130 (1875). ^ ■, r a mj, n i Jtfid
The Crested Red or Russet Butcher-bird, Edwards, Nat. Hist. Birds, p . , -
Shrike, The Woodchat Shrike, Rufous-tailed Shrike, Superakoxhs Sm e { ^
Butcher-bird in India.
Batti gadu, Telugu ; Curcutea, Bengal, (on account of its haish voice).
, o -r i -1 Q.A fr. f?.9- tarsus 1-0 • mid toe and claw 0-85 ; bill to
Adult male. Length 7-5 to 7-7 inches ; wing 3-4 to 3-o5 ; tad 3 0 to 3 2 , tars
gape 0’85.
Female. Length 7-4 to 7-6 inches ; wing 3-4 to 3-5. _ „
r.ris dark brown, sometimes hazel-brown ; bill with the upper mandible and tip blacU , g P
legs and feet yar.ving from bluish grey to blackish slate ; claws darker than the
,, nostril over the lores, and passing beneath the
Adult male (Colombo, Sept. 29, 1876). A broad facial s reat rom _ jj^rrow frontal streak, widening as it passes
eye to the ear-coverts, Nasal pi times blac , a more ^ upck,
oUr the eye to above the ear-coverts, white ; forehead, crown, and nap e ^ ^
378
LANIUS CEISTATUS.
back, scapulars, lesser wiug-coverts, and lower back into ashy brown, more or less, according to the individual,
tinged with rufous ; the change from the colour of the head to that of the hind neck always more or less marked ;
the brown of the rump passes on the upper tail-coverts into lighter rufous than the head; tail brownish
rufous, the shafts of the feathers blackish and the tips albescent ; wings brown, the median and greater coverts
and the secondaries edged and tipped with rufescent fulvous ; throat and lower face white ; fore neck and under
surface whitish, tinged with rufous-buff on the chest, sides of breast, flanks, and vent ; under tail-coverts more
strongly tinged with this colour than the throat, and the flanks most rufous of all ; under wing concolorous with
the chest.
Fenude. Differs from the male in having the eye-streak of less size and not so black ; this streak is blackish brown,
and only partially envelopes the lores, there being merely a small blackish spot in front of the eye.
Young. Bii'ds of the year have the wing varying from 3-3 to 3-4 inches. Bill paler than in the adult ; legs and feet
bluish grey.
In the nestling or first plumage the feathers of the head and upper surface are rufescent fulvous, each with a dark
terminal edging and ray across the centre ; the wing-coverts are broadly margined with rufous, with an internal
dark edge ; the secondaries are similarly marked, the dark line being chiefly conspicuous at the tips of the feathers ;
eye-streak narrow, darker in the male than the female ; beneath whitish, tinged with buff on the chest and flanks,
and marked, except on the throat and belly, with crescentic rays of blackish brown. In the plumage worn by most
of our new arrivals, the nestling-feathers on the upper surface have partly or entirely disappeared, and the new
feathers are somewhat of the same hue as in the adult, only the back is just as rufous as the head, and is thus wanting
in the brown distinctive character ; the wiug-coverts and secondaries are more or less broadly edged with fulvous,
with the internal black edge and the under surface in all stages of marking, the crescentic edgings being of course
chiefly confined to the chest and flanks (young females seem to be more tinged wdth buff than males on the
chest); the supercilium is crossed with transverse lines. Some birds are much more advanced on the under
surface than the upper, and vice versa , ; but the Last remnant of the immature plumage is always to be seen on the
flanks. The young of this species, though very similar to, may, I think, be distinguished from those of L. lucmmisis
by being m/ows-brown on the head, and by having a certain amount, more or less, of pale edging at the margin of
the forehead. I have observed this to hold good in a large series of both species which I have examined. The
amount of rufous on the crown as distinguished from the hind neck varies considerably in individuals.
Obs. The Ceylonese examples of this species are identical with those from India, as would naturally be the case when
we consider that the species is migratory to both countries from beyond the Himalayas. Layard considered it to
LANIUS LUCIONENSIS.
(the grey-headed shrike.)
Lanius lucionetms, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 135 (1766) ; Swinhoe, Ibis, 1860, p. 59, et 1863, p. 272 ; Walden, ibid.
1867, p. 215 ; Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 376 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 434, et 1874, p. 199.
Adult male and female. Length 6-5 to 7’0 inches ; wing 3’5 to 3'65 ; tail 3"4 to 3'6 ; tarsus 0'9 ; mid toe 0'6 its
claw (straight) 0-23 ; bill to gape 0-8. ’
These measurements are from a series of examples in the Swinhoe collection and a single example in my own from the
S. Andamans. Hume gives the length of Andaman examples as attaining 8’25 inches, and the wing 3-75.
“Iris brown; upper mandible horny brown, edged whitish near the gape; the terminal line of the lower mandible
horny brown, the basal two thirds bluish or fleshy white ; legs and feet dull leaden blue, or dull bluish, or
sometimes even greenish horny.” {Hume.)
Male. Back, scapulars, and sides of neck earth-brown, passing gradually on the hind neck and crown into the greyish
LANIUS CEISTATUS.
379
u ^ p T r , (v,h\rh he styles L. superciUosus, the rufous-backed bird found in Java and Japan),
be a vanety of the ® but he probably was dealing with immature specin.ens,
being paler and wantog the f c’OrLred these specimens of Layard’s to A. lueionensis, the species
which predominate in the island Blyth {loc o ; ^ ^ha^nkw-ics) from Amoor-
dealt with below. Schalow and Swin oe u latter species. I have examined specimens
land; and I think it is generally admitted iio'T possession of Mr. SeeboL, and also examples collected at
of this bird in the Swinhoe colleckon, now n the p
Krasnoyarsk for this gentleman dunng June last year, a y , b corresponds with one of my
with my own from Ceylon. An immature bird from Lake Baikal examples in full
specimens ; and three adults from Krasnoyarsk, in ^^mmer plumag ^
winter plumage from Ceylon. They measure in the wing 3 4, o 42, 3
forehead varies, as it also does in Ceylonese specimens. • „ n.,i. „ mce of L.cria-
Acwm'ms sMwemKosas which I take to be the species inhabiting Japan, is apparen y no ing^ ; if, md tail and is
Jwith a more conspicuous white forehead and supercilium. It is slightly larger in the ^ “S
principally distinguished from the present bird by having the back and hind nec a mos ^pAhohm'^ from
L head itself, L also the rump, lighter rufous than in oiir species. Three specimens
Yokohama measure-wings 3-6, 3-65, 3-65, tails 4-2, 4-2, 3-9 inches respectively. The tails too
obsolete dark rays. I may remai’k here that the figure of L. phwnieurm (‘ Ibis, 18 1 /, p • v.) is in re -ppcigg,
sentation of this bird, the hind neck being much too rufous, and the frontal band too roa or ® y '
L. imbellinus, which is apparently identical with L. arenarius, Blyth (Blanford, Zool. ersia, p. ^p.,i
distant from the present species, much resembling it in summer plumage, when it becomes ruous
rump. It may, however, as pointed out by Lord Tweeddale, in his excellent paper on e u o ,..bite
(‘ Ibis,’ 1 867), be distinguished from L. cristatus by its broader and less graduated tail. The old m
wing-bar extending from the 4th to the 9th primary. t t j.- e I'n the fio’ure
The present species was named cristatus by Linnaeus on account of the erroneous e inea ion o a think they
L Edwards’s plate. Though the coronal feathers in this section of the Shrikes are elongated, I do not think they
are ever raised by the birds even when under the influence of emotion.
Distribution . — This Shrike is a very abundant species in Ceylon during the cool season. c ip^i.pj,
the north in great numbers, the better part of which are immature birds, during the eai y pai • j 1 1 J
and establishes itself in the islands off the Jaffna peninsula and on the adjacent mam an ’ ‘
outnumbering the resident species, L. eaniceps ; thence it spreads over the whole is an , in ^ ‘
and west coasts in equal numbers; and ascending the hill-zone it takes up its quaiters in m
valleys in the coffee-districts, and finds its way up to the Nuwara-Elliya plateau. is x y
of the forehead; on the hind neck there is generally a rufous shade, and the hue of the
pervaded with grey; upper tail-coverts rufous-brown passing ^ "^ith fulvous; tail
primaries with a faint rufous edging, and the secondaries and tert f-afhprrnale
light rufous-brown, the margins lighter than the rest , bV^wWish supemilium blending into
the brown of the head; chin, thrLt, and face white, passing into the rufous-buff the
the centre of the breast and belly are generally paler than the flanks y" the throat plainly indicated ;
chest is uniform mfons ri^ht across, and the separation between it and the white of the throat pJa y
under wing pale rufous-buff and its edge white.
• 1 1 fViaii the THflilc f undcrptirts
Female has the lore- spot much smaller and, together with the ear-stripe,
paler.
k • ht t on the upper tail-coverts ; the head
Tbitn^. After leaving the nest the young are brownish rufous above, ng es^
concolorous with the back, and the forehead no paler than he including the lesser wing-coverts, crossed
feathers are more buff than further back ; the whole upper sur a , j.gj.^jaig broadly margined with rufous;
with wavy bars of blackish ; wings rich brown, the cover s, rufous, with a pale tip, which is
primaries narrowly edged and tipped with a pa er ^ ^ ,g buf . lower part of lores
preceded by a black edging ; upper part of lores and an undefined stnpe . ^ ^
380
LANIUS CEISTATUS.
west coast, and is one of the best-known birds to ornithological observers in the cinnamon-gardens and similar
open bushy grounds in the vicinity of Colombo. Further south it is not so plentiful in the wooded semi-
cultivated country west of Tangalla as it is in the south-east of that place. In the low jungle-covered sea-
board around Hambantota, and thence north, it is very common, as it also is in districts of similar character
between Batticaloa and TrincomaUe. Though not uncommon about Nuwara EUiya and Kandapolla, it does
not seem to pass over the Totapella range on to the Horton Plains. In the coffee-districts it prefers the
patnas to any other localities, and even frequents bushy situations at the top of such isolated peaks as
AllegaBa, on the summit of which I have met with it. Its departure from the island takes place at the latter
end of April. I have seen it about Colombo until quite the end of that month. At Aripu Mr. Holdsworth
gives the duration of its visit from October till April.
This species is spread throughout India during the cold season, leaving the country in the hot weather
although some are said to remain and breed in the north. Blyth even says that a few are found about
Calcutta at all seasons. It is not recorded from the Travancore hills, nor from the Palanis, either by
Mr. Bourdillon or Mr. Fairbank, and the latter says it is rare at Ahmednagar. In Chota Nagpur it is, says
Mr. Ball, “common throughout.-” It extends to the eastward as far as Mount Aboo, where it arrives Ibout
the 1st of September, according to Capt. Butler. Mr. Hume remarks that Mount Aboo is quite on the
confines of its distribution to the east; and, in fact, it is not recorded at all from Sindh nor the Sambhur-Lake
district. Whether, in its migration northwards, it passes round the western end of the Snowy range seems
to be not quite certain ; for though Mr. Hume at first identified Dr. Heuderson^s Yarkand birds as this
species. Dr. Scully, though he searched well for it, did not meet with it there, and was, moreover, assured by
the Yarkandis that only one species, L. urenarius, inhabited that region. To the east of the Peninsula it is
numerous. Mr. Hume writes that it is a cold-weather visitant to the Province of Tenasserim, and thence it
is a straggler to the Andamans as well, though not found in the Nicobars. In Pegu it is, says Mr. Oates
“ common during the greater portion of the year, coming in, however, in great numbers in September.” The
influx here spoken of, which affects the whole of the peninsula of India, is caused, doubtless, by a migration
over the ranges to the eastward of the Himalayas, from Thibet, Mongolia, and perhaps Eastern Siberia. In
these distant regions it chiefly breeds, leaving them in vast flocks to travel many thousand miles southwards
and aural stripe dark brown, paler and less of it on the lores in the female ; all the under surface buff-white
tinged with rich buff or rufous on the flanks ; vent and under tail-coverts, and the sides of the neck, chest and
flanks crossed with crescentic markings of dark brovi'u. ’ ’
In what is probably the plumage of the second year the upper surface is a ruddy brown with a tinge of grey in it the
rump and upper tail-coverts rufous with blackish-brown bars, and the quills and wing-coverts less eonspicuJuslv
edged ; the forehead is still concolorous with the head, and the crescentic margins of the lower parts less pro-
nounced and faded from off the chest. Some examples (for instance one shot in May) have the forehead pale
the upper surface pervaded with greyish, and yet the under surface well marked with the browii bars, but the
sides of the chest and flanks have a rufous adult look about them.
In some instances these under-surface markings do not vanish for several years : a specimen before me is fully adult
on the upper surface, but has most of the lower surface and even the sides of the neck crossed with brown
pencilluigs j and out of twenty-three, adult as regards the forehead and back, nearly half of them have some few
bars on the itanlca. ^ ^ J
Ohs. I doubtfully mcludo this species in our lists, not on the evidence of Blyth and Layard (for it appears to me that
they were speaking of the race of L. cristatus as a whole, as exemplified in the birds which migrate to Cevlonl but
on the testimony of Mr Hume, who v^ites (‘ Stray Feathers,’ 1873, p. 434) of adult example received by him
frorn Ceylon, of which he speaks as follows An adult bird, with the grey-brown head and back and pale fore-
head of luoionensis, either belongs to that species or to a very closely allied one not yet discriminated ”
1 know of no other adult bii-d with the characters of L. luoionensis having been obtained in Ceylon. I cannot positively
assert whether one or two immature specimens in my collection may not Mong to this species, for, as I have said
m my article on the last, the young of the two species are very similar 5 and though, as a rule, the head in the
young h. crvstatus, after getting beyond its nest-plumage, is more rufous than the back, this may not invarially
LANIUS CEISTATUS.
381
to its furthest limit, Ceylon. In the solitudes of Thibet it appears to bo a resident throughout the year; for
Col. Prjevalsld writes that it » was observed throughout our travels, with the exception of Koko-nor, Tsaidam,
and Northern Thibet. In those localities which we visited in winter, or early in spring, we found it most
numerous in the Hoang-ho valley. In Ala-shan they breed in the sacsaulnics; and in Kan-sn they
generally inhabit the low wooded plains. The first migrants were seen to arrive m the Hoang-ho valley on
the 28th of April. It breeds commonly in the woods of Ussuri country, especially in those localities
where there are many decayed or felled trees.” Swinhoe merely mentions it being oun a moy, an la
he had frequently received it from Trans-Baikal in full summer plumage. Pere ayi is o oj •
migrates from India to the borders of Lake Baikal and into the eastern parts of Siberia, as a so in
China. It seems not unreasonable to doubt whether it performs siich a stupendous journey a
incurred in crossing the vast territory known as Mongolia, with its lonely deserts anc ^ ® „
mountains, and thence through the scarcely less extensive region of Thibet, passing finally over le sp
tlie Snowy ranges, and then spreading throughout the plains of India; and I would suggest t a ere
probably a double migratoiy stream — the one from Thibet and the Hoang-ho valley passing
Biu-mah, and the other from the Trans-Baikal region into China. As the L. phmmcurus of Pa as, it wa.,
remarks Lord Tweeddale, met with first by this traveller in the month of June amongst the roc is o
mountain of Adon-Scholo, near the river Onon in Dauria.”
Habits . — This “Butcher-bird^' frequents bushy land, uncultivated scrubby ground, hedge-rows, the
borders of jungle, and all situations in which there are low trees and shrubs, on the tops of whic i it peic cs,
flying from one to another, and repeatedly uttering its harsh cry. It is very querulous in its deposition, an
there is no Ceylonese bird that I know of which gives one so much the impression of always being m a rage
this ! On a sudden, when scarcely a bird-note is heard during the usual lull after the morning ee is ovc ,
one of these Shrikes will suddenly appear on the top of a cinnamon-bush, having flown up lom t e gioun
from some low shrub, and commence screaming with all its might, whether by way of expressing i ® TP
batiou of the flavour of the last lusty grasshopper that it has put an end to, or lor the purpose o sco lug
nearest fellow mate must be left to some one better versed in bird-language than I , but certain i
be the case. I have examples with heads almost as brown as those of the Philippine species, i r. urn ■ ^ >
in his account of this species at the Andamans, that the bill is generally slightly onger an jn
this rule does not invariably seem to hold good.
Distribution. — Should this species visit Ceylon to a limited extent (and there is no reason wh> it should > , ,
found in the Andamans), it most probably strays over most of the low country. r. ume oes no men , ,
district his specimen came. It w'as originally described from Luzon, one of the P i ippines, w ^
Poivre. Lord Tw’eeddale writes that “it migrates to North China during the spring, an
Philippines at the close of summer, many in their passage resting in Formosa, an some, accor mg oi mid found
observations, passing the winter in that island. He also observed it passing over a ong- ong m e j , ,
it M Mien Bat, Korth China, durn.g the end of June, when, it, however, b«»m. mueh .e^.r
Jnl,.- It muet-ireed in Chiu, for Swinhoe remarks (P. Z. S. 1871) that - thm,, coh.et.d on
aU immature, as if the, had not stength to make the through voprge to rk.kl>P>»>
Andaman, man, imm.tnr. birds no doubt remdn during the tool .ea»n for Mr. ^ ‘ JCbal In
permanent resident in those islands. It was found in this group at Port Blair J „eeur there ou it.
■La.,. rim it is a stmggl.r to the southern ex.remit, of the “SK slX t that sen.
passage westward from the adjacent north-eastern portion of the continen . , • rPravaneore hills in Pebruarv :
to Mr. Hume from Ceylon, is recorded by this gentleman as ^en ^^ters the belief
it was nearly adult ; and this, at such a season of the year, is such an extraoidi y
already expressed of its being perhaps a new and not yet discriminated species.
Dabits.-Mr. Davison remarks that the habits of this Shrike do not differ from D. erythronotus ■, it kept to gardens
in the Andamans and was very silent. Swinhoe, however, says that it has a swee song.
382
LANIUS CEISTATUS.
said companion very soon appears on a neighbouring bush and vies with him in creating a general disturbance !
Ibere is this much to be said, that it is more noisy when it first arrives than after it has settled down in its
new quaiters ; and is it to be wondered that after suc/i a journey it should desire to proclaim its safe arrival ?
It is a restless bird, continually on the move, and is very difficult to come within range of, as directly it
perceives that it is being approached it flies off to another perch. I have often seen it on the ground pur-
suing grasshoppers by darting at them as they fly out of the grass, and have noticed it proceeding across
a road with prodigious hops and very erect carriage. Although its food is almost entirely insectivorous, it is
occasionally guilty of the crime which has acquired for its family the name of Butcher-birds,” as Mr. Bligh
informs me that he has known it to impale a White-eye {Zosterops ceylonensis) after the manner of the Euro-
pean species. It never takes long flights while resident, merely proceeding from the top of one bush to another ;
and during the winter season its note consists of nothing but the harsh chattering above mentioned. Blyth
says that it warbles very sweetly at the end of the cold season at Calcutta.
Nidification. I am unable to give my readers any further particulars touching the nesting of this bird
than those already contained in my extract from Colonel Prjevalski's notes. That it does not breed in India
is evident, although Tickell was led to suppose that it did so. The nest and eggs described by him were
evidently those of a Bulbul.
LANirS CANICEPS.
(THE EUEOUS-RUMPED SHRIKE.)
Lanius caniceps, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1846, xv. p. 302 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A.
Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. p. 164 (1854); Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1877,
p. 400.
Lanim tephronotus (Vig.), Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat, p. 124 (1852).
Lanius erythronotus (VigOi Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 1 . ^
(in pt.), B. of Ind. i. p. 402 (1862) ,• Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 436 ; Legge, Str. leath.
1876, p. 243.
Collyrio caniceps (Bl.), Hume, Nests and Eggs, i. p. 169 (1873).
Lanius affinis, Legge, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 243.
Pale Pufous-bacJced Shrike of some ; Butcher-bird, Europeans in north of Ceylon.
Adult male. Length 9'0 to 9'2 inches ; wing 3'55 to 3’65 ; tail 4’5 ; tarsus 1‘05 ; mid toe and claw 0 95 ,
and claw 0'75 ; bill to gape 0'9.
Adult female. Length 8‘7 to 8‘9 ; wing 3’45 to 3'6 ; tail 4'1 to 4‘3.
Iris hazel-brown ; bill black ; legs and feet blackish brown. j. -i oi the
A broad facial band encompassing the eye, and passing from below the ear-coverts to ® ‘ « .
forehead, where it narrows, wings, and three central pairs of tail-feathers black , ea , ac an s >
hack, and scapulars pale bluish grey, with a whitish edging at the frontal band an a ® iieck and
,vi„g and » Ld at ft, baa, of the ptioatie, from the 6ft to the 10ft qoill, under ,mg, throat, or. ue.l, and
cent„o( bre.,t whift, rump, upper tail-eoterl., and «.nka rufouti under la.l-eov.rte and p— »/
the longer scapulars rufescent, or paler than the rump. , r.lnmao'e is
in abraded plumage the head and edges of the back-feathers become whitish ; and I o '' external
new the longer scapulars are more rufous than when it is abraded, as this colour is chiefly confined to the externa
portion of the webs.
Female. Has the eye-stripe or band less black than the male, and the frontal bar narrower.
Young. (Nesthng shot by Mr. Holdsworth, 8th February, 1869.) Above pale sandy fulvous,
into rufous on the rump, longer scapular-feathers, and upper tail-coverts , on ® hroadlv barred
greyish; aU the feathers barred with wavy marks of dark brown;
tvith blackish brown; inner webs of the tertials rufous, their external margins and Lps of
central tail-feathers brown, the remainder and the tips of the first-name r ous flanks and
blackish brown, not extending to the forehead ; beneath whitish, tinged with rufescent strongly on the flanks
under tail-coverts.
Oh,. Thi, Sue Shrike i, the seuftetn repremlative of tryth-Mm, *■''
D»»u, Cntftl and Sorth.ru ludiu. Speeim.u. from M.kb.r m,d from ft, Ji,n
as little rufous on the scapulars and lower back as our birds ; m f m a a a a districts named measure
has less rufous on these parts than some Ceylonese specimens. wo ® Fairbank 3'3- *
3-5 and 3-75 inches in the wing, and two from th® obtained by ■ " collection,
wTote my note on this species Stray Feathers,’ 1876) I had on y spec . perhaps being a local race
and was unacquainted with the true L. caniceps, and hence my w region, and nearly all the
of the former. The Eufous-backed Shrike has the back as J" "P „/the ile margin at the posterior
scapular tuft, rufous ; and in all specimens I ave examine hroadlv edged with fulvous than in L. caniceps.
edge of the frontal band; the secondaries and tertials are ^
Two examples from Behar measure 3-5 and 3-4 inches in tne v g,
respectively.
384
LANIU8 CANICEPS.
As our species was entered as L. tephronotus in Kelaart’s Catalogue, it may not be out of place to mention, for the
information of my Ceylon readers, that this Shrike is a very distinct bird from either of those in question. It is
a large bird, with the wing varying from 3-9 to 4-3 inches, and the tail about oj ; dark grey on the head and back,
with the rump and upper tail-coverts dusky rufous ; the wings and tail not so black, but the under surface
much as in L. canice^s.
Distribution.—^hh large Butcher-bird inhabits the Jaffna peninsula, the e.vtreme north of the Vanni
and the whole of the N.W. coast, from Poonerin to the country between Chilaw and Puttalam, includin<^ the
islands of Manaar and Karativoe. On the Erinativoe Islands I did not observe it. It does not seem to
extend far inland, although it is very abundant on the sea-board. It has been proeured by Mr. Hart on the
Puttalam and Kandy road as far up as Nikerawettiya ; westward of that about Kurunegala, in the Seven
Ivorales, and in the region along the base of the west Matale hills I searched diligently for it without success.
In the Jaffna peninsula it is chiefly abundant about Point Pedro. In the island of Manaar, and on the open
bushy plains of the adjacent coast as far south as Pomp-Aripu, it is abundant. Southward of this place its
numbers dimmish ; and no example has ever, to my knowledge, been procured south of Chilaw, although I
observe that Mr. Holdsworth is of opinion that he saw it occasionally in the cinnamon-gardens at Colombo
The foregoing species is very common in that locality, but the present bird has not yet been obtained there
up to the date of my latest advices from the Colombo museum.
On the continent the Eufous-rumped Shrike is found in the south of India and up the east coast as far
north as the Godaveri river. I do not observe that it has been found either by Messrs. Pairbank or by the
authors of the recent contribution to the avifauna of the Deccan, Messrs. Davidson and Wender, in this
region. Mr. Ball likewise does not record it from the coast region north of the Godaveri. It would appear
however, that it has been found in Cashmere and in Afghanistan— that is, if Blyth’s identification of
Captain Hutton^s specimens was correct. As late as 1873 Mr. Hume incorporates the latter gentlemaiPs
notes on its nesting in that region in 'Nests and Eggs;^ and I therefore infer that he considers the
identification correct. It is also found in the N.W . Himalayas ; but from intermediate localities, such as Sindh
nizerat, Sambhur, or the neighbourhood of Putteghur, it does not appear ever to have been recorded Jerdon
writes of this species, in his ' Illustrations of Indian Ornithology,^ 1847, at a time when he considered it
distinct from L. erythronotus (for in his ‘ Birds of India ^ he unites the two), that though “ occasionally found
ui the more wooded parts of the country in the Carnatic, it is only common in the neighbourhood of the
jungles of the west coast, and is very abundant on the top of the Nilghiris.” Mr. Pairbank says that it is
resident on the summit of the Palani ranges and breeds there. ^
Habits .— Its mode of living the present species resembles the remainder of this interesting family
It frequents low thorny jungle, scrubby land, and open places near the sea-coast, which are dotted here and
there with clumps of low trees and bushes. When not engaged in catching its prey it seems to pass
most of Its time on the top of a shrub, uttering its harsh cry as if it were on bad terms with all its
neighbours. It is very noisy in the mornings and evenings, flying about from bush to bush, and is so restless
that It IS very difficult to approach. There is in its disposition evidently that dislike for the presence of
man that characterizes all its congeners with which I am acquainted ; and it decidedly disapproves of his
endeavouring to make acquaintance with its habits by even presuming to watch its movements, for as soon as
It observes that it is an object of interest it immediately decamps. It feeds on grasshoppers, which it entraps
on the ground, and also preys on Mantidse and dragonflies.
Ntdificaiion. This bird breeds in the Jaffna district and on the north-west coast from Pebruary until
May. Mr. Holdsworth found its nest in a thorn-bush about 6 feet high, near the compound of his bungalow
m the beginning of February. He describes it as cup-shaped, made of rather slender twigs and lined witli
roots. Unfortunately the young were just fledged at the time he discovered it, and he therefore obtained no
information as to the eggs of the species. Layard speaks of the young being fledged in June at Point Pedro
and says tliat it builds in Euphorbia-trees in that district. *
Beferring to Mr. Hume^s ' Nest and Eggs,' I find it recorded that the breeding-season of this Shrike in
.outh India extends from March until July. Concerning its nesting in the Nilghiris, Mr. Wait writes
N
LANIUS CANICEPS. 385
“The nest, cup-shaped and neatly built, is placed in low trees, shrubs, and bushes, generally thorny ones; the
outside of the nest is chiefly composed of weed (a white downy species is invariably present), fibres, and hay,
and it is lined with grass and hair. There is often a good deal of earth built in with roots and fibres in the
foundation of this nest. Four appears to be the usual number of eggs laid.” Mr. Davison^s account of its
nesting is as follows :-“This species builds in bushes or trees at about 6 to 20 feet from the ground. A
thorny thick bush is generally preferred, Berberis asiatica being a favourite. The nest is a ^ eep, cup
shaped structure, rather neatly made of grass mingled with old pieces of lag, papei, &c., an
grass. The eggs, four or five in number, are white, spotted with blackish brown c le y at^ e ic cei enc ,
where the spots generally form a zone.” Mr. Hume remarks that the eggs are undisting,uis la e, m m^y
instances, from those of its close ally B. erythronotus, though they vary less and average longer. n en^,
they range from 0'93 to I'O inch, and in breadth from 0'7 to 0‘72 inch ; but the aveiage o twen y was
0-95 by 0'7 inch.
PASSERES.
Earn. DICEURID^.
Bill stout, both wide and high at the base, the upper mandible moderately curved, and the
tips of both mandibles notched ; gape armed with stout bristles. Wings moderately long. Tail
of 10 feathers only, forked, and with the lateral feathers occasionally much lengthened. Legs
short ; feet rather small.
Plumage black. Sternum with a tolerably large foramen in each half of the posterior edge
{Chibia Jiotfentota and Bhringa remifer).
Genus BUCHANGA.
Bill stout, broad at the base, the upper mandible high; the culmen keeled and well curved
to the tip, which, as well as that of the under mandible, has a distinct notch. Nostii s ova ,
small, concealed by the impending plumes. Kictal bristles long and stout. Wings poi .
4th quill the longest, the 2nd subequal to the 7th and twice as long as the 1st. g,
deeply forked, and expanding at the tip. Tarsus longer than the middle toe, pro e w
stout transverse scutse. Feet rather small and stoutly scaled ; hind toe and c aw arge.
3d
BUCHANGA ATEA.
(THE BLACK DEONGO.)
Muscicapa atra, Hermann, Obs. Zool. p. 208 (1804).
Dicrurus macrocercus, Vieill. N. Diet. ix. p. 588 (1817) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1854, xiii. p. 129 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 427 (1862).
Buchanga albirictus, Hodgs. Ind. Kev. i. p. 326 (1837); Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 186 (1873);
Butler, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 465.
Edolius malabaricus !, Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852).
Dicrurus minor, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 22 (1849); id. Ibis, 1867, p. 305.
Dicrurus longus (Temm.), Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 152 (1854).
Buchanga minor (BL), Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 438; Legge, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 202.
Dicrurus albirictus (Hodgs.), Hume, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 97.
Buchanga atra, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 246 (1877).
Be Drongolon, Levaill. Ois. d’Afr. iii. pi. 174.
The Drongo-Shrike of some; King-Crow, ^’■Flycatcher,” Europeans in Ceylon.
Kolsa, Hind. , Finga, Bengal. ; Japal kalchif, Punjab ; Kunich in Sindh ; Thampal, N.IV.
Prov. ; Kotwal, Natives in Deccan ; Yeti-inta, also Passala-poli-gadu, lit. “ Cattle Tom-
bird,” Telugu ; Kurri Jeurumah, Tam., Jerdon,
Kari kuruvi, Tamils in Ceylon ; Pastro barbeiro, Portuguese in North Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 10-75 to 11-1 inches ; wing 5-0 to 5-45 ; tail 5-1 to 5-7, depth of fork 2-1 ; tarsus 0-8
to 0-85 ; mid toe and claw 0-82 to 0-9 ; bill to gape 1-05 to 1-15.
Males slightly exceed females in size.
Iris dull red, or brownish red in not fully adult birds ; bill black ; legs and feet black.
Above and beneath metallic blue-black ; quills brown-black, glossed on the tail with green ; lower surface of quills
brown ; a small white spot at the lower corner of the gape, not perceptible in many specimens until the black
feathers round it be lifted up j in some it consists of a single feather.
Young. Birds of the year have the wdng from 4-8 to 5-0 inches.
Iris reddish brown ; bill and feet as in adult.
Above glossed as in the adult; beneath, from the chest, the feathers are fringed with white, coalescing into whitish on
the abdomen ; under tail-coverts and primary under wing-coverts with white terminal bars ; greater under wing-
coverts with a white spot at the tips. This plumage is acquired after doffing the nestling dress, which is brownish
beneath, with similar white markings. After the next moult the white tips are present in the longer under tail-
covert feathers, and sometimes on the under wing, this latter part losing the spots first, as a rule.
Ohs. The Ceylon birds form a small race of this widely-spread species, and have been usually separated as B. minor ;
I cannot, however, keep our bird distinct as a subspecies even, for I find an example in good plumage in
the British Museum from Behar which is no larger than fine specimens from Jaffna. It measures in the wing
5-5, tail 6-3, and has a small rictal spot. The generality of Indian specimens are, however, larger than this,
feeveial from Nepal measure 6 0, 6*1, and 6*2 in the wing, and about 7*0 in the tail. In Burmah they are similar
in size to those in the Himalayan subregions. The Black Drongo of China and Formosa {B. eathmea) is united by
Mr. Sharpe with B. atra ; and, I thinlr, justly so too, for I can see no difference whatever between specimens in the
British Museum from either of these localities and those from Nepal and Burmah. An example from Formosa
measures— mng 5*7, tail 6*5 ; one from China— wing 6*2, tail 7*0. I find the white rictal spot present in these,
although it IS very minute, and it likewise exists in all Indian specimens I have examined. South-Indian birds
BUCIIAN’G'A ATEA.
387
are usually about the size of the above noticed Bebar example. I notice that in some instances the young of conti-
nental birds have a great deal of white near the edge of the under wing ; but in this respect Ceylonese examples
vary too, though apparently not quite to the same extent as the former.
Distribution .— Drongo has a very singular distribution in Ceylon, which, as m the case of the Ecd-
legged Partridge, leaves the impression that it had found its wmy, at some remote j o i® an , an , no
liking it, had determined not to continue its explorations much beyond the point of its arrival . It is con iner
to the Jaffna peninsula and the north-west coast, down as far south as Piittalam, perhaps occurring as a
straggler about Colombo^ though it is certainly not resident there. I never saw it anyw ere on '
south of the above-mentioned town, though I searched most diligently for it at Chi aw, a oca i y w^ * ^
prepared to find it in, as the conditions of climate and vegetation are those of the more uort lern par s n ^
frequents. Layard writes of it : — “ D. minor is common about Colombo, frequenting natives „ar e^.
is the habit of B. leucopygialis, and there must have therefore been a wrong identification here. r. ’
worth says, “ it is also found about Colombo, but by no means commonly within my experience. o
mens were procured by him there as I understand, and it is possible that the above-mentioned ir may av e
been mistaken for it. Others have been on the look-out for it for years past, but have not yet seen it in
Colombo district ; and this is, therefore, one of the points in the island distribution of this bird w ic requires
settling. There is no reason why it should not stray down the coast to Colombo ; and if Mr. Ho swor i
identification of the bird at large were correct, it was most likely as a wanderer to the distiict that it ®
appearance there. It does not seem to pass down the cast coast at all. I have seen it near Elephant s ass,
but did not meet with it on the sea-board south of that, though it may occur at MuUaitivu. In t c is an
of Manaar, on the open plains near Salavatori and to the north of Mantottc, it is very common, ut it oes
not appear to take to the paddy-lauds of the interior. n i f
On the continent, the “ Common King-Crow ” is found, according to Jerdon, throughout tew o ® ®
India, extending through Assam aud Burmah into China, and is to be met with in every part o t le coun rj ,
except where there is dense and lofty jungle. Commencing at the north-western limit of this wi e
find that Mr. Ball observed it on the lower parts of the Suliman hills, and Mr. Hume procuie it m in ,
Captain Pinwill collected it in the N.W. Himalayas ; Dr. Hinde at Kamptee ; Messrs. Adam an u er ®P®^^
of it as common in the Sanibhur-Lake district and in Northern Guzerat, though it is scar^, accor g
the latter gentleman, in the Mount-Aboo range. It is “very abundant in Chota Nagpur (
further south, in the Deccan and the Carnatic. Mr. Fairbank found it common at the base o c
and on the plains, but not at any elevation on the hills themselves. It is spread throughout t le coim y ^
the south of this district as far as the island of Ramisserum. Turning to the north-east again, we rac
through north-eastern Cachar, where it is “extremely common'” {Inglis) to Buimah, m ''' ^
Mr. Oates says that for many months of the year it is very abundant, being rare, ho wevei , rom ^ .
September. He did not see it on the Pegu hills. In Tenasserim Mr. Hume writes that R oes no occur
the Sittang. South of Moulmein it is not rare, and it extends to thePakchan river^ q -^1001111
w'hich forms the eastern limit of its range, namely China, Mr. Swinhoe writes (P. . • ) ®
throughout it, including the peninsula of Hainan and the island of Formosa ; sout war 1 ex en
and thence across to Java, where it is the Edolius longus of Temminck.
and
Habits . — In Ceylon this Drongo frequents open
lands, tobacco- and pasture-fields, bushy plains,
scattered thorny jungle on the outskirts of the latter. It is, like the rest of bungalows in
frenuentlv to be seen sittinsr nuietlv on the backs of cattle or on e ops
frequently to be seen sitting quietly
long chase occurs
Jaffna, until a passing beetle attracts its notice, and it darts sudden y a ^ ^y^tch again
and w'hcn the hapless inseet is captured, it is dispatched on t e neaies ^ ^ .
commences. It often alights on low eminences on the grounc , sue “ ^ q generally alights on a
and when frightened from this flies along close to the earth with - J in scattered
fence or W buslr. It U usruOly eoliur, or food eomiste of Coleo„ter», grace,
company j but m close company I have not notic • P
hoppers, winged termites, of which it is very fond, and ticks, wnicn ^ ^ ^
388
BUCHANGA ATEA.
species referred to by Layard when, in writing of B. longicaudata, he remarked that it perched on the backs of
cattle to seek for ticks, on which it largely fed. Its flight is undulating and buoyant ; and when chasing its
prey it is capable of performing very rapid evolutions, darting hither and thither, and rising and falling until
it has succeeded in its pursuit. Its note is more melodious than that of the rest of its congeners in Ceylon.
Dr. Jerdon has the following complete account of its habits in India It feeds chiefly on grasshoppers
and crickets, which, as Sundevall remarks, appear to be the chief insect-food for birds in India j also now and
then on wasps or bees (hence the Bengal name), on dragonflies, and occasionally on moths or butterflies. It
generally seizes its insect-prey on the ground, or whips one oflT a stalk of grain, frequently catching one in the
air ; now and then, when the grasshopper, having flown ofT, alights in a thick tuft of grass, the King-Crow
soars for a few seconds over the spot like a Kestrel. When it has seized an insect, it generally, but not always,
returns to the same perch. On an evening, just about sunset, it may often be observed seated on the top of a
tree, taking direct upward flights, and catching some small insects that take wing at the time. Like
most other birds, when a flight of winged termites takes place, it assembles in numbers to partake of
the feast.
" The King-Crow obtains his familiar name in this country from its habit of pursuing Crows, and also
Hawks and Kites, which it does habitually, and at the breeding-season, especially when the female is
incubating, with increased vigilance and vigour. If a Crow or Kite approach the tree in which the nest is
placed the bold little Droiigo flies at them with great spirit and determination, and drives them off to a great
distance ; but although it makes a great show of striking them, I must say that I have very rarely seen it
do so ; and certainly I have never seen it fix on the back of a Hawk with claws and beak for some seconds, as
Air. Phillipps asserts that he has seen. Occasionally others will join the original assailant, and assist in
driving off their common enemy.-’'
A correspondent in 'Stray Feathers,’ Mr. Wender, writing from Sholopoor Deccan, says : — “On the
8th inst. (Jan.) I saw a King-Crow (J5. albirictus) sitting on a telegraph-wire with a lizard about 6 inches
long in its claws, pecking away at it, just as you see a Hawk eating a lizard or a mouse. The lizard, one of -
those fragile light-coloured little fellows which one sees running about in long grass, was not quite dead,
though he had ceased to struggle violently. The bird appeared to be pulling the lizard's intestines out in a
most deliberate manner.”
Some very interesting details concerning this well-known bird are furnished by Mr. Ball in his
excellent paper on the Birds of Chota Nagpur. Referring to Dr. Jerdon's doubt as to its striking other
birds, he says : “ On one occasion, however, I saw one actually carried on the back of a large Owl
{Ascalaphia bengalensis) which flew out of a tree where it was being tormented by these birds and
Pies {Dendrocitta rufa). In illustration of the somewhat miscellaneous character of the food of these
birds I may mention that I remember one day in Calcutta opening a verandah chick (curtain) which had
not been in use for some time, thus disturbing a colony of Bats that had made the inside coBs their
home j out they flew into the daylight, when they were immediately seen and hawked up by some King-
Crows, who took them to neighbouring trees, where they quietly devoured them .... Late as they are in
going to roost they are generally the first birds to be on the move in the morning. I have frequently
heard them calling to one another long before dawn, when I have been travelling in the hot
weather.”
Nidification. I was unable while in Ceylon to obtain any information from my correspondents at Jaffna
concerning the nesting of this species. A comparison of its eggs with those of the continental form would
be extremely interesting, and the matter is one which future workers in the island should pay attention to
In India, May, June, and July are said to be the favourite months for nesting, although eggs are occasionally
taken in April and August. Mr. Hume writes that it usually builds pretty high up in tall trees, in some
fork not quite at the outside of the foliage, “constructing a broad shallow cup, and lays normally four eg-s
although I have found five.” The nests “ are all composed of tiny twigs and fine grass-stems, and the roots
of the khus-khus grass, as a rule, neatly and tightly woven together, and exteriorly bound round with a
good deal of cobweb, in which a few feathers are sometimes entangled ; the cavity is broad and shallow, and
at times lined with horsehair or fine grass, but most commonly only with khus. The bottom of the nest is
buchanga atea.
389
firm nnd thick ... The variation in this bird's eggs is remarkable;
very thin, but the sides, or rim, rath between the dead glossless
out of more than one hundred eggs pink.crounded one with numerous spots and specks of maroon
pure white egg and a somewhat glossy, w , p o „„„sible gradation is to be found ; each set of eggs,
colour, dull red, and red-brown, or even us y, ^ ^^^6 white and a well coloured
however seems to be invariably s^® ^ i, salmon-colour, spotted with rich brownish red."
and marked egg in the same nes • Thes 1 . the latter dimensions
The average of 150 eggs was I'Ol by 0 / o men,
would be quite equalled, if not exceeded, by those of our ey ones
BUCHANGA LONGICAUDATA.
(THE LONG-TAILED DRONGO.)
Dicmrus macrocercus, Jerd. Cat. B. South India, Madr. Journ. 1839, x. p. 240 {nec VieilL).
Dicmrus longicaudatus, “ A. Hay,” Jerd. Madr. Journ. 1845, xiii. pt. 2, p. 121 ; Blyth, Cat.
B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 202 (1849) ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. p. 152 (1854);
Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 129 ; Bourdillon, Str. Feath. 1876,
p. 394 ; Jerd. B. of Ind. i. p. 430 (1862); Hume, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 97.
Buchanga longicaudata, Walden, Ihis, 1868, p. 316 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 438 ; Hume,
Nests and Eggs (Rough Draft), p. 189 (1873) ; Legge, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 202 ; Sharpe,
Cat. B. iii. p. 249.
Buchanga waldeni, Beav. Ihis, 1868, p. 497.
King-Crovo^ Europeans in India and Ceylon.
finga, Beng. ; Sahim or Sahem Pha, Lepchas ; CMchum, Bhot.
Erratoo valan kuruvi, Tam., lit. “Double-tailed bird ; ” Pastro harheiro, Portuguese in Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 10-5 inches ; wing 5-0 to 5'4, average dimensions of wing in males procured in
Ceylon 5’2 ; tail 5-8 to 6-0, depth of fork about 2-0 ; tarsus 0’7 ; mid toe 0-55 to 0'6, claw (straight) 0'3 to
0’33 ; bill to gape 1*1 to 1T2.
The above dimensions are from examples killed in Ceylon ; an immature female shot in Eamisserum Island measures
only 4-8 in the wing ; one procured by Mr. Bourdillon in Travancore 5-4 ; a second 5-0. The measurement of a
third, of which the sex is not stated, is given at 5-55.
Iris red, in some almost scarlet ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Above metallic bluish black with a grey tinge on the back, increasing towards the upper tail-coverts ; quills and tail
with a strong greenish lustre on the outer webs, the inner being brownish black ; beneath dull black pervaded
with greyish, which hue is strongest on the breast, flanks, and abdomen ; a slight steel-blue gloss on the chest ;
under wing-coverts greyish black ; under surface of quills near the base brownish.
Young. Iris brownish red. The immature or bird of the year has the lower parts greyer than in the adult ; the
under tail-coverts have deep white tips in the form of terminal bars ; beneath the carpal joint the feathers are
also tipped with white, and the under wing-coverts have terminal spots of the same. The white markings, as in
the case of B. atra, leave the under wing-coverts first ; they seem to remain on the under tail-coverts until the
bird is almost mature, as few specimens which I have seen are entirely without them ; immature examples
occasionally have one more white spot at the tips of the tail-feathers.
Ohs. This is a variable species in size. Probably the birds w’hich visit us in the cool season are bred in the south of
India, and are consequently smaller than those from the northern parts of the Empire. A male, however, in the
national collection from Darjiling has the wing 5'62 inches, tail 6-4, dimensions not much exceeding those which
visit Ceylon.
Allied forms inhabit Burmah and the sub-Himalayan district, and were united by Jerdon with the present. B. cineracea,
from the former region, is a smaller bird than the present species and much paler, being “ ashy grey ” above,
and the same, but somewhat duskier, beneath ; wing 4’9 to 5'2 inches. B. pyrrliops is, according to Mr. Sharpe,
a good subspecies of the above, being larger than it. Mr. llume considers it to be merely a grey form of
B. longicaudata.
Distribution. — This species arrives in the north of Ceylon about the middle or latter part of October.
It is decidedly migratory, as no individuals are seen between April and September, and at the season of its
appearanee it is always first met with on the seashore. At Trincomalie I noticed it in the Fort when it first
arrived ; it lingered about the neighbourhood and then betook itself to the jungles, through which it is
diffused in tolerable numbers as far south as the Seven Korales. It does not appear to be common in the
north. I have seen one or two individuals from the Jaffna district, but I did not meet with it on the north-
btjchanga longicaudata.
391
, 1 i.1, +n Tiave done so. It is therefore singular that it should be a
west eoast, nor does Mr. Holdsworth pp occasional visitant to the west coast : I once
common species on the opposite sine rolomho hut it quickly disappeared into the interior,
noticed an example in October m the obtaining a specimen about sixteen miles from Colombo.
Mr. Holdsworth likewise met with it in tha ^ j „ T liave seen it in the Wellaway Korale; and
Further south on this side of the island it is un now . Hanutale in the month of November,
Mr. Bligh writes me of a Black Drongo which frequented the hills I have never
which must h»e belonged to this species. Other evidence then this of its g
obtained. . t j nf it — “ The Long-tailed Drongo
This Drongo inhabits the whole of the Indian peninsu a. er oi m„„v„i,core . . . • I have killed it in
is found wherever there is lofty forest jungle, from the ima about Calcutta and all along the
Malabar, the Wynaad, Coorg, and the Nilghinsj it is » Captain Hutton says that it
Himalayas up to 8000 feet of elevation. It is tolerably common at m^ji g_
is the only species of Drongo which visits Mussourie, a™^“& ^ ^ ^ permanent resident.
Captain C. H. Marshall records it from Murree. In the south probably from there
Mr. Bourdillon remarks that it is common in Travancore and, as ^ ^^f^YaTrs^mewh^^^
that it visits Ceylon; but why it should arrive so frequently on ® Ahmednagar district.
Mr. Fairbank records it from Khandala, and says that i 7 pv+reme limit to the north
Jerdou rernarb that Adams found it common in Cashmere, which must be its extreme
and west.
Habits.— He&ry jungle and forest are the localities by it in which to take up
of open places, banks of rivers, or margins of secluded tan s f ^jopical woods. It perches on the tops
its quarters ; and there it subsists on the insectivorous diet so ri e in sallies forth on the beetles and
of tall trees or on some outstanding branch, from which prominen captured. It is an
various ivinged insects which pass it, and then returns to its pos o ^ infrequently consorting with
inquisitive and somewhat querulous species, chasing Hawks an r ’ which has been discovered
Bulbuls and other small birds for the purpose of mobbing an un Devil-bird. On first arriving in
abroad during the daylight. I have more than once found i but it soon disappears for its
the island it is found in avenues and groves of trees near liunian forest, and may easily be
sylvan haunts. It is often noticed on the edges f '^itlirslender outhne. It is one of the last birds to
recognized from other Drongos by its long tail and gen y •. bns-s &c. which are abroad during
retire in the evening, and often makes a supper off the eet es, cr cleverly
the short twilight of the tropics. Its notes are vane an s in „ ^ it in pairs, but once or
imitated by the Common Green Bulbul, Phyllornis jerdont. ^^en makes a considerable circuit,
twice have seen a smaU party together. Jerdon remarks a i n reseating itself on some other
apparently capturing several insects, before returning to is per ^ no mr Imt that each
tree
irently capturing several insects, before returning to its scattered company, but that each
tree ; he likewise states that three or four are sometimes ^e ^ Drongo perching on the backs of
returns independently to its own perch. Layard s common in the open about Jaffna.
cattle apparently apply, as heretofore remarked, to le ac -ii-
Nidification.-This species breeds in India during the months oj ^Wq^Aprd, branch of
Is in India during the ^ horizontal branch of
according to Captain Hutton, a very neat ^ and fine seed-stalks of grasses
some tad tree. »It is constructed of grey nferad^^^ sometimes a black fibrous
firmly and neatly interwoven; with the latter it is also usually lined, ait .
• *' - . • T +r\ni*A
firmly and neatly interwoven; with the latter it over with spiders’ ^ There
lichen is used ; externally the materials are kepttogethci ^ salmon-coloured ground streaked,
are, says Mr. Hume, two types of this bird^s ^ f g ^^^h reddish pink ; the other has a pale
blotched, and clouded somewhat openly, except at in a broad irregular zone with
pinkish-white ground, blotched boldly, almost Q .7 to 0-76 inch in breadth,
brownish red. They vary from 0-85 to I'Ol in length by from
BFCHANGA LEUCOPYGIALIS.
(THE CEYLONESE WHITE-BELLIED DKONGO.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Bicrurus leucopygialis, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1846, xv. p. 298; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 203
(1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. Sc Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854,
xiii. p. 130 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 306 ; Legge, ibid. 1874, p. 16.
Bicrurus caerulescens (Linn.), Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 129.
Buchanga leucopygialis (BL), Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 439 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873,
p. 436 ; id. Nests and Eggs, i. p. 192 (1873); Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 288; Sharpe, Cat.
B. hi. p. 253 (1877).
Buchanga cmrulescens (Linn.), Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 439 (in pt.); Legge, Ibis, 1875,
p. 288; id. Str. Feath. 1875, p. 202 (in pt.).
Buchanga insularis, Sharpe, Cat. B. hi. p. 253 (1877).
The King-Crow, Europeans in Ceylon. Pastro harheiro, Portuguese in Ceylon.
Kowda or Kawuda Panika, Sinhalese.
Ad. niger, chalybeo nitens, abdomine albicante, crisso et subcaudalibus albis : rostro et pedibus nigris ; iride rubra.
Adult male. Length 9-5 to 9-9 inches ; wing 4-7 to 4-95 ; tail 4-7 to 5-1 ; tarsus 0-75 to 0*8 ; mid toe 0-7, claw
(straight) 0'24 ; bill to gape 1‘0 to I’l.
Adult female. Length 9-5 to 9'7 inches ; w’ing 4-5 to 4'75 ; tail 4-5 to 4-75.
Iris varying from reddish brown to brownish red, in some obscure red ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Obs. These measurements and the colours of the soft parts are taken from a series of northern and southern examples,
the representatives of the two types into which this species apparently divides itself ; but in order to the more
complete insight into the question, I will in my “ descriptions ” first deal with one type, and then pass through
the intermediate form to the other.
Bark form: Buchanga leucopygialis, Blyth.
Adult male (Wellewatta, Colombo). Wing 4-75 inches ; tail 4-0 ; bill to gape 1-0.
Iris dull red.
Head and entire upper surface black, illumined wdth steel-blue ; wings and tail brownish black, with a metalHc lustre,
slightly greener than that of the back on the outer webs of the feathers ; ear-coverts and face black, without the
metallic lustre of the head ; chin, fore neck, and chest dull black, intensifying somewhat on the chest, and slightly
glossed in that part ; on the breast the centres of the feathers become gradually brown, with the edges iron-grey,
the latter paling to greyish white lower down, and thence into white on the abdomen, giving that part, however,
only a whitish appearance on account of the dark centres of the feathers ; vent and under tail-coverts white.
Adult male (Mapalagama, South Ceylon). Wing 4'85 inches ; tail 4-9 ; bill to gape I'O.
Iris obscure red.
Much darker on the lower breast and belly than the above, as it is in abraded plumage, and the whitish edgings are
worn off from this cause ; the vent is only greyish white, and the under tail-coverts sullied white ; gloss on
the upper surface duller, or not so green as in the freshly-moulted specimen.
Adidt female (Poorie, W. Province). Wing 4-55 inches ; tail 4-4 ; bill to gape I'O.
Iris dark red-brown.
In more abraded plumage than the last ; the entire breast and belly dull brown, the vent greyish, and the under tail-
coverts greyish white.
5
BUCHANGA LBUCOPYGIALlS.
SM
I
BUCHANGA LEUCOPYGIALIS.
393
Adult female (Heneratgoda). Wing 4-7 inches ; tail 4-7; bill to gape 1-0.
iraSef plumage, but not so dark as the above, ovdng to some of the feathers not being so much worn as others ;
the breast is ^ish brown ; the vent whitish, and the under tail-coverts slightly less albescent than the vent,
being so much worn as to show the brownish bases of the feathers.
Female (Colombo). Wing 4'5 inches ; tail 4'4.
Iris light reddish. An abnormally pale-breasted example. ^ hrownish !?rev
Throat and chest brownish black, the sides of the latter glossed with green the centre of ^
the edges of the feathers whitish, the feathers at the sides of this part still paler, and the sides of the bell) whitish , ,
vent and under tail-coverts pure white.
Intermediate fo
rm.
Male (ChUaw, 50 miles north of Colombo). Wing 4-8 inches ; tail 4-9 ; bill to gape I'OS-
Back with a somewhat greener gloss than in the Colombo specimens ; chest and throat black, muc g
metallic green ; the centre of the breast brown, the feathers edged paler, the flanks very dark, 1
suddenly turning white ; vent and under tail-coverts pure white.
i/afe (Deduru-Oya, N.W. Province). Wing 4-98 inches ; tail 4-7 ; bill to gape 1-05. nUo vh, 'a colour
Upper surface with a still greener gloss than the above, the entire belly and the un er tai -coier s w i ,
extending up the breast in the form of a point, and becoming at the uppermost part sullied, that is to say,
Two adults (British-Museum specimens b, c, “ Uva district;” but probably from the west of Nuwara
4-65 and 4-55 respectively. Eesembling the above in plumage both as regards upper surface antt o p
the whitish hue of the lower part of the breast passing into dark slate on the upper part of it.
Two adults (Kandy district). Wing 4-9 inches. Upper breast very dark ; abdomen turning abruptly to w i e.
Light form : Buchanga insulaeis, Sharpe.
Adult female (Trincomalie). Wing 4-6 inches; tail 4-4 ; bill to gape 1-0. unner breast
Upper surface with a marked greenish gloss ; throat blackish brown ; chest black, glossed with green , pp
dark slate, rather abruptly changing into w'hite on the lower part of the breast and rest of under sur ace.
Adult male (British-Museum specimen a, “ Ceylon,” from Badulla district).
Similar to Trincomalie specimen, except that the white colour takes a pointed form on the breast.
Male, not quite adult (Badulla). Wing 4'75 inches ; tail 4‘9 ; bill to gape 1 03.
Paler on the chest and tail than any of the foregoing specimens. The upper tail-coverts are tipped wi
Young (dark form on leaving the nest). Blacldsh brown above, without the black-green gloss of the Chest and
throat blackish brown, the breast slaty, the featliers of these parts finely tipped with greyish fulvous, the beli)
and under tail-coverts sullied whitish, the latter tipped wnth dusky grey.
A bird .boat two Booths old (Amb.po.s., Juoo 29, 1876) .hot w.th the heo
■ ,Jmd, oequiriog th. moture plomogo! tho bbek-green feothcr. on the "/I’" '"f” „
brown »„iling” ones, the eheet no.rl, dl moulted to block fe.therj ...d 'J' ^
high up .sbinl. from the N.W. Province., ffing 4'o inche,. The old b.rd .hot w.tb .1 w«. of th. true P.
gialis type, the breast much darker than that of the young bird. on the breast than the
A young bird in a similar stap of change (shot at Deltota, May 29, 1876) is much darker on the
Ambepussa specimen. Wing 4'8 inches.
1 ^ i-Un nnripr surfaiC©, b6inff in a.
Young (pale form : Galoya, Trincomalie Eoad). Similar to the m epussa surface is paler, inasmuch as the
state of change from the brown nest-feathers to the glossy ac -green , . towards the chest in a point
whitish immature plumage extends higher up the breast, and instead of running up
is distributed right across to the flanks
Obs.
, o, • tn ufliich I have given so much attention with
jSTo bird in Ceylon is so puzzling as the present, an , two species in the island or only one.
a view to arriving at a satisfactory determina ion as^ „rmnsite tvnes of which are certainly
a view to arriving at a satisfactory de ermina lo opposite types of which are certainly
I cannot come to any other conclusion than that there is but one, PP n
394
BUCHANGA LEUCOPYGIALIS.
somewhat distinct from one another, but which grade into each other in such a manner as to forbid their being
rightly considered as distinct species ; and I will leave it to others who like to take the matter up for investigation
to prove whether my conclusions are erroneous or not. I see no reason why, in writing of birds from the north
of Ceylon, future collectors should not stylo them B. imularis, inasmuch as these birds form a race of themselves.
A perusal of the above-mentioned localities will show that the pale birds inhabit the dry portions of the island,
grading into the dark race on a line drawn from Chilaw across the southern part of the N.W. Province, and thence
over to the Badulla country and down into the Park districts. Mr. Boate’s specimens in the British Museum
came from “between Kandy and Nuwara Elliya,” which I take to be the Eambodde or Pusselawa districts ; they
are neither strictly leucopygialis nor insularis, but resemble Deltota and N.W.-Province birds, which are interme-
diate, whereas examples from the dry district of Uva are the same as those from Trincomalie. The dark form
from the South-west and Western Provinces is extremely variable as regards the pale lower parts, the dusky hue
of which depends, as I have shown, on abrasion of plumage ; and in some instances, as exemplified in the
Ambepussa bird, the offspring are paler than the parents. As the plumage becomes abraded, it darkens, and the
whole appearance of the pale belly is changed. Moreover it seems probable that the light form in the north
sometimes becomes dark ; for I have a specimen shot by Mr. Cotterill, O.E., at Hurull^ tank, which is in highly
abraded plumage it is true, but which has the lower breast and belly so very dusky that it could scarcely, when
in new feather, have been a very light-coloured bird.
Mr. Sharpe rightly discriminated the pale Ceylonese form of the present species from B. ecerulescens, the Indian bird.
The latter has a greyer hue on the green gloss of the upper surface, the tail is a rather pale brown, instead of a
dark blackish brown, and the throat and chest are dull ashy blackish, without any green gloss on the latter. These
distinctions are especially noticeable in northern birds, from Nepal, Kattiawar, and Behar ; but from further south
I have examples which are darker on the chest, but of course not black, glossed with green, as in Ceylonese. South-
Indian birds may perhaps be very close to ours ; but I regret to say I have not seen any from that region. It is
not improbable that an almost unbroken sequence from the Himalayan to the Ceylonese type could be got together,
proving that there is but one species of this Drongo, divisible into local races, the darkest of which would be
B. leucopygialis of Blyth from South Ceylon.
Examples of B. ecerulescens which I have measured vary from 4-9 to 5'1 inches in the wing.
Layard’s specimens from Pt. Pedro evidently belonged to the usual pale-bellied bird found in the north of Ceylon, which
were not discriminated by Blyth, at the time they were sent to him, as distinct from the Indian birds.
Distribution . — The dark race of this Drongo inhabits the South-western District, the Western Province,
and the adjacent slopes of the Kandyan hills, perhaps as far eastward as the valleys in Pusselawa and Kotmalie ;
while, turning to the south again, we find it spreading into the country lying between Badulla and Hamban-
tota, and inhabiting the dividing valley which is continuous with the Saffragam division. It is generally
diffused through the Western Province, being numerous in the Korales surrounding Colombo and along the
sea-board generally. In large forest-tracts like those on the Pasdun and Kukkul Korales it is scarce, but even
there it will be found in the open country formed by isolated tracts of cultivation. A short distance inland
from Colombo it is a very common bird, and is one of the most familiar species to those who enjoy the usual
evening drive round the outskirts of the “ cinnamon-gardens.” It is equally well known in the Galle and
iMatara districts.
In the Seven Korales, where the country is open in many places, it is tolerably numerous, becoming
scarcer (m the light form) in the forests as we proceed north. In this part of the island it is not nearly so
plentiful as its dark relative is in the south ; but the heavy nature of the jungle probably tends much to its
concealment ; and the spots in which I have chiefly observed it were the outskirts of forest, clumps of jungle
in grassy wastes, or the borders of village tanks. Layard seems only to have obtained it at Pt. Pedro, and
regarded it as a visitor, an opinion which its scarceness on the peninsula naturally occasioned. It extends
down the eastern side of the island to the country between Batticaloa and the Uva ranges, in which it is also
found to an elevation of about 4500 feet. On the eastern side of the Badulla valley I frequently observed it
on the estates between the capital of Uva and Lunugalla j but I did not see it on the Port-MacDonald patnas,
although I believe it is found in that tract of country.
Habits . — The “ King-Crow,” one of the best-known Ceylonese birds to European residents in the island,
frequents native compounds, openly wooded land, the borders of paddy-fields and tanks, the outskirts of jungle,
or the vicinity of grassy forest-glades ; and in the coffee-districts it may usually be seen seated on stumps or
BUCHANGA LEUCOPTGIALIS.
395
l)erched on the branches of dead trees left standing among the luxuriant sweeps of Ceylon’s staple plant. To
the admirer of bird life it must always be an interesting species, as its lively manners, familiar habits, and bold
onslaughts on its winged prey make it an unfailing subject of observation. Its diet is entirely insectivorous,
consisting chiefly of beetles, bugs {Hemiptera) , termites, and such like, which it catches on the wing, returning
again to its perch, on whicli I have observed it striking its prey before swallowing it. It is occasionally, when
there is an abundance of food about, a sociable species, as many as three or four collecting on one tree and
carrying on a vigorous warfare on the surrounding insect-world. It is abroad at daybreak, and retires very
late at night to roost, appearing to be busy throughout the whole day, and never to be tired of uttering its
cheerful whistle. One or more may often be seen chasing an unoffending Crow to a great height in the air j and
though their attacks must be comparatively feeble, I have observed that they have the capability of considerably
disconcerting their powerful enemy ; it is from this singular habit that these and other Drongos have acquired
the name of King-Crow. The ordinary note of the dark race is a whistling cry, accompanied by a quick jerk
of the tail, a movement which the bird is constantly performing ; but in the breeding-season the male has a
weak twittering song, somewhat resembling that of the Common Swallow. I have listened to this in the north-
countiy bii’ds ; but the ordinary note of the latter always seemed to me to be less powerful than that of the
Western-Province form. This species and the Long-tailed Drongo have an inveterate hatred of Owls, and
never fail to collect all the small birds in the vicinity when they discover one of these nocturnal offenders,
chasing it through the woods until it escapes into some thicket which baffles the pursuit of its persecutors.
Nidification . — The breeding-season of this Drongo is from March until May ; and the nest is almost
invariably built at the horizontal fork of the branch of a large tree, at a considerable height from the ground, ,
sometimes as much as 40 feet. It is a shallow cup, measuring about 2^ inches in diameter by 1 in depth, and
is compactly put together, well finished round the top, but sometimes rather loose on the exterior, which is
composed of fine grass-stalks and bark-fibres, the lining being of fine grass or tendrils of creepers. The number
of eggs varies from two to four, three being the most common. They vary much in shape, and also in the
depth of their ground tint ; some are regular ovals, others are stumpy at the small end, while now and then
very spherical eggs are laid. They are either reddish white, “ fleshy,” or pure white, in some cases marked
with small and large blotches of faded red, confluent at the obtuse end, and openly dispersed over the rest of
the surface, overlying blots of faint lilac-grey ; others have a conspicuous zone round the large end, with a few
scanty blotches of light red and bluish grey on the remainder ; in others, again, the markings are confined to a
few very large roundish blotches of the above colours at one end, or, again, several still larger clouds of brick-
red at the obtuse end, with a few blotches of the same at the other. Dimensions from I'O to 0'86 inch in
length, by 0-72 to 0-68 in breadth. I once observed a pair in the north of Ceylon very cleverly forming
their nest on a horizontal fork by first constructing the side furthest from the angle, thus forming an arch,
which was then joined to the fork by the formation of the bottom of the structure.
The parent birds in this species display great courage, vigorously swooping down on any intruder who may
threaten to molest their young.
The figure of the southern bird in the Plate (fig. I) accompanying this article i§ that of a female from
Heneratgoda, that of the northern bird (fig. 2) is of a female shot near Trincomalie.
Sk2
Genus DISSEMTJRUS.
Bill stout, the culmen more acutely keeled than in Buchanga, as also higher at the base ;
forehead furnished with a tuft of frontal plumes, the anterior ones projecting forwards, and the
posterior more or less curved back over the forehead. Wings with the 4th and 5th quills the
longest, and the 3rd shorter than the 6th. Tail with the outer feathers prolonged more or less,
in some species with the web complete and slightly upturned, in others with the shaft denuded
of the webs to within a short distance of the tip.
Of large size. Plumage highly glossed above and below ; the feathers of the hind neck
“ hackled.”
DISSEMUEUS LOPHOEHINUS.
(THE CEYLONESE CRESTED DRONGO.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
JDicrurus lopliorhinus, Vieill. N. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. ix. p. 587 (1817); Gray, Hand-1. B. i.
p. 285 (1869).
Dicrums edoUiformis, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1847, xvi. p. 297 (1847) ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 202 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 129 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 305; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 17.
Dicrurus lophorhinm. Gray, Hand-1. B. i. p. 285.
Bissemums lophorhinus, Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 439.
Bissemuroides edoUiformis, Sharpe, Cat. Birds, hi. p. 256 (1877); Tweeddale, Ibis, 1878, p. 78.
Le Bro-ngup, Levaill. Ois. d’Afr. pi. 173.
Jungle King-Crow, in Ceylon.
Kowda, Sinhalese ; Kaputa-haya, Sinhalese in Southern Province.
Niger, chalybeo-viriJi niten.s, cauda valdo forficata, rectricibus nigris chalybeo-viridi marginatis, rectrice extima longiore
et ad apicera paullo recurvatfi. : crista frontal! densa, setis nasalibus longis antice directis et plumis cristoe posticis
paiillo recurvatis : subtus niger, chalybeo nitens, plumis prsepeetoralibus chalybeis vix lanceolatis : rostro et pedibus
nigris : iride brunnescenti-rubra.
Adrdt male. Length 13-4 to 14-1 inches ; wing 5-6 to 6-0 ; tail — outer feathers 7-2 to 7-6, central feathers 2-3 to 2-5
shorter; tarsus I'O to I'l ; mid toe 0-75, claw (straight) 0-3 ; hind toe 0-5, claw (straight) 0-4 ; bill to gape 1-35
to 1-4 ; limit of the length of frontal feathers about 0-5.
AduU female. Some\\(hat smaller than the male. Length 13-25 inches ; wing 5-0 to 5-6 ; tail 7-0.
In this species the tail assumes a constant character, and does not vary at all. It is shaped as in the genus Buchanga ;
the web is the same width throughout, hroad and flat, the outer portion only slightly upraised, but not sufficiently
to be called curved.
The anterior frontal plumes are directed forward, and the posterior ones are erect, but have no tendency to curve back
over the forehead as in D. paradiseus.
Iris dull brownish red or dark yellowdsh red ; hill, legs, and feet black.
Plumage black, highly glossed with a metallic lustre, which on the head, hind neck, throat, and chest is of a steel-blue
tinge, and on the back, wing-coverts, and outer webs of the tail-feathers dark green ; quills black, the outer w-ebs
glossed ; bases of the feathers at the sides of the rump greyish, generally showing on the surface of the plumage ,-
flanks and abdomen brownish black, scarcely glossed ; the under tail-coverts glossed at the tips ; the frontal
plumes in fine specimens reach to within 0-4 of the tip of the culmen ; the feathers of the hind neck are pointed
and to some extent elongated.
DISSEMURUS PARADISBUS.
( Ahrujr'TTiaL F’ojvn'j
DISSEMURUS UOPHORHINUS.
(
DISSEMUEIJS LOPHOKHINUS.
397
„ . • j na(^ Thp nestline is black, with but little of the metallic sheen ;
Tourt^. Iris brown, ^ ^ j Immature birds have the under tail- and under wing-coverts tipped
the ou«, teiHe.th.r. »ot much p.,,. eaged .ith white , the under
white; the flanks pervaded with gr j, t tave^disappeared from the under tail-covcrts, few specimens
wing-coverts retain their white mark g 1 under wing. In this feature the genus Dissemurm is an
being found without a few white terminal spots on the unUer wing
exact contrast to Buchanga,
p if AJvflM removed by JVdr. Sbarpe, because tlie crest
Ohs. I have placed this species in the genus Dimmwus rom w advisable to establish a genus for
resembled that of some of the local races of the next The bird for which ^Ir. ilume
it simply because the outer tail-feathers on the forehead, springing from each side of
established his genus Dissemuroides has a tuft oi nresent snccies Concerning the specific name
,h» to. ot the cul«e< ..d therrfore “‘‘f , ^ j the Dr.ngup m hi. •Oi.e.ux
of lophorhtnui used by Vieillofc, I have peruse care . ‘ Latin name in question ; and I think that
d'Attque,' and likmvis. Vi.illof. of the .peo.e. to “"^t’d. la tailie d. uotre draiue,
the latter was really referring to the Dron^p. ev , / • -i.,,, meanine when he writes “ i la tailie de
vulgairemeutuommeehautegrive;” and Vieillot nses wor s o si concerned, a very grotesque
la grive-draine.” The plate of the Drongup is true, as iu the ‘Oiseaux
representation of our bird; but it is perhaps as faithfu though be was of opinion,
d’Afrique.' I may add that Mr. Shaire now that !i a Madagascar bird,
at the time he wrote on this species (Cat. Birds, m.), that Vieillot s desciiptio
B, foi^Jicatus.
x,«ri«f.»._The f
corner of the island^ includi g . . j- tbp base of the Matale hills and including the
northerly limit i. in .U the forests and heavy jungle, ot the Western
southem portion of the Save 1 1 ' t! . fnrpst nnd in the outlying iungles between there and Kotte.
Province, and is common in the Pnoflim and Eukkul Korales it is everywhere found
From Amhepnssa southward, through iundeX a X.ider.ble aldtude. I. is
in heavy forest, and ascends the Am ^&amoa Holden formerly resident in Deltota, has
located in portions of the interior of the Kan y ^ ’ annear to extend eastward beyond the slopes of
procured it in Hewahette at 3000 feet elevation. * ^ Haputlle hills, in which
the southern ranges, for I did not meet with i m in the forests on the south bank of the
district the rackCtailed specie, is » common. « “ ^eXsiX huX7ugL than in those further up
Gindurah, appearing f '“^77.76. in the friars- Hood fo.-e.ts, bull
the west coast. 1 have seen what I am nearly urn to I- B„ket..ailed Hrongo.
cannot speak with certainty, as the specimen tbino- but this latter species, which likewise
Nowhere else in the Eastern Province have I met with any thing hut P
monopolizes the whole of the northern forests beyond Damhulla.
IMils.-Damp forests and even their most gloomy
tramping through the humid glens of the southern the sudden outburst of the lively
the wind in the lofty trees around him, the naturalist is suddenly ^ J „,tive haunts. Its
notes with which thUrested Drongo is wont the males give out a
vocal powers are remai’kahle and are fully brought out m number of loud whistlings and calls,
pleasing warble for the edification of their consorts ; tins -yyd h^ I Zso of
the result of the bird’s powers of mimicry, which are quite q ^ J ^ what
heard it imitate cleverly the cry of the Serpent-Eag e and associates in pairs, and
were evidently attempts to mock other smaller inhabitants ^ ^ beetles
perches across the upper branches of lofty trees, whence ^i^bt is powerful
and the many larger members of the insect kingdom w i the air
and swift, and it is capable of darting through ic v g branches before devouring it. I have
it returns with it, or carries it to another perc i an s scattered company, and once in
on several occasions in Saffragam found three or four pairs
398
DISSEMUEUS LOPHOEHINUS.
the Opat^ hills came on a flock which seemed to be moving from one part of the forest to another ; they
were making their way along from tree to tree beneath a vast precipice, and uttering a loud whistle, which
oue bird took up from the other as they disappeared from my gaze through the dense foliage. It has an
inveterate dislike of Owls, particularly the '' Devil-bird,^' wdiich is a fellow inhabitant of the gloomy wilds ;
and whenever it espies one of these birds which has neglected to seek a proper place of concealment, it attacks
it with loud cries, and is soon joined by a host of small birds (Bulbuls, &c.), which soon drive the luckless
IHama to a distant part of the forest.
Nidification.—^’ihis species breeds in the south of Ceylon in the beginning of April. I have seen the
young just able to fly in the Opate forests at the end of this month, but I have not succeeded in getting any
information concerning its nest or eggs.
The figure in the Plate accompanying this article is that of a very large male example shot in the
Kottowe forest, having an exceptionally flue tail.
DISSEMURUS PAEADISEUS.
(THE RACKET-TAILED DRONGO.)
Linn. Syst. Nat, i. p. 172 (1766). , -n a
MoUm mMlaharicw, Layard & Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. Ceylon B. App. p. (1868) ,
Jerdon (in pt.), B. of Ind. i. p. 4:o7 (1862).
Edolius paradisem, Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. •
Dissemurm malabaricus, Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 439, Legge, is, , on
IHssemurus ceylonmsis, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 264 (1877); Tweeddale, Ibis, 1878, p. 82.
Hume, Str. Feath. 1878, p. 222. _ 7 , n 77 , «
Le Coucou vert hupS de Siam, Brisson ; Paradise Cuckoo, Lath. ; The Paradise Pmujo; Ue^
Long-tailed King-Crow, Europeans in Ceylon. PUmraj, Hind., liL “ King of t e ees
Maha-kawuda, Sinhalese ; Prattu valem kuruvi, lit. “ Double-tailed bird, Tami s m or
of Ceylon.
Adult male Length 17-0 to 19-0 inches, according to length of tail ; wing 5-8 to 6-2 ; tail 11-0 to 12 5 to tip of
oJTfate the penult™.., in one of the I.tter n.e..ure«ent 6-8 .h.rt.r; »ote. n.,,r e.ceed.n* 2-7o .
tarsus 0-9 to I'O ; mid toe 0-8, its claw (straight) 0-35 ; bill to gape 1 4o.
length 16-0 to WO inches ; ning 5-6 to G-1 , toU lO-O to WO to lip of outer tail-fe.th.r, ,hieh proj.cl.
not more than 5-5, and in some only 4-0, beyond the penultimate.
lo. , .h. h^ po,tie„
of the shaft varies from 3-0 to 4-75 inches m length.
Iris verjing from brownish rsd to d«,p red, m.tnre, but no. oged, birds h.ri.g it of the former hue i b.11, legs, ond
PlumtS diet black, highly glossed on the
on the breast and lower parts the metallic sheen is of a bluer webbed TiS stand ;rect, while the
^-s,a few w4 terminal
The *^^keT to the horizontal plane of the tail and curves sll^My inwards.
Ymrw (nestling). Iris brown ; bill black ; legs and feet bluish black.
Just after quitting the nest (July) the crest is ‘’“‘y ^J^^^re Xrt ^ tail glossed
and very short ; the plumes of the head an m n ^ inches longer than the adjacent pair and almost
with metallic green; the lateral rectrices are opposite the end of the penultimate ; beneath
fully webbed, there being a slight indentation, or hoUow so to spe j wing-coverts spotted
blackish brown; under tail-coverts fluffy and without any terminal wn
with white. September, the crest is tolerably developed, the
In the next stage (January following), probably acquired by mo racket-feathers are denuded for about
posterior feathers lengthened and recurved, but °P® ' , q.qs inch remaining, the racket about 3-0 in
2 inches of most of the inner web, a border nex^t *1*® penultimate; the feathers of the hind neck
length and the whole projecting about 4| to 5-0 inches bey
400
DIS8EMUEUS PARADISEUS.
are more lengthened than before and pointed at the tips ; under tail-coverts and under wing-coverts both with
white terminal spots;
At each succeeding stage the shafts of the racket-feathers become more denuded and the crest lengthens ; the spots
on the low er tail-coverts finally disappear, but one or two always remain on the under wing-coverts.
Obs. The Ceylonese Eacket-tailed Drongo constitutes a race in which the racket-feathers are almost constantly smaller
than those from any of the localities in the wide range of this species. It may, I think, safely be laid down as a
rule that the mam^num length of these feathers in our adult birds is about equal to the minimum in the same
from Malabar, Eurmah, Tenasserim, and Siain. This, at least, is the result of an examination of all the material
at my disposal in England. In adult examples in the British Museum from Travancore, Malabar Moalmaza
and Shenogah, the length by which the racket-feathers exceed the penultimate varies from 7-0 to 9-0; and
I notice that Mr. Hume gives the measurement of the entire feather of a Travancore specimen collected bv
Mr. Bourdillon at 18-75 inches. The racket in these birds is of different shape from the Ceylonese ; it is of
peater length in the first place, and again longer in proportion to the breadth of the web ; as a rule, likewise the
basal part of the web slopes off to the shaft beyond the tip of the penultimate. The wings also attain a greater
eugth than in the island forms, 6-3, 6-4, 6-6 inches being some of the measurements recorded by Mr. Hume in
his exhaustive article contained in the ‘Birds of Tenasserim.’ In fuUy adult specimens fi-om South India the
crest resembles that of our old birds ; but in the different stages of immaturity I observe that it bears a different
character. The crest in the young bird is less developed : an example in the British Museum with the racket well
formed, and a bare shaft of 2 inches in length, has no more crest than a Ceylonese D. lophorhinus ; in another bird
from Travancore the anterior portion of the crest is hushj/ and erect ; in another, still older, from Moalmaza, the
whole crest projects forward in a long tuft (this is not from the making-up of the skin), the posterior portion of
which stands up to a height of 0-9 inch above the culmen. In all immature birds that I have examined the
prevailing characteristic is that the anterior feathers of the crest are longer than the posterior ones. '
I find, on examination of the Tenasserim examples in the British Museum, and in the collection lately sent home by
Mr. Hume, that the length of the racket-feathers averages the same as in the South-Indian, exceeding the penul-
timate from 7-0 to 9-5 inches ; the racket is likewise of the same character, recurring more* inwards than in
our bird. The Siamese birds vary much in length of the racket-feather. One in the British Museum exceeds the
penultimate by nearly 10 inches ; another, however, in the Swinhoe collection, approaches nearest of all that I
have examuied to the Ceylonese form. Its measurements are : — wing 6-1 inches ; outer tail-feather 12-76, exceeding
the penultimate by 6-9 ; racket 3-0 ; bill to gape 1-3 (shorter than Ceylonese examples as a rule) ; crest precisely
the same. It is on the evidence of this specimen, coming from the opposite extreme of this bird’s wide range
coupled with the fact of the species being so variable, that I do not keep the Ceylonese form distinct as a sub-
species under Mr. Sharpe’s title ceylonensis. More extended obseriatioiis than I have been able to make, and a
greater series of examples, are both necessary in order to prove whether the extreme limit of the length'of the
racket-feather and the size of the racket itself as given above arc correct. ' “
In the north of the island there are sometimes to be found very singular and abnormal examples of this bird with the
crest tolerably well developed and recurving over the forehead, but with the outer tail-feather intermediate
between that of D. lophorhums and a mere nestling T>. paradiseus. I obtained a specimen in the depths of the
forest between Kanthelai and Hurulle tanks, and another in some magnificent timber-jungle at Umerao-olla on
the Dambulla and Kiiruuegala Road ; a third exists in the Layard collection at Poole. The web is entire, i-Lurving
quite inwards at the tip, whereas that of a young nestling even, of the ordinary form, has a recess or gap, as shown
m the woodcut, p. 402 ; furthermore, one of the specimens is quite adult, having no spots on the under tail-coverts.
aving met with but these examples, I feel inclined to look upon them as an abnormal form of D. paradiseus.
If, however, additional specimens come to hand, eventually it may prove to be a distinct species; and for it I would
then propose the name of B. intermedins.
Distribution. This showy bird is chiefly an inhabitant of the dry region of ^ Ceylon, from the Vaiini to
Puttalam on the west side, extending through all the eastern portion of the island and flat juno-le-clad country
betw-een Haputalc and the south-east coast up to the slopes of the Morowak-Korale ranges. In the latter region
particularly in forest on the banks of rivers, and in most of the northern forests, it is very numerous, approaching
* This is, of course, when the bare portion of the shaft near the racket is
which alw-ays gives the racket the normal twist, provided it be not injured.
pressed down into a horizontal position,
DISSEMUllTJS PAEADISEUS.
401
clo«e to the sea-oootl in places where the jungle is heavy. I have found .t on the Lunugalla pass up to 2001) feet,
and it doubtless ranges to the sane elevation on the entire easternand northern slopes of the eentraUono. In
the Western Province I never met with it; but in 1872 I obtained an exanp e ... the forest of Kottowe ..ear
Galle, a remarkably isolated position, some 50 miles distant from the l.m.ts ol .ts general range. It ., the. , -
fore possible that ii may still be found in some of the lower forests between that po.ut and Kurunegal. t us
extending its range throughout all the low country. I have no certain evulcitee of its oerarrmce iii the g .
jungles of the eoltee-districts ; but it may possibly ascend the Ilaputale ranges to a eons.derab e altitude i
dry season, and in the neighbourhood of Kanily it has been procured by_Mr. Whyte s collec . J'
procured it first at Anaradjapura, and wrote of it as being confined to the Vai.nl , it was a so in
forests that Mr. Holdsworth met with it. . , i pact-
On the continent thisS fine bird ranges through India* into Burinah and Tenasserim, and spr
wards through Siam, whence many specimens have found their way into European co ections , o ^
south through the peninsula of Malacca we lose it in its typical form, and find this region in a i e
smaller race {D. platyurus). It has a peculiar range as far as the peninsula of India is concenie , a ^ -
is defined by Mr. Hume as the “ whole of Southern India and the Western Ghhts as far north as Kandeis i ;
beyond this it is replaced by the large crested ally (i). rnalabaroldes) ^ again to appear in most o urma^
Tenasserim. Jerdon says that it is found in all jungles of the west coast, from Iravancoi e up to Goa, esptc
in the W^yiiaad and other elevated districts. In the Travancore hills themselves, Mr. Bourdillon ou
common, both at the foot of the hills and up to 3000 feet elevation, and Mr. Fairbank obseived it in t e a <
hills. In the Deccan it is, of course, wanting ; and in Chota Nagpur we find, in accordance with i r.
outline above noticed, the larger crested race, while further west no racket-tailed Drongo is found at a . ^
Tenasserim, Messrs. Hume and Davison say that it is common alike on hills and plains, frequenting clue y
forests, but occurring also in gardens and scrub-jungle. With regard to Siam, I am unable to give particu ais
of its local distribution in that kingdom ; hut I have seen specimens from Bangkok and other localities, an
have no doubt it has been met with in whatever forestrdistricts Europeans have been able to collect.
Habits. — Wherever the forest is luxuriant in the north and east of the island, this splendid bird delij,
to reign; he is a petty monarch among the numerous feathered denizens of the woods now exercising
varied talents in closely mocking their notes, now dashing at some diligent M^oodpecker who las ven
“ fix ” himself for a moment on a trunk too near the swarthy tyrant ; and while he thus amuses i >
does not miss a chance of capturing a passing beetle or locust by the exercise of a few stiokes o ns p
Avings. It is consequently on the banks of the romantic forest-lined rivers, or the syh an oiceiso .,
village tanks, which are both features of the wilds of Ceylon, that the Eacket-tailcd Drongo is met with; or
may, with equal certainty, be found on the sides of the low hills, clothed with tall timber-tees, which ever -
where intersect the low-country jungles not far from the base of the mountain system.
aliont from limb to limb of the lofty monarchs of the forest, it gives one the impression of ^
happy existence, displaying its long tail-feathers as it launches itself into the air and sweeps dovvn vvith a graeel^^
flight on its insect prey. When seated, it is constantly jerking up its tail, and jumping “ ^
peLi, while it calls toL companion, who is performing doubtless the like aaitics m
Its notes are wonderfully varied; and at one time or another I have heard it
forest. Mr. Parker wriL me that its favourite note in the jungles near
(Spizactus ceylonensis). It has a metallic-sounding call, somewhat similar to tl'at _P
utters ill the early morning, usually from the top of a tall tee; aiic ns regard to its
that it is difficult to identify it with the bird, which is not easi y cau^ i ^ following about both species
antipathy for Woodpeckers, I may remark that I have not un J , (.[jg trunks of the trees,
of our Red Woodpeckers, and darting at them while they were search « observed it
The imitative powers of this species are matter of coiumen wi < 7 > ^
in its native wilds. Mr. Bourdillon writes, - I have often been amused to hear ^
-tailed race or
* Although 1 consider that ultimately tne ueyion mm 7“' j;:';;:
bspecies, I will here treat of its range as appertaining to the Indian form
consider that ultimately the Ceylon bird will probably stand as a distinct and small-
X. 4- Uc vnncffi ns nnnprtaininff to the Indian form.
.1 F
1
402
DISSEMUETJS PAEADISEUS.
«. Eacket-feather of nestling D. paradiseus.
h. Eacket-feather of adult abnormal form of
D. paradiseus.
c. Head of adult abnormal form.
d. bull-crested head of adult Ceylon B. paradiseus.
e. Eacket-feather of Ceylon B. paradiseus,
maximum size.
/. A small racket-feather of Alalabar B. paradiseus.
DlSSEML'Eirs PAEADISEUS.
403
Eagle, and see it make a sudden charge down on some smaller bird, either in sheer mischief, or to secure some
insect which the latter has captured. 1 have also heard one imitate exactly the evening note of the Ground-
Thrush [Brachyurus coronata). During the breeding- season they are very bold, and a pan think nothing of
attacking and driving off from the neighbourhood of their nest the Hamer- or Black Kite-Eagle I once
had an adult bird brought to me which had been captured with limed twigs. 44itliin a few liours of capture
it would take cockroaches and other insect food from the hand, and soon got very tame Mr. ^avisoi^^ho
remarks that its powers of imitation are perfectly marvellous, writes, - 1 have heard it take oft
belangeri so that I am sure the birds themselves would not have detected the imposture Bab
Thrushes, by the way, always associate with other kindred species in laige oc s, an uii , < ° each
through the forest ; and yo^i will invariably find two or more of the Drongos following or accompanying each
such flock.^-’ .
It is noteworthy that this bird always sweeps down from its perch at its prey ; I never saw i y 1 <
it, although it generally mounts again with the impetus imparted by its first onset.
Concerning the nidification of either the Ceylonese or Indian races of this species, I am, I
unable to give any information. As I have shot the young in nesUing plumage in July it is patent that the
breeding-season is at the commencement of theS.W. monsoon rains, ibe noithein oim o ns iJ g ,
D. malabaroides, builds, according to Jerdon, who had the nest brought to him at Darji mg, a arge s luc ur
of twigs and roots.” Doubtless our bird has a similar habit, and its eggs are very probably three in number.
of in tliis article, and
are
The accompanying woodcuts are explanatory of the various points treated
carefully di*awn to life-size. , „ p , , •
On the Plate accon,pa„,ing the preceding article will be fennd a figure of the abnormal ton ot,
.pecies referred to above. A. the subject i. in the background, the full development of the ere.t, aa it appca.a
on the opposite page, cannot be shown in the drawing.
P A S S E R E S.
Earn. MUSCICAPIDJ5.
Bill straight, wide, depressed ; tip decurved and distinctly notched , gape furni.shed with
bristles directed forwards. Wings more or less pointed, the 1st quill fairly developed. Tail
variable. Legs and feet small and feeble. Tarsus shielded with smooth broad scales.
Genus TEEPSIPHOKE*.
Bill large, compressed suddenly near the tip; culmen well keeled; rictal bristles ^g.-
Nostrils protected by a few rather long bristles. Wings pointed, the 1st quill about ha f the
length of the 2nd; the 4th and 5th longest, and the 3rd shorter than the 6th. iai ong, witi
the tw'o central feathers greatly elongated in the adult males, faisus longei t lan le mi c e
toe, which is nearly equalled by the outer.
*• The generic term Terpdylwne, Gloger, has precedence of Tchitrea, Lesson, by four years. The older term Musdvora
is restricted by Mr. Sharpe to New-World Elycatebers— the Crested Tyrants. ^
TEEPSIPHONE PAEADISI.
(THE PARADISE FLYCATCHER.)
Muscicapa paradtsi, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 324 Briss.) ; Sykes, P. Z. S. 1852, p. 84 ; Jerdon
111. Ind. Orn. pi. 7 (1847) ; Gould, B. of Asia, pt. 5 (1853).
Muscipeta casfanea, Temm. PI. Col. iii. text to pi. 584.
Tchitrea paradisi, Less. Traite, p. 386 (1831) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 203 (1849);
Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii’.
'• P- (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i.
p. (1862) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 440 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i. p. 196 (1873) ;
Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 403 ; Hume, ibid. 1875, p. 102 ; Butler, t. c. p. 466 • Bal/
ibid. 1877, p. 415. ^
Terpsiphone paradisi. Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 38 (1850); Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 346 (1879).
The Pyed Bird of Paradise, Edwards, Nat. Hist. Birds, iii. pi. 113; Paradise Flycatcher,
Latham; Bird of Paradise, Europeans in Ceylon. Shah bulbul, Hind (White Bird)'
Sultana bulbul. Hind. (Red Bird); TaMah, H^d., N.W. Provinces ; Tonka pigli pitta
lei. ; Wal-kondalati, Tam., lit. “ Long-tailed Bulbul ” ’
GimiUra (Red Bird), lit. ‘‘ Fire-thief,” Raiie lora (White Bird), lit. “ Rag. „r Cotton-thief,”
inhalcse ; Wal-hmtvi, Ceylonese Tamils ; Ladram defogo (Red Bird), Portuguese in
Ceylon. ^
. PICT from 13-0 to 15-0, but somehass attans a length of 17-0 ; centre tail-fe«tliet« 0-0 to 13-0 lon.ep flan li;
acljacent pair ; wmg 3-7 to 3-8 ; tarsus 0-7; mid toe and claw 0-6 ; bill to gape 1-0 to 1-1. °
Old male (with short tail). Central tail-feathers, fully gmwn, exceeding the rest by only 0-5 inch.
Iris dark brown ; eyelid cobalt-blue; bill fine cobalt-blue; legs and feet paler blue than the bill • clt,w= ini • u i.
Entire head and neck, with along coronal crest of lanceolate feathers, shining blue-black which colour te t
cbpnpt edge ronnd the thro.t .nd bind „»b ; rest of the botly n'ho.o .nd^itSt
V 1 e quills and prmary-coverts black, with white edges, increasing in width towards the innermost secondaries’
and not leaching to the tips ot the outer primaries ; two innermost secondaries all white but a black shaft-streak •
edges of all but the centre tail-feathers, and the shafts of all except the terminal portion of the el pit S
Adult malr. At an age in which the male breeds, probably in the second year, the back, ivimrs, upper tail-cnve.-i« .
ImunXyt slXtlyTlling o^futo thitlnthl‘1'’'’ b' t It/ f
1 -i Pi 7 ^ ailing on into wliite on the lower breast and rest of the uiidernarts • nndm- i
white, with the bases of the feathers cinnamon. aerparts , under mng-coverts
Birds at this stage have, for the most part, long tails, the centre feathers varying from 9 to 11 innbes ; I in n i
He rememder ; bi.t pome h»,e there feelhet. „..l, .lightly elongated, as)., L female uiired heloj
»' ““ " 3-3 inehe .1 centre,
1 ouiH/. Nestling, scarcely fledged (in National collection). Head and biml i -x, ,
:st-r'S':."7'h"‘: ‘f
blehdingietolheAve.med'cok.m.’’"*”"® »' ™''“' “'f"® »bithh,
TEEPSIPHONE PAEADISI.
405
inmfrajjkdged tbe Wk, ™g», ..d toil .to d».lnnl-tod, tt. toor .eb. .f the ,.111. dusky, the head cre.to»d
hind ick Issv black and the chin and throat dark iron-grey, almost black on the chin, and blending into the pale
grey orL chSt ^ which changes into greyish white on the lower parts. The female has the throat
paler than the male.
Chm^ge of plumage. At a certain age, and at a season of the year varying in Ceylon
male birds change by an alteration in the colour of the u^sLS-srela of black simultaneously appear.
the quills, scapulars, and rectrices changes or fades into white, -i iv nn/l nt the bodv- feathers I have
Th,’ „.puh.^ ...d U.U.II, ch...g. dtok .ud ^ “to tSf'o’to »h.to
generally noticed that the upper tail-ooverts are the first to fade. While this g g t .pper-siirface
I have b^n able to gather from all the specimens that I have examined, almost f
feathers have changed) the grey breast just beneath the black throat turns whi e. ^
with a pure white chest and only one white feather (in the scapulars) on the upper primaries,
of long tailed chestnut examples in the national collection wilE various white feathers among the primaiies,
secondaries, scapulars, and rectrices, and all with chests pure white.
06,. Hr. Sh.,p. totorf., to hi. atolpsus, th.t South-I.di.n .nd Cuytou... tod bird, h.ve “f
thoto from North.™ Indiu white. I obter,., however, th.t tho.e wh.teteh.sM etomple. .re dl » . tote to
eh.oge oo th. upper .ort.e. to the white plumage ; and at this per.od the cheet u, .Iway wh.t. .u Cejlou b.rd.,
inasmuch as it seems to be the first part to change. . xroUMnn qi'fbinelaiTO
The nearest allv to this species is T. affinis, which inhabits Burraah, Malacca, and portions of the Malayan aichipc)a„o.
TL liSngi ish d from r. parSisi by having the feathers of the crest all of the same length, giving it a bro
“ i "to hyCpelloe, L al.o Iw the wfit. bird h.viog the leather, of th. load neck and l»ck w, h bto k
:i.,^:Ao;:^.eent.ige.oiamwtog^^^^^^^
wing 3’5o, tail 13'4.
mstrihution^^ Paradise Flycatcher is a partial migrant to Ceylon, and its ^
most singular and the most difficult to study of any Ceylonese bird. The adults, "/f
arrive in the island about the last week in October, spreading over f N^iombTa^^^^
again until the latter end of May. In the damp districts on the western side ^sf™ l!irl,
Tangalla it remains no longer than March. An inland movement t en P others remain in the
however, at the same time (according to my observations) quitting le is an en ir 7- ^ .
last-named quarters to breed, and do not leave until the end of May, or even the first week .eL,
time the whole of the white birds have disappeared, and I believe a so ic a u le . the
a long-tailed red bird between the months of May and October, nor can nc any , • f enj -idults is
contrary. Should I be correct, therefore, in this hypothesis, the fact of a riders far Us
established. The young birds remain m the island, inhabiting the nor nein la .ji^o-s follow them
Hambantota,- and on the arrival of the adults in the following season ^ birds
into the wes;. It appears, however, probable that with the general infiow of
arrive from abroad, as the numbers to be met with in all parts of the ow disapp^cai-
their all being recruited from inland-bred birds. Here, then, we ave m ‘ return in the following
aiice of all old birds in the island, whereas their progeny are e t e in mainland who partake in the
season, and likewise the arrival, with these latter, of many districts of the island,
general stream of migration throughout the country. s regai portions of the southern
Dumbara and other parts of corresponding altitude in nuittin- the hills in March. I am not
ranges, arc visited for the same period as the '' ^ p . .j^hich Mr. Bligh has seen it in the
aware of its occurrence anywhere above an a tituc e ® ^ greater numbers than the west
Kandy district. It inhabits the northern and eastern portio Maha-Oya, north of which,
coast, there appearing to be an appreciable diminution of the species y
406
TEEPSIPHONE PAEADISI.
m the Kurunegala district, it is extremely abundant. As regards the young birds during the south-west monsoon,
I have found them more abundant in the low-lying forests between Ilaputalc and the sea than anywhere else.'
I would add here that m my conclusions concerning the migration of the old birds I am supported by
my friend and correspondent, Mr. Parker, who has paid particular attention to the subject during his residence
at Madewatchiya, where the species was very numerous and bred in April and May. Mr. Holdsworth
observed many immature birds at Aripu during the south-west monsoon j but I am not aware that
he met with any adult red birds. As regards the earlier migration of the adults, and the arrival witli
them of many young birds, it can be explained on the assumption that most birds leave the island to
breed on the mainland, bringing their young back with them, while a few that have paired as early as April
are constrained to remain behind for a period and breed in the island, departing soon afterwards withmt
their young.
On the continent the Paradise Flycatclier is found from the extreme south of the peninsula to the Hima-
layas. To the westward it extends to the province of Guzerat and the vicinity of Kattiawar; it is, says Capt.
Butler, not uncommon at Mount Aboo, and it likewise occurs at Sambhur and Ajmere. Mr. Brooks has
observed it in the valley of the Bhagirati, even above Mussoori, but it does not seem to ascend the Himalayas
to any considerable altitude. In Travancore, Mr. Bourdillon writes that it ascends the hills in March and
April when the weather is hot ; but in the Palanis Mr. Fairbank only observed it at the base of the ranges.
Messrs. Davidson and Wonder say that it is “ freely scattered all over the Dcccan,” and they believe thal; it
breeds at Satara. Mr. Ball writes that it is a remarkable fact that it does not visit the Chota-Xagpur and
Sambalpur jungles until March and April. In 1875 he observed no birds until the latter month, and saw
them after that daily during the month of May, “ while marching through the Orissa tributary mehals.^^
It is w'orthy of remark that this bird has been called the Paradise-bird from the earliest times. Edwards
who figured it as the Black-and-white crested Bird of Paradise,^' says that it had been described formerly by
Mr. Petever in Ray’s ‘ Synopsis Methodica Avium,’ published in the 17th century, and he likewise speaks of
having seen three skins of it in London.
Habits. This remarkable bird is very fond of the neighbourhood of water, and is always found in shady
trees surrounding tanks, swamps, and wet paddy-fields, or bordering rivers and streams in the forests. The
fine bamboos on the western and southern rivers are a favourite resort. It is, however, not confined to aqueous
spots, but is found in jungle of all descriptions and in the densest forests. It is a very tame bird, exhibiting
not the slightest fear of man, and often takes up its abode in jack, bread-fruit, and other cultivated trees
adjacent to native cottages, about which it darts, whisking its long tail to and fro, and when in the white
plumage forms a conspicuous and beautiful object as contrasted to the surrounding dark-green foliage. It
IS very lively in the evenings before roosting, uttering its harsh note, tchreet, and darting actively on passing
insects. It IS capable of much longer flights than most Flycatchers, frequently compassing the distance across
some wide paddy-field with ease and celerity. Its peculiar appearance when thus flying, with its long tail
extended like a piece of rag or cotton, has acquired for it the curious native appellations by wdiicli it is known.
It does not return to its perch after taking its prey, but darts off to another, and so moves about more than is
usual with other Flycatehers. I have once or twice disturbed it from the ground, which proves that its habits
are to a slight extent terrestrial— a remarkable feature in a Flycatcher. Mr. Ball has seen it alight on the
ground, and writes that Captain Gray and Mr. Leviu confirm his statement that it does do so ; the former
mentions three of the chestnut birds hopping round his chair, and the latter saw young birds settlino- on the
ground in his garden and hopping about after insects.
Nidijication. Mr. Parker writes me that the Paradise F^lycatcher breeds about Madewatchiya in 4pril
and May. Layard mentions having found a nest at Tangalla, in the fork of a satin-wood tree, and that the
nest was “ a neat well-built cup-shaped structure, composed externally of mosses and lichens, and lined with
hair and wool.”
Mr. Hume writes that » the nest is commonly a delicate little cup, never very deep, often rather shallow,
composed, according to locality, of moss, moss-roots, vegetable fibres, and fine grass, which latter generally
constitutes the greater portion of the framework, bound round exteriorly with cobwebs, in which little silky-
TEKPSIPHONE PAPADTSI.
407
. , , ,n. exterior depth is about 2 inehes, and the cavity varies in diameter
white eoeoons are often ^^d ! The exter J ^
from 2-0 to 275, and m depth from 1 0 to 1 is
the exterior surface of tlie cavity, and this, wi or four twiffs spring from it, which. Captain Hutton
.„u.ll, placed 0„ . horizontal branch, often It i aonrokmea hxed h. the
remarks, are incorporated into its sides, e ma^ Cashmere Dr. Henderson found the nests of these birds in
hraiich by means of grass and spiders webs. hair-like strips of bark. The
apple- and mulberry-trees, placed high up ^ ^,otc or salmon-pink, more or less thickly
number of eggs usually laid is four; the groun -co our is pin average in size 0-81 bvO'G inch,
speckled, chiefly at the large end, with rather bright brown, sh-ied spots, iliey
Genus HTPOTlIYMIS.
n srmfil near the tip ; upper mandible flattened, and the
Bill very broad and not compresse ^ jj^-geted forward. Wings with the 5th quill the
lower inflated beneath ; rictal bristles on subequal. Tail equal to the
longest, the 2nd shorter than tarsus much longer than the middle toe, pro-
wing, even at the tip. Legs anc > curved,
tected with well-developed scutse ; outer toe loi »
HYPOTBTMIS CEYLONENSIS.
(THE CEYLONESE AZURE FLYCATCHER.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Myiagra cm'ulm (VieUl.), Layard & Kelaart, Prodromus, App. p. 58 (1853); Layard, Ann.
& Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 126.
Myiasra a^ea^i ) Jerdon, B. of Ind. i, p. 450 (1862). io pt ; Logge, J. A. S. (Ceylon
ml pm 8- p. 440; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 18, et
Ilypothymis ceylmensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. iv, p. 277 (1879).
The Blue Flycatcher, Europeans in Ceylon.
^Tarawa, Sinhalese (applied to small Flycatchers).
Similis //. azurem, sed macula nuchali nigra parvissima et fascia nigra jugulari nulla distinguenda.
0-5; bill
JMe Iris dark brown ; bill dull cobalt-blue ; legs and feet dusky blue or bluisb plumbeous.
Head neck back, wing-coyerts, tbroat, and chest azure-bluo, the head and throat of a brighter though paler hue than
the rest ; a spot above the nostril and a small patch on the nape velvety black ; wingf brown, edged uRhltie
blnkE ^ m ‘-^Momen, and uulr tail-coverts white • thkdis
bluish ; under wing-eoverts bluish, edged and tipped with white. ’ ^
Female. Bill duller blue than male ; legs and feet paler
Ilciad, hind neck, and throat cmruleau blue, less brilliant than the male, and shading on the chest and back into brownish
rou>uj. In first plumage the iris is brown ; bill blackish, the tip of the under mandible lightish • tarsi bluish feet
dusky. The male has the head and throat dull blue ; chest bluish grey; back and wings irsv brown the t
sSpe" walhirg. P'^t^h’and throat-
Ohs. Mr. Sharpe has separated the Ceylon Azure Flycatcher from its Indian relative (//. azurea) on account of the
Tin' • 4^1 ™™®’ small series proves, the insular bird certainly differs from the continental
altho'unh”Xa the chest-feathers of several males, and can find no trace whatever of any black tippings'
blncl' h ’ } S'A ^ y tlieir undersides are hlachish brown, and, further, the tips of the feathers where the
1' EH regular, slightly upturned, transverse line, and contrast in their brighter blue with the
exhibit a more or loss well-developed jugular streak ,MnToL%t L ‘Lriyi\hTS
ineasures in the wing 2'8, an “Indian ” 2-75, one from Nepal 2-9, and one from Bintulu 2-75 TT.-
closely allied species from the Philippines Flores and other islqnrls H’-fP • • v • 7'^’ “rc*pitahs is a
«i,ed with bluish iuste d of fe "g . “'■""S'*' »'<»
iuto-mf ‘’77 '’'™ rly“tel.er is generally dispersed tl,m„gl,„„t the jungles and forests of the
mtco., not raugutg above the loner hill-distriots, exeept, perhaps in U.a ajd fn the ranges to the
HYPOTHYMIS CEYLONENSIS.
409
nortli-eart of Kandy, where I have .een it between 2000 and 3000 feet. It .» eommon enough ,n ita syl.an
haunts ; but I doubt if it is a familiar bird to any but those who frequent the jungle. In the low thorny
scrubs bounding the sea-board on the dry portions of the island it .s not found nor d.d I obse.we .t anywhere
in the Jaltn. peninsula. In the Western Province it may be seen close to he shore, »qne„tmg the woods
at the back of the eoeoanut-plautations which border the sea, whde further .aland, as well as ,n the south-,e.st
hill-region, it is tolerably numerous.
Habits.-This species is found, either singly or in pairs, affecting
and is also met with in small groves or detached woods in cultivated districts. It usually ^ ^ ^
or dwells in the lower branches of forest trees, generally selecting those spots which ai^ f ^
of sunshine, where it may be seen actively darting on small flies and insects, while it utters its «harp li tie note^
resembling the word tchmi. After the breeding-season young birds associate m s™all roops,
times I have noticed them following each other about among the upper branches o ta
Nidification.-ln the Western Province this Flycatcher breeds from April to July, or during south-
west monsoon rains, bnilding a beautiful little nest in the fork of a sapling or s iru a a on
ground ; it is constructed of moss and fine strips of bark, very neatly finished off at the edge, deco
cobwebs on the exterior, and lined with very fine creeper-tendrils, the interior forming a deep cup of al out
If inch in diameter. The eggs are either two or three, round in form, of a buff-white grouii ®P
openly, chiefly at the obtuse end, with light sienna-red, mingled with darker specks of re . y
0-66 by 0'55 inch.
The centre figure in the Plate accompanying my article on Alseonax muitui (p. 417) represents a male bird
of the present species from Ackmimina, near Galle.
Genus CULICICAPA.
Bill more compressed towards the tip and the culmen more raised than
bristles very long. Wings long, the 4th quill the longest, and the 2nd equa
even. Legs and feet very small. Tarsus feathered at the top.
in the last ; rictal
to the 8 th. Tail
3g
CULICICAPA CEYLONENSIS.
(THE GREY-HEADED FLYCATCHER.)
Platijrhynchus ceylonensis, Swains. Zool. Illust. ser. 1, pi. 13 (1820-21).
Cryptolopha cinereocapilla, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 205 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodroraus,
Cat. p. 122 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 127 ; Horsf. & Moore,
Cat. B. Mus. E. 1. Co. i. p. 147 (1854) ; Jerd. B. of Ind. i. p. 455 (1862).
Culicicapa cinereocapilla, Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 381.
Myialestes cinereocapiUa, Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 441 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i. p. 205
(1873) ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 18.
Culicicapa ceylonensis, Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 401 ; Hume, B. of Tenass., Str. Featli.
1878, p. 226; Sharpe, Cat. Birds, iv. p. 369 (1879).
The Ceylonese Flatbill, Swainson ; Znd phutki, Beng.
Adult male ami female. LengLh 4-9 to 5-2 indies ; wing 2-4 to 2-6 ; tail 1'9 to 2-2 ; tarsus 0-55 to 0-6 : mid toe and
claw 0‘45 to O'o ; bill to gape 0'55.
Iris brown; bill, upper mandible blackish, lower fleshy at base, with the tip dark; legs and feet brownish yellow
yellowish brown, or greyish yellow ; soles yellow, claws pale brownish.
Lores, head, hind neck, and cheeks cinereous grey, the centres of the feathers on the head blackish slate-colour ; on the
hind neck the grey blends into the greenish yellow of the back, scapulars, wing-coverts, and rump, the latter being
more yellow than the back ; wings and tail dark brown, edged with the hue of the rump, except on the two outer
primaries and the lateral rectrices ; orbital fringe greyish ; throat, chest, and sides of neck pale ashy grey, blending
. into the grey of the upper parts ; beneath, from the chest, saffron-yellow, shaded with greenish on the sides of the
breast and flanks ; under wing-coverts greenish yellow.
Young. Immature birds in their first plumage almost resemble adults ; the lores are greyish, and the colourino- of the
breast more overcast with greenish ; the wing-coverts are tipped with yellowish, and the lower parts not so°vellow
as in the adult. ^
Ohs. I have compared an extensive series of this species with Ceylonese examples, with the following results A
Cashmere, a Pegu, a West-Javan, and a N.W.-Himalayan example are all slightly yellower on the back than the
majority of Ceylonese birds, and vary in the wing from 2-25 to 2-o, the latter measurement being that of the
Pegu example. Another specimen, from the N.W. Himalayas, is paler than all, and has the rump yellower and
the quills more conspicuously edged than in the rest of the series. A Sarawak example is an exact match with
t lose in my collection from Ceylon. It therefore appears that this species is spread over a very large geographical
area, with but little variation in the character of its plumage.
Dish ibution. In Ceylon the present species is essentially a hill -bird, and is, within its own limits, the
most abundant of its family in the island. It inhabits the Kandyan Province from the Horton Plains and the
tops of the highest ranges down to a general elevation of about 1800 feet ; in the wilderness of the Peak
however, I have met with it at an altitude of only 1000 feet, a little above the pretty elevated plain of Gilly-
mally. In the southern coffee-districts it is quite as numerous as in the Central Province, and it is also found
in the more elevated parts of the Kukkul Korale, as well as in the great Singha-Rajah forest. In large tracts
of mountain-forest, such as those covering much of the Nuwara-Elliya plateau and its great outlying spurs
and the upper portion of the Knuckles range, it is more abundant than in the lower-lying coffee- districts which
have been denuded of forest.
Jerdon writes that the Grey-headed Flycatcher is dispersed throughout all India, from the Himalayas to
the Ndghiris, the only locality in the south of India where it is common being the summits of the latter hills.
In Central India it is occasionally met with, and is not rare in Lower Bengal. As it is so common in Ceylon
CULICICAPA CETLONENSIS.
411
... - 1 .w. ■ fn,mcl in all the elevated forests in the south. I observe that it is not recoided
It IS singular that it i^^ ^ot found in a ^
from the Travancore lulls, though Mr 1 a y ^ ^ frontier beyond the Saiiibhur Lake, where
lower down/’ It does not seem to extend towards / ,ig,,ed throughout the sub-
Mr. Adam remarks that it is very rare^ lurm Tcnasserim, in which
Himalayan region, breeding up to 7000 teet, a , j ...^y down the Malayan peninsula to
latter province Mr. Hume says it is found sparingly, extending J returning again to the continent
Singapore island. Further south than this it is found m J ava and Borneo , and leturnin, ag
we find Swinhoe recording it from the Szechuen Province. wivcatcher was first made known
In common with not a few other widely-distributed species, us x„j,.;ons ’ and called by him the
from Ceylon, the specimen figured by Swainson in his ‘Zoologiea lUustra ions and J
Ceylonese Flatbill, having been sent to him by that diligent naturalist Governoi Loten.
Habits.— Th.\s is a charmingly tame and fearless little bird, trees, the
teristic sounds of the cool up-country forests of Ceylon. It frequen s e ^ ^
edges of clearings in the jungle, patna-woods, &c., and is particularly fond of trees ,,
on'the borders mountain-streams. It is exceedingly active, and for the Part bves in ear^y^^
its insect- trapping vocation in perfect disregard to any thing going on arou . accomnanies its occu-
.u m.ect and alight on a fallen log or lo, atump aithin a few feet of a J‘ ““,Xra» ,.p iB
pations by the ciercise of its vocal powe.a, frequently giving vent to its cheeitul n , 1 P
prey wi/an audible sound of its mandibles. The whistle of thejnale is a n^ore
bird of such small site, and resembles the syllables ul-Uu-wheee, “ ' and” keep up a constant
repeated. Birds of the year congregate in little troops unaceonipmiied by adults, keep up
twittering note frequent sallies after
Jerdon writes of its habits as touows . fluunp. about a ffood deal, though it usually
small insects, and not always returning to the same perch, but flitting about gooc
remains in the same tree or clump of trees for some time. ;
bare not had the good
present species in Ceylon; but on consulting ^ . +v,p mouths of April May, and June, and
birds, we find that in India the Grey-headed Flycatcher lays during the rock or
constructs its nest, according to Indian observers, amidst c growing moss-roots or with
old trunk of a tree ; it is composed of moss, cobwebs, and lichens,
fine grass-stalks. Thenests resemble little watch-poekets o moss, ® ™ , are very difficult to discover.
by about 2 inches in depth, and, fixed as they are hunch of mosses fastened to the tree with
Capt. Hutton speaks of one which had depended beneat i a on^, number of eggs is usually
spiders’ webs, and serving as a support or cushion on winch the^nest res^ed^^^^^^
four ; Mr. Hume describes them as moderately bioa c , , f ond blotches towards the
are dingy yellowish white, and they have a broad ^ "rbr™^^ ^
large end, the colour of which is a mottled combination o in^ } almost glosslcss, and
the rest of the egg is more or less thickly spotted with very pale dingy brown. Ihey are almos ,
average 0'62 inch in length by 0'48 inch in breadth.
Genus EHIPIDUEA.
Bill compressed suddenly near the tip, culmen raised; rictal bristles very long ; nasal bristles
well developed. Wings with the 1st quill about half the length of the 2nd; 4th the longest.
1 ail exceeding the wing, and expanding towards the tip; lateral feathers graduated. Tarsus
longer than the middle toe.
KHIPIDUKA ALBIPEONTATA.
(THE WHITE-FRONTED PANTAIL.)
BMpidura albofrontata, Frankl. F. Z. S. 1831, p. 116 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus E I
Co. i. p. 145 (1854).
Leucocerca albofrontata, Jerd. Madr. Journ. 1840, xi. p. 12 ; id. 111. Ind. Orn. pi. 2 (1847) ;
Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 206 (1849) ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i. p. 201 (1873)-
Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 404.
Leucocerca compresdrostris, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1849, xviii. p. 815; Kelaart, Prodromus,
Cat. p. 123 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 126; Jerdon B. of
Ind. i. p, 483 (1862).
Leucocerca aureola, Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 370 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 440; Hume, Str.
Feath. 1873, pp. 178, 436, et 1875, p. 104.
Rhipidura albifrontata, Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 338 (1879).
The White-browed Fantail, Jerdon ; Fantail, Europeans in Ceylon Shamchiri, Hind, in North-
west; Machartja, lit. “Mosquito-catcher,” Hind, in South; Manati, lit. “Washerman,”
Malabar. ’
Marawa, Sinhalese.
Adult male and fmmh. Length 6-8 to 7-1 inches ; Tving 3-0 to 3-25 ; tail 3-2 to 3-4 ; tarsus 0-7 to 0-8 ; mid toe and
claw O‘o5 ; bill to gape 0-65 to 0-7.
Ins brown ; bill black, pale at base beneath ; legs and feet blackish brown or black, in some wood-brown.
Crown, nape, lores, throat, and face black, blending on the hind nape into the cinereous blackish brown of the upper
surface ; wings and tad brown ; forehead and a very broad band over the eye to the nape, under surface from the
throat down, and terminal portion of all but the centre tail-feathers pure white; the white of the lateral rectrices
occupies 1 s major portion, varying from 1‘4 to 1-6 inch on the inner web, and running up the outer web to the
ase , wing-coverts with termiii.ol white spots ; chin and gorge edged white, which varies much in extent, occupying
in some individuals the lower part of the cheeks ; quills blackish brown ; wing-lining black, edged or barred with
The hue of the upper Pl)«nage fades wdh time, and scarcely any two specimens appear to be exactly alike; in such
abraded p umage the head is blackish brown, and the back dark cinereous brown, with the wing-eovert tips much
reduced in size* In some specimens the white supercilium meets, though imperfectly, round the nape.
roanp (India). A specimen m nestling plumage has the eye-stripe narrower than the adult, the feathers, as well as the
adjacent blackish ones on the occiput, slightly tipped with rufous; scapulars, back-feathers, tertials, and wing-
coverts tipped Tvnth rufous ; the white on the tail-feathers reduced; the throat blackish, but not so dark as in the
adult, and less tipped with white ; under surface white, tinged with buff.
Ols. Blyth separated the Ceylonese bird from the Indian, alleging that its bill was more compressed and that it had
ess w 1 on . e tail. I imagine he was led to these conclusions by an examination of immature specimens, for I
EHIPIDUEA albifeontata.
413
, ^ ■f„fi,„,-,.,lUHn<’hiessoiicoinparmfftheinaularspecim6nswithIndian. Someofthelatterhave
have not been able ^ tail-feathers than the generality of Ceylon birds, but others have less ; and as to
more white, perhaps, on the lateral tad te TTi„„i„vas Gondul, and Dehra Boon, in the national collection,
the bill., I fi..d tot three .pectm.e. from to tip. A North-we.t Prorioe. e»m,,l.
.re .mailer m the bill tom toy toy f i.a.fe,thet eatendiDg up it 1-8 inch i one from
measures in the wing 3 3o inches, ana uas i . respectively; and these
Eawul Pindi measures 2-9 in the wing, and two rom Boon 3 16 aua^^ ^
last three have the greater wing-coverts very deep y ippe wi , ^ ^ Journal of the Asiatic Society,’
liarity. Mr. Nevill, of the Ceylon Civil Service, in a communi atiou made ^y.^he describes
Ceylon Branch, 1867--70,p. 138, writes of seeing a FantoledFlycatcto^^
(from seeing the bird on the wing, I conclude) as ha g u u ^ R nertoralis although I consider it
white.” It is possible, as Mr. Holdsworth suggests, that it may have been E. rectorahs, althoug
more probable that it was the young of the present species. , e.^f; . Wll lo sane 0'61.
An .dull X. perier-a (God.v.ri v.lley) me.mre. :-Wi»g 2-7 .nehe. , t». 4-1 , to ™p • .npercilium
Head and cL blackish, paling into brown on the back, and ink, *‘X /' ™ ““
white; throat whiteifore nook and side. 1 A 7 wX
rnfescent on the abdomen and under tail-covert, , .ide, of to chest blackmb brown ; wn.g, m.d pie
the tail-feathers gradually pahng towards the tips into dull whitish.
Di,(rifa«».-Tho .‘Pantail" i. chiefly an inhabitant of the dry jnngle-region between
mountains and the south-east coast, the eastern portion of the low country ^ ^ Tn the first-
welliganga and the district of Uva, including the patna-basin at the foot of the ^
named tract of country, including the Park,” it is more common than elsewhere
borders of tanks and Mso detacLd clumps of wood. From the Bintenne country f
and the valleys in the Hewahette and Maturata districts, where i is y no mean . p^^ggi^wa and
chiefly on tree-dotted patnas and in the glens "y being
Ilaputale. It would appear that it is found occasional y P ^ J occasionally
that of the bird seen near Nuwara J ^ j ^^et with it at that season at Baddegama.
seen during the north-east monsoon in the GaUe d . , . i. r 4 .t,„+ .japp . but there is no reason
I have nevL seen it in the neighbourhood of Trincomalie nor to tlie north of that place , but
to suppose that it does not inhabit this quarter of the island. , ,. + t yhAArpr Ben o-al extending to
leMou weiks. -The Whik-bvo.efl Pauto, is touud .U -XXoo'Z ttcL,
the f«,t of the Himalayas, ouly not toward, tbe soutb-ermk « » ““X” „ortb.weslem limit, Mr, Hume
and IS not rare in the North-west Provinces and in Sindh. ^ , u Pp^pvat He remarks
says that it is common throughout the whole region, inelnding Sindh, Alount Aboo, ilZ7ot
that it breeds as high up as 4000 feet on the Himalayas. Extending to the east I ^
not record it from Caehar. In Upper Pegu it appears to he not nneommon, and Blyth recorded t ’
although Messrs. Hume and Davison have not found it in Tenasserim. Mr. Fairbank met with it up to
in the Palanis.
Hujas-This show, little bird is o.e of the most interestiug of our Plyo.tohers i
of trees, or those stauding isolated on patnas and semicultivated g, oiin , Jung ^ it is a fearless
open grassy glades, and in the Eastern Proyince coooannt-topes m the vretm^ of I* “ ‘ "
species, and Ln lot paired for breeding is usually of solitary hab.t. At thm me to
amusing; for the male, in his endeavonrs to attrmtt the attent.on of his oonsott
to that of the Peacock, and seems to delight iu displaying Ins prowess to mankind a.
He will sometimtw alilh. on a tree close to a bystander, and Proceed "th a measured ht.Ie
a horizontal trunk or up a slanting branch, with an ontsprea mg mov reminding one
to and fro of its body, combined with an expanding and '■ whistle, nttenkl in an
of tbe balance-step in . hornpipe I Not less s.r^nl.r is to “tTometimes does, from a thickly
ascending scale for the edification of its mate; and •’:“PXlt to persuade one's seU that it is made by
foliaged tree, completely hiding the performer from view, i is ^fflej^ ^ ^
a bird. I. is very active in catching to prey, and, ” /“f^Xateut i^ the mmner above described ; anS
with a sudden dart. I have seen it on the ground, stalking aDour m
414
RHIPIDUEA ALBIFEONTATA.
ir/oTh7sman f consists of mosquitos
ottier small dipterous insects, as also the small CicadellcB - whieh are abundant in India.
^'lycatclier breeds in Ceylon during the early part of the year. I have not had the
Lscriberrm its cleverly-constructed little nest myself j but Mr. Jefferies, of Gangaroowa estate
belS^S, ""v T ‘constructed in an orange-tree in his compound at Hindugllla as beimr a
f ^ -
SSSS ™
white to vellnxiGTi 1 ^ A' ^ usually three m number, the ground-colour varying from pure
endtvi. fn cream-colour, spotted and speckled in a broad irregular zone near the W
size 0-66 byThl inZ""’ intermingled with spots or tiny clouds of faint inky purple.- Average
Genus ALSEOK'AX.
Bill wide at the base, stout, triangular, the under mandible rounded beneath and pale at the
base; nctal bristles long. Wings with the 2nd quill longer than the 6th, and the and 4th
he longest, fail shorter than the wings and even at the tip. Legs and feet small.
ALSEONAX LATIEOSTEIS.
(THE BROWN FLYCATCHER.)
Muscicapa latirostris, Eaffl. Tr. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 312 (1821).
Muscicapa grisola, var. daimrica, Pall. Zoogr. Eosso-Asiat. i. p. 461 (1831).
Ilemichelidon latirostris, Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 262 (1845) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 175
(1849); Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. 1. Co. i. p. 137 (1856).
Butalis latirostris, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1847, xvi. p. 121 ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1854, xiii. p. 127 ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 123 (1852).
Alseonasc latirostris. Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 53 (1850) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 459 ; Holdsw.
P. Z. S. 1872, p. 441 ; Hume & Henderson, Lahore to Yark. p. 185, pi. v. ; Walden,
Ibis, 1873, p. 308; Hume, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 219 ; Bourdillon, ibid. 1876, p. 396 ;
Hume (B. of Tenass.), Str. Feath. 1878, p. 227; Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 127 (1879).
Alseonax terricolor, Brooks, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 470.
ZukJci, Plind. (Jerdon); Shima-modzu, Japan (Blakiston).
Adult male and female. Length 5-1 to 5-3 inches ; wing 2-7 to 2-95 ; tail 2-2 ; tarsus 0-55 ; mid toe and claw 0-6 ;
bill to gape 0'6.
Iris brown ; bill, upper mandible blackish, lower fleshy -CTuth dark tip ; legs and feet dark grey or wood-brown.
Lores mingled grey and white ; an orbital fringe of fulvous ; head and upper surface light cinereous brown, slightly
darker on the head ; wings and tail hair-brown ; wing-coverts pale-margined, inner secondaries and tertials with
broad fulvous-grev edgings ; tail tipped pale j chin albescent, darkening on the fore neck and chest into cinereous
grey; breast and lower parts white; flanks cinereous grey.
The amount of pale edging on the wing-coverts and secondaries varies considerably. Mr. Hume, too, notices this
character in ‘ Stray Feathers;’
Young (nestling: Nepal). Above brown, slightly tinged with rusty on the upper tail-coverts, and each feather of the
upper surface with an elongated central spot of greyish near the tip, which becomes fulvous on the rump and
upper tail-coverts ; wing-coverts with deep terminal edgings of fulvous ; inner secondaries the same ; quills
margined internally with rufescent ; ear-coverts tipped with dark brown ; under surface whitish, the fore-neck
feathers tipped with dusky; flanks dusky.
Ohs. I have examined a large series of this Flycatcher from Japan, China, India, the Andamans, Java, Sumatra, Borneo,
and Saigon, and am of opinion that there is but the one species, with perhaps a local race, which is rusty-
coloured on the upper surface, but similar beneath to our bird, in Cochin China and Borneo. Examples from
Japan, nine of which I have examined, are identical to all intents with those which visit Ceylon ; they are perhaps
greyer on the back and not quite so broum on the chest and flanks ; they vary in the wing from 2'() to
2'85 inches, and in the bill are the same as ours. A Tenasserim example (w. 2'6) is slightly more “ earthy” than
Ceylonese examples on the rump, and one from N.W. Himalayas still more so ; two from Port Blair are positively
identical with specimens killed in Ceylon. A Javan bird is very rusty-coloured on the nape and edges of the wing-
coverts, therein approaching a Sarawak bird, which measures in the wing 2' 55 inches only, and w'hich is very
“ rusty ” on the upper surface, the ferruginous tint increasing towards the rump ; the wdng-coverts are margined
and tipped with ferruginous ; and, in fact, were it not for the under surface, which is almost exactly the same as
specimens from India and elsewhere, the bird would have the appearance of Ilemichelidon ferrugineus. An
example from Saigon is much the same as the last. These birds might w'ell form a subspecies, I think; but I see
that Mr. Sharpe, in the 4th vol. of his great ‘ Catalogue of Birds,’ unites the races from all parts in one and the
same species. Mr. Hodgson’s specimens of A. terrieolor in the British Museum are in bad order ; but they are
clearly nothing but the present species.
Distribution . — This modest little bird is a cold-weather visitant to Ceylon, coming to us from South
416
ALSEONAX LATIEOSTEIS.
India m October and departing again in the following April. It spreads over the whole low country, but is
nowhere very plentiful, and liable to he passed over, as it is of solitary habits. From the low lands it ascends
mto the coffee-districts to an altitude of about 3500 feet. About Colombo and on the west coast generally
It IS fairly common, inhabiting trees in the vicinity of houses or even in the town itself, and it is liable to be
met with anywhere in the interior.
It was described from Sumatra by Eaffles, but does not appear to have been procured there of late years,
althoiigh It is not uncommonly met with in Java, Borneo, and Malacca j it is of course a winter visitor to all
this region and also to the Andamans, where Lieut. Wardlaw Eamsay procured it in December, January
and February. According to Swinhoe it summers in China, and does the same in Japan and Eastern Siberia,
in which regions it no doubt chiefly breeds, and from which it migrates at the latter end of the year to India
Tenasserim, and Malasia. In Tenasscrim, singularly enough, Mr. Hume says that it has only been observed
in the southern half of the province. It does not appear to be found in Burmah, and is not recorded by
Ml. Inglis from Cachar; it is therefore somewhat difficult to follow its line of migration to India from China
and North-eastern Siberia ; and it may be that the birds which visit the plains of India, the southern part of
the peninsula, and Ceylon breed in the Himalayas. Jerdon writes that A. terricolor of Hodgson inhabits the
Himalayas at no great elevation, and visits the plains in the cool season, which implies, of course, that it
^mmers in the mountains j it will be observed also that the young bird which I have described above is from
Nepal. It does not extend into North-western India, keeping quite to the cast until it gets to the Deccan
where Messrs. Davidson and Wender obtained it at Sholapoor and Mr. Fairbank at Khandala. In the
Travancore hills Mr. Bourdillon says it is common during the winter months.
This Flycatcher resembks in its economy the common species of Europe {Muscicapa arisola) and
reminds one much of this latter species. It takes up its abode in shady trees, often in the middle of towns
and villages, or on the borders of streams, in native gardens, and even in the recesses of the dry forests of the
north. It chooses in the latter localities a spot whieh is cheered by the rays of the sun, and quietly perches
on the low branch of a tree, every now and then making an active dart on a passing insect and returning
with it to its perch. It is very silent and exceedingly tame, sitting fearlessly in the most public situations,
entirely regardless of the busy hum of human life. It now and then utters a weak note after catching an
insect, and will then sit perfectly motionless until it espies some other object of pursuit.
MUTTUI. HYPOTHYMIS CEYL ONEYTSIS ,
5TOPAROLA SOEDIPA.
ALSEONAX MUTTUI.
(THE RUSTY FLYCATCHER.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Butalis muttui, Layard, Ann, & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 127 ; Legge, Ibis, 1878, p. 208.
/ernwMtetis, Jerdon, B. ot Ind. i. p. 460, in part (1862). , i> r/ ^ lo^o
Alseonaw terricolor [nee Hodgs.), Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 441; Layard, 1 . Z. S.
p. 204; Legge, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 366.
Alseonax flavipes, Legge, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 36/. .
Alseonax muttui, Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 132 (1879).
Suprt b™«eu., pile. .„pra».<Uib.,> m»gi. rutesoe.tibus :
^ concoloribus, majoribus brunneis, Myesconti-rufo inarg.natis : tec nabus
secuudiiriis fulvescenti-rirfo marginatis: rectricibus brunneis, pallidioie lu . , nallide brunneL
thalmico albidis : regione parotica bmnnea : gutture a bo : geins P®«f ®
fulveseenti lavato : 5ectore medio et abdomine pur6 albia : subcaudalibus fuhescenti-albidis .
ribus cervinis : remigibus iufri. brunneis, intus cervino marg natis : rostro mgricanti-brunneo, mandibula flavicaute
ad apicem brunneft : pedibus pallidd flavis ; iride rufescenti-brunnea.
Adult ntale and female. Length 5-3 to 5-5 inches ; wing 2-7 to 2-9 ; tail 2-1 to 2-2 ; tarsus O'oS ; mid toe and claw
0-57 ■ bill to gape 0-7 to 0-75. The legs and feet are exceedingly delicate in this species. , f ,
Iris LeCbrown; bill, upper mandible dark brown with pale tip, under mandible fleshy yellow i legs and feet pam
Yellow ■ eyelid dark plumbeous. In one female the tip of the upper mandible is pale.
lores ial fringe, and a spot beneath the gape whitish; head and upper part of hind neck dark oliYe-brown,
and under tail-coverts white, flanks light yellowish broum ; wing-limng brownish, paling off into
Ofe. This ' ThStnoiit
thif colour most prevalent on the outer webs of the Wvm ^'l^ngth
?otchtS3i""S^ specimens I have procured in
the island ^ ^ representative of this species,
Cyornis manddhi (Rume, btr. i^eatn. ]>• o j wn <5 T^pnned the British Museuui has
i„h»bl.ing Sikbim .«d th. hill-regiou of South™ Indm. ff* l.belW, i« «.™o.
aeguired a specimeu of this species from the co ro ion sen i™' description of O, ma^^delln. On Mr. Sharpe
as a female Cyomis magnirostris, but it corresponded with . P member of the genu.s
and mvself Lpiming it with the C.,lonbM, it pro.iM *» '“Vito the . the
Ahmua, having the pale lower mniidihio whidi does not oil d ,hght!v
first-named genus. It is almost identical on the upper sui ^ prowuer, aud the whole breast instead
darker ; but the under surface is very much darker, the fla browner than
of being white is tawny brown, the vent and under tail-cmur s description he says, “the breast,
in A. mvittii, and the white throat-patch smaller. In ' • are— wing 3-0 inches, tail 2v5 ; the legs are
sides, aud flanks are pale brown.” The dimensions o is sp insular form. Alseoma; fermyinewe,
in the dried skin dusky yellow, and they are more ro us j ^ion not far distant from these two species ;
now placed by Mr. Sharpe in the genus Bermchehdon, is in its ^ ^
418
AL8E0NAX MUTTUI.
but it is much more rufous, particularly ou the back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and edgings of the wing-coverts,
and the lower parts are also much more rufescent.
Distribution . — This rare Flycatcher was discovered by Layard at Pt. Pedro, the extreme north of the
island ,• he writes thus of it, after describing the specimen brought to him : — “ I name this new species after
my old and attached servant Muttn, to whose patient perseverance and hunting skill I owe so many of my best
birds. This one he brought to me one morning at Pt. Pedro during the month of June.” I am not aware
that it was again met with until rediscovered by myself in January 1875, w'hen I obtained one of two
specimens seen in forest a few miles from Trincomalie. After that date I did not notice it until February
1877, when I met Avith several individuals in the forest of Ikkade Barawe, in the Hewagam Korale, and
procured three or four of them. It is not improbable that it may inhabit other forests in the south and east
of the island ; for after I had obtained the above examples I came to the conclusion that Flycatchers which
I had not unfrequently seen in heavy forest in the last-named distract and taken for the foregoing species,
which really docs not commonly affect such localities, may possibly have been no other than this interesting
and little-known bird. I therefore commend the subject of a further acquaintance with it to such of my
readers who have the opportunity of omithologically examining the low-country forests of the island. It is
singular that I have only met with it in the north-east monsooir, which would lead to the idea that it was
migratory ; and the late discovery by Mr. Bourdillon of A. mandelli in Travancore would tend to strengthen
this suspicion did Mr. Hume make any mention of these southern specimens being white on the breast ; he,
however, appears to consider them identical with the dark Sikhim examples, as he does not speak of any
difference in the under surface. I must add that Layard procured his specimen in June, which goes far to
prove that the species is resident in, and peculiar to, Ceylon.
Habits . — This little bird has all the modest and retiring habits of its ally already noticed in the last
article. I have alw'ays noticed it frequenting the lateral and rather low outspreading branches of forest trees
by the sides of tracks, paths, or little open glades. It leads a sedentary life, sitting upright and motionless,
and now and then waking into action by darting out at some passing fly. In the stomach of one example
I found much larger insects (moderately sized Coleoptera) than I expected to find captured by so small a bird.
It is the reverse of shy, not objecting to a close scrutiny, under which I found it would sit motionless until
roirsed into flight by the sight of its prey, which to it was evidently much more worthy of attention than
myself and the fatal weapon which was destined to put an end to its quiet existence.
The upper figure in the Plate accompanying the present article represents a male of this species shot in the
Ikkade-Barawe forest, near Hanwella.
Genus STOPAEOLA.
Bill very similar to Alseonax, equally broad, but slightly more robust, and the nostrils more
basal ; rictal bristles long and fine. Wings with the 2nd quill much shorter than in the last
genus, about equal to the 8th ; the 4th and 5th the longest. Tail shorter than the wings, even
at the tip. Legs and feet rather stout. Tarsus as long as the middle toe and claw.
STOPAEOLA SOEDIDA.
(THE CEYLONESE BLUE FLYCATCHER.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Stoparola melanops (nec V.), Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 123 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag.
Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 127.
Niltava ceylonensis. Gray, Hand>l. B. i. p. 326. no. 4897 (1869).
Glaucomyias sordida, Wald. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1870, v. p. 218.
Eumyias sordida, Sharpe, Tr. Linn. Soc. new series, i. p. 326 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 441 ,
Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 18 ; Hume, Stray Feath. 1875, p. 401.
Stoparola sordida, Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 440 (1879).
The Bluish Flycatcher, Kelaart.
Supri sordide viridi-einerasceiis : tectricibus alarum minimis dorso concoloribus, medianis majonbusque cum remigibus
rectrieibusque t'uscis, dorsi eolore marginatis : fronte et supercilio antico laete eyaneis : loris et plamis suboculanbus
nigris : facie lateral! et corpora subtus toto viridi-cinerascentibus : abdomine imo et subcaudalibus albicantibus
macula ad basin mandibulas et mento summo nigris : gula cyaneo lavata ; tibiis cinerascenti-brunneis.
Adult male and female. Length 5-8 to 6-2 inches; wing 2-85 to 3-1 ; tail 2-3 to 2-6; tarsus 0-7 to 0-8 ; mid toe and
claw 0’65 to 0’7 ; bill to gape 0'67 to 0'75. , , . . ,
Iris varying from reddish brown to brown ; bill black ; legs and feet dark plumbeous, the feet sometimes blackish,
much darker than tarsus ; claws black.
Head hind neck, back, and wings sombre verditer-blue ; the edge of the forehead and an ill-dehued superciliaiy stripe
iLzuline blue; chin washed with the same; lores and extreme point of chin black; wings and tail blackish
brown, ed>^od with the blue of the back, the latter mostly towards the base; throat and chest bluish cinereous,
blending with the brighter blue of the chin and paling on the breast, the lower part of which, with the under tai -
coverts, is white. The amount of white on the lower parts and depth of blue of the upper surface vary, being
perhaps dependent on age. In some examples the under tail-coverts alone are unsullied ‘® greps i
bases of the rump-feathers show in imperfeetly-plumaged birds, imparting a pale appearance to that par .
rouw. Iris brown ; legs and feet duskier than in the adult. In the first plumage the head, back and wiiig-coverts
are brown, each feather with a fulvous centre, edged off with blackish ; feathers of the chin and forehead en ire y
fulvous ; throat and breast fulvescent grey, with dark edges. This dress is doffed a few months after fledging,
and specimens in the mixed blue and spotted plumage to be met with in August and September have a curious
appearance.
Obs. This species was identified by Layard as Stoparola melanops, the Himalayan representative of our bird,^but wliich
is a bright verditer-blue instead of the dull colour characteristic of the latter Gray, in drawung up his and- is
of the Birds in the British Museum,’ evidently distinguished the two birds from one another, for he gave he
Ceylonese form the name of Stoparola ceyloneneis ; but as he inserted this name in his list with a fin®U
species being new, and gave no description, it is not accepted. It was not until 1870 that the
who states that ho received four specimens from Ceylon, bestowed the present tirie on i
more nearly allied to the South-Indian S. albicaudata than to the above mentioned H' y , A
Nilghiri bird has the head, back, hind and fore neck a dull iudigo-blue, the forehead
, , v ^ ^ - 4 . 1 . j-u nflie bluish ; bases of all but the central tail-ieathers white, but
and tail brown, edged with blue; the underparts “ i , eollection measui-es 3-1 in
they are quite concealed by these latter, w^hich overlie them . an e p -n -r n- Qiiri i
the wing melanops is a larger bAd; examples which I have examined from Darjiling, Murree, and Aepal
measure from 3-3 to 3-45 in the wing.
Distribution.-This Flycatcher is entirely a hill-bird, inhabiting both the Kandyan and the southern
mountains down to an elevation of somewhat under 2000 feet. It is not common at the Horton plains,
3 h2
420
STOPAEOLA SORDIDA.
accoitliiig to my observation ; but it is abundant sliglitly lower down, at Nuwara Elliya, and throughout the
main range. It is numerous in jungles throughout all the coffee-districts, particularly in the Knuckles and
in Uva. Lower down it is less frequent, except in the secluded woods through which the affluents of the
ilahawelliganga flow. It is found in the Singha-Eajah and other forests bordering the Kukkul Korale, and at
a similarly low elevation on the south-eastern slopes of the Uva ranges.
Habits . — This is a quiet bird, of less active movements than most Flycatchers, and is usually found
frequenting the outskirts of forest, the edges of clearings, the borders of mountain-streams, “or the sides of
roads and paths, in prefei’ence to the depths of the jungle. On a few occasions I have observed it in small
flocks of half a dozen or more on the banks of broad, sunny torrents ; but this is not usual. The male has a
sweet little warble, which it patiently wliistles all day long, particularly in the breeding-season, seated near its
mate j and the note is so low and clear that it seems to come from a distance, whereas the bird is actually
sitting close at hand.
It frequently perches on fallen trees and low stumps, on which it will sit in perfect silence until disturbed,
when it does not take the trouble to fly far, but simply flits to the nearest inviting twig. It evinces little or
no fear of man. Mr. Bligh, who has had much opportunity of observing its habits during a long residence in
the coffee-districts, informs me that it is not sociably inclined, that the males are very pugnacious, and that
when two meet they utter their song in a high key and in “ a passionate hurried manner.” He further
writes : — “ Its sweet plaintive notes are heard during many months of the year ; it affects low perches
from which to pour forth its contentment in song, such as the stump of a tree, a log or rock in the coffee, or
an exposed branch by the jungle-side. Its song has a certain charm, possessing no small resemblance to the
plaintive whistling of the Blackbird. It is a very silent bird except when singing ; indeed I have never heard
it utter a call-note beyond a scarcely audible ‘ sip ’ when it is near its nest.”
Nidification . — From the pen of the same observant naturalist, Mr. Bligh, I gather the following infor-
mation concerning the nesting of this interesting little bird. He says, “ The nest is generally concealed in
various suitable places, such as a shallow hole in a rotten stump or in the trunk of a forest tree ; and I once
found it in a felled tree, well protected by a thick branch of a coffee-bush which grew over it ; it is composed
of moss, lichens, and grasses lined with fine fibrous materials, and is like a Blackbird’s in miniature. The
eggs are dull white, thickly sprinkled and blotched with dark reddish.”
The breeding-season would appear to be in April and May ; for I have shot the young in mixed nestling
and blue plumage in the month of August, both in the Peak and Kukkul-Korale forests.
The lower figure in the Plate accompanying my article on Alseonaos muttui represents a male of the
present species, shot at Debedde Gap in Uva.
Genus SIPHIA.
Bill not so wide as in Stoparola, compressed towards the tip ; rictal bristles not so long ;
1st primary very short, 2nd slightly exceeding the 8th; the 4th and 6th the longest, considerably
exceeding the 3rd. Tail shorter than the wings. Tarsus shorter than in the last genus, but
exceeding the middle toe without its claw.
SIPHIA tickellij:.
(THE BLUE REDBREAST.)
Muscicapa hyacintha, Tickell, J. A. S. B. 1833, ii. p. 574. ^ * c u
Oyornis banyumas [nee Horsf.), Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1843, xii. p. 941 , id. Cat. B. us. . . .
p. 173 (1849) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 446 (1862). _
Cyornis tickellioe, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1843, xii. p. 941 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. >
Lloyd, Ibis, 1872, p. 197 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 436 ; Ball, ibid. 1874, p. ;
Butler & Hume, ibid. 1875, p. 468. ^
Cyornis jerdoni. Gray, Hand-1. B. i. p. 325 (1869); Jerdon, Ibis, 1872, p. 12o , Ho su.
P.Z.S. 1872, p. 442; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 18.
Siphia tickellioe, Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 447 (1879).
Marawa, Sinhalese.
AdvM male and female. Length 5-6 to 5-9 inches ; wing 2-7 to 2-95 ; tail 2-3 to 2-6 ; tarsus 0-65 to 0-7 ; mid toe and
claw 0'65 ; bill to gape 0‘7 to 0'77.
Male. Iris brown ; bill blackish ; legs and feet bluish brown, dusky bluish, or bluish grey.
Head and entire upper surface (including the sides of the neck), wings, and tail dull blue, brightening at the forehea ,
above the eye, and on the point of wing into shining cmrulean blue ; inner webs of the rectrices and quills and the
outer primaries wholly blackish brown ; lores, face, and along the base of the under mandible to the chin bluish
black ; throat (commencing at a point between the dark blue sides), neck, and chest fine fulvous rufescent, paling
off on the sides of the breast and flanks to light fulvous, and leaving the centre of breast and abdomen with the
under tail-coverts white.
Obs. In the damp southern forests are to be found dark rufous-chested examples of this species with a broad max-
illary stripe exceeding that of specimens from other parts of the island by O’l inch, and with the abdomen an
under tail-coverts very faintly washed with rufous, forming, in fact, a link between the present species an le
Javan bird ((7. banyumas). I possess such a specimen from the timber-jungles of Opate.
Female. Bill less black ; legs and feet bluish, paler than in the male. w • i
Above a lighter or faded blue, with a less brilliant frontal stripe and shoulder-patch ; lores fulvous grey , c ee s ui ,
without the chin-stripe ; chin whitish, deepening to light rufescent fulvous on the chest, and paling on the flan s
as in the male.
Young male. Legs and feet light bluish. Head and hind neck brown, with fulvous-yellow mesial Imes ; back brown,
suffused with fulvescent, and each feather with a terminal spot of the same ; wing-cover swi . chest
brighter hue than the markings of the back; quills and tail as in the beneath the
fulvescent, with a faint indication of a stripe along the edge of the lower -audible, and
edged dusky. The clothing-feathers are doffed at a very early age, and the blue of the back, together
rufous hues of the underparts, soon assumed.
Young fermle. Legs and feet fleshy; upper parts duller brown than the male, with central stripes and terminal
spots of fulvous ; chest pale bufi-white, darkly edged.
Obs. This is the species styled by Jerdon in his ‘ Birds of India ’ C. iiLelliw,
by Gray in his ‘ Hand- list.’ Blyth, however, had (fcc.at.) ^ jgrdon’s bird. In ‘ The Ibis ’
and this was afterwards found by Major Hayes oy " . ® ^ interesting letter dated from Kattiawar ; and subse-
for 1872, p. 197, he gives the history of this discovery - ^ J ^ ^^^^er of course, styled C. tkhdlice.
quently, as Blyth’s name had pnonty over Grays the ^ J ^utongh some individuals I have
Ceylon specimens do not differ from examples from various parts oi i , s
422
SIPHIA TICKELLI^.
examined from the latter present slight pomts of dissimilarity. Two males from Kattiawar (wings 2-8 and
2‘9 inches), and another labelled “ India” (wing 2'8), in the British Museum, have the breasts somewhat deeper
rufous. An example from Yunnan has the lower parts tinged faintly with rufous, like my Opatc bird ; and another,
a female from the peninsula of India, is paler than insular females on the back, and has the abdomen and vent
faintly tinged with rufous-huff. These instances tend to show that the Indian and Javan birds almost run into
one another. In regard to the lattei', C, hanyumas, with w’hich our species was formerly confounded, its only
distinctive character lies in the belly and under tail-coverts being more or less washed with the rufous hue of the
breast, instead of being white. I say, more or less, because some examples are much paler in this respect than
others. A male from Bintulu, W. Borneo (wing 2-75), has the belly and under tail-coverts quite rufous ; while
two others from Labuan have these parts only slightly tinged with it, being very little deeper-coloured than
the above-mentioned Southern-Ceylon example.
Distribution . — This Flycatcher is widely dispersed through the wdiole island, being an inhabitant of all
forest and tracts of jungle, and is very numerous, being equally at home in the vast jungles of the north and
east, and in the tall timber-forests of Saffragam and the south-western hill-district. In the Central Province
it ranges up to 4000 feet, commonly in Uva, and more rarely in the western portions of Dimbulla, Maskeliya, &c.
In the great forest-distiicts of the island its favourite habitat are the borders of rivers and tanks ; but it is so
common there, that it may be met with in any part of the jungle, and was in the Trincomalie district even an
inhabitant of the isolated Ostenburgh woods between the harbour and the sea. In the south-west it is more
abundant in the timber-forests on the banks of the Gindurah than elsewhere ; but in parts of the Western
Province (at Kaduwella and other places between Colombo and Safi'ragam, for instance) I have found it
occupying the compounds and gardens of the natives, as well as the jungles surrounding the villages.
It is singular that a bird so common was not noticed by Layard during his travels through the
island.
On the mainland this species extends from South India to the north-west of the peninsula, where it is
found in the hilly tracts of Kattiawar, but nowhere else, according to Mr. Hume, in the circumjacent region,
except at Mount Aboo, where Captain Butler procured it. Mr. Hume records it from Kumaon ; and it doubtless
occurs further east along the base of the Himalayas, as it has been got near Calcutta. It is not mentioned
in ‘ Stray Feathers' as inhabiting Burmah or Tenasserim, although the late Marquis of Tweeddale says that it
was obtained by Lieutenant Ramsay in Karennee. I am also unable to separate the example above cited, in
Dr. Anderson's “Yunnan” eolleetion, from Indian examples of the species. In Central India it is not
uneommon; Mr. Ball procured it in the Satpura hills, and remarks that it is rare in Chota Nagpur.
Mr. Fairbank writes that it is found everywhere in the Khandala district in suitable localities; and
Messrs. Davidson and Wender record it from Sholapoor, in the Deccan. Jerdon writes that it inhabits the
Carnatic and the Malabar coast, and Mr. Fairbank procured it in the Palani hills.
Habits . — This pretty bird frequents a variety of situations in jungle and forest, avoiding, however,
the thorny scrubs in the dry coast-districts ; it is very partial to tall underwood beneath the gigantic trees
which line and overhang the river- banks in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, or rear their majestic heads in
the shade of the lofty precipices which scarp the rocky ranges of the Park country. In such spots, which
foster the life of myriads of tropical insects, these little birds ply their busy vocation, the male constantly
piping out its sweet quick little whistle, resembling somewhat the syllables tee-titi-wit-titu-w^, which is
answered by the female with a monosyllabic “ chit ” note. In the dusk of the evening it is a most restless
bird, the male resorting to some overshadowed thicket, and flying from branch to branch, repeatedly uttering
its whistle, which is continued long after the dense surrounding forest has shut out the last rays of departing
daylight. It is at these times very difficult to catch sight of, its dark blue plumage assimilating with the
gloomy aspect of the jungle. It is unsociable towards its fellows, the males strictly keeping at a distance from
one another, even when there are several in the same glen or grove. During most part of the day it does
not display any great activity, but rests, after the morning meal, on slender horizontal branches, now and then
making a sally at a passing insect.
Nidijication . — In the Western Province I have shot the young in nestling-plumage at the end of June,
SIPHIA TICKELLIJ^.
423
and in the Northern Province in the middle of July, so that the breeding-season of this Flycatclicr may he
said to be May and June throughout the island. I obtained no information concerning its nest and eggs
while in Ceylon; but on reference to ‘Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds/ I find that it nests in a niche in a
wall or in a hole between branches of a tree at no great height from the ground. A nest taken by Miss Cock-
burn is recorded by Mr. Hume as being made of “moss and moss-roots, the latter lorming the lining a good
many dead leaves being incorporated in the exterior surface ; it was between 3 and 4 me ics m i lame er
externally, and the egg-cavity was very shallow.” In shape the eggs arc said to be m.xlerate y long ovals
somewhat obtuse at the small end ; the ground-colour is dingy greyish white, very finely freckled am mo e
with dingy reddish brown, the markings being everywhere indistinct and feeble, lut coiicen la t < i •
confluent towards the large end, forming a zone or irregularly defined cap. In some specimens ic mar i g
are very closely set, so that the eggs appear to be of a pale brownish-rufous colour. Ihe aveiagi. ( imen.
of five eggs are 0’76 inch in length by 0'56 inch in breadth ; they have, as a rule, a taint gloss.
SIPHIA RUBECULOIDES.
(THE BLUE-THROATED REDBREAST.)
PJicenicura rubeculoides. Vigors, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 36 ; Gould, Cent. Him. Birds, pi. 25. fig. 1
(1832).
Muscicapa rubecula, Swains. Monogr. Plyc. p. 221, pi. 27.
Cyornis rubeculoides, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1843, xii. p. 941 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 173
(1849) ; Layard, Ann. «& Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 125 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B.
Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 289 (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 466 (1862) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S.
1872, p. 442 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, 1873, p. 211 ; id. Str. Feath. 1875, p. 104 ; Brooks,
t. c. p. 235 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1878, p. 227.
Niltava rubeculoides. Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 264.
Siphia rubeculoides, Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 445 (1879).
ChafJd, Beng. ; Manzhil-pho, Lepchas (Jerdon).
Adult male. Length 5‘6 to 5-8 inches ; wing 2-7 to 2-8 ,: tail 2-0 to 2-2 ; tarsus 0-7 ; mid toe and claw 0-6 ; bill to
gape 0-7.
Female. Length 5-3 to 5-5 inches ; wing 2-7 to 2-8.
Male. Iris deep brown ; bill black ; legs and feet dusky bluish, claw's dusky.
Head, hind neck, back, and wing-coverts dark shining blue ; forehead and point of wing glistening ceerulean blue,
extending more above the eyes than in the last species ; inner webs of the quills and tail-feathers blackish browm,
the outer webs margined with blue, much brighter on the tail than the wing ; upper tail-coverts brighter bine
than the back ; the lores, ear-coverts, and the extreme point of the chin black ; throat and sides of chest deep
obscure indigo-blue, descending further down to the chest in some specimens than in others ; chest and upper
part of the breast rich rufous, fading into white on the low-er breast, abdomen, lov^ er flanks, and under tail-coverts ;
under w'ing-coverts white.
The coloration of the throat is variable; in the majority of specimens from Ceylon the dark blue colour ends in a line
across the lower part of the throat ; but in some it extends considerably upon the sides of the chest, confining
the rufous of the chest to a smaller space, w'hile in others the rufous runs up in a point towards the chin, dividing
the blue of the throat. This exists in an example in my collection, and Mr. Holdsworth noticed it in specimens
from Ceylon in the late Lord Tweeddale’s collection.
Female. Bill dark brown ; legs and feet greyish blue.
Above uniform brownish olive, with the margins of the quills pale, and the upper tail-coverts and tail suffused with
rusty brown ; lores pale ; orbital fringe rufescent ; ear-coverts w'ith pale strise ; throat and chest dull rufous, paling
on the flanks ; the breast, abdomen, and under tad-coverts pure white ; wing-lining yelloNUsh buff.
Yotmg male. Iris light brown ; bill blackish, pale at the base ; legs and feet bluish.
Above bluish, with fulvous tips to the feathers of the head and neck, and terminal spots of the same on the w'ing-coverts ;
chin, throat, and breast rufescent buff, darkest on the chest, and changing into white on the lower parts. The
above is the plumage in which I shot a Elycatcher changing from nest-plumage to the blue dress, in January 1875,
in the forests near Kanthelai tank. There is an indication of a dark line across the throat, just where the lower
border of the blue would be in the adult. It was in company with what appeared to be, as well as I could gather
at a momentary glance in the thick jungle, an adult C, rubeculoides ; and near at hand I obtained a glimpse of
what I took for a brown Gyornis, which would be the colour of the female parent, provided my identification were
correct.
Obs. I observe, on examining a continental series of this bird, the same variation in the marking of the throat
SIPHIA EUBECFLOIDBS.
425
which I have alluded to in the case of Ceylon birds. Mr. Hume especially dwells on this point in connexion with
the Tenasserim individuals referred to in his exhaustive treatise on the birds of that province, and says that in
twelve out of fifteen adult males the rufous of the chest runs up in a stripe towards the chin, and in one the entire
chin and throat are eoncolorous with the breast. It is difficult to see how this latter specimen can be C. ruhecu-
loides ; it would appear more likely to be C. tickcllicB, In three examples from the Horth-west Himalayas, which
have the wings 2-95, 2-8, and 3'0 inches respectivel}^ I find that the blue runs straight across the throat at a
distance of 0'7 inch from the chin in two, and in the third the rufous runs up in a point towards the chin. In a
Darjiling specimen the blue of the throat is very deep in colour, and descends down upon the sides of the chest ;
wing 2-7. In a Pegu example the rufous runs up the blue throat to within 0-4 of the chin ; wing 2-6 ; in one from
Madras the s.ime is the case ; wing 2-8. In no specimen in the British Museum does the rufous extend higher
than within 0‘4 of the chin ; but I observe that Mr. Hume says it does so in rare instances. A presumed female
in the national collection from the Bhootan Dears is much paler rufous on the chest than a Ceylon example ; and
I notice that Mr. Blanford observes this character (Str. Death. 1877, p. 484) in a series procured in the same
district by Mr. Mandelli, in which also the throat is always whitish. A doubt is expressed whether all the
specimens referred to were really females, as they were not sexed ; it is possible, therefore, that these birds may
represent a distinct species.
Cyornis elegans, from Malacca, Borneo, and Sumatra, is described as having the throat bright cobalt-blue, as well as the
forehead and shotdders of the wing, and must be regarded as a brighter-coloured ally of the present species.
Distribution . — I take this Flycatcher to be migratory to Ceylon. I have met with it in various parts of
the northern forests^ hut only between the months of October and April. Layard was of the same opinion,
and writes as follows : — ‘‘ I obtained a few specimens of this elegant little Flycatcher during their migration
from the mainland. I first shot them on the 14th of October 1851, and a few subsequently at Pt. Pedro ; they
then disappeared, and I saw no more of them.’' I never met with it in the western, southern, or eastern districts
SIPHIA NIGEOEUFA.
(the BLA.CK-AND-OEANGE FLYCATCHER.)
Saxicola nigrorufa, Jerdon, Cat. B. 8. India, Madr. Journ. 1839, x. p. 266.
Ochromela nigrorufa, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1847, xvi. p. 129 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 173 (1849); Layard, Ann.
& Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 126; Horsf. & Moore, Oat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 289 (1854); Jerdon, B. of
Ind. i. p. 462 (1862) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 441 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i. p. 207 (1873) ; Bourddlon,
Str. Feath. 1876, p. 396 ; Fairbank, ibid. 1877, p. 401.
Sijphia nigrorufa, Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 455 (1879).
Orange Bohin, Jerdon.
Adult male and female. Length about 5'0 inches (Jerdon) ; wing 2’3 ; tail 1'9 to 2'0 ; tarsus 0"7 ; middle toe and
claw O’ 6 ; bill to gape 0’55. The above measurements, with the exception of the length, are from a series of four
skius in the British Museum.
“ Iris hazel-brown; bill black; legs and feet dirty reddish ” (Jerdon).
Male. Head, face, ear-coverts, hind neck, and a line along the under mandible to the chin blackish blown, tinged with
an ohve hue ; wings very dark brown, the coverts blacker than the quills ; rest of the plumage orange-rutous,
darkest on the back and sides of the neck, and paling into rufescent fulvous on the abdomen.
Female. Head, face, and hind neck olive-brown, the frontal feathers with rufous centres ; e^-coverts striated with
whitish ; remainder of the plumage as in the male, but with the abdomen white , orbita mge ru ous.
Distribution . — The evidence on which this curiously-coloured Flycatcher has hitherto been included in our lists
rests on a drawing of a bird, asserted by Layard to represent it, made by Mr. E. L. Mitford, of the Ceylon Civil Service.
426
SIPHIA EUBECULOIDES.
of the islandj although I shot many examples of the foregoing on the ehance of their proving to be the present
species. It is evidently a rare bird. Mr. Holdsworth mentions having seen examples in Lord Tweeddale’s
collection which were collected, I believe, by Mr. Chapman ; but besides these, Layard^s and my own specimens
are in all probability the only ones procured in the island. If I am right in ray identification of the young of
this bird alluded to in the above “ description,” it is a remarkable fact that it should breed as a visitor to
Ceylon, and at such a time of the year.
Its chief home appears to be the sub-Himalayan region, whence it migrates to the plains of India in the
cool season. In Burmah, however, and likewise in Tenasserim (if the bird inhabiting the latter province
really be this species) it appears to be resident. Mr. Oates says, as regards Pegu, “ this species is common all
over the hills, and I have lately received it from Arracan.” Blyth remarks that it is not rare in the vicinity of
Calcutta during the cold weather. Mr. Brooks says it is common in the lower parts of the valley of the
Bhagirati river above Mussoori in May; and Captain Hutton writes, in the ‘'Journal of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal ’ for 1848, that it arrives there in April to breed, from which it appears that it is not resident in all
This gentleman was devoted to the study of natural history, and collected many birds, particularly in the Eatnapura
district, in which he is said to have procured the present species. It is not improbable that the drawing was a faithful
one, and that Layard rightly identified the species which it was intended to represent ; but, on the whole, I do not
consider the testimony quite sufficient to warrant my giving it a well-established position in the Ceylonese avifauna, and
1 therefore include it as a doubtful species in my list. Mr. Mitford asserts that it was migratory, appearing in J me : in
this he doubtless was mistaken, as no South-Indian species migrates to Ceylon at that season of the year ; and were it
merely a local migrant to that district from other parts, it would have been observed elsewhere in the island. No
evidence, however, other than the above is forthcoming of this Plycatchor over having been procured or seen in Ceylon ;
and it is a bird which it would be impossible to overlook, on account of its remarkable colouring.
The haunts of this species are the ranges of mountains in the south of the peninsula. Jerdon, who named and
discovered it, writes of it, “ This prettily-plumaged bird I have only met with on the summit of the Nilghiris, in the dense
woods of which it may occasionally be seen he also states that it has been found on the highest mountains of Ceylon.
This is a reference to Mr. Mitford’s supposed discovery; but the Eatnajnira district lies at the foot of Adam’s Peak.
Eecently Mr. Bourdillon observed it in the Travancore hUls, remarking that it frequents “ dense wood-thickets, from
2600 feet elevation upwards and Dr. Eairbank likewise met with it “ in groves at the top of the Palanis, as well as at
Shemiganur, 6500 feet elevation.”
Habits . — Jerdon writes concerning this Elycatcher, “ It frequents the dense woods, preferring the most retired shady
and damp swampy spots. Here it may be seen seated motionless on the low branch of a tree or a fallen stump, or some
thick tangled dead branches, every now and then making a short swoop at an insect in the air, or descending to the
ground for a second to pick one up. It is a very silent bird, and I never heard its note.” Dr. Eairbank, who found it
affecting similar situations, says, “ It is difficult to see this little bird in the dense thickets it inhabits at a distance
sufficient to shoot it without tearing it to bits.” With regard to its habits in Ceylon, I am only able to quote Layard’s
notes, in which he says that Mr. Mitford found it feeding much on spiders, which is a singular practice for a Elycatcher.
Nidification . — In the Nilghiris this Elycatcher breeds at elevations of 5000 to 7000 feet, and lays from March
until May. The nest is an extraordinary structure, being of a large globular form, made of dry sedge-flags and very
coarse marsh-grass on a foundation of dead leaves. It is usually built at a height of 1 to 3 feet from the ground, and some-
times actually on the ground, as recorded by Mr. D.arling in Hume’s ‘ Nests and Eggs.’ This gentleman writes:—" The
nest is globular, higher than it is wide, with a small entrance-hole at one side, below which the nest is a little drawn in,
and above which the dome projects somewhat. The foundation of the nest is almost alw'ays composed of dry leaves or
fern, and the rest of it is woven of reed-leaves and flags ; there is no lining, the eggs resting on the soft reed-leaves ; it
is exteriorly about C or 7 inches high and 4 broad, and the diameter of the central spherical cavity is about 3 inches.”
The experience of Mr. Davison is similar ; a nest he found was made of the dry leaves of a kind of reed common on the
Nilghiris. The eggs are two or three in number, of a pale brownish salmon-colour, indistinctly mottled with a darker
colour, the markings coalescing to form a zone or cap at the larger end ; some are pale greyish white, thickly
and very finely speckled all over with very faint brownish rod, forming a pale brownish-red cap. They measure
0'7 by 0'53 inch.
SIPHIA EUBECULOIDES.
427
parts of its Himalayan habitat. It does not appear to have been procured in the south of India by Messrs.
Bourdillon and Fairbank ; but Jerdon obtained it both on the eastern and -western coasts of that part.
Habits . — This species is exceedingly active and restless ; it delights in dense low jungle growing beneath
lofty trees, and appears to remain much in the same spot tbrougliout the day. I have more than once found
it in the low tangled wood which always grows on the upper or yearly inundated side of village tanks in the
Northern Province. It perches on low branches, and darts very quickly on its prey, constantly changing its
position. It has a very lively whistle, more varied and continued longer than that of the last species ; and I
have seen it flying in an excited manner backwards and forwards in a thicket, repeatedly uttering its song.
Mr. Brooks styles its note “sweet and Bobin-like;” and Hutton remarks that the male has a “very pleasing
song, which it warbles forth from the midst of some thick hush, seldom exposing himself to view.” I have
found small caterpillars, as well as flies and minute insects, in its stomach.
Nidification . — From what has been said above, it will be seen that this Flycatcher may perhaps occasionally
breed in Ceylon during the north-east monsoon ; hut it cannot be its habit to nest at that season. In the
Himalayan districts it was observed by Capt. Hutton to breed in J une, while Hodgson affirms that it begins
to nest in April. It builds in a cavity in the trunk of a decayed tree or in the side of a rock, constructing its
nest of moss, moss-roots, grass, and dry leaves, and lines it with black, fibrous moss-roots or hair-like lichens.
The eggs are said to be dull pale olive-green, faintly or indistinctly clouded with dull rufous or clay-colour.
Mr. Hume says the average size of the eggs he has seen is 0‘73 by 0'62 inch.
Genus MUSCICAPA.
Bill small, not very wide at the base, and compressed towards the tip, which is scarcely
decurved. Nostrils concealed by their plumes. Wings with the 1st primary shorter than in
Siphia, the 2nd equal to the 7th, and the 4th the longest, slightly exceeding the 3rd. Tail
rather broad, emarginate or even at the tip. Tarsus moderately long, exceeding the middle toe
with its claw.
3i2
MtJSCICAPA HYPEEYTHRA.
(NIETNER^S ROBIN FLYCATCHER.)
Sipliia hyperythra, Cabauis, Journ. fiir Orn. 1866, p. 391 ; Walden, Ibis, 1872, p. 472.
Menetica hyperythra, Cabanis, Journ. fiir Orn. 1866, p. 401.
Niltava hyperythra^ Gray, Hand-1. B. i. p. 326. no. 4901 (1869).
Erythrosterna hyperythra, Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 442, pi. 17 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs,
p. 217 (1873); Brooks, Str. Eeath. 1875, p. 236.
Mmcicapa hyperythra, Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 163 (1879).
The Bohin, Planters in Ceylon.
Adult male. Length 4-6 to 5T inches; •ndng 2-6 to 2'7 ; tail 2-0; tarsus 0'7 to 0-8 ; mid toe and claw 0-6 to 0'65 ;
bill to gape O' 6.
Female. Slightly smaller ; wing 2'5 to 2'6 inches.
Ii'is hazel-brown ; bill above brown, pale next the forehead ; gape and lower mandible fleshy yellow, with the tip
dusky; inside of mouth yellow; legs and feet deep brown; soles yellowish.
Male. Head and upper siu-face dusky cinereous brown, changing to ashen on the face and sides of neck ; wings
brown, edged with cinereous, the margins of the greater coverts being slightly ochraceous ; upper tad-coverts,
four centre tail-feathers, and terminal portion of the rest wdth all but the base of the outer web of the lateral
feather black ; these latter, the two next pairs, and the outer web of the adjacent are white for two thirds of the
length from the base ; lores ashen ; orbital fringe dusky grey ; chin, throat, breast, and sides of belly rich
rufous, changing to white on the belly and vent, and bounded on the fore neck by a bold hlaclc border from
the gape to the upper flanks ; under tail-coverts yellowish buff and concolorous with the lower flanks ; under
wing-coverts the same.
Female. Upper surface with a more earthy tint than the male; the black of the tail not quite so intense ; lores pale,
orbital fringe greyish ; ear-coverts pale-shafted ; chin, throat, and upper breast less bright than in the male,
and not divided from the hue of the hind neck by a black border.
Touyig. Bill paler than in the adult ; legs and feet plumbeous brown.
Males in first plumage have the chin, throat, and lower breast white, with a rufous wash across the chest ; this after-
wards deepens and spreads up the throat, in which stage the black border begins to appear, and distinguishes it
from the young female ; from this to the adult stage all gradations of rufous colouring in the chest exist.
Females in nestling plumage are paler brown above than adults ; the lores, cheeks, and orbits the same ; chin and
chest greyish, with a slight ochraceous tint on the latter ; flanks and under tail-coverts faintly tinged with fulvous.
Ohs. This Robin Flycatcher is the Indian representative of the European species M. parva, to which it is closelv
allied, differing from it in the presence of the black border which separates the rufous throat from the ashen sides
of the neck. A male example of M. parva from Etawah measures 2'7 inches in the wing, and has the throat
and fore neck, but not the chest, paler rufous-orange than in M. hyperythra ; and the back is of a more earthy hue
than that of the latter species ; the three outer pairs of tail-feathers are marked similarly, but the fourth has
some white on the inner web, as well as the outer.
Distribution . — Interesting as are the movements of migratory birds, there are one or two of our Ceylonese
visitants which, for the ornithologist, ])ossess a more than ordinary amount of attraction, inasmuch as they
mysteriously appear in the island from well-known distant summer quarters without having left any trace of
their presence in the regions through which they would naturally be disposed to pass, thereby rendering their
line of migration a matter of conjecture. Of these the present species forms one of the most remarkable
instances in our list. It is migratory to Ceylon, and yet was first discovered there so recently as 1860 bv
MUSCICAPA HYPEETTHEA.
429
Mr. Nietner, a German gentleman residing in the Pnndooloya coffee-district ; it appears, moreover, to be more
plentiful in the island than in any other part of the mainland in which it has been observed. Previous to its being
discovered it must therefore have been passed over by naturalists working in the Central Province ; it is
levery season more or less common in that part, and now that its existence in the island has been made
known it is frequently shot in the Nuwara-EUiya and surrounding districts. Mr. Holdsworth, however, was
the second naturalist to procure it in Ceylon, obtaining specimens near Nnwara Elliya in 1870; and on the
publieation of his eatalogue in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society ’ for 1872 he added the species to
the Ceylonese avifauna. It arrives in October, and does not even appear to have been noticed in the northern
province during transit; it is in the upper hills that it is first observed, and it takes up its quarters in no
locality that I am aware of under an elevation of 2500 feet. It inhabits the Horton Plains, the whole of the
main range, the Haputale and other Uva ranges, the upper parts of the Peak forest, and all the surrounding
eoffee-districts above the altitude I havm named. Its appearance in the coffee-districts is, notwithstanding,
somewhat irregular, being plentiful during one season in certain places, from which, in the following year, it
may be totally absent. Mr. Bligh has noticed this fact in the Kotmalie and Haputale districts, and T myself
found it common on the Eambodde pass in 1876-77, a locality where it has rarely been previously observed.
It was described by Cabauis (/oc. cit.) from the specimen sent to him by Mr. Nietner.
On the continent it has only been observed in the sub- Himalayan region. The first specimen sent honie
from India was, Mr. Holdsworth writes, obtained at Goona, in Cashmere ; Mr. Brooks records, in ‘ Stray
Feathers,'’ 1875, the procuring of an example near Mussoori in the beginning of May, and adds that “it is
not an alpine bird.” If this be the case it is difficult to conjecture where it breeds, as it has not been observed
in Bengal. The same writer, however, makes a subsequent contrary statement, and says (Str. Feath. 1877,
p. 471), “ Erythrosterna hyperythra appears to be a resident hill-species.’'’ The singular fact of its not having
been seen in any of the hill-districts of Southern India can only be accounted for on the supposition that it
follows the line of the east coast of the peninsula in migrating to Ceylon ; but how it contrives to reach that
island unobserved throughout its long route of migration is indeed a mystery !
Habits . — This little bird frequents forest, more particularly its edges, and also trees at the sides of paths
cut through the jungle ; it is likewise to be found about the rhododendrons and other stunted trees lining the
streams which flow through the patnas and “ plains ” in the main range. It betrays its presence by a mono-
syllabic whistle, followed by a sharp little trill, recalling somewhat the note of the Wheatear. It is a restless
species and active in its movements, quickly darting on its prey, on seizing which it will often glide to a
prominent perch, such as a branch overhanging the road, or a stump in the coffee close to the pathway, and
there giving out its lively whistle, will again dart off to another post of observation. Adult males are usually
found alone, but not far from each other; and I have noticed that the young birds, of which numbers visit iis,
pass a solitary existence entirely away from the companionship of their fellows.
PASSERES.
Earn. SAXICOLID^*.
Bill straight, compressed towards the tip. Nostrils oval or rounded and somewhat exposed ;
rictal bristles generally small, in some well developed. ^Vings variable — in some pointed, with
the 1st quill much reduced ; in others moderately rounded, with the 1st quill rather lengthened.
Tail of twelve feathers. Tarsus lengthened, in some smooth, in others scutellated.
Of small size. Nesting on the ground or in holes or niches, and of gesticulating habit with
the wings and tail.
Genua PEATINCOLA.
Bill wide at the base, the culmen moderately curved ; gape beset with well-developed rictal
bristles. Nostrils protected by a few impending bristles. Wings rather rounded, the secondaries
long; 1st quill slightly less than the innermost secondary, the 3rd to the 6th nearly equal, the
4th being the longest. Tarsus smooth, exceeding the middle toe with its claw ; lateral toes short.
PEATINCOLA BICOLOEt.
(THE HILL BUSH-CHAT.)
Pratincola hicolor, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 92 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 183 ; id. Nests
and Eggs (Rough Draft), ii. p. 314 (1874); Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 406.
Pratincola atrata (Kelaart), Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1837, xx. p. 177 ; Kelaart, Prodromus, p. 101,
et Cat. B. p. 121 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 266 ; Jerdon,
B. of Ind. ii. p. 124 (1863); Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 454.
Pratincola caprata, in pt. (Linn.), Plorsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 284 (1854) ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 195 (1879).
The Nilgherry PlacJc Pohin, Jerdon ; The Nuwara-Elliya Robin, Europeans in Ceylon.
Adult male. Length 5-9 to 6-2 inches ; wing 3-0 to 3-25 ; tail 2-25 to 2-4 ; tarsus 0-9 ; middle toe, with its claw 0-86
to 0’9 ; bill to gape 0‘8 to 0’82. ’
Iris hazel-brown ; bill, legs, and feet black.
* In this family I have placed together the Ceylonese members of that large and interesting group of birds which
lire normally of small size, and possess that peculiar spasmodic habit of the wings and tail which is highly characteristic
of their typical representatives, the true Chats, and which, combined with their non-sylvan habits, tend to form a bond
of unity, in spite of perple.ving external differences, such as a smooth and a scaled tarsus, or a bare and a bristled gape
Many of them possess Muscicapine affinities, and not a few Turdine ; and it therefore appears to me that the family forms
a well-marked connecting-link between the Flycatchers and the true Thrushes.
The SaxkoUnm are placed by Jerdon among the Sylviidse ; but I shall reserve for this family Warblers which possess
certain well-marked characters of structure and economy, which have been lately pointed out by Mr. Seebohm.
t The North-Indian race P. caprata is said by Layard to have been procured at Ambegamoa, a hill-district ; it is,
however, a resident species in northern parts, and does not migrate southwards, so that, probably, specimens of the’
present species were mistaken for it
PEATINCOLA BICOLOE.
431
Above and beneath coal-black, slightly brownish on the lower part of the breast; tips of the rump-feathers, and all
but the terminal portions of the tail-coverts, the median and innermost featliers of the greater wing-coverts,
together with the centre of the abdomen and the under tail-eovorts, white. Not unfrequently one or two white
feathers about the nape exist, and the amount of this colour on the rump and lower parts varies somewhat.
Female. Length 5-6 to 5-9 inches ; wing 2-9 to 3-05 ; bill, legs, and feet not so black as in the male.
Above, wdth the throat and neck dusky brown, the feathers edged brownish fulvous ; wing-coverts with broad margins
of the same ; rump and upper tail-coverts pale rufous, the under coverts slightly lighter, and the lower breast and
abdomen brownish fulvous, slightly albescent about the centre of the abdominal region.
Young. The nestling male is blackish brown above, with mesial fulvous spots to the clothing-feathers and broad
margins to the wing-coverts and quills ; throat and fore neck fulvous, wdth black edgings, and the lower breast
and abdomen pale fulvescent ; rump, upper and under taU-coverts faded rufous.
When the black plumage is assumed it is edged with brown ; the quills are blackish brown, and the white of the
abdomen extends up to the lower breast ; the white rump is also tinged with rufous-buff.
Ohs. This singular form, in the matter of its spotted immature plumage and the bristles which arm the gape, makes a
connecting-link between the Plycatchers and the Chats. Mr. Sliarpe places it, along with the rest of the “ Chats,”
among his Muscicapidse, w'hich comprise, in his 4th volume of the ‘ Catalogue of Birds,’ an immense number
of species having strong rictal bristles and exceedingly diverse habits. In this species the rictal bristles do
not project beyond the nasal membrane ; and I therefore deem it more expedient, in a local work like
this, to keep it in its original positioji, reserving as Flycatchers only those species which, by reason, of
their habits, are entitled to the name. As an inhabitant of the hills of Ceylon and South India, and of
constantly larger size than its widely-spread North-Indiau, Malayan, and Plnhppine representative, P. caprata,
it appears to be worthy of being considered a good subspecies or local race of the latter ; were it a
smaller bird than P. caprata, thixs following the rule observable in nearly all species inhabiting both Ceyloji and
the mainland, the question of size would not entitle it to subspecific rank ; but in its case this rule is exactly
reversed, and we find it an inhabitant only of elevated regions, with larger proportions than are anywhere disjfiayed
by its northern Imvland representative.
I have examined a large series of P. caprata in the British Museum with a view of ascertaining whether it ever attained
to the size of the Ceylonese and Nilghiri race, and I find that males from Nepal, Behar, N.W. Himalayas,
Saugor, Burmah, Macassar, Timor, Philippines, E. Java, Celebes, and Lombock vary in the wing from 2-6 to
2'9 inches, and females from 2’4 to 2'7 ; throughout the whole series examined the smallness of the bills was
particularly noticeable, the average length, from tip to gape, being 0’62, and in only one specimen did it reach 0'7.
The black of the upper surface and breast is more glossy and intense than in P. hieolor, and there is generally,
more especially in Malayan specimens, more white on the rump.
Mr. Hume remarks that examples of P. hieolor from the Western Ghats, the Nilghiris, Palanis, and other Southern-
Indian ranges are absolutely identical with others from the hilly portions of Ceylon. He considers that Sykes’s
name was given to a Mahabaleshwar (Western Ghats) specimen, in which case it would apply to our bird, which
was subsequently described from Ceylon by Blyth under Kelaart’s MS. name atrata. It is highly probable that
Sykes’s bird belonged to the larger race, as his measurements (P. Z. 8. 1832, p. 92) are “longitudo corporis 5'8
unc., caudse 2'4 ; ” and these correspond with those of our race. Mr. Hume says that the Nilghiri birds “ average
in length 5-5 to 5-7 ; wing 3; tail from vent 2-0 to 2-2.” I have examined several in the national collection, and
though they equal Ceylonese examples in the wing, they are not so large m the bill.
Distribution. — ^The Hill-Chat is only an inhabitant of the upper mountains, and even there its limit is
markedly defined. Commencing with the Horton Plains, to the lonely solitudes of which its sprightly little
form lends a charm, it radiates over the Nuwara-Elliya plateau, being very numerous at the sanatariiini
itself, and extends through Kandapolla down to the Elephant Plains and the upper parts of Udu Pusselawa,
where its numbers at once decrease, its occurrence even in Maturata being not at all frequent. On the
Uva side it ranges through the patna-hasin to Haputale, on the southern slopes of which, as well as on those ot
the adjacent high ridges above Haldamulla and Bilhuloya, it is found as low as 3500 feet. Beyond Badulla it
is rare ; and in the upper parts of the Knuckles I am not aware that it is located at all.
In Dimhulla and Dickoya it is almost replaced by the Black Eobin ( Thamnobia fulicata) . I did not obsen o
it at all in the former region, and I understand that it is not very common in either.
432
PEATINCOLA BICOLOE.
In the south of India it is found commonly on the Nilghiris and the adjacent high ranges. Dr. Fairbank
]irocured it at Kodoikanal, at the top of the Palanis. From the Nilghiris northwards it extends along the
\Yestern Gh^ts to their termination, I conclude, as it appears to be found at Mahabaleshwar, which is at an
elevation of 4700 feet above the sea.
Habits , — The “ Nuwara-Elliya Ilobin” frequents the “plains” or open downs of the main range, gardens
round the sanatarium, patnas in Uva, and bare or rocky localities in the districts above mentioned. It is
usually found in pairs, and is a sprightly bird in its actions, with all the habits, flight, and note of a true Chat.
It is constantly flitting from bush to bush or rock to rock, or perching on stakes, fences, and such like ; and
while thus seated, raises and depresses its tail and darts out its wings in precisely the same manner as the
Stonechat, and when so doing utters a quick Chat-like note. It is far from shy, flying only from bush to
bush when pursued. In the early morning it is abroad almost before any other bird; and the male, perched
on the top of a low bush, sends forth a sweet little warble, which, sounding out from the thick mists which at
daybreak often envelop these lonely upland plains, falls on the ear of the traveller with an effect, perhaps,
more pleasing than that produced by any other bird-sound which he hears in such elevated regions. In the
evenings, shortly before sunset, these Chats display much restless activity, perching on elevated stones and
rocks, and darting from one to another with much chirping and jerking of the tail and wings ; and I have even
noticed them sitting on the telegraph-wires between “ Wilson^s Bungalow ” and Nuwara Elliya. Their food
consists of insects and larvm of various kinds, which they take chiefly on the ground, flying down suddenly at
them from their perch, and after devouring them realighting on adjacent bushes. The small rhododendrons
growing about Nuwara Elliya and on all the surrounding plains form a favourite perch for this bird.
Nidification . — The breeding-season of this species is during April, May, and June. I have not found the
nest myself ; but it is said to be placed in holes of banks or old walls, and mention is made, in ‘Nests and Eggs,"
of a pair that built in an old up-turned basket. The structure is described by Mr. Hume as “ a large loose
saucer-shaped pad, composed of grass and vegetable fibre;"" this is mixed with “ dead leaves, a little wool, or a
piece or two of rag;"’ it appears to have little or no lining, and sometimes the egg-cavity is very slight. The
number of eggs varies from three to five. In shape they are broad ovals, slightly pointed towards the small end ;
the ground-colour is delicate bluish green, thickly freckled, speckled, and streaked with brownish red ; these
markings sometimes form an ill-defined mottled cap at the large end, and a faint purple mottling often underlies
the cap or zone. Dimensions from 0'72 to 0'82 by 0'53 to 0-63 inch.
The young leave the nest almost before they can fly ; and I have found them hiding in the long grass on
the Elephant Plains.
Genus COPSYCHUS.
Bill rather long, somewhat straight ; culmen decurved from the middle, tip notched and well
bent. Nostrils exposed, basal, oval, the membrane bordered by the nasal tufts ; a few bristles at the
edge of the lores, "^^ings with the 1st quill rather short, and the 2nd considerably shorter than
the 3rd ; the 4th and 5th the longest. Tail rather long, graduated and round. Tarsus smooth,
longer than the middle toe and claw.
COPSYCHUS SAULAEIS.
(THE MAGPIE ROBIN.)
Gmcula saularis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 165 (1766).
Copsychus saularis, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 166 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat.
p. 120 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 263 ; Horsf. & Mopre, Cat.
B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 275 (1854); Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 114 (1863); Blyth, Ibis,
1867, p. 11 ; Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 359; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 453; Walden,
Ibis, 1873, p. 307; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 303 (1874); id. Str. Feath. 1874,
p. 230; Ball, t. c. p. 412; Hume, ibid. 1875, p. 133; Hume & Armstrong, ibid. 1876,
p. 327 ; Hume, t. c. p. 458 ; Oates, ibid. 1877, p. 157 ; Butler, t. c. p. 322 ; Fairbank,
t. c. p. 406.
Turdus saularis, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 87.
Copsychus ceylonensis, Sclater, P. Z. S. 1861, p. 186 ; Legge, J. A. S. (Ceylon Branch) p. 44
(1870-n).
The Bial-hvrd, Latham; Byal-bird in India; Dayal in Bengal ; Dayyur, Hind. (Jerdon);
Thaheitgyee, in Arracan ; Pedda nalanchi, Telugu ; 8a-Jca, Siam.
Pollichcha, Sinhalese ; Pega, Portuguese in Ceylon ; Karavi-Jcuruvi, lit. “ Charcoal-bird,”
Tarauls in Ceylon, also Manatliee in Jaffna district (Layard).
Adult male. Length 8‘0 to 8‘5 inches ; wing 4‘0 to 4-1 ; tail 3‘5 ; tarsus 1'15 to 1‘2 ; mid toe and claw 1‘0 ; bill to
gape 1'15.
Iris dark brown ; eyelid neutral brown ; bill black ; legs and feet plumbeous brown or blackish leaden, claws black.
Head, neck, chest, and upper surface with the scapulars glossy blue-black ; quills and tail black ; secondary wing-
coverts, outer webs of tertials, under surface from the chest, under wing-coverts, three outer tail-feathers entirely
and the next pair, except on the inner margin, pure white ; thighs white, black posteriorly. The white wing-coverts
and outer webs of the tertials form a broad longitudinal band on the wing when closed.
Female. Length 7‘8 to 8-2 inches ; wing 3'8. BiU not so deep a black, and paling slightly at the base ; legs and feet
neutral brown.
Above blue-black, but pervaded with a greyish hue about the hind neck, and blending on the sides of the neck into the
slate-colour of the throat, fore neck, and chest ; the white of the wings, underparts, and external tail-feathers as
in the male ; posterior part of thighs blackish.
Young male. Bill blackish brown ; legs and feet dark plumbeous. Head and back brownish black, the feathers of the
rump edged rufous-brown ; wngs blackish, the feathers edged with rufous ; the margins of the outer primaries
paler than the rest, least and median wdng-coverts with terminal rufescent spots ; throat greyish white, the cheek-
feathers tipped with fulvous ; the lower neck and chest ochraceous, the feathers with dark edges, and those at the
lower part next the white breast dark slaty ; the white feathers of the breast finely edged with slaty.
This is a description of a single example ; but the 3mung vary somewhat in the extent and depth of the fulvous
markings ; females are slaty on the hind neck and back, and they have the chest paler.
Ohs. The females of this species in Ceylon have, as a rule, the back of a darker shade than those from Iv orth India ;
hence the separation by Dr. Sclater of the Ceylonese from the continental race. Examples from South India,
however, correspond in this respect with om-s ; and I have examined a Kattiawar example quite as pa e as any
Ceylonese one. The pale back is a character which increases as this species ranges northwar s, w ere it exists
also in the male bird. The white of the outer tail-feathers varies with age. In very birds from Ceylon
there is, as far as I have examined them, always a certain amount of black at the inner edge o e feather
from the side, but it varies sometimes in the same individual as regards the two sides of the tai , for instance, a
specimen before me has this feather on one side with a black inner margin near the base, on the other with a broad
434
COPSTCHrS SAULAEIS.
black margin all along and the outer edge as well black. In specimens not fully aged there is a good deal of black
on this feather, though not so much apparently as in those from the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, where this
nigrescent character seems to increase. Mr. Hume remarks that Thayetmyo birds have more black “ on the fourth
feather than is usually seen in typical scmlaris.” In the Andamans the black augments stdl more, although
specimens there vary inter se. The same writer remarks that “ the third pair always have a certain amount of dusky
on the inner margin, and the fourth has so much black that the white is reduced to a triangle, whose base is at the
tip.’ Lord Tweeddale speaks of specimens with the fourth pair almost entirely black. This character, therefore, is
not one on which any dependence can be placed ; and I mention this, as the contrary idea has obtained with some
writers. The Andaman bird has, however, the flanks tinged with rufeseent, and may, perhaps, be distinct, in
which case it stands as G. andamanensis, Hume. The Malaccan, Javan, and Sumatran birds belong to a different
species, G. inusicuR, Baffles, differing, as Lord Tweeddale shows (Ibis, 1876, p. 809), in having the under wing-
coverts white, centred with black, and the three pairs of outer tail-feathers only white, the fourth pair being black.
A third species is that from the Philippines {G. mindunensis), which has the under wing-coverts all black, and the
tail the same.
As regards the relative size of Ceylonese and continental birds, I find that a Travancore male example measures 3'8,
one from Behar 3‘85, and two from Nepal 4-0 inches respectively in the wing ; the three outer tail-feathers in all
are wholly white, and the fourth has a black inner edge as in insular specimens.
Distribution . — The Magpie Eobin is universally distributed throughout the whole island up to an altitude
of 5500 feet ; there is no spot in the low country, save the solitudes of the damp southern and western forests,
where it may not from time to time be observed ; for it is as much at home in the unfrequented groves of the
Park country, or along the lonely tracks through the eastern jungles, as it is in the gardens of Colombo. I
found it scarcer in the scrubs of the south-east than in any other part of the low country ; for, though it is
very common between Batticaloa and Madulsima, and also in barren country from that part to Trincomalie, it
docs not seem to accommodate itself to the similar climate and vegetation of the Kattregama plains. In
Dumbara and in other coffee-districts of medium altitude on the Kandy side it is a common bird, and through-
out Uva, including the Elephant Plains and upper parts of Udn Pussclawa, it is not unfrequent ; but it does
not, I believe, range so high on the western side of the Nuwara-Elliya plateau. It is likewise a scarce bird
in the higher parts of Morowak Korale, which district has a colder and damper climate than the same altitude
in the Kandy country. It is very common in the Jaffna peninsula.
The Dayal is spread throughout India, becoming scarcer towards the north-west, but not diminishing in
numbers in the north-east sub-Himalayan region, Cachar, Burmab, and Tenasserim. In the Andamans it is
likewise common. Mr. Davison remarks that it is abundant all about Port Blair. Eastward of the kingdom
of Burmah it extends into Siam and China. Of its range in the latter country Swinhoe says, “ Southern
China, westwards to Szechuen, and in Hainan.'’^ Eeturning to India to take a more complete view of its
localization, we find it to be very common in the lowlands of the Madras Presidency, occurring, of course,
in the intermediate island of Ramisserum. In the Palanis it is found from the base up to about 5000 feet, a
similar condition to that in Ceylon ; but it is not noticed by Mr. Bourdillon in the more western hills of
Travancore; here, however, it has most likely been overlooked. In the Deccan it is said to be rare (Eairbank,
Str. Death. 1876, p. 259), but common along the hills. It occurs throughout Chota Nagpur, and is common
northwards from that to the base of the Himalayas. At Murree it breeds, says Capt. Marshall ; and between
Mussoori and Cangaotri it is seen at moderate elevations {Brooks) . Eurther west, Mr. Hume remarks that the
climate is too arid for it in the regions bordering Sindh ; it is not common about Mount Aboo and on the
adjacent plains, and the same is true of the Sambhur district ; it is, however, found in Kattiawar ; and Captain
Butler has noticed it near Kurrachee in Sindh. From all this district, however, it departs, according to the
latter writer, in April, some few pairs, perhaps, remaining to breed.
Habits . — This handsome showy bird is a universal favourite in Ceylon, frequenting alike the gardens and
compounds of the poor, and the grounds and lawns of the rich, in both of which its attractive black and white
Ijlumage and its lively interesting habits combine to render it a pleasing ornament to the verdant face of
tropical nature. It does not, however, restrict itself to the society of man, for it is found in all open cultivated
lands, as well as sparsely-timbered forest, in the scnibby wastes of the northern and eastern parts, and the
grassy wilds of the “ Park ” country. Its chief attraction lies in its lively actions, and the great amount of
COPSYCHUS SAULAEIS.
435
animation displayed by the males ; these consort together when not breeding, and meet continually towards
evening in little troops, which perform a sort of tournament on the grassy swards ; this consists in a series of
prodigious hops towards and away from each other, accompanied by a jerking completely over the back of the
tail, and a corresponding spasmodic down-strutting of the wings, which movements are enlivened with loud,
cheerful whistles ; at a given signal the meeting suddenly disperses, and darting off in opposite directions, all
will alight on adjacent branches or roofs, except, perhaps, one, who appears, by common consent, to be left
master of the field. These displays are said to be for the entertainment of some coveted female. I have at
times observed one looking on, but just as often not; and I believe the habit to be merely an inherent one in
all males. During the breeding-season, the cocks are very pugnacious, furiously assaulting any rival that may
approach their nests.
The Dayal is very fond of locality, taking up its abode in particular spots, and there remaining throughout
life, breeding and rearing its young. Its song in Ceylon is considered, and justly so, one of the finest of any
bird in the island ; its notes are most varied and very sweet, and are all the more attractive from the late and
early hours which this pretty songster keeps. Its clear voice is heard the first thing in the morning and the
last at night, sometimes from the green lawn in front of the bungalow vei’andah, and as often from the top of
a Casuarina or cotton-tree overshadowing the roof ; its powers of imitation are considerable, tempting it to
mock the voice of fowls and other birds in the vicinity of its domicile. In the breeding-season so continued
is its song that it will mount to the top of a tree and warble forth its love-notes in a pour of rain. Layard
relates the following anecdote, which serves to illustrate its elocutionary powers : — “ On the top of a towering
cotton-tree, opposite my last residence in Colombo, a Magpie Robin daily for some weeks charmed me with
his song, whilst his mate sat brooding her eggs or callow nestlings in the roof of a native hut beneath him.
One morning, after the young had left their cradle and betaken themselves to the neighbouring compounds,
I was attracted by cries of distress from various birds and squirrels, aud above all I heard the seemingly
plaintive mewing of a cat. I had no living specimen of the last in my museum, so wondering what could be
the matter, went into the garden to see. I found the mewing proceeded from my friends the Robins, who were
furiously attacking something in a bush, whilst the birds and squirrels screamed in concert. There I found
one of the young robins caught, as I thought, in the tendrils of a creeper. I put out my hand to release
it, when, to my surprise, I saw the glittering eyes of the green whip-snake [Trimesurus viridis), in whose fangs
the bird was struggling. I seized the reptile by the neck and rescued the bird, but too late ; it lay panting
in my hand for a few moments, then fluttered and died. On skinning it I found no wound, except on the
outer joint of the wing by which it had been seized, and am confident that fear alone deprived it of life.
In India its pugnacious disposition assists the bird-catchers in capturing it. Hodgson, in writing on this
subject, says that the professional bird-keeper, availing himself of the propensity the male birds have of caUing
each other in the breeding-season, “ takes out his tame male on his fist, and proeeeds to the nearest grove or
garden; the bird at his bidding presently challenges, and a desperate eontest ensues between the two, during
which the fowler readily secures the wild bird with the tame one^s assistance; for the latter will deliberately
aid his owner'’s purpose, seizing the wild bird at the critical moment with both claws and bill, and retaining it
until his master comes up, in case it has not been so exhausted by the previous eontest as to be disabled from
flying away at the man’s approach. Fighting the tame birds is a favourite amusement of the rich , noi can
any race of game-cocks contend with more energy and resolution than do these birds. j i r
The diet of this Robin eonsists of insects of all sorts ; but when tame it will come into verandahs ot
bungalows and pick up crumbs or any thing that may be thrown out to it.
Nidification . — In the west and south of Ceylon this Robin breeds between the mont s o e rii y
J uly, having apparently more than one brood in the season. In the north it nests as eai y as ov ,
continues breeding throughout the north-east monsoon. In towns aud about houses t le nes p
holes in walls, under roofs, in decaying cocoanut- or jack-trees, and in the jungle in stumps an o ow rees, c.
The nest is usually an ample, shallow, loosely made cup of grass, dry roots, and fine twigs, ineasuring about
3 inches in diameter; sometimes, however, when placed in a niche in an o wa , i is a a , pa ®
structure, and is often lined with hair, pieces of rag, cotton, or other substance gathere a ou luman abi-
tations. A nest I found, built in the ordinary plaited cocoanut-leaf basket, used by the natives to protect their
d K. ^
436
COPSTCHFS SAULAEIS.
ripening plaintams, was a shapeless structure of grass and dried weeds. The eggs are from two to four in
number, and are broad short ovals in shape, of a pale bluish-green or very light greenish ground-colour
profusely speckled and blotched throughout, but most thickly at the large end, with bluish grey and two
shades of umber-brown, with a few blackish blots and occasionally short streaks of deep sepia at the latter
part. Some eggs are freckled uniformly all over with light brown, and others are very sparingly spotted.
They measure from 0-91 to 0-96 inch m length, and from 0-65 to 0-75 in breadth. In Burmah, Mr. Oates
writes. This bird almost invariably selects a large hollow bamboo, many of which are generally to be found
lying about the verandahs and cucumber-framings of the native houses, and places its nest about 2 feet inside
Genus GTTTOCIFCLA,
Bill slenderer and more compressed than in Copsychus. Tail with the central feathers elon-
gated and the laterals much graduated. Legs and feet somewhat slenderer than in Copsychus.
CITTOCINCLA MACEUEA.
(THE LONG-TAILED ROBIN.)
Turdus macrourm, Gm. Syst, Nat. i. p. 820 (1788).
Kittacincla macroura, Gould, P. Z. S. 1836, p. 7 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 165 (1849) ;
Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. 1. Co. i. p. 279 (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 116
(1863); Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 453; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 21.
Cojpsyclms macrourus, Hodgson, Cat. B. Nepal, p. 67 (1844) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 121
(1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 264.
Cercotrichas macrourus, Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 306 (1874); Ball, Str. Feath. 1874,
p. 412 ; Hume, ibid. 1875, p. 134 ; Ball, t. c. p. 293 ; Oates, ibid. 1877, p. 157 ; Hume
& Davison, B. of Tenass., Str. Feath. 1878, p. 333.
Cittocincla macrura, Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 396.
The Long-tailed Thrush, Latham; The Indian Nightingale, Jerdon; The Shdma (from its
native name), Europeans generally in India and Ceylon ; Burmese Nightingale, Davison ;
Shdma, in Bengal ; Ahheka, Hind. ; Murabuta, Malay ; Changchooi, Sumatra.
Wal-pollichcha, Sinhalese.
Adult male. Length 10'5 to 11’3 inches (the centre tail-feathers varying much) ; wing 3’7 to 3’85 ; tail 6'5 to 7'0,
centre tail-feathers exceeding the next pair by 1-75 to 2-2 ; tarsus 1-0 to IT ; mid toe and claw 0-85 to 0-9 ; bill
to gape 0'95 to 1-0.
The measurements of the tail-feathers are those of perfectly-plumaged birds.
Female. Wing 3'5 inches ; centre tail-feathers shorter than in the male.
Iris brown ; bill black ; legs and feet fleshy, with a brownish wash on the toes ; claws blackish.
Head, neck, back, wing-coverts, throat, and chest glossy blue-black ; tail coal-black ; wings brownish black rump,
upper tad-coverts, and terminal 1 J inch of the four outer tail-feathers on each side white ; beneath, from the chest,
including under tail-coverts, light ferruginous ; under wing-coverts paler than the breast ; thighs white above,
changing to black at the knee.
In some examples the 5th tail-feather from the exterior has some white at the tip.
Young. Iris brown ; bill blackish, pale at the base beneath ; legs and feet fleshy. The nestling has the head, back,
sides of neck, and wing-coverts dark brown, with fulvous centres to the feathers of the body, and roundish terminal
spots of the same on the wing-coverts ; rump white, crossed by a brownish band ; upper tail-coverts mixed black
and fulvous ; quills edged yellowish fulvous ; throat and upper breast fulvous tawny, the upper parts with blackish-
brown edgings.
Ohs. As will be observed, the tail-feathers in Ceylonese examples of this species A'^ary considerably in length, old or
fully matured birds having them, no doubt, the longest. This same variation occurs in Indian specimens.
Mr. Oates gives the dimensions of males from Thayetmyo as — length 10‘35 to 10‘8, wing 3'/, tail lom ven .
to 6-2 ; and of females — length 9'25, wing 3'66, tail from vent 5'0. These measurements are somew a snia er
than those of our birds. In Tenasserim its measurements, as recorded by Mr. Hume, are . ^
tail from vent 6‘5 to 7'2, wing 3’65 to 3'9 ; females — length 8T2 to 8'5, tail from vent 4 0 to o, wing o
3-4. I find a Nepal specimen with the breast very deep chestnut (wing 3-7, tail 6 ’4), a rayancore examp e is
similar to it, and a Tenasserim and Malaccan (wing 3'5, tail 6‘8, and wing 3-75, tail 6^, respec ive y) very pa e m
that part. Two skins from Travancore are very long in the tail, measuring 7 3 an / , an ave a goo ea o
black at the base of the three lateral feathers. . ,
C. sitaiiis, Sclater, from Borneo is a very closely allied Malaccan race of this species, i ering m e co ora ion o t e outer
tail-feathers, which want the black bases. In one or two specimens, however, which I have examined there is a
438
CITTOCINCLA MACEUEA.
trace of the black, which demonstrates that this is merely a local race, and somewhat uncertain in its distinctive
character.
Distribution . — In the west of the island the Shama is very common from the Maha and Deduru oyas
northward, and throughout the whole of the low country to the east and south-east of the hill-zone. Its
charming notes are everywhere to be heard in the forests round Trincomalie, and it is nowhere more plentiful
than on the Fort-Ostenburgh hills. In the jungles of the south-west it is much less common ; but is, notwith-
standing, found close to Galle ; the same may be said of the Western Province generally, in which part it is
cliiefly located in the ranges stretching from the Three and Four Koralcs northward to Kurunegala ; but here
it frequents the densest underwood in the forests and impenetrable bamboo-jungle, and thus almost entnely
escapes notice. From the low country it ranges through the sub-alpine forests to an altitude of about 3500 feet,
being tolerably common in Dumbara, Hewahette, Maturata, and Uva generally, affecting chiefly the patna-
woods which line the many streams and rivulets flowing into the tributaries of the Mahawelliganga. In the
latter district and in Haputale it is found up to 4000 feet elevation, Layard first met with it in Lady Horton^s
walk at Kandy.
Of the distribution of the “Nightingale” in India, Jerdon writes It is common in all Malabar,
especially in the upland districts, as in the Wyuaad, more rai’e in the Eastern Ghats, and not unfrequent in
all the jungles of Central India to Midnaporc and Cuttock. It also frequents all the sub-IIinialayan forests,
and extends to the hill-tracts of Assam, Sylhet, Burmah, and Malacca.” Mr. Hume more clearly defines its
northern range when he says it is a pennanent resident of the warm and well-watered jungles of the “ sub-
Himalayan region as far west as the Ganges, Southern and Eastern Bengal, Assam, Cachar, and Burmah.”
In all these regions it is evidently local, occupying those districts only which are well covered with jungle.
Inferring to the observations of late writers in ' Stray Feathers," we find that in the Palanis it is recorded from
the eastern base of the range, and from the Travancore hills is not mentioned at all by Mr. Bourdillon; in
Khandala it is said to inhabit the thick woods along the hills. From the jungles of Central India it extends
through Chota Nagpur to Eastern Bengal and the base of the Himalayas; but Mr. Ball observes that it is
extremely rare in the first-named locality, and occurs sparingly in the Eajmehal hills. It appears to be
resident in this part of India, for Capt. Beavan records that it breeds in Manbhum. To the cast of the Bay
of Bengal it is more common than in the district last under consideration ; in Cachar it appears, however, to
be only a winter visitor. In Pegu it is, says Mr. Oates, very common on the hills, but in the more southern
province of Tenasserim, though found throughout its wooded portions, docs not ascend the hills ; beyond this
limit it extends through Malacca to the islands of Java and Sumatra. Its range, however, is continued equally
far towards the east, for it is an inhabitant of China, Swinhoe (P. Z, S. 1871, p. 359) recording it from Hainan.
Habits . — This showy bird is perhaps the best songster in Ceylon, its fine notes acquiring for it, with those
who have made its acquaintance in the forests, a reputation equal to that which it has obtained in India. It
frequents thick jungle, underwood in forest, and bamboo-scrub in portions of the island where this tree grows ;
it passes its time near the ground, seldom mounting to any height, but perching on some low branch or stick,
and there warbling forth its song. There is no doubt that in such localities as these the notes of the Shama,
swelling forth from the impenetrable thickets, while the bird is hidden from view, naturally tend to inspire the
listener with a stronger idea of their perfection than they perhaps really deserve. Far be it from me to wish
to detract from its merits as a songster ; for though the power of its notes may perhaps be exaggerated, never-
theless their absence from the wilds of Ceylon would be much missed, by the naturalist at any rate. Among
those who have descanted on its melodious voice, none, perhaps, have paid the Shama a greater tribute of
pi aisc than Tickell. He writes, in the Journal of the Asiatic Society " i — '^^In the mornings and evenings the
notes are heard through the valleys, ceasing with twilight. The strains sweep with a gush of sweetness through
tlie enchanting solitudes which this bird makes its favourite resort, at times when other birds arc silent in rest ;
and in unison with the surrounding scenery, in which nature seems to have lavished every fantastic invention
of beauty, the effect produced on the mind and ear can alone be appreciated by those who have witnessed the
magnificence of a tropical forest."" Besides the notes which make up its song, described again by Jerdon as
a most gushing melody, of great pow'er,"" this bird has others of a most varied character, among them being
CITTOCINCLA MACEUEA.
439
one resembling a low clmrr, followed by a spitting sound, generally uttered when it is disturbed in its sylvan
haunts. It is very shy, flying away at the least sound of a cracking twig ; but its retreat is but short, and on
realighting it commences to sing immediately. It has a habit of uttering a singular clicking sound, jerking
up its tail at the same time ; and this is usually performed when it is disturbed or hears any sound in the forest
to which it is not accustomed. Mr. Davison speaks of the male performing a similar sound, as he supposes,
with its wings, while flying across any open space at sunset ; it may be that this is similar to that which I refer to.
In India it is, of course, highly prized as a songster ; but in Ceylon it is scarcely ever met with as a caged
bird, as the natives are very indifferent bird-nestei’s, and seldom or never find its young. Concerning its habits
when in confinement, Blyth writes, “ It has a considerable propensity to imitation j and one in my own
possession learned to give the crow of a cock to perfection, also the notes of the Koel, the chatter of a troop of
Saat Bhyes {Malacocercus canorus), &c. Many thousands of these elegant birds are kept in Calcutta; and the
universal absurd practice is to darken their cages by wrapping them with several folds of cloth, enough to
stifle the luckless captives in this climate, though it must be confessed that they sing most vigorously while
thus circumstanced, but certainly not more so than mine, which were exposed to the light and air. It is a
practice of the rich natives to employ servants to carry about their Shamas and other birds ; and the nnmber
which are thus borne about the streets of Calcutta is astonishing ; the poor birds are shut out from all light
and air, like Mahomedan ladies enjoying (!) their evening drive; but they (the birds) nevertheless sing forth
most lustily and melodiously.'’’’ I have found the diet of those shot in Ceylon to be entirely insectivorous,
consisting of small beetles, ants, flies, &c. It lives in pairs, the female usually keeping at some little distance
from her companion ; and, from what I have observed, it appears to attach itself to one particular spot, for in
the northern parts of Ceylon it may often be found frequenting the scorched-up wood bordering newly-burnt
clearings, as if it were loath to be driven from the haunt which the flames had devastated ; it is possible,
however, that it rnayfind an abundance of food in these localities, uninviting as they may seem to human eyes.
In his notes relative to the discovery of this bird in the woods near Kandy, Layard graphically describes the
magnificent aspect presented by the beautiful vale of Dumbara, as at early dawn the dense fog which had
mantled E during the night was lifted by the gentle breeze, suddenly unfolding all the beauties of the rocky
Mahawelliganga and its wooded banks.
Nidification. I have never reeeived any information concerning this bird’s nesting in Ceylon; in the north
the young are about in August and September, proving that it lays in June and July. Mr. Davison found its
nest in Tenasserim. One situated on the road to Meeta Myo, at 4000 feet above the sea, was obtained in April ;
it was built in a hole in an old stump growing on the side of a mountain-torrent, and was made of dry leaves
and twigs, the egg-cavity being lined with finer twigs. Another was situated in a deep hole in a stump, the
cavity having been filled up by the bird for more than 12 inches ; the materials were the same. Both these
nests had contained three eggs. Mr. Hume describes them as “ being moderately broad ovals, a good deal
compressed towards the small end.” They have a slight gloss, and are “ dull greenish stone-colour, every-
where densely freckled with a rich almost raw-sienna brown, in amongst which dull purplish markings are,
when the egg is closely looked into, found to be thickly intermingled.” They vary from O' 87 to 0'9 inch in
length, and from 0'6 to 0‘62 in breadth.
Genus THAMNOBIA.
Bill moderate, slender, curved throughout, wide at the base, compressed towards the tip,
which is not notched. Nostrils oval, apert ; rictal bristles wanting. Wings rounded ; the 1st
quill short, the 2nd equal to the 8th, and the 4th and 5th the longest. Tail broad and rounded,
laisus long, exceeding the middle toe and claw, and covered in front by well-defined but smooth
scutae ; toes strong, with the claws moderately straight.
THAMNOBIA FHLICATA.
(THE BLACK EOBIN.)
Motacilla fulicata, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 336 (1766).
Sylvia fulicata. Lath. Hist. vii. pp. lll(c?), 112 (?) (1821).
Ixos fulicatus, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 89.
Thamnohia fulicata, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1839, x. p. 264; Blyth, Cat.
B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 165 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 121 (1852); Layard,
Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 256 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co.
i. p. 281 (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 121 (1863); Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 454 ;
Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 307 (1874) ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 21, et 1875, p. 396 ;
Davidson & Wender, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 83.
Rusty-vented Thrush and Sooty Warhler, Latham ; Sooty Warbler, Kelaart ; Indian Robin,
J erdon.
Ralchuri, Hind.; Nalanchi, Telugu; TVannati-Jcuravi, Tamul, lit. “ W^asher man’s bird”
(J erdon).
Kalu-pollichcha, Sinhalese ; Kari-kuruvi, Tamil, lit. “ Blackbird.”
Adult male. Length 6-2 to 6-4 inches ; wing 3-0 ; tail 2'5 ; tarsus 1-0 ; mid toe and claw 0-8; bill to gape 0-7.
iris brown ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Entire body, except the abdomen, glossy blue-black, this, with the under tail-coverts, is fine chestnut; wings and tail
coal-black ; a large patch on the wing, formed by the lesser and median coverts, white.
Fernale. Length 6‘2 inches ; wing 2-8.
Bill and legs not so black as those of the male.
Above blackish brown, with a brownish hue caused by the palish margins of the feathers ; quills slightly paler than
back ; secondary coverts edged with greyish ; upper tail-coverts and tail black ; beneath slaty black, under tail-
coverts and tips of the abdominal feathers dark chestnut.
Toung. Blackish brown ; upper tail-coverts and tail black ; beneath dark brown, with a dusky fulvous stripe down
the throat, the feathers of the head and fore neck faintly tipped with rufesceut greyish ; ear-coverts striped nitb
fulvous ; under tail-coverts rufous.
Ohs. This singular form is a difiScult bird to deal with ; its peculiar shaped bill and wings, its smooth gape and
scutellated tarsus show it to possess Timaline affinities ; and yet it has not in any way the habits of a Babbler, but
is thoroughly Saxicoline in its economy.
Ceylonese specimens correspond in size with those from South India : males in the British Museum and in my own
collection measure from 2'8 to 2'95 inches in the wing ; a female is somewhat browner above, with a more sandy
THAMNOBIA FULICATA.
441
hue on the head, throat, and chest than in most insular specimens of this sex. It is replaced in North India by
the “ Brown-bached Eohin and between the two forms there are in Sindh, G-uzerat, and Kattiawar, according
to Mr. Hume, intermediate birds ; he writes, “ the backs of the males are much too dark for the one and not
dark enough for the other.” He further remarks that between the two tj^pes every possible intermediate link is
to be found, and that it appears advisable to include both as local races of one species. Typical specimens of
both forms, however, are very distinct from one another ; and each appears to me to be a good race in itself,
notwithstanding that the two extremes have a tendency, in particular districts, to unite. The females of
T. eamhaiensis are very distinct ; they have the under surface uniform brownish grey, presenting the opposite
character to that of the male ; specimens of this sex from Nepal measure 2‘6 to 2‘7 inches in the wing.
Distribution . — The Black Robin is very numerous in the dry parts of Ceylon, and affects, by choice, the
maritime districts of them, viz. from Chilaw northward to Jaffna and the adjacent islands, and thence down
the whole east coast round to Tangalla on the south. In the AVestern Province and south-western districts it
is less common, but is nevertheless in these parts a familiar bird, as it locates itself, to a great extent, in the
vicinity of human habitations. As regards the latter part, I noted, in the ‘ Ibis,’ 1874, that it was more
numerous in the Galle district than ''in the AVestern Province, appearing as if it increased gradually towards
the south-east coast, where it is extremely abundant ; ” this seems, on further experience, to be the case. It
inhabits the southern ranges and the lower hills of the Kandyan Province, and is found in coffee-districts of
considerable altitude on the north and west of the main range, being not uncommon as high up as Maturata
on one side and Lindxila on the other. In the former neighbourhood its limit is abruptly defined by the high
spur which culminates in the mountain of Mahacoudagalla, to the south of which it does not seem to pass,
being immediately replaced on the Elephant Plains by the Hill Stonechat, Pratincola bicolor. It again reappears
in Uva, extending from Badulla eastwards to Madulsima, and thence into the low country, in the interior of
which, as well as to the south of Haputale, it is common. On the Dimbulla side I have seen it as high up as
the Agra patnas, and about Lindula it is not uncommon.
In India this species is found, according to Jerdou, as far north as Taptee on the west and the Godaveri
on the east, and is tolerably common in the south. It does not appear to frequent regions of any elevation, as it
is not recorded from Travancore, and in the Palanis only from the eastern base. Dr. Pairbank says that it is
found in the villages of the Deccan, as well as on the sides of all the hills. Messrs. Davidson and AVender
likewise say that it is common in this region. To the north of this region it is replaced immediately by the.
species already noticed in the "observation.” It inhabits the island of Ramisserum and the adjaceirt coast.
I have lately acquired a specimen of T. cambaiensis from Mr. AVhitely’s collection, labelled Malabar; but I am
of opinion that there has been a mistake in the locality.
Habits . — This familiar little bird is a general household favourite in Ceylon, frequenting the vicinity ot
human dwellings, perching on walls and roofs, and resorting even to the verandahs of bungalows. It seems
to covet the companionship of man, taking up its abode in the very towns, and, as Layard remarks, frequents
alike the Governor’s palace and the native hut. I I’emember that a pair established themselves in an unused
portable engine at the Colombo Breakwater AVorks, and dwelt fearlessly among the busy throng of workmen ;
in the evening, when the labours of the day were ended, they would roam about among the huge " beeton ”
blocks and wai’ble out their cheerful little notes, their tiuy black forms contrasting strangely with the
enormous white masses inanimately waiting their turn to be lowered into the deep. In the northern and
eastern pai’ts, where it is abundant, and likewise in many portions of the interior, it is by no means restricted,
as Layard supposed, to the neighbourhood of houses, but is found in all open rocky places, in newly buitit
Gearings, and in cultivated cheenas ; and in the Central Province it affects stony patnas and bare hill-sides.
It is particularly fond of the low jungle, interspersed with " wood-apple ” and other trees, which is
characteristic of the east coast; and I have often enjoyed its companionship when sitting in the verandahs ot
huts and outhouses in that part and resting after the labours of the morning’s collecting ; it would come into
the verandah and perhaps fly on to the arm of the long louuging-chair, or take up its position on the railing
at the other end of the building, and give out its animated little call-note to its shier partner, who flitted from
bush to bush in the adjacent compound. It is most animated in its movements, carrying its tail erect and
jerking it up with a corresponding strutting down of its wings when giving out its pretty warble. It passes
3l
442
THAMNOBIA FULICATA.
much of its time on the ground, dai-ting about after flies and insects, and moving hither and thither with a
short jerky flight. It consorts in pairs ; but the young brood remain a long time with their parents, thus
forming after the breeding-season a little troop of three or four.
Jerdon writes as follows concerning this sprightly little bird “ Its familiar habits well entitle it to the
name of Indian Robin. It is usually found about villages, pagodas, old buildings, and mud walls, often
perching on the roofs of houses and tops of walls, and feeding in verandahs, or occasionally even entering-
houses. It is, however, not confined to the vicinity of houses or villages, but is very common on rocky and
stony hills, and in groves of palmyra or date-palms. It is generally seen singly or in pairs, and feeds on the
ground, on which it hops with great agility, frequently pursuing and capturing several insects before it reseats
itself on its perch either on a house or on a neighbouring tree or bush.”
Ntdification. The “ Black Robin ” breeds during the months of March, April, May, and June in the
Central, Western, and Southern Provinces, the majority of nests being built at the end of April. In the
coifee-districts it often chooses the bank of one of the “ zigzags,” and builds in a niche in these exposed
situations, heedless of the numbers of passers by. A hollow in the ground under the shelter of a rock or
stone IS another favourite spot ■ and not unfrequently the nest is constructed on the top of a low outhouse
wall or in the side or against the beam of a roof. It is loosely constructed, and varies in size according
to the locality ; those which are built in niches or holes are made so as to fill the cavity, and are constructed
of dry roots and grass-stalks of various sizes, being lined with finer materials of the same sort. One
which I found placed against the “wall plate” of the roof of an outhouse in the Southern Province had
a foundation made of portions of a cooley’s blanket, which the bird had literally made wool of, completelv
pulling It to pieces and placing it in layers beneath the other materials of the nest, which consisted of moss'
hair, roots, and grass. Two is the normal number of eggs, but sometimes three are laid; the ground-colour
IS greenish white, and at the obtuse end they are spotted thickly with bluish and grey, mixed with several
shades of brown, which sparsely extend over the whole surface ; these markings are often confluent and form
a zone or cap at the large end; but this feature is entirely wanting in other specimens. They vary in length
from 0-82 to 0-87 inch, and in breadth from 0-6 to 0-62 inch. After preservation they fade to a white colour.
In the north Layard has found the nest in December. In India the principal months are March, April,
and May. The same misceUaneous materials are sometimes found in Indian nests as in Ceylonese. Mr. Aitken
mentions having found one in a thatched roof; but sucli an elevated position is unusual, and he rio-lith' states
that the bird does not build so high as the Magpie Robin. “
Cenus CTANECULA.
Bill straight, much compressed towards the tip, which is slightly notched. Nostrils exposed ;
nctal bristles few and small. Wings somewhat pointed ; 1st quill slightly exceeding the primary-
coverts ; 3rd and 4th the longest ; 2nd equal to the 6th. Tail shorter than the tSngs and even
at the tip. Tarsus long and smooth. Toes rather short and weak.
CYANECULA SUECICA.
(THE RED-SPOTTED BLUETHROAT.)
Motadlla suecica, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 336 (1766).
Cyanecula suecica (L.), Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 350 (1831); Blyth, Cat. B. Miis. A. S. B.
p. 167 (1849) ; Layard & Kelaart, Cat. B. Prodromus, App. p. 67 (1853) ; Layard, Ann.
& Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 267 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 311
(1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 152 (1863) ; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 17 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S.
1872, p. 454; Shelley, B. of Egypt, p. 85 (1872); Dresser, B. of Europe, pt. 26
(1874) ; Seebohm «& Harvie Brown, Ibis, 1876, p. 125 ; Scully, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 145.
Cyanecula cocrulecula (Pall.), Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 190.
The Bluethroat, Blue-throated Warbler of some ; The Blue-necked Warbler, Lath. ; The
Swedish Nightingale, in Sweden. Hussenipidda, Hind. ; Gunpigera and Gurpedra, Beng. ;
Dumbak, Sindh ; Chaghchi, Turki (Scully).
Adult male. Length (from skin) 5-4 inches ; wing 2-9 to 3'1 ; tail 2‘5 to 2’6 ; tarsus 0’95 to 1'05 j middle toe and
claw 0-8 ; bill to gape 0-65.
“ Iris dark brown ; bill black, interior of mouth yellow ; legs and feet black and brownish black j claws black ” {Scully).
Above, with the wiugs earth-brown, pervaded slightly with greyish on the hind neck, and inclining to oohraceous brown
on the rump ; primaries edged pale ; the longer upper tail-coverts darker brown than the back ; the central tail-
feathers and the terminal third of the rest blackish brown ; the remaining portion of them and the middle tail-
coverts rufous.
A broad buff supercilium, extending from the nostril to the ear-coverts ; lores blackish ; ear-coverts tawny ; chin, upper
part of throat, its sides, and the lower part of the fore neck glistening lazuline bine, in the centre of which is a
large rufous patch ; beneath the blue of the fore neck is a black band, succeeded by another and a broader one of
rufous ; remainder of under surface dull white ; under wing-coverts pale rufescent.
The depth of the rufous colour and the extent of the black and rufous pectoral bands depend on age. Specimens
which show signs of immaturity in the presence of rufescent tippings to the wing-coverts have the throat-spot
and the rufous pectoral band much paler than fully-matured birds.
Female. "VVing 2-9 inches ; tarsus 0-9.
Bill pale at the base ; legs pale brown, feet blackish brown.
Above similar to the male, but with the forehead and crown darker, the centres of the feathers being blackish brown :
a broad supercilium and almost the entire loral space whitish ; throat and fore neck white, like the lower parts ;
the sides of the fore neck and a zone connected with them across the chest blackish, on each side of which the
feathers are often tinged with rufescent and mingled with a few blue ones.
In this species the females, probably those which are barren, occasionally assume the plumage of the male. Such an
example, in course of change, obtained in Heligoland by my friend Mr. Seebohm, has a white throat-patch, with
the lower part of it rufous, on each side of it is a black patch ; there is a blue zone across the chest, which shades
gradually into the blackish band.
Young (Tenesay, Siberia, August, in Mus. Seebohm). Head, back, wing-coverts, throat, and chest blackish brown ; the
feathers on the upper parts, sides of the throat, and chest with broad fulvous striee ; the chin and down the centre
of the throat fulvous ; wings blackish brown, the primaries and secondaries edged with rufescent ; tail the same,
upper tail-coverts dusky rufous ; tail with the black terminal portions slightly deeper than in the adult, the rufous
bases the same in colour ; belly dusky whitish, the feathers tipped with blackish, which gi-adually increases up to
the chest; under tail-coverts pale rufescent. tt r i a
After the autumn moult the nestling acquires a certain amount of blue on the throat. A Heligoland example killed in
May, which would be about ten or eleven months old, has a blue gorge, mingled with buff spottings, a small rufous
spot on the throat, immediately succeeded by the black zone, the feathers of which are tipped with white ; at the
next moult the blue colour spreads, and the rufous, as already mentioned, deepens and becomes pure.
3l2
444
CYANECULA SUECICA.
Ohs. The White-spotted Bluethroat {G. leucocyanea), which is generally admitted now to be a distinct race, has, as
its name implies, the spot of the throat satiny white. The present species, however, exhibits a tendency to assume
the white throat in some localities, although in other parts, such as Scandinavia, it never does ; while there are
likewise certain regions (Holland and N. German}') in the habitat of the other race where it is known always to
possess the white throat. Captain Shelley, writing in his ‘Birds of Egypt’ of G. suecica, says they differ consi-
derably in the colour of the throat-spot, “w'hich may be met with in all stages from pure w'hite to rufous.”
Dr. Altum relates an instance, in ‘ Narxmannia’ for 1855, of a young bird, which turned out to be a true G. lenco-
cyama, assuming a red throat-spot for a few days during the time that this was turning from greyish white to
pure white ; from which combined testimony we gather that each race occasionally assumes in the throat-spot the
colour of the other, but that they put on their true dress in the breeding-season in the localities to which they
resort to rear their young. Mr. Hume remarks that the white-spotted race is rarely found in India. Specimens
so identified may have been perhaps G. suecica. A third race exists in Germany, Holland, and Spain, in which
the throat is unspotted blue. It is rare, and is the G. wolji of Brehm.
Disti'ibution . — The interesting fact that at certain periods of their existence birds are possessed of the
instinet of migration to a greater degree than at others, and consequently are induced at times to overstep the
ordinary limits of their annual journeys, is demonstrated in more than one instance in the history of Ceylon
ornithology.
The ease of the present species is one of the most interesting which I have to deal with in this work. It
takes its place in our lists as a migratory straggler on the evidence of Layard, who procured “ a few specimens
in the month of March at Ambegamoa;” one of these is still extant in the Poole collection, and is the only
example I have ever seen from Ceylon. I am under the impression that a bird I met with in a thicket, while
traversing some jungle on the slopes of the Dolookanda mountain in the Seven Korales, was this species ;
but I was unable to verify my identification, either by shooting it or sufficiently observing it as it darted into
tlie underwood in the shade of the tliick jungle. On some future occasion it will doubtless be procured again
in Ceylon ; for its visits are, perhaps, of more frequent occurrence than has been supposed.
It is a cool-w'eather visitant to India, spreading more or less throughout the country j but it does not
appear to be often found in tlie extreme south, neither Dr. Fairbank nor Mr. Bourdillon having procured it.
J erdon remarks that it is found in “ suitable localities,” from which I gather that there are many districts in
which it is not usually met with. It extends as far east as Burmah, having been procured by Wardlaw Ramsav
on the Pegu plain, and to the Andamans it is a regular annual visitor. It leaves the country for the north in
March and April, and arrives in Turkestan, according to Dr. Scully, at the end of March, and leaves again in
September. Its migration, however, is continued much further north than Turkestan ; for Mr. Seebohm
procured it in the valley of the Yenesay, and found it breeding as far up as latitude 66|^° N. Dr. Finsch
found it in July 1876 on the Chinese Altai and on the Irtisch, as also at Semipalatinsk j and Von Middendorff
observed it breeding as far north as 70° N. It extends to the eastern parts of Siberia, and is found, according
to Swinhoe, throughout China. From Western Asia and North-eastern Africa it migrates to Northern Russia
and Scandinavia, breeding there in great numbers ; and it occurs on passage in the spring in Heligoland. In
Palestine it is, according to Canon Tristram, a winter visitant. Captain Shelley remarks that it is an
extremely abundant species in the delta of the Nile, and that it is very generally distributed throughout Egypt.
It does not arrive in Northern Russia until late in the spring, as Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie Brown did not
observe the first migrants to the Lower-Petchora district until the 23rd May.
Habits . — This handsome Warbler, which is gifted with such fine notes that it is styled, in some countries,
the Nightingale, frequents gardens and open country in India, and is, according to Jerdon, particularly partial
to reeds and corn-fields. Its habits are in the highest degree interesting. I subjoin the following account of its
vocal powers from Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie Brown’s paper on the Birds of the Lower Petchora : “ Often
were we puzzled by the mimicry of this fine songster. On one occasion, after listening for some time to the
well-known musical cry of the Terek Sandpiper, blended with the songs of scores of other birds, on approaching
we saw our little friend perched high in a willow-bush, with throat distended, bill rapidly vibrating, and
uttering the tirr-r-r-whui with perfect distinctness. We have heard the Blue-throated Warbler also imitate,
amongst other bird- voices, the trilling first notes of the Wood- Sandpiper, or the full rich song of the Redwing.
CYANECULA STJECICA.
445
Sometimes he rims these togetiier in such a way as to form a perfect medley of bird-music, defying one who
is not watching to say whether or not the whole bird-population of that part of the forest are equally engaged
in the concert at the same time.” In this district it frequents underwood in the pine- and juniper-forests
clothing the sides of the valleys and also the birch- and willow-thickets along the river-hanks. Captain Shelley
remarks that, “ although it frequents reedy marshes and mustard-fields, or wherever the vegetation is luxuriant,
it rarely alights upon the plants, hut almost invariably keeps to the ground, where it runs with tail upraised,
stopping every now and then to pick up an insect or to watch the intruder from the edge of its retrea,t. Its
disinclination to perch, and normal terrestrial habit, which show its affinity to the rest of the Saxicolinae, are
likewise noted by Dr. Scully, who observed it in Yarkand, and who remarks that “ it did not seem to perch,
but moved about pretty rapidly on the ground, picking up insects, and every now and then spreading out its tail
widely.^' The same writer says that its Turki name is given it on aecount of a sound which it is said to make,
resembling the noise of the spinning-wheels used by the women of Yarkand. It feeds on insects, and while
doing so, says Jerdon, sometimes jerks up its tail, but does not quiver it like the Kedstarts.
Nidification . — In the neighbourhood of Yarkand, the Bluethroat breeds in May, the nest being, says
Dr. Seully, placed usually in long grass. The eggs are described as “ moderate ovals, eompressed at one end,
and with a very slight gloss ; the ground-colour is pale greyish green, abundantly blotched and spotted with
light greyish brown, the whole surface of the egg having these markings pretty widely distributed over it.
PASSEEES.
Earn. TUEDIDtE.
Bill straight, compressed towards the tip, the culmen gently curved, and the tip more or
less notched, Kictal bristles generally small. Wings with the 1st quill markedly reduced.
I'ail, shorter than the wings, of 12 feathers, except in one genus, in which the number varies
from 12 to 14. Tarsus smooth, longer than the middle toe.
With a single annual moult.
Genus LAEVIVORA.
Bill straight, compressed ; culmen slanting from the base and curved at the tip only, which
is obsoletely notched. Eictal bristles short and scanty. Nostrils exposed. Wing with ^he
1st quill much reduced, slightly exceeding the primary-coverts; the 4th longest, and t e ^n
equal to the 6th. Tail short, about two thirds the length of the wing. Tarsus long an s enc ei ,
smooth in front. Feet delicate ; the middle toe much exceeding the lateral ones.
Of small size.
LAEVIVOEA BETJNNEA.
(THE INDIAN WOODCHAT.)
Larvivora hrunnea, Hodgson, J. A. S. B. 1837, vi. p. 102 (female).
Larvivora cyana, Hodgson, t. c. p. 102 (male) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 145 (1863) ;
Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 454 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 324 (1874).
Calliope cyana (Rodgs.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 169 (1849); Layard & Kelaart,
Prodromus, Cat. B. App. p. 57 (1853); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii.
p. 266.
Plmnicura superciliaris, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1844, xiii. p. 170.
Lojrvivora superciliaris (Jerdon), Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 16 ; Brooks, Str. Eeath. 1875, p. 240 ;
Fairbank, ibid. 1876, p. 259.
White-browed Pedstart-, The Blue Larvivora, Hodgson; The Blue Wood-Chat (Jerdon).
Manzhil-pho, Lepchas. Bobin of Planters in Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 5-3 to 5-6 inches ; vring 2-9 to 3-1 ; tail 1-9 to 2-1 ; tarsus 1-0 to I'l ; mid toe and
daw 0-8 ; bill to gape 0-75.
Male. Iris brown ; bill blackish brown above, under mandible brown, pale at base and at gape ; legs and feet delicate
fleshy, claws concolorous.
Above, with the wing-coverts and tail dull blue ; lores, cheeks, beneath the gape, and ear-coverts black, blending on
the sides of the neck into the blue ; a conspicuous white supercilium, and in some the chin and a thin bordering
line below the cheeks white ; wings blackish brown, the outer webs of the quills bluish, the margins of the outer
primaries the palest ^ throat, chest, breast, and flanks hue orange-rufous ; the under tail-coverts, vent, and
abdomen white, blending into the surrounding colour ; thighs bluish brown externally.
Female. Iris brown ; bill not so dark as in male : legs and feet dusky fleshy.
Head, upper surface, and wing-coverts dark olivaceous brown, greenest on the back, and changing into a rusty colour
on the upper tail-coverts ; quills brown, the outer webs of the primaries, secondaries, and primary-coverts rustv
brovTO, the longer primary somewhat pale at the edge ; tail rusty olive-brown ; an orbital fringe of fulvous";
tips of the loral feathers dark, the bases being fulvous ; ear-coverts concolorous with the head, but striped with
fulvous ; throat, chest, breast, and flanks rusty fulvous, paling to buff on the gorge and chin, and with the
feathers of the fore neck more or less tipped with dusky ; cheek-feathers tipped with olivaceous ; abdomen, vent,
and under tail-coverts pure white ; under wing-coverts fulvescent.
I ery old bird ? Head, hind neck, and back a darker or less olivaceous brown than the above, with a bluish cast on the
erowm ; the wing-coverts and the tips of the lower back-feathers, as w^ell as the upper tail-coverts, dull bluish ;
quills and greater wing-coverts brown, edged wdth rusty; tail rusty browm ; lores and orbital fringe as in the
above ; the under surface a much brighter rufous than in the mature female ; some of the throat-feathers tipped
with dusky. ^ ^
This is a description of a presumed female (carbolized) which I received from Mr. Thwaites of Ilakgala. I have little
doubt as to its being a female, on account of the absence of the black lores and supercilium.
Youmj. Males in the first year are dull bluish above, with the lores only black surmounted by a short white stripe or
s])ot ; throat whitish ; chest and breast as in female. With age the black extends over the cheeks and ear-coverts.
Eemales are olivaceous above, brownest on the head, and changing into rusty on the upper tail-coverts ; wings and
tail brown, more or loss edged wdth rusty ; lores pale, orbital fringe whitish ; ear-coverts pale-shafteil ; chin and
gorge whitish, tinged with the hne of the chest and flanks, which is ohvaceous fulvous; lower parts as in the
adult. Scarcely any two examples are alike ; the younger the bird is the more olivaceous are the upper tints, and
the more dusky the chest and sides of breast. In some there is a brownish wmsh across the chest, and the forehead
is rusty.
LAEVIVOEA BEFNNEA.
447
Ohs. This interesting genus appears to form a link between the Saxicoline birds and the true Thrushes. It only
differs from Turdus in its small si/.e, slightly straighter and less notched bill, and shorter tail. Its habits are
essentially those of a forest-loving Thrush, resembling such in its mode of feeding and progression, its flight, and
At the time that Hodgson named this bird L. cyana, he perhaps did not know that Pallas had already applied a term
of similar meaning (cyane) to the Siberian and Chinese species, or he would not sure y ai e emp ojq a i e w ue
sounded so much like a previously bestowed one. It has been in vogue up to t e presen ^ y . n lau u ri ei s , ut
I propose here to discard it, as it is, in my opinion, inexpedient to use a specific name o simi ai sense o, aiu o y
differing in its terminal letter from, an already existing one; and I will take the ^ °
Mr. Sharpe approves of my decision. The specific name, it is true, is not very app ica o o e ® ®
present species ; but there are, I think, precedents for such a departure from strictly app ica e immenc ^ ^ •
Mr. Swinhoe procured the true L. cyane in China, and named it L. gracilis (‘ Ibis, 1861, p. 262), as . y >
whom he sent his specimen, pronounced it to be distinct from Hodgson’s bird ; and it was not unti our j sar*
later that he recognized in Pallas’s figure of Lusciola cyane (pi. x. ‘ Travels in Eastern Siberia ) his C uitse iiri .
The male of Larvivora cyane has the upper surface dark blue, the forehead and above the eye brighter than t e eac ,
wings and tail brown, edged with dull blue ; chin, fore neck, and under surface pure white, separated ^
blue of the head and hind neck by a broad black border, which starts from the lores, covering the cheeks, face,
and ear-coverts, and descending the sides of the neck to the flanks. Length 4'6 inches, wing (in seven exainp i s)
varying from 2-8 to 3-0. An immature male (September) has the head and hind neck brown ; back and rump
dull blue ; beneath whitish, washed with rufous-buff on the sides of the throat and chest ; the cheeks barred v ith
dusky grey: a female (May) is olive-brown; under surface whitish, washed with buff ; the feathers of the sides
of the throat and across the chest tipped with dusky grey; wing 2-75. These examples are in the ‘ Swinhoe
collection,” forming part of Mr. Seebohm’s museum. It is found in Tenasserim, as well as in China and Eastern
Siberia.
Distribution . — This handsome Chat is a migrant to our hills, arriving in the island about the middle of
October and departing again in April. Being a bird of weak flight its migration to the Kandyan Province
takes place by a gradual movement through the jungle from the extreme north, where it first appears. There
Layard procured specimens in October 1851, and in the same month in 1873 I obtained a male example
in the jungles surrounding Trincomalie. It is chiefly located in the upper hills or main range, being very
common in the Horton Plains and throughout all the Nuwara-Elliya district ; lowmr down it is found in all
the surrounding coftee-districts, including the Knuckles or trans-Kandyan hills as low as 3000 feet. In the
eastern parts of Uva it is not common, the great expanse of patnas below the plateau and the deep valley of
Badulla probably proving a barrier to its progress. In the southern hills I never met with it ; but it was
probably overlooked by me, as there is no reason to suppose that some individuals do not cross the Safii again
valley to the Morowak and Koloiina Korales. It is worthy of remark that it comes to us largely in the young
stage ; and I have likewise observed that females predominate.
Concerning its distribution in India, Jerdon remarks that it is found in the Himalayas from Cashmere to
Sikhim, and in the cold weather extends in small numbers to the plains, for it is procured near Calcutta.
It is also an inhabitant of the Nilghiris. He met with it in a mango-grove at Nellore in the month of Maich,
at which time, as he suggests, it must have been migrating northwards. It appears to be resident in the
Nilghiris, as it breeds there. Dr. Pairbank mentions it as being found in Mahabaleshwar, which has an altitu e
above the sea of 4700 feet, and on the Goa frontier ; but he does not say at what season of the yeai he met
with it.
Habits . — ^This retiring little bird is almost wholly terrestrial in its habits, dwelling in nilloo
dense undergrowth of the hill-forests, and now and then coming out into hedges and thice cove ^ i, ^
which are m proximity to the jungle; it even then covets the shelter which i edge of
affords it, only showing itself for a moment or two, and then retreating, it ^ i ^ „i m
+lii/^lrpf’S Oil. tilO IG^lSt ctlcLriTl* .L!lC
forest-path searching for insects ; but it quickly disappears ^,.,eath the choice conifers and
Hakgala Gardens are suitable to its habits ; here it finds a welcome sbclte ,i i * -i ti- i
handsome shrubs with which the enclosure abounds, and searches for its food in t le we ^ .+vi.-
along the ground or over prostrate dead wood with quick hops, and darts active y a jou , a ig i in^ on
448
LAEVIVOEA BEUNNEA.
or branches when disturbed. It feeds after the manner of a Thrush, pecking quickly at insects on the ground
or on rotten moss-covered timber j and such a great vai-iety does it devour, that Hodgson applied to it its
generic name of Larvivora. From pecking in the soil its bill is frequently coated with earth like that
of a Thrush. It is usually of silent habit ; but the male has a lively little song, composed of a few sibilant
notes, which it suddenly warbles out from beneath the dense underwood in the forest. Hodgson remarks
(correctly that it perches freely, but is usually on the ground j and Jerdon states that it has a low chuckling
note like that of certain Stonechats.
Nidification.—h\ti\e is known of the nesting of this Chat. Its home is probably in Cashmere and the
Himalayas ; but some remain in the south of India during the breeding-season, and rear their youno’ in the
Nilghiris. IHr. Davison, in writing to the author of ^ Nests and Eggs,^ alludes to two nests found in Alarch
and Alay respectively, the first of which was in a “ hole in the trunk of a small tree about 5 feet from the
ground, and was composed of moss mixed with dry leaves and twigs.*' This nest contained three young
birds. An egg found in the latter nest was an elongated, slightly pyriform oval, with but little gloss, and
the ground-colour of a pale greyish green, thickly mottled throughout and chiefly at the large end, where
the markings were almost confluent, with pale brownish red. Dimensions 0-98 by b'67 inch.
Genus TTJEDU8.
Bill moderately long and straight, compressed towards the tip. Rictal bristles feeble,
ings with the 1st or bastard primary equal to the primary-coverts, or slightly exceeding them ;
the 4th or 5th the longest, and the 2nd longer than the secondaries. 'Jail and tarsus typical in
their characters.
TUEDUS KINNISL
(THE CEYLONESE BLACKBIRD.)
Memla Mnnisi (Kelaart), Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1851, xx. p. 177 ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat
p. 122 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 270 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1867,
p. 304 ; Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 446 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1878, p. 35,
The Nuwara-Elliya BlacMird, Eesidents in Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 9'0 to 9’7 inches ; wing 4'3 to 4'6 ; tail 3’5 to 3'8 ; tarsus 1 25 to 1 3 , middle toe
and claw 1-2 to 1-25 ; bill to gape 1-17 to 1-25. Eemales average smaller than males.
Ohs. In this species the wing is slightly rounder, and the 1st primary is often more lengthened than in typical
Turdus. I say “ often,” for it is a singular fact that this feather varies in length in this bird. In some examples,
especiallv young ones, it considerably exceeds the primary-coverts, although it generally equals them only, and
in several specimens that I have examined it is longer in one wing than in the other of the same bird ! In view
of the irregularity in the length of this feather I have not removed it from the genus Turdus.
Male. Iris pale brown ; eyelid and bill orange-yellow ; legs and feet paler yellow than the hill ; claws yellowish horny.
Above slaty bluish black, darkest on the face and head, the feathers of the upper surface having bluish-grey margins
everywhere but on those parts ; quills and wing-coverts broadly margined with dark bluish slaty : tail black,
more indistinctly edged with the same ; beneath dingy black, the feathers edged paler than those of the back,
and with a greyish hue slightly pervading the abdomen.
Female. Bill yellowish orange ; eyelid yellow ; legs and feet pale yellow. Above dark bluish slate, pervaded with
brownish on the head, the margins of all the feathers black ; outer webs of primaries and secondaries washed
with brownish slaty ; tail blackish brown, beneath slaty washed with earthy brown ; the feathers of the abdomen
sometimes with light shaft-streaks ; under wing-coverts edged with earthy brown.
Young. In the nestling the iris is brown ; bill black, tinged near the gape and at the base of the lower mandible with
yellow, which colour gradually spreads with age ; legs and feet brownish yellow. A young bird in Mr. Holdsworth s
collection has the head and neck brownish, the ear-coverts and lores darker; the back has a more bluish tinge
than in the adult ; the wings and tail blackish brown, with dull slaty edgings ; throat and chest fulvous, the
feathers with dark tips, the breast slightly paler, without the dark tippings.
An immature female in the plumage of the latter end of the first year, which I shot in January 1877 on the Horton
Plains, has the throat, fore neck, and breast, together with the sides of the neck, as also the forehead and a space
above the eye, earthy brown ; but the lores and face are coal-black; on the head and hind neck there is a
fulvescent tinge, and the wing-coverts and flanks have the feathers tipped with a still more ochraceous hue. This
plumage is mingled on the bads and wings with the nigrescent feathers of the adult stage. The last remnant ot
the immature attire is usually found in the pale tippings of the wing-coverts.
Ohs. This Blackbird, which is a representative of the Nfighiri .species Tardus simiUima, has, until
been considered to be peculiar to Ceylon. Mr. Hume, however, has received specimens from ’
shot in Travancore, which he (‘ Stray Feathers,’ 1878, p. 35) unites with the Cey j™gj.
of their being as dark as Nuwai-a-EUiya examples. He remarks, notwithstanding, la ey , nhimno'A
mea.suring 4-7 inches in the wing, whereas our birds never exceed 4-6. As the distinctive character in P “age
of the Nilghiri bird is its paler colour, and as it is considerably larger than T. lanmst, measimi g n
Z wing, it seems not uLasonable to unite the Travancore species with the latter ; and 1 mu there ore
though somewhat reluctantly, consent to our fine Blackbird being disrated from its rank as a pecuhar island
u2s ' I wish, however, that more had been said about the coloration of these newly discove ed Ir^^ncore
Srnamely as to whether they exhibited the peculiar slaty edgings to the upper-surface feathers which are
characteristic of T. Icinnisi from Ceylon. -j „ u ;•
loc. cit., incorrectly called the male “ jet-black,’ and laid stress on the proportion of
Blyth in describing the species
the primary feathers ; but these vary with age
3 M
450
TURDUS KINNISI.
Distribution . — The Blackbird of Ceylon^ which bears a great resemblance to our home favourite^ is an
inhabitant of the entire hill portion of the Kandyan Province, from the loftiest regions down to an elevation
of between 2500 and 3000 feet ; it is, I am given to understand, likewise found on the uppermost parts of the
Morowak and Kolonna Korales, but I have not seen specimens myself from that district. It is very numerous
at the Horton Plains, in the wilderness of the Peak, the Nuwara-Elliya district, and in all the forests of the
main range. In Haputalc, on Namooni-kuli hills, the Knuckles, and all other ranges where any considerable
amount of forest has escaped the woodman’s axe it is common. On isolated hills, such as the Allegalla peak,
1 have found it ; but it is rare in such localities. In many of the coffee-districts intersected with wooded
patnas, which furnish it with a stronghold, it is a familiar bird and in the north-east monsoon season appears
about the residences of the planters.
Habits. The presence of this songster at Nuwara Elliya is not without interest to the English colonist ;
its lively though somewhat subdued matutinal song recalls home recollections and memories of the lovely
spring time in England when all nature seems awakened after the slumbers of -winter. It frequents a variety
of situations, passing, however, most of its existence in thick undergrowth, particularly the nilloo and elephant-
grass scrub. It strays out of the forest into detached groves, copses, umbrageous coffee, and about Nuwara
Elliya resorts even to the gardens and plantations surrounding the villas of the residents. It is a very shy bird,
^ceding entirely in the thick cover of the jungle until evening, when the departing sun illumines the borders
of the forest j it then sallies out, mounting high into trees and pouring out its song, which is neither so loud
nor so full in tone as that of its English congener; it then proceeds by short flights from tree to tree, utterinu-
its call-note of duck-onk until it finds its way hack to its accustomed roosting-place. At the break of day it is
again abroad, singing before sunrise, and shortly after it retires into neighbouring thickets for the entire day.
■\Vhile searching for its food it gives vent to a very low chirp, which one would imagine came from the throat k
the smallest bird ; and when alarmed by the sound of an approaching footstep takes refuge into the depths of
the scrub with quick hoppings along the ground or short flights from branch to branch. It is very partial to
some fruits in the forest, collecting in considerable flocks in the loftiest trees ; and while some greedily pluck
the berries from the top branches, others remain in the underwood beneath and reap a harvest on those that fall.
In spite of its fruit-eating propensities, however, it is highly insectivorous in diet ; and I have seen it scratching
in manure at the edge of forest-paths. Layard writes that Mr. Mitford, of the Ceylon Civil Service, shot one
of these birds (the only animal life he saw there) at the very summit of Adam’s Peak, feeding on the crumbs
of rice thrown out by the pilgrims as an offering to Buddha. Mr. Eorbes Laurie writes me that it has the
power of diminishing the tone of its voice until its notes have the effect of coming from a distance.
Nidification.—T\ie Blackbird breeds from April until June, building in a niche of a trunk, on a stump,
or in the forked branch of a low tree ; its nest is composed of grass, moss, and roots, strengthened wdtli a few
twigs, and is somewhat massive in structure, the interior being a deep cup lined with fine roots, most probably
undeilaid by a foundation of mud, as in the nests of other species. The eggs are four in number, of a pale
green ground-colour, blotched evenly all over with faded reddish brown and light umber, overlying smaller
reddish -grey spots. Dimensions 1-05 by 0'82inch.
In the matter of situation it has, however, a variety of choice, sometimes nesting, according to
]\Ir. Iloldsworth, in out-huildings at Nuwara Elliya, and occasionally choosing the side of a rock, as will be
seen from the following experience of Mr. Bligh. He writes me : — “ I have often found this charming bird’s
nest ; on one occasion it proved to be a strange structure, composed of seven distinct nests, which were fixed
among the roots of a bush which grew out of a perpendicular rock above the “ Swallows’ Cave ” at Dambetenne ;
it, contained three young ones. The situation no doubt proving very safe and suitable, induced perhaps the
same pair to build successively on the old nests, all of which still presented a fresh green appearance, from
the moss not readily drying in such a moist climate. Usually the nest is very like the English Blackbird’s
but smaller; and the same may be said of the eggs, except that they arc rather rounder. These birds nest
regularly near the Catton bungalow ; and directly this important business is over they retire to the higher jungle,
assembling in more or less numerous parties. I have seen as many as forty or fifty at the same time in what
might be termed scattered company ; but this is a rare habit, and only to be accounted for by the abundance of
favourite food in a particular locality.”
3
I
OREOCINCLA IMBRICATA
TURDUS SPIIjOPTERA.
TUEDUS SPILOPTEEA.
(THE SPOTTED THKUSH.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Oreocincla spiloptera, Blyth, J, A. S. B. 1847, xvi. p. 142; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 160
(1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 122 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853,
xii. p. 270 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 303 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 446 ; Legge, Ibis,
1874, p. 18 ; id. Str. Feath. 1875, p. 367.
The Thrush, Europeans in Central Province.
Val-avitchia, lit. “ Wild Ant-thrush,” Sinhalese.
<S ad. supr& oHyascenti-brunneiis, yix rufescens, uropygio tamen et supracaudalibus magis rufescentibus : tectricibus
alarum minimis dorso concoloribus, mediani.s nigris conspicu6 albo tenninaliter maculatia, majoribus interioribus
dorso concoloribus, exterioribns nigris dorsi colore extiis lavatis et albo terminatis : secundariis dorso concoloribus,
pmuarns uigricanti-bruunois, e.xtu8 dorsi eolore lavatis : rectricibiis mediis olivascenti-brurineis, reliquis saturate
brunneis extus olivaseenli-brunneis : loris albidis : anuulo ophthalmico pure albo: facie laterali albida, plumis
nigro termmatis, inacubt infraoculari nigpl, : supercilio albido, supra regionem piaroticam indistincto : corpore subtus
albo, praspi^tore maculis nigris triquetris magnis oruato : pectore qnoquo maculato, maculis tamen minoribus et
magis ovalibus : gula, abdomine toto, subcaudalibus et corpoi'is lateribus grisescenti-brimneo lavatis : subalaribus
albis, majoribus basaliter nigris : axillaribus albis nigro terminatis : remigibus infra brunneis, secundariis ad apicem
pogonu interni aims : rostro nigricanti-brunneo : pedibus corneo-plumbescentibus, unguibus pallido brunneis : iride
dare brunnea. ° ^
Adult male and female. Length 8'0 to 8-7 (average 8-4) inches ; wing 3-8 to 4'1 ; tail 3-0 to 3'2; tarsus 1-3 to 1-5;
mid toe and claw 1-1 to 1-25 ; bill to gape 1-05 to 1-2.
Iris brown ; eyelid leaden grey ; bill blackish, pale at gape ; legs and feet dusky bluish grey or greyish fleshy, claws
dusky horn.
Above olive-brown, more or less pervaded with a rusty hue, chiefly on the lower back and upper tail-coverts ; least wing-
coverts concolorous with the back ; primaries and secondaries brown, washed with olive on the outer webs ; median
and greater wing-coverts with a terminal white spot, smallest on the greater series, which have their outer webs
concolorous with those of the quills ; tail rusty olive-brown, crossed with faint dark rays towards the end, and with
the inner \vebs dusky ; lores and a narrow imperfect supercilium w'hitish ; beneath the eye and the ear-coverts
black, the latter crossed obliquely by a white patch • on the lower part of the cheek the feathers are tipped blackish;
chin, throat, and under surface white, the feathers on the lower fore neck, chest, and breast with oval bar-like
terminal blackish spots ; flanks and sides of ventral region smoky olivaceous grey ; thighs olivaceous on the exterior
side ; under W'ing-coverts white, with a blackish bar formed by the tips of the median row and the bases of the
succeeding one.
Females. Have the upper surface, as a rule, more rusty than males, and sometimes a bufl! hue on the throat and parts
of the under surface.
Examples of both sexes vary in the extent of the spottings on the chest and sides of breast.
Young. The nestling, when leaving the nest, has the bill brown, with the base and the tip yellowish ; legs and feet
bluish fleshy. Upper surface ferruginous brown, generally darker on the head and most rufous on the rump and
upper tail-coverts ; the hind neck, back, and scapulars with fulvous mesial lines, and the tips of the coverts the
same ; the markings of the face, ear-coverts, and sides of neck buff instead of white ; prevailing hue of the under
surface the same ; the chin and abdomen whitish ; chest and sides of breast with blackish edgings ; the cheek-
patch and spot on the upper eyelid blacker than in the adult.
During the first few months the bill becomes black, and the ferruginous and buff livery is doffed, the w'hite, black-
spotted feathers of the chest and under surface first appearing.
Ohs. This Thrush varies, according to climate, in the hue of its upper surface. As might be expected, in the dry forests
of the north and east this is ferruginous, while up-country and Saffragam birds are quite olivaceous in their
coloration.
3m2 -
452
TUEDUS SPILOPTEEA.
I
Ohs. Bljth placed this bird in the subgenus Oreoeincla of Gould, the characteristic of which is that the back and
breast are marked with crescentic edgings of dark brown. Inasmuch, however, as it has a plain upper surface, it
cannot well belong to Oreoeinela, and, in fact, it is a true Turdtts. The wing is slightly more rounded than in
typical species of this genus, the 5th qudl usually proving the longest, and the 2nd is considerably shorter than
the 3rd ; but were variations in the wing-formula of such birds as the Thrushes to be taken as sufficient basis for
the establishment of genera, we should have a useless multiplication of them.
The nearest Indian ally of our Spotted Thrush is T. mollissima from the sub-Himalayan region. This species is brownish
oUve above, some examples having a rusty tinge ; the greater and median wing-coverts have fulvous-white tips ;
beneath white, tinged with bufi on the throat and chest, and spotted with black on those parts ; the feathers of
the breast and flanks with slightly crescentic-shaped tips of black, and in this last feature it differs from our bird.
Wing 5'4 to 6'6 inches.
Distribution . — The Spotted Thrush, which is the Ceylon representative of the Indian Plain-backed Thrush,
was discovered by the late Dr. Templeton. It is an inhabitant of the central hill-region, from about 4000 feet
downwards, being not at all uncommon in Uva and in the less elevated district of Dumbara. From the base of
the hills, where it is more frequent, it spreads outwards, particularly in the forest-districts, and in the western
and southern parts of the island is found within a few miles of the sea. In Saffragam, and on the well-wooded
tract lying between Eatnapura and Dambulla, along the base of the western ranges, as also in the Pasdun,
Ray gam, and Hewagam Korales, it is more often heard and seen than in other parts of the low country ; .and
I and others have procured it within a few miles of Colombo. In the low-hill jungles of the south-west it is
scarcely less frequent. In the forests of the Wanni and those of the Friars- Hood group I have procured it;
but it is rarer in those parts than in the bamboo-jungles of the Western Province.
Habits . — A shy, retiring bird, this species frequents damp jungle, undergrowth in forests, and bamboo-
thickets, not often mounting to any height on trees, but passing its time near the ground, about which it hops
quietly, picking up pupae, Coleoptera, and other inseets ; and when alarmed it runs very quickly through
underwood, uttering a weak chirping note. The male has a very pretty whistle, ending in a human-like note,
which it utters, seated on a low branch, for a considerable time at intervals throughout the day, but chiefly in
the moiming and evening. Both sexes have a weak, almost inaudible “ tzsee,” which they utter, as the Black-
bird does, while searching for food. It does not often come into the open ; but at sunset I have now and then
seen it in little copses of guava and other small trees which are to be found in the meadows on the banks of
some of the western streams ; and I once shot one whistling in a clump of the tall bamhoo [Bambusa thouarsi) .
The young bird quickly acquires its vocal powers, and whistles as sweetly in the soft-gape stage as an adult.
A singular theory obtains among the Sinhalese with reference to this species and the Pitta or Ground-
'Ihrush. They have a tradition that Buddha, in former times, changed some of the spotted Thrushes into
Pittas, a bird which they likewise style “Avitchia and they believe that these beautiful birds are the progeny
of the Spotted Thrush, asserting, however, that Ahe young of both species are to be found in the nest of this
bitter bird. The fact of the Pitta being a migratory bird, and appearing in the island suddenly, no doubt is
the cause of this imaginative mode of accounting for its arrival.
Nidification . — I have found this bird nesting in the northern forests near Trincomalie in January, and
I obtained a young nestling in Uva in September. Mr. MacYicar has taken its eggs at Ksesbawa, near
Colombo, in May ; the breeding-season, therefore, extends over the first half of the year. The nest is placed
in the fork of a suppling a few feet from the ground, or among the roots of a tree on a bank or little eminence,
and is a loose-looking, though compactly put together structure of small twigs, roots, moss, and grass, lined
with finer materials of the same, the egg-cavity being a deep cup, tolerably neatly finished off. The eggs are
two or three in number,* of a pale bluish-green ground, freckled throughout with light reddish brown, or light
red and reddish grey, over a few lilac spots at the obtuse end, the markings in some being confluent at that
portion ; they are regular ovals in shape, measuring from I'Ofl to IT7 in length, by 0-74 to 0-77 in breadth.
The figure on the Plate accompanying this article is that of a male shot on the Sittawak ganga, a large
affluent of the Kelani ganga.
TUEDUS WAEDL
(WARD’S PIED BLACKBIRD.)
Turdus wardii, Jerdon, J. A. S. B. 1842, xi. p. 882 ; id. 111. Ind. Ora. pi. 8 (1847) ; G. R.
Gray, Gen. Birds, i. p. 219 (1845) ; Brooks, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 237.
Merula wardii, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1847, p. 146 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. ^ ’
Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 122 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 185o, xu.
p. 270 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 402 (1854),
Turdulus wardii, Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 520 (1862) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 445,
Cichloseli/s wardii, Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 231 (1873).
Oreocincla pectoralis, Legge, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 244 (young male); Hume, ibid. 1877, p.
Ward’s Thrush, Kelaart ; Pied Blackbird in India.
Adult male and female. Length 8-0 to 9-0 inches ; wing 4-3 to 4-8 ; tail 2-9 to 3-3 ; tarsus 0-95 to I'l ; mid toe and
claw' I'O to I'l ; bill to gape 1‘1 to 1-15.
Male. Iris brown ; bill vellow, dusky at base of culmen ; legs and feet amber-yellow ; claws yellow.
Whole head, neck, chest,' upper surface, wings, and tail black ; a broad siiperciUum from the bUl to the nape, terimnai
portion of ^ving-coverts (forming a patch on the lesser row), tips of all but the outer quills and their inner edges
at the base, a portion of the outer margins of the longer primaries, tips of the rump, and upper tail-covert
feathers, together with the under parts from the chest downwards, white; two outer pairs of rectrices wholly white,
except a portion of the outer webs ; remaining rectrices successively less white towards the centre, the colour
chiefly confined to the inner w'ebs ; flank- and thigh-coverts black, with deep white tips.
Female. Iris as in the male ; bill brown, pale at the base ; legs and feet brownish yellow.
Head, upper surface, wings, and tail olive-brown ; lores dark brown, a fulvous streak from the nostril over the eye ;
wing-coverts with a large terminal fulvous spot ; primaries with a pale edge, most conspicuous on the three ong
outer ones ; basal portion of both primaries and secondaries buff-white ; upper tail-coverts tipped w'lth ’
two outer tail-feathers with a terminal white patch running up the centre; throat and fore neck bulf-white, e
feathers with a dark brown terminal band, and the concealed portion with lateral indentations of the same ; cen re
of the throat unmarked ; breast, lower parts, and flanks white, with terminal bars of blackish brown, excep on
the centre of the breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts ; lower flanks well covered with brown, owing to e
depth of the darlc tips ; under wing-coverts white, crossed with a brown bar.
Young. The male of the year is coloured similarly to the female, but the upper surface is of a darker or richer brown,
the ear-coverts are darker, the secondaries and tertials are more or less tipped with buff-white, and the ippmgs
of the upper tail-coverts whiter than in the female ; tail tipped similarly to the female ; supercilium similar-; cen re
of the throat and lower part of the face buff, the latter with the feathers tipped brown; sides of the gorg
blackish brown, and the feathers of the chest olive at the tips and sides, within which is a blackish nm cm osn g
an oblong patch of white ; the olive coloration imparts the appearance of a band across the chest ; breast an
parts purer white than in the female, with deep terminal blackish bands, except down the centre ; u <
coverts edged laterally with dark brown. This plumage is probably doffed at the second autumn mo ,
pied dress forthwith assumed.
Ohs. The above is a description of the plumage in which I described the young ^^'^mTus^racnnired from
pectoralis. Not being acquainted with the young male at the time, and finding th;^ e Porbes Laurie!
Mr. Th waites differed from the female (an example of which in my collection had been shot by Mr I orbes
in the olive pectoral band, I was erroneously led to consider it new. Mr. Hmne remarks (Str. Feath ISii) that
his Thrusli I such a common and well-known species, that it could not well be described as new This is, however,
not the case as regards collections in England, in which young males and females are very rare , ere is no specimen
of either in the British Museum ; and the late Lord Tweeddale wa^ the only naturalist in whose collection I have
454
TUEDUS WAEDI.
seen the immature male. Tuvdus silirieiis, regarding which Mr. Hume himself was led into error, is, perhaps a
commoner bird in English collections. ^ ‘ ’
placed in the subgenus Turdulus, on account of its pointed wing (the 3rd quill being the longest,
inlh^l Tr Th i f r “ “^"""tion ; the tai-sus is somewhat shorter than
its chaSirs “S;..
the Pied Blackbird is a cool-weather migrant to the hills of Ceylon, arriving late, during
the month of November, and leaving again at the latter end of March or early part of April It does not
appear to locate itself in the same localities every year, or else its numbers vary considerably for in some
seasons it is almost panting in districts in which it has commonly been observed. It is found most of X
upper regions of the Kandyan Province, from the altitude of Nuwara Elliya down to about 2800fcet Lt i
aTd H:;” t™ Uda PusseLa^^^^^^^
11 M,. w„. ■ f it occuis in considerable numbers between the Elephant Plains and Kanda-
^ H Watson informing me that he has seen it in flocks in the patna-woods near Eagalla. In November
and December it has been several times seen in Hakgala Gardens, to which it is attracted, with many other
species in search of the insectivorous food harboured in the bare soil beneath the conifers and other^choice
^ --bers, into aU
Jerdon writes of this Blackbird’s distribution in India as follows .-It is -spread, but very sparinglv
hioiigh tbe Himalayas, and during the winter in the plains of India ; I first procured it through Sr Warf S
the foot of the Nilghiris, and afterwards obtained two specimens from Nellore in the Caimatic • Holson
piocured It at Nepal, and it has also been obtained in the North-west Himalayas, where it is far from
uncommon.” He further says, - Whether those birds met with near the Nilghiris aL migrate northwLds o“
M residents there or on other mountain-ranges cannot now be decided.” I observe that neither
it^wer^f procured it in the Travancore and Palani hills, where it should be found if
weie a resident m the Southern ranges of India ; and the inference therefore is that it does mi-rate to the
south from its headquarters in the Himalayas. Mr. Brooks remarks that it is common at Mussoori.
H«6«a^-This species frequents the outskirts of forest, patna-jungle, detached woods, and frequently visits
ther from the gardens of the planters, in which its frugivorous habits cause it to do a considerable amount of
mischief It IS very partial to mulberries, and, in fact, does not seem to turn aside from any fruit grown in the
hills of Ceylon. Mr. Bligh who has seen it frequently in Kotmalie and Haputale, tells me that ft collects in
scattered Aocks to feed on the fruit of the guava and wild fig, uttering a chirping note while so doing. YolZ
males, which Mr. Thwaites observed in the Hakgala Gardens, were veiy shy, flying up from the ground
flushed by him into ow trees and then escaping into the surrounding jungle ; they frequented the mlnure
hH’^BfTks InS^ V h "" i f ^ ^ Blackbird. Its song, heard at Mussoori by
f "Hered during the breeding-season, is described by him as - a strange
one of two notes, and quite unmusical.” = ^ j as a strange
Nidification.-As regards the breeding of this Blackbird in India, the testimony of Messrs Marshall
Hut on, and Hodgson, as quoted by Mr. Ilumc in his ^Nests and Eggs,’ proves that; on arriving from th^
south in the Himalayas in May and June, it commences to nest, building either in the fork of a br afh f
a tall tree, or placing its habitation in a low situation, such as on a stump. The nest is a - coLaet
shaped structure, built of moss and dead leaves, cemented together with a little mud and lined wirroots"”
the interior has a diameter of about 3 and a depth of 2 inches The emrs nre ; i i ’
ndThe^ - of » pale sea-green grennd blotched, spotted, and streaked, »ost densely at the large;
end (.he.e also a number of small pale purple clouds seem to underlie the primaty markings), with a mode-
1 ately bright, somewhat brownish red." Dimensions from 1-01 to 1 08 inch in Lgth by 0 74 to 0-76 in breadth
Genus OEEOCINCLA.
Bill stout and longer than in Turdus. Tail variable, consisting, in some members of the
gronp, of 14 feathers.
Plumage above and beneath with dark scale-like tippings.
OEEOCINCLA IMBEICATA.
frHE.BUFF-BEEASTED THRUSH.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
ZootJiera imbricata, Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 212 ; Jerdon, B, of India,
i. p. 509 (1863).
Oreocincla nilghiriensis, Jerdon, Ibis, 1872, p. 139 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 456.
Oreocincla imbricata (Lay.), Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 437.
Oreocincla gregoriana (Nevill), id. tom. cit.
Ad. supra ochrasceiiti-brunneus, plumis omnibus conspicuo nigro marginatis, quasi lunulatis, uropygii et supraeau-
clalium marginibus angiistioribus : pilei plumis subtermiuaJiter elariiis ochrasceiitibus : tectricibus alarum nigris
ad apiccm olivaceo-bruuiieo maculatis et aureo-brumieo terniinatis ; tectricibus priinariorum uigris estus versus
basui late aui-eis : remigibus nigric<anti-brunneis, extiis dorsi colore lavatis et aureo-brunneo marginatis : rectri-
cibus duabus medianis olivascenti-brunneis, rellquis nigricanti-brimneis, exterioribus paUidioribus : Ions albi-
eanubus : regione parotica aureo-fulva, plumis nigro terminatis et mediaUter albiclo striolatis : genis aureo-
iulvis nigro maculatim terminals : gula aureo-fulvft immaeulata : corpore reliquo subtiis aureo-fulvo, plumi.s
nigro tasciatim terrnmatis : bypocbondriis pauUo latiiis nigro ad apicem fasciatie : abdomine et subcaudalibus
aureo-lulvis immaculatis : rostro brimneo, mandibula pallidiore : pedibus brunneis.
Adult male. Length 9-3 to 9-G inches ; wing 4-8 to 5-05 ; tail 2-9 to 3-0 ; tarsus 1-1 to I'lo ; middle toe and claw
1-15 to 1-2 ; bill to gape 1-38 to 1-53, average length 1-4.
Aduk female. Wing 4'65 to 4-8.
These measurements are taken from a series of 14 examples in my own collection and those of the late Lord Tweeddale,
Messrs. Bligh, Holdsworth, and Thwaites.
Iris brown ; bill blackish brown, paling at the base of the lower mandible; legs and feet fleshy brown, some with a
bluish tinge ; claws brownish at the tips.
Head and upper surface brownish olive, paling slightly on the rump and upper tail-coverts, each feather with a broad
black, crescentic-shaped tip, imparting a scale-like appearance to the upper plumage ; wings dark brown, the
secondary-coverts tipped and externally margined with dusky buff, the tips of the median series being the palest ;
the primary-coverts, with the tips and inner webs, black, and a rufous-bulf wash on the outer portions of the
feathers ; quills margined with yellowish brown, spreading over the outer webs of the innermost secondaries ; tail
browmish olive, the three feathers next the outermost on each side blackish with pale tips.
Pace and under surface rich buff, paling on the chin and abdomen into whitish buff, and darkening on the sides of the
chest and flanks into olivaceous, each feather, except those of the gorge and abdomen, with a bold black crescentic
tip ; ear-coverts with j)ale shafts and (as also the face) tipped less blackly than the under surface, the dark tips'
talcing the form of a stripe on each side of the throat ; under wing-coverts black, with the terminal half of the
feathers white ; under tail-coverts unmarked.
Females are coloured exactly like the males.
Obs. The subgenus Oreocincla, founded by Gould for the reception of some Thrushes with the peculiar type of
marking above noticed, may, I think, be allowed to stand, not on account of this character, but because its
456
OEEOCINCLA IMBEICATA.
members differ from true Turdus in the bill and vary in the number of their tail-feathers. Their wings are
those of a typical Thrush and so are their habits. The present species is a typical example of this group.
It w'as united by Jerdon (‘Ibis,’ 1872) with the above-named Kilghiri species, inasmuch as he states, in Ms supple-
mentary notes to the ‘ Birds of India,’ that the “ Zoothera imhricata of Layard turns out to be Oreocincla nil-
ghiriensis.” On what evidence this statement was made 1 am not aware, but it is certain that 0. nilghiriensis is
a very distinct species. Mr. Hume avers this, loc. eit., and gives the testimony of Mr. Davison, who is acquainted
with the bird in all its stages, concerning the tvhite under surface which is characteristic of it. It is very rare in
European collections; but the magnificent collection of that distinguished ornithologist the late lamented
Lord Tweeddale contains a fine example which I have lately had the opportunity of examining. Its measure-
ments are : — wing 5’4 inches ; tail 3‘7; tarsus I‘2 ; middle toe and claw 1-2 ; bill to gape 1-42. It is paler
than 0. imhricata on the upper surface, particularly as regards the lower back and rump, and the feathers have
their dark tips pervaded by a pale fulvous ray or patch, wMch is particvdarly noticeable on the head, hind neck,
and rump ; the pale tips of the median and greater wing-coverts are lighter than in our bird and much larger ;
the imder surface, together with the throat and fore neck, is white, slightly tinted with buff on the sides of the
throat and on the lower part of the fore neck ; but the bi’east and lower parts are pure white ; the terminal
marldngs of the feathers of the chest, upper breast, and flanks ai’e very bold and deep, and the belly is almost
unmarked.
With regard to the specific name of this Thrush, it is evident, from Layard's description of his S{>ecimeu, that it was
no other than the present species ; he writes : — “ On the breast the colours are pale rufous-yellow, darkening into
deep rufous with very dark brown edge ; vent and under tail- coverts rufous.” A specimen was sent some years
ago by Mr. IT. Nevill, of the Ceylon Civil Service, to Mr. Hume, and the name 0. gregoriana (after Sir Wm.
Gregory, late Governor of Ceylon) proposed for it, from which I conclude that the fact of its having been
already named by Layard was overlooked.
Distribution. — This fine Thrush was first noticed and described hy Layard, loc. cit., from a specimen that
he discriminated in the collection of Mr. Thwaites, who was, therefore, its discoverer. Where this gentleman
l)rocured it Layard docs not mention, but, as a matter of fact, it is found throughout the main range and in
the uncleared portions of most of the coffee-districts ; it is decidedly an uncommon bird, and, being very shy
and retiring, almost entirely escapes observation. It is most frequently met with in the high land round
Nuwara EUiya and in the wilderness of the Peak ; but I have seen it in Maturata, and procured it in a small
wood on Allegalla mountain, where it is not unfrequent, and where Mr. Earr likewise has obtained several
examples. Mr. Thwaites informs me that it makes its appearance at the beginning of every year from the
surrounding jungle in the Hakgala Gardens, in which the open though secluded ground and the ample shelter
of shady conifers afford it a favourite feeding-place. I do not think it descends below an altitude of 3000 feet,
at which I procured it at Allegalla, and also observed it in the forest on the Peak above Gillymallv.
Habits. — ^The Buff-breasted Thrush dwells almost exclusively on the ground, from which it rises, when
startled, with a loud flutter, and taking a short irregular flight, suddenly drops again. I have always observed
it alone, and have met with it in openly timbered forest and in thick willow-scrub. It appeai-s to feed on
insects, w'hicb it procures beneath fallen leaves ; and Mr. Thwaites informs me that it scratches much in
rubbish thrown out at the borders of his plantation, and when flushed betakes itself to a low branch and then
disappears into the adjacent forest.
I can give no particulars as to its nidification.
The figure in the Plate accompanying my article on Turdus spiloptera is that of a female shot in jungle
at the summit of Allegalla peak.
Subgenus GEOCICHLA.
Bill somewhat short ; a naked space at the posterior corner of the eye ; otherwise as in
Turdus.
GEOCICHLA CIIEINA.
(THE OEANQE-HEADED THRUSH.)
Turdus citrinus. Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 350 (1790).
Geocichla citrina, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1847, xvi. p. 145 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 163
(1849) ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 189 (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind.
i. p. 517 (1862) ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i. p. 229 (1873); Ball, Str. Eeath. 1874,
p. 407; Hume, ibid. 1875, p. 114; Oates, ibid. 1877, p. 151 ; Hume & Davison, B. of
Tenass., Str. Eeath. 1878, p. 250.
Geocichla layardi, Walden, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1870, v. p. 416 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872,
p. 445, et 1877, p. 160.
The Orange-headed Ground-Thrush (Jerdon) ; The Busty -throated Bush-Thrush (Hume).
Adult male (Darjiling). Length (from skin) about 8-5 inches ; wing 4‘5 ; tail 2-9 ; tarsus 1'25 ; mid toe 0-8, claw
(straight) 0-25 ; bill to gape I'O.
Adult (Nepal). Wing 4-o inches ; tail 3-0 ; bill to gape I'l.
“ Bill blackish brown ; gaps and base of lower mandible fleshy ; eyelids greenish plumbeous ; iris dark hazel ; legs,
feet, and claw's fleshy pink” {Oates, Pegu).
Adult male (Ceylon, G. layardi). Length (from skin) 8‘5 inches ; wing 4'5 ; tail 2'7 ; tarsus 1'2 ; mid toe LOS,
claw 0‘26 ; bill to gape I'O.
-Iris brown (?) ; bill dark brown, pale at the base, the gape yellowish; legs and feet fleshy yellow; claws yellowish
brown.
Eorehead, top of the head, back and sides of neck rich aureous chestnut, paling on the throat, fore neck, entire breast,
and flanks into a more fulvous hue, the lores, chin, and gorge being lighter than the fore neck ; lower part of
hind neck, back, scapulars, wing- and upper tail-coverts glistening bluish grey, each feather with a broad paler
grey margin ; terminal part of median wing-coverts, belly, thighs, and under tail-coverts white, tips of the greater
secondary coverts whitish ; quills brown, the outer webs of a paler grey than the edgings of the upper surface ;
tail bluish grey, brown on the inner webs of all but the central feathers, and the whole ci'ossed by dark rays,
almost obsolete on the latter.
Female. Length 8'0 inches ; wing 4'4 ; tail 2-5 ; tarsus 2'15 ; mid toe 0'75 ; bill to gape 0'95.
Chin and throat more albescent than in the male ; entire abdomen and sides, vent, and under tail-coverts white ;
interscapular region, scapulars, and lesser wing-coverts washed with olivaceous greenish, the central parts of the
feathers being slaty ; upper tail-coverts tinged with olivaceous in a less degree.
The above are descriptions of the only male example I have seen from Ceylon (which is the type of Lord Tweeddale s
G. layardi) and of a female procured at Jalfiia, and now in Mr. Iloldsworth’s collection.
The following is a comparison of the two Indian specimens of which the dimensions have been given above :
Darjiling. Somewhat paler in its rufous colour than the above ; distribution of the white on the abdomen and lower
flank-plumes exactly the same ; wing-bar similar.
Nepal. As dark as, if not darker than, the Ceylonese specimen in its rufous coloration ; less white on the abdomen.
Ohs. The Ceylonese Orange-headed Thrush was separated from the North-Indian form by the late Lord Tweeddale,
' and named by him G. layardi. It was stated, loc. cit., “ to be readily distinguished by the much deeper orange of
3xN
458
GEOCICHLA CITEINA.
the head and nape, these parts being of the same dark shade of orange-brown characteristic of G, rebecula, Gould,
ex Java. On the inider surface the orange tints are brighter and richer than in O. citrina, yet not nearly so dark
as in G. rulmvla ; the blue-grey portion of the plumage is likewise darker than in G. eitrina, but not so dark as in
G. rubecula.” I have, however, examined a considerable series and find that the species is most variable. As regards
the depth of the orange-rufous colour of those 1 have examined, I have given two examples to show the variation
in this respect. There is less white on the lower parts of some specimens from Xorth India than in the type of
G. layardi ; but Mr. Hume, in his paper on the birds of Tenasserim, shows this to be a variable characteristic also.
There is no difference in the size of wing or tail, and, in fact, if the type of G. layardi be laid by the side of a
series of G. citrina it is not possible to separate the two.
G. rvhecula, from Java, is smaller than the present and has no wing-spot ; the head is dusky orange-rufous, the back
and wings as in G. citrina, and the under surface very dark chestnut, but scarcely any darker than some specimens
of the last-mentioned species, which it quite resembles in the colour of its back and wings. Wing 4‘0 inches ; tail 2-8 ;
tarsus 1'15. G. cyanotm is a specialized form inhabiting the jungles of Southern India, and differs notably from
the two foregoing in the coloration of the face and throat ; the chin and throat are white ; cheeks and ear-coverts
black, with a white bar across them ; the under surface yellower than in G, citrina.
Distribution. — This handsome Thrush has only been, as yet, procured three times in the island ; and as
the dates of its occurrence fall within the duration of the cool season, the hypothesis is that it is migratory,
coming from Northern India, as is evidently the case with several other birds, via the east coast of the
peninsula, and thus avoiding the jungles of the southern ranges, in which it has never been noticed. The
first specimen obtained in Ceylon, and already referred to above, was shot by Mr. Spencer Chapman at a
place called Kondawathawaii, near Ambare, in the Eastern Province, and sent by that gentleman to Lord
Tweeddale. A second example was shot by Mr. P. Gordon, of the Oriental Bank, in open country near
Jaffna, in the beginning of 1876, proving, since the species is by habit a forest bird, that it had recently
arrived in the island. A third was killed in March 1877 on the banks of the Kirinde ganga, in the
Hambantota district, by one of the collectors of the Colombo Museum, in which it is now preserved. It will
be observed that the localities in which it has occurred are very far apart ; and it is evidently a species which
is extremely rare in Ceylon. For five years I was constantly on the look out for it in forests in all parts of
the island (indeed there was no species the possession of which I so much desired), but I never saw a sign of
it anywhere.
In India this species is found chiefly in the sub-Himalayan region, extending as far westward as Mussoorie.
It is uot uncommon in Nepal and about Darjiling, and appears to move about in Sikhim, depending on
circumstances connected with the vegetation of various districts in that jjrovince. Mr. Gammie writes of it : —
“ G. citrina \s, another bird that has become common in the shady cinchona-plantations. Until a year ago
I never saw it except near the bottom of our warmest valleys and in the Terai, where it is abundant ; but this
year (1877) we have it in large numbers up to 4000 feet.^^ Further south, in Bengal, it has been obtained
by Captain Beavan at Maunbhoom and by Col. Tickell in Singbhum; in the Rajmehal hills and in the
neighboiu'hood of Calcutta it is not uncommon {Ball). Jerdon says that it has been found in the forests
of Central India, extending rarely as far south as 10°; he met with it iii the jungles of the Eastern
Ghats. Further east it is recorded by Mr. Inglis from Cachar, and thence it extends into Pegu and south-
wards into Tenasserim. Mr. Oates remarks : — “ Though not often seen, this is really a common bird from
Thayetmyo to Tonghoo;” and as regards Tenasserim, Mr. Hume writes that it is “ apparently confined to
the southern half of the Province, and there to the neighbourhood of the coast, reappearing in the extreme
north.” Lieut. Wardlaw Ramsay procured it at Karennee.
Habits. — This handsome bird is a denizen of forest, heavy jungle, and shady groves. The specimen
mentioned above as shot in the Hambantota district was met with in forest on tlie river-bank, and the
country in which Mr. Chapman’s bird was procured is covered with heavy jungle. Mr. Davison writes of it
as keeping to " forest, but to the more open portions along the beds of streams, near the forest-paths, &c.
It feeds usually on the ground, turning over the dead leaves, hunting for insects, which chiefly constitute its
food.” The w'ritings of Jerdon afford the same testimony as to its habit of turning over leaves, and he says,
also, that it keeps to woods and shady gardens, preferring bamboo-jungle ; it often has “ its bill clogged with
mud, from feeding in damp spots. It is shy and silent in general, but during the breeding-season the male
GEOCIOHLA CITEINA.
459,
has a pretty song.” Captain Hutton likewise writes that it is a true forest bird, “ building in trees and
taking its food upon the ground, finding it in berries and insects among the withered leaves, which they
expertly turn over with their beaks ; and hence the reason why the bill is almost invariably clothed with mud
or other dirt.”
Nidification.—T\m species breeds in the Himalayas and in Pegu from April until June. Its nest has
been found by Messrs. Hutton, Marshall, Thompson, and Oates, and appears to he built sometimes in the fork
of the branch of a low tree and at others constructed in a similar situation at a considera e eig t iom ic
ground. Captain Hutton says that it is composed of coarse dry grasses, somewhat neatly interwoven on t ic
sides, but hanging down in long straggling ends from the bottom. Within this is a layei of green moss an
another of fine dry woody stalks of small plants, and a scanty lining at the bottom of fine roots. not ler,
found by Mr. Oates in a ravine near Pegu, was situated about four feet from the ground, made o roots an
strips of soft bark, the ends of some of the latter hanging down a foot or more ; the interior lined wit i moss
and fern-roots •, the interior diameter about 4 inches and the inside depth about 3 inches. The eggs areusua y
three or four in number, sometimes five. The ground-colour is described by Sir. Hume as ^^dull greyish or
greenish white, with a conspicuously mottled and speckled red-brown cap at the large end ; they vary from
0‘83 to I'l inch in length, and in breadth from 0’7 to 0’83inch.”
Genus MONTICOLA.
Bill straight, rather wide at the base ; the culmen only curved at the till, which is suddenly
bent down. Nostrils oval and exposed. Wings long in proportion to the tail ; the 1st quill equal
to the primary-coverts ; the 3rd the longest, 2nd subequal to the 5th. Tail rathei short, eve
at the tip. Tarsus with an inclination to be scutellated and rather short.
3n2
MONTICOLA CYANA.
(THE BLUE ROCK-THRUSH.)
Turdus cyanus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 291 (1776).
Monticola cyanus (L.), Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552; Shelley, B. of Egypt, p. 70 (1872).
Petrocossyphus cyanus (L.), Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 319; Jerd. B. of Ind. i. p. 511 (1862);
Sharpe & Dresser, B. of Eur. pt. 8 (1871); Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 179; Howard
Irby, B. of Gibraltar, p. 74 (1875); Legge, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 249 (first record from
Ceylon); Whyte, ibid. 1877, p. 203.
Petrocincla pandoo, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 87.
Petrocincla cyanus (L.), Jerdon, 111. Ind. Orn. pi. 20 (1847) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S B
p. 164 (1849).
Cyanocincla cyanus (L.), Hume, Nests and Eggs, 1873, p. 226.
Cyanodncla cyana (L.), Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 407 ; Butler, ibid. 1875, p. 470 ; Bour-
dillon, ibid. 1876, p. 398 ; Hume & Davison, ibid. 1878, p. 247.
Blaumerle, German ; Solitario, Portuguese. Shdma, Hind. South of India ; Pandu (male),
Maal (female), Mahrattas ; Podda Jcaclupitta, Tel. (Jerdon) ; Tchau-tchau zeraJc, Moorish
(Howard Irby).
Adult male and female. Length 6-3 to 9-0 inches : wing 4-5 to 4-8 ; tail 3-25 to 3-8 ; tarsus I'l ; bill to gape 1-2 to 1-3.
These measurements ai'e from a series of specimens from widely spread localities.
Iris brown ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Adult male (spring plumage, Mus. -vSeebohm). Upper and under surface dull blue, brightening into silvery blue on the
forehead and crown ; the face and throat the same, but less bright ; lores and a fringe round the eye "black ; wings
dark brown, the outer webs of the primaries and secondaries edged with dull blue ; the primary-coverts and outer
feathers of the median series with fine light edgings ; quills faintly tipped light ; tail slightly darker than the
wings, the feathers margined with blue ; breast and beUy a duller blue than the breast, and with a few light tippings
to the abdominal feathers. “
In winter the adult male has the feathers edged with brown, and the blue is not so bright.
Adult female (normal dress). Above greyish brown, the feathers of the head with faintly indicated pale edgings, and
the same on the rump ; lores fulvous-grey ; throat and fore neck fulvous, each feather with a dark brown edging ;
on the chest the feathers change into greyish brown, ndth the fulvous hue gradually reduced, and the dark edgings
change into terminal bars on each feather, preceded by a fulvous patch ; the under tail-coverts aro geucrallv of a
richer hue than the rest — that is, rufescent fulvous, boldly barred with blackish. Messrs. Sharpe and Dresser
contend, in their long and able review of the plumage of this species, that the female eventually assumes the blue
dress of the male, in support of which theory they examined correctly identified specimens from various parts of
Europe. It would appear, however, that the majority of female birds are shot in the brown dress Mr Hume
having acquired a very large series from all parts of India, out of which only three were in the blue hvery’ which
IS, perhaps, merely the result of advanced age or barrenness, in which latter stage not a few species put’ on the
plumage of the male.
Young. The nestlings of both sexes are alike, being brown, with dusky bars and light spottings ; this di-ess is doffed
by the male at his first autumn moult. Messrs. Sharpe and Dresser instance an example, shot in Macedonia in
August, which was in a “ state of change,” moulting from the downy mottled white feathers to the blue immature
ress, in which the upper feathers have white tips preceded by a black line ; most of the feathers were shaded with
brownish, as in the winter plumage of the adult.
MONTICOLA CYANA.
461
An immature male in my collection, shot in March in Ceylon, appears to be in the next stage to the adult dress. The
blue pluma^^e of the upper surface is intermingled with brown pale-tipped feathers, principally on the head and
hind neck;” the wing-coverts, shorter tertials, and upper tail-coverts are tipped with white ; the primaries and
secondaries are tipped pale ; under surface pale blue, lightest on throat ; the chest-feathers are brown terininally,
their extreme tips being fulvous ; the feathers of the breast and lower parts aaetippe w i isi.
After the next moult the white edgings in this bird would disappear, and it would be in the dull blue brown-edged
plumage of the adult winter dress.
Ohs. The first writer on Indian ornithology who drew attention to the Blue Eock-Thrushes of ^
Col. Sykes, who described the species found in it as distinct, under the title of P. pan oo, a eging ^ a i u
from the European bird in its smaller size, slighter form, brighter csenilean tint, want o orange eye ic ^
tips to the feathers. As can be seen at a glance, however, these were individual peculiarities, am on
acquaintance with the species in India, Sykes’s name relapsed into a synonym for the European ir , as
some years later, the P. longirostru of Blyth, founded on a Cashmere specimen. fV,
It will not be necessary, in a local work such as this, to investigate the vexed question of the validity or o ®
of the eastern species, M. solitaria, a partly rufous form of the present. The subject has been to
Messrs. Hharpe and Dresser in the ‘ Birds of Europe,’ and by Mr. Hume in ‘ btray leathers. It wi su ice
state the case, and refer my readers to the exhaustive researches of these authors, should they wish to juCo® '
themselves in the matter. From Eastern Bengal, through Burmah and Tenasserim, to the easternmost par s o
China it is found that the males of the Blue Eock-Thrushes inhabiting that quarter of Asia assume a p uinage
w'hich, in its perfect state, consists of a deep chestnut-colour from the breast to the under tail-coverts , tiey pass
into tliis dress from the immature stage of the spring following their first moult, in which the blue feathers ° ®
upper surface are pale-edged, and those of the throat dark-tipped ; during the time this plumage is being acquiree
immature specimens are met with in every degree of advancement to the rufous coloration, while also mature
examples, with a uniform blue upper plumage, are to be seen in every degree of diminution from the rufous dress
some having, for instance, only a small portion of the breast or abdomen thus coloured, w'hile others may have no
sign of it, except on the under tail-coverts, proving that the bird passes into the rufous stage, and then out o it
as it gets fully adult. This character is not found in the females, for Mr. Hume can find no trace of it in a arge
series collected from Spain to Amoy. ^
It seems reasonable, I think, to assign the eastern form to the rank of a local race or subspecies, as in it alone, an no
ill the western, is found this peculiarity of coloration in the male bird.
Distribution. — The Blue Eock-Thrush is a migratory straggler to the hills of Ceylon, probably coming
thus far south only during those years which witness an unusual stream to the Nilghiri hills and ot er
elevated portions of Southern India. I have but to record two examples^ both shot by a gentleman of t e
planting community who interests himself much in the birds of the island — Mr. Thos. Farr, of Maske lya.
The first wms obtained in the vicinity of Kaduganuawa during November I87'2, and the second (one of a pa,ir)
on the Galloway-Knowe Estate, Nilambe, in March 1875; both were shot frequenting boulders beneath hig i
precipices. This part of the Central Province, lying as it does to the westward of Kandy, is a district where
an occasional migrant from India to our hills would naturally first lodge ; but there are still more li e v
localities in the Kurunegala and Matale hills, where future research may prove that it locates Eself during its
short stay. That it does not wander far from those spots which are suited to its habits, and m which it rs^
arrives, is evident on the testimony of one or two gentlemen who have described to me a bird, w hich ® ^
other than this species, frequenting the rocks in the same estate for a whole season. One of these ins anc
occurred in the Knuckles, and another v^ery close to wdiere the first example above recorded was s lot.
This Thrush is found throughout the whole of India in winter, arriving, according to er on, a ou
October, and retiring again in April. Regarding its distribution in the south, he vvrites that it is cimraon in
the Nilghiris in open and rocky ground, more rare in the Carnatic, very common in the Deccan an en ra
India, and abundant along the northern portion of the west coast, being likewise foun m . .
Cashmere, and the N.W. Himalayas. Additional evidence as to its localization in In la is a or e y le
writings of naturalists in ' Stray Feathers Mr. Bourdillon says it visits the Travancore hil s m sma ®rs ,
Mr. Fairbank remarks that it leaves the Deccan in March, and Khandala at the end of April. Mr. Ball writes
that it is found near most of the large rivers in Chota Nagpur, and that he procured it in Singh bhum, Sirguja,
and Hazaribagh. It is found throughout the Mt.-Aboo and Giizerat districts ; and in Sindh, Mr. Hume writes,
462
MONTICOLA CYANA.
it was by no means uncommon in the rocky hills that divide that province from Khelat, being abundant on
the rivers flowing through these ranges ; he likewise met with it on the Mekran coast and in Muscat.
It is, however, as I have stated, only a migrant to the East-Indian peninsula, and we must travel far to
the north-west before finding its more permanent quarters. It is, in point of fact, chiefly found in the country
bordering the Mediterranean both north and south, and is spread so entirely throughout Europe, that it
occasionally visits Heligoland, and is stated to have been killed in Ireland in 1866. Captain Shelley frequently
met with it in Egypt in April ; and Von Heuglin considers it to be a visitor only in the spring and autumn
months to that country, as also to Abyssinia and Arabia. It is common in Morocco and also in Andalusia
on the Spanish side of the Straits, where Col. Irby says it is stationary. It is also found in Portugal.
Further cast, Mr. Basil Brooke says it is very common in Sardinia; and in Malta Mr. C. A. Wright testifies to
the same fact. In South-eastern Europe it is a well-known bird, and spreads thence into Southern Germany,
thence extending to the wonderful little bird-island of Heligoland.
Habits . — This species varies in its habits according to the locality it frequents. Its usual custom is,
doubtless, as its name implies, to afPect rocky places, boulder-strewn hill-sides, wild gorges, the stony banks
of rivers, the vicinity of mountain-precipices, and other barren and inhospitable spots ; and when thus met with
IS a shy and wary bird, manifesting a very restless disposition, flitting from rock to rock, and uttering a clear
whistle as it takes flight on the approach of danger. Mr. Farr informs me that it displayed all these restless
manners on both occasions when he met with it in the Ceylon hills. In parts of India, however (and the same
is the case with the eastern variety), it is quite a familiar bird, “ perching on housetops, feeding about stables,
and frequently even entering verandahs, and sheltering itself during the heat of the day on beams and the
caves of houses.” It is, in fact, wi-ites Jordon, supposed to be the Sparrow of the English version of the
scriptures, which sitteth alone on the house-top.” Mr. Oates has a similar experience of it in Pegu ; he says
that ^Gt is not unfrequently seen singly, more especially in the vicinity of wooden bungalows. At Thayetmyo
one occasionally came into my compound for a day or so, and then suddenly disappeared for a month or two.
It will flit into the verandah, sit on the post-plate, and remain for a few minutes in perfect silence.”
Mr. Elliot likewise noticed that it was very tame, often coming into houses and hopping about the verandah.
It is usually a solitary bird, and feeds entirely on the ground on ants, Coleoptera, and various insects. Its
song is said to be very sweet, and is commenced in India for some time before it leaves the country, not when
feeding, but when it happens to have taken shelter during the heat of the day. It is caught in the Deccan
and on the Bombay coast by the natives, and is much prized as a songster, being called by them the Shdma
which name, however, really applies to the Long-tailed Eobin [Cittocincla macrura) . Col. Irby, who publishes
some interesting notes on its habits in the ' Birds of Gibraltar," writes that it frequents daily the same spots,
attracting considerable notice, both from its agreeable song and conspicuous habits. He further remarks,
“ The Blue Thrush very often perches on trees, and at Gibraltar and Tangier is frequently seen on the house-
tops, though generally observed on bare rocky ground. It is sometimes found in wooded parts, if there are any
high rocks j for instance, a pair nest at the first waterfall at Algeciraz, which is in the midst of a dense forest.
It has a habit, in the courting-season, of flying straight out from a rock, and then suddenly dropping with the
wings half shut, like a W ood-pigeon in the nesting -time. The Blue Thrush is very fond of ivy-berries and all
fruit.""
Lord Lilford writes : — “ It is yery omniyorous ; literally, fish, flesh, fowl, and fruit I have seen it devour
with apparently equal gusto, to say nothing of almost any insect.""
Nidificaiion . — This handsome Thrush breeds, as far as India is concerned, in the Himalayas, nesting in
June. Capt. C. H. T. Marshall, who alone has taken the eggs in that country, records that the nest “ was in
a low stone wall, at no great elevation, and that it contained 4 eggs."" Air. Hume describes one of these in
'Nests and Eggs," as having a pale, slightly greenish-blue ground-colour, closely speckled at the larger end
with very minute brownish-red spots ; a few similar specks are sparsely scattered over the rest of the surface
of the egg."" It is very small for the size of the bird, measuring 1-0 by 0-73 inch.
RUBIGULA MELANICTERA
Genus MYIOPHONUS*.
Bill rather broad at the base, the tip somewhat lengthened and much decurved ; rictal
bristles much developed. Wings rounded, the 1st quill considerably lengthened, exceeding the
shortest secondary; the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graduated, and the 5th the longest. Tail-feathers lax.
Tarsus long. Toes rather short.
MYIOPHONUS BLIGHI.
(BLIGH’S WHISTLING THRUSH.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Arrenga Uiglii, Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 444, pi. xix.
Ad. sordkle cyanescenti-niger, uropygio et supracaudalibus rufescenti-brunneo lavatis : alls caudaque nigris, peunis
omnibus dorsi colore extus margiuatis : tectricibus alarum minimis Itetius cyaneis, plagam conspicuam exhibentibus :
pileo toto, capitis lateribus et gutture toto nigerrimis : corpore reliquo subtus dorso concolori, crisso et subcau-
dalibus rufescenti-brunneo lavatis : subalaidbus pectori concoloribus : rostro et pedibus nigris : iride brunnea.
Juv. brunneus, supra saturatior brunneus, subtus rufescentior : frontis, gutturis et pectoris plumis flavescenti-brunneo
medialiter notatis : plagS cyanefl. alari vix indicata.
Adult male and female. Length 8'0 to 8‘5 inches ; wing 4-2 to 4'4 ; tail 3'1 to 3'5 ; tarsus 1'4 to 1'5 ; mid toe and
claw 1‘25 ; bill to gape 1-25.
Iris brown ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Entire head, throat, and hind neck coal-black (the feathers of the chin with spinous shafts), changing into dark cairuleau
blue on the interscapulars, back, scapulars, wing-coverts, chest, and breast, the basal portion of the feathers of
these pai-ts black ; least wing-coverts and point of wing bright smalt-blue ; wings and tail brownish black ; quills
obscurely edged with blue ; upper tail-coverts and basal portion of rectrices edged chocolate-brownish ; belly,
lower flanks, and under tail-coverts edged with a lighter shade of the same, the basal portions of the feathers
brown.
Female. The only example of this sex which has as yet been obtained was, Mr. BHgh informs me, similar to the male,
but had the wing-spot lighter in colour, but at the same time of a brighter tint than in the male.
Young. An immature bird, figured in P. Z. S. 1872, pi. xix. fig. 2, is, writes Mr. lloldsworth, “ brown, darker
on the upper surface and more rufous below, the feathers of the forehead, throat, and breast centred with yellow-
brown, and there is an indication of blue on the carpal joint.”
Ohs. This interesting Thrush is allied to M. eyaneus of Java, and forms one of the most noteworthy instances of the
connexion, as regards some families, of the Ceylonese with the Javan avifauna. The South-Indian species
{M. horsjicddi) has not nearly so much affinity with ours as the Javan bird. Blyth, with his wonted perspicuity^
suggested, in his paper on Ceylonese birds (Ibis, 1867, p. 312), that M. horsjieldi, or a specialized representative of
it, ought some day to be found in the island ; and the value of his prophecy has been realized in the discovery of
our handsome Whistling Thrush.
M. eyaneus is a larger bird than the present species. An adult male in the British Museum measures 5-8 and a female
5-4 inches in the wing; tail 3-0, tarsus 1-G, bill to gape 1-4.
* This genus, on account of its rounded wing and lengthened 1st primary, almost merits being placed in a separate
subfamily. Jerdon, indeed, places it in the Myiotherince, among which, however, he includes the Wrens and the Pittas,
the latter not appertaining at all to the Thrushes. It will suffice, therefore, for the purposes of this work to keep
Myiophonus among the Thrushes, particularly as Mr. Seebohm is now studying this group of birds with a view to giving
the world a new classification of them in the 5th volume of the ‘ Catalogue of Birds.’
464
myiopho:j^us blighi.
of ^'''^^S-ooverts, and rump washed ^Gth hyacinth-blue ; the centre portion
bfnttrhl r ' "'f'S hyacinth-blue ; wings and tail black, the outer webs washed .vdth
ue beneath black washed with a darker blue than that of the back, except at the flanks, belly, and thighs which
re dull blackish ; the bases of the feathers of the upper surface from the scapular region downwards, fnd’of the
1 er surface from the chest to the abdomen, are marked with a white lanceolate stripe; this character is not
noticeable unless the feathers be raised.
An example of a male M. horsfieldi in the British Museum measures in the wing 6-3 inches. The species is ver^
ancfuTtcT' “ I'n
tai n region are jet-black ; the outer webs of the wing-feathers are bright greenish blue, those of the
tail a darker blue; least vinng-coyerts glistening smalt-blue; feathers of the breast and underparts with broad
crescentic edgings of smalt-blue, of a deeper hue than that of the shoulder.
Distributio,i.~Tl^ present species, which is one of our rarest hill-birds, was discovered in 1808 bv
n!',‘ tr b 3 n '''' of tlio Lemastot'a
Mhich descends through the magnificent gorge below the Pite-Ratmalie Estate, Haputale, to the town of
Jiemas. feince that time he has procured one or two examples, and tells me that he has seen it several times
both in the Haputale and Kotmalie districts. In July 1870, Mr. Holdsworth procured a young bird near
ISuwaraElliya; and m 1875 a male in fine plumage was shot by myself on the Badulla road, just above
the Hakgala Gardens; finally, m December 1876 and in January 1877, Mr. Cobbold, of Maskeliva
obtained two male examples on the Maskeliya oya, a tributary of the Kelani, at about 3800 feet In
addition to tbe record of these few captures, I may mention that Mr. Forbes Laurie met with an individual
on his estate at Kabragalla, near Nawalapitiya, at an elevation of about 3000 feet. This altitude is the lowest
; f \ T ; and I have no doubt it will be found in other forests of similar elevation
noughout the coffee-districts ; but I apprehend the jungles of the main range form its chief habitat. It is no
oubt more common than such isolated captures would lead us to believe; but being a denizen of forest-clad
mountam-gorges, which are mostly difficult of access, it has hitherto almost entirely escaped observation.
The very shy nature of this handsome bird has doubtless conduced to its non-discovery until so
recent a period. Mr. Blyth, in his note above quoted, remarked that a Myiophonm, or Whistling Thrush was
not a likely bird to have been overlooked; but, nevertheless, such was the case, for until late years the forests
of the upper ranges had only been cursorily explored, and their most interesting novelties consequentlv
remained to be discovered. It affects the vicinity of mountain -streams, and is very wary keeping almost
entirely to the shacle of the thick forot, and only now and then showing itself on the Jks of L daahin!
torrent, where it will rest for a moment, piping out its » long-drawn, plaintive though loud, whistling note or
It will seize some looked-for morsel of food and then dart quickly out of sight. Its discoverer remarks tl/at at
such times It IS very impatient of observation, and also that it appears to consort in pairs; this condition is
however, doubtless varied by the companionship of the yearling birds with their parents; and a brood of such
pit iably combined to form a little troop of four which I met with at sunset on the occasion above mentioned
At his period of the day it exhibits the restless habits of the Thrush family by coming into the open and giving
vent to Its vocal powers, combined with a boldness apparently foreign to its nature ; for the male which I procured
at Hakgala sat whistling for some moments in an exposed tree by the roadside, and allowed me to dismount
ff f ' i'* minutes to which my observations were confined, the rest of the
family flew hither and thither across the road, uttering a high sibilant whistle. It would likewJe appear
to nander occasiona ly from the shelter of the forest ; for my friend Mr. Forbes Laurie tells me of one which
he discovered beneath an umbrageous tree at the outskirts of a plantation, and which, when approached took
refuge under a coffee-bush, running in and out beneath the branches, and refused to depart until his c’ores
nterlT d " 1 "V ^ ^od consists of various insects, Coleo-
!enns T ^ ^og, probably of the tree -frequenting
^enus {Polypedates). Mr. Holdsworth killed his specimen on the low branch of a tree near a mmmtaiu-
MYIOPHONUS BLIGHI.
465
It is much to be feared that the extensive felling of the forest for tea-planting, in the upper ranges, will
limit within the smallest possible bounds the portion of country in Ceylon alone fit for the habitation of this
species, and may possibly conduce to its ultimate extinction.
Nidification . — ^Nothing of any certainty is known of the nesting of the Whistling Thrush ; but I am
inclined to the belief that several nests which I have found on the banks of streams belonged to it. They
resembled those usually constructed by this family, and were deep ample cups, composed almost entirely of
moss and fine roots, fixed in niches, in overhanging trees, or in forks of sapplings at some height from the
ground.
The figures in the Plate accompanying this article are those of a male shot by myself near Hakgala, and of
a young bird procured by Mr. Holdsworth near Nuwara Elliya.
PASSEEES.
Earn. BRACHYPODID^.
Thrush-like birds of arboreal habit, mostly frugivorous in diet, with the legs and feet short.
Bill variable, in most Thrush-like. Wings with the 1st quill not less than half the length
of the secondaries. Tail of 12 feathers, and shorter than the wing.
Subfam. IRENINA:*.
Bill very wide, the mandibles inflated ; both culmen and commissure curved, the tip slightly
hooked and notched. Nostrils round, perforated in a deep indentation, and protected by well-
developed bristles. Kictal bristles small. Wings somewhat pointed, the 4th and 5th quills the
longest, the 3rd equal to the 7th. Tail even. Legs and feet proportionately very short. Tarsus
slightly exceeding the middle toe ; the outer toe connected with the middle at the base as far
as the 1st joint of the latter.
Nape furnished with long hairs. Sternum narrowed in front and widening considerably
towards the posterior edge, which is indented with a wide notch close to the sides.
* I have placed this singular and interesting group of birds first in the family of Brachypodidae because, as a sub-
family possessing some abnormal characteristics, they are better in this position than following the Phyllornithinje,
with which they have nothing in common except the very superficial character of a partial blue coloration. That the
Irenas, with their arboreal and frugivorous habits, their Brachypodine legs and feet, and wing- and tail-formation, belong
to the short- legged Thrushes is the opinion of many able ornithologists. They were placed, through an oversight, in
the DicruridiB by Mr. Sharpe, and he now informs me that he considers them to have affinities with the Bulbuls.
Mr. Hume argues, on the evidence afforded by their peculiar eggs, that they are not well placed in this position, and
suggests that they will have to be located between the Paradiseidee, Sturnidse, and Icteridce. Their totally different
wings would, in my opinion, remove them far from the Starlings, and to the Birds of Paradise they possess only a rostral
resemblance.
3o
Genus lEENA.
Characters the same as those of the subfamily, of which it is the only genus.
lEENA PUELLA.
(THE FAIRY BLUEBIRD.)
Coracias puella, Latham, Ind. Orn. i. p. 171 (1790).
Irena puella (L.), M‘Clell. P. Z. S. 1839, p. 160; Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ.
1839, X. p. 262 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 214 (1849, in pt.) ; Layard &
Kelaart, Cat. B. Prodromus, App. p. 58 (1853) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1854, xiii. p. 130; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 273 (1854); Jerdon,
B. of Ind. ii. p. 105 (1863) ; Walden, Ibis, 1871, p. 170 ; Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872^
p. 452; Ball, Str. Eeath. 1873, p. 71; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 298 (1874);
id. St. Eeath. 1874, p. 226, et 1875, pp. 130, 325 ; Armstrong, ibid, 1876, p. 326 ;
Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 268 (1877) ; Fairbank, Str. Eeath. 1877, p. 406 ; Hume & Davison*
ibid. 1878, p. 328.
Irena indica, A. Hay, J. A. S. B, 1846, xv. p, 170.
Irena, sp. ?, Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852).
The Fairy Boiler, Latham. Nil rajah kurulla 1, Sinhalese.
Adult male and female (Andamans). Wing 5-0 inches ; tail 3-85 to 4-2 ; tarsus 0-7 to 0-75 ; mid toe 0-6 claw
(straight) 0-27 ; bill to gape 1-15 ; under tail-coverts falling short of the tip of the tail by 1-5. ’
Adult male (Ceylon, Poole collection). Wing 5'0 inches ; tail 4‘0.
Dr. Armstrong gives the measurements of Burmese examples in the flesh as Length 9-75 to 10-3 inches • winp- 4-8
to 5-2 ; tail 3'75 to 4-25 ; tarsus 0‘78 to 0‘85 ; bill to gape !•! to 1-2. ’ °
“ Iris light reddish brown, in a female deep red ; bill, legs, feet, and claws black ” {Armstrong).
Male. Top of the head to within one eighth of an inch of the culmen and the eyes, nape, back of neck, entire back
upper and under tail-coverts, sides of the rump, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and tips of the greater coverts'
glistening lazuhne blue, mostly pervaded with a purplish hue, except on the head ; rest of the plumage deep
black, less intense on the wings and tail ; the inner webs of the quills brownish black. At each side of the nape
there are several lengthened hairs. ^
Female. Above and beneath a dull greenish or Prussian blue, brightening on the upper and under tail-coverts ■ the
tips of the feathers are brighter than the central portions ; the shafts of the feathers blackish • primaries
secondaries, and greater coverts blackish brown, the primaries edged with blue, and the imier secondaries washed
with the same ; central tail-feathers blue, and the remainder blackish brown, the innermost edged outwardlv wnth
blue lores blackish, the ear-coverts duskier than the surrounding parts.
06s. Layard’s Ceylonese specimen corresponds entirely with an Andaman example in my collection and the latter is
identical with Indian ones. The Malaccan form {I. cyanea) differs from the Indian solely in the shorter tail but
equally long upper and under tail-coverts, causing a diminution of the distance between the tips of the coverts
and those of the rectrices. I. cyanea measures in the tail 3-5 inches, and the upper tail-coverts fall short of its tip
by about 0-9 inch, while the lower approach to within less than half an inch of it. The race inhabiting the more
southerly region comprised of Labuan, Borneo, and Sumatra has the tail shorter still, about 3-2 inches, and the
lEENA PUELL A .
467
under tail-coverta are produced in some examples quite to the tip of the tail. It has been named I. criniger by
Mr. Sharpe, on account of the nuchal hairs, which are very prominent. Some Malayan examples of I. cyanea
seem to form a link with this Bornean race, for the late Lord Tweeddale instances one in which the lower tail-
coverts only fall short of the tips of the rectriees by g inch. The Javan bird has been separated as another species,
I. turcQsa, by the last-named author, on acconnt of the paler or more silvery tint of the blue colour ; the under
tail-coverts likewise reach to the end of the tail.
Distribution . — The extreme rarity of this species as a Ceylonese bird, fosters the belief that it is a
visitant to the island from the south of India. It could scarcely be a resident form, as it has very seldom
been met with, and during all my wanderings in the timber-forests of the south and west I never saw a
sign of it. Layard obtained a specimen near Kandy, which is still extant in the Poole collection, and
Kelaart procured a second in the same district. Subsequently it has been met with in Safiragam, where the
forest is usually lofty and luxuriant and eminently suited to its nature. For information of its existence in
this district I am indebted to Mr. Hart, the taxidermist of the Colombo Museum, who met with a small
flock in the neighbourhood of Rakwaua in 1868, and still more recently near the same place in November
1877. On the last occasion three or four were observed perched on the summit of a lofty tree, out of which
one was procured. I have no data concerning the season of the year in which the other examples were met
with, and therefore it is still a matter of uncertainty whether it is migratory or not. On the mainland it
is found in the lofty forests of Malabar, Travancore, the Nilghiris, and the Palanis. In the latter district
Dr. Fairbank procured it at an elevation of 3500 feet, and observed it from the base of the range up to
4000 feet ; he likewise notes it as an inhabitant of the Sawant-Wade woods in the Khandala district.'
Jerdon says that it is far from uncommon in the lofty jungles of Malabar, and remarks that he met with
it in forest near Palghautcherry, Trichoor, the Wynaad, and on the Coonoor GIiAt as high as 4000 feet and
upwards. It does not seem to have been noticed anywhere between the Khandala district and the sub-
Himalayan region. In the latter it is known at Sikhim. Captain Butler speaks of a specimen in the Frere-Hall
collection at Kurrachee, stated to have been procured at Schwan in Sindh ; but Mr. Ilume suggests that, this
locality being totally out of the range of the species, the bird must have escaped from captivity. Continuing,
however, to trace out its range from Sikhim eastwards, we find it in Cachar, where Mr. Inglis says it is not
rare, and further to the south in Burmah it is far from uncommon. Mr. Oates writes that it is extremely
abundant in all the evergreen forests on the eastern slopes of the Pegu hills, but that it is never seen on the
western slopes or on the plains. Dr. Armstrong states that it occurs sparingly at China-Bakeer, but is
extremely abundant “ at Syriam, where, in the early mornings, large flocks of these birds may be found
feeding amongst the difierent fig-trees in the neighbourhood. Extending to the south we find it in
Tenasserim, common thi’oughout the evergreen forests, rare in the north, and very abundant in the south of
the Province. How far down the peninsula the typical I. puella extends does not appear yet to be known ;
but it is probable that it merges very soon into the Malayan race, for Mr. Hume testifies to the Mergui
(South Tenasserim) specimens being already intermediate between the two.
Habits . — The Fairy Bluebird associates in small parties and affects lofty trees in foliage, feeding on their
fruit. It is entirely a fruit-eating bird, and in this respect shows its affinity to the rest of the short-legged
Thrushes (Brachypodidaj). It is never found, says Mr. Davison, in the deciduous forests of Tenasserim;
the tenacious manner in which it confines itself to the evergreen jungle is remarkable, for he writes,
“ About Pappoon, where the forests are deciduous, I never saw one ; but, again, about twenty miles to the
north of that place, the bird reappears with evergreen forests.^' The constantly recurring supply of food in
the latter naturally accounts for the predilection of the Bluebird for them ; but it is strange that when
deciduous woods are found in their vicinity it does not wander through them during the season of fruition.
Mr. Davison writes : — “ It is almost always found in flocks, but occasionally in pairs or even singly. It is a
very bright and lively bird, always on the move, hopping from branch to branch or flying from tree to tree,
uttering its fine note, which resembles exactly the words ' be quick, be quick.' They live on fruit, I believe,
exclusively, and are especially fond of figs ; and where a fig-tree is in fruit great numbers congregate, with
Hornbills, Green Pigeons, Fruit-Pigeons, and numbers of other fruit-eating birds. In the middle of the day
3o 2
468
lEENA PTJELLA.
they habitually come down to the banks of streams and the smaller rivers to drink and bathe/' Jerdon styles
its note “ a fine mellow warble, which it is constantly repeating, both when feeding and as it flies from one
tree to another.”
Nidification . — This lovely bird breeds in the forests of Southern India in the early part of the year.
Through the researches of Mr. Bourdillon the particulars of its nidification have been made known. He
found it nesting some years ago in a sappling about 12 feet from the ground ; the nest was a loose sparsely
built structure composed of “ dead twigs lined with leaves, and was about 4 inches broad.” More recently he
has found others, concerning which Mr. Hume sends me particulars in epist. One was, writes Mr. Bourdillon
to Mr. Hume, in “ a pollard tree beside a stream among some thick branches about 20 feet from the ground ;
the nest was neatly but very loosely constructed of fresh green moss, which formed the bulk of it, and was lined
with the flower-stalks of a jungle shnib. It was very well concealed, and was about 4 inches broad, with a
cavity not more than 1^ inch deep.” Another nest was situated about 10 feet from the ground and was
composed of twigs without any lining. The number of eggs seenjs invariably to be two. They are regular
or elongated ovals ; the shell is fine and close-grained, but not very glossy. The ground-colour is pale green,
and they are streaked and blotqhed with pale dull brown or reddish brown. In one specimen they are “ almost
entirely confluent over the large end (where they appear to be underlaid with dingy, dimly discernible, greyish
blotches), and from the cap thus formed they descend in streaky mottlings towards the small end, growing
fewer and further apart as they approach the latter, which is almost devoid of markings.” In others, he
writes, the markings are pretty thick, even at the small end. The eggs average in size from 105 to 1'15 inch
in length by 0'71 to 0'81 inch in breadth.
PASSEEES.
BRACHYPODIDiE.
Subfam. PYCNONOTINA:.
Bill straight ; the culmen curved ; mandibles compressed towards the tip, which is distinctly
notched. Nostrils basal, placed in a capacious membrane ; rictal bristles well developed; nape
furnished with hairs. Wings somewhat rounded, the secondaries lengthened. Tail shorter
than the wings. Legs and feet typical in their shortness.
Geuus HYPSIPETES.
Bill long, commissure straight for the greater part, culmen but slightly curved. Nostrils
long, protected by bristles, and with a tuft of feathers at the base ; rictal bristles stout and not
very long. Wings with the 1st quill very short, and the 4th the longest or equal to the 5th.
Tail long and square at the tip. Legs short. The tarsus shorter than the middle toe and claw.
Nuchal hairs lengthened.
HYPSIPETES GANEESA.
(THE BLACK BULBUL.)
Hypsipetes ganeesa, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 87 ; Jard. & Selby, 111. Orn. 2nd ser. pi. 2 ;
Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. App. p. 339 (1849) ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co.
i. p. 255 (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 79 (1863, in part) ; Blyth, Ibis, 1865, p. 42 ;
Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 450; Hume, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 400 ; Fairbank, ibid. 1877,
p. 405.
Hypsipetes nilghiriends, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1839, x. p. 245 ; Blyth, Cat.
B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 207 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 123 (1852); Layard, Ann.
& Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 125 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 78 (1863, in pt.) ; Hume,
Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 280 (1874) ; id. Str. Feath. 1873, p. 438.
- The Nilgherry Blade Bulbul and The Ghdt Blade Bulbul (Jerdon).
Kele kondiya, Sinhalese.
Male. Length 9’6 to 10’5 inches ; wing 4-5 to 4-9 ; tail 4'3 ; tarsus 0'8 ; mid toe and claw 0'85 to 0‘9 ; bill to
gape 1'35.
Iris faded red or orange, with a dusky tinge ; bill coral-red, the nostril-membrane brown ; legs and feet yellowish red,
the claws blackish (these latter fade in dried specimens).
Lores, forehead, head, and nape glossy black, with a greenish lustre in freshly moirlted birds ; hind neck, back, rump,
and upper tail-corerts dull bluish slate, the centres of the back-feathers dark ; wings and tail dull brown, the wing-
coverts, secondaries, innermost primaries, and tail-feathers at their bases edged with bluish ashy, the latter
faintly so ; cheeks and ear-coverts cinereous brown ; chin darkish ; throat, chest, and under surface faded slate-
grey, paling on the abdomen ; under tail-coverts slaty brown, with dark shafts and whitish edges.
Adult female. Length 9'6 inches ; wing 4’4 ; tail 3-6 ; tarsus 0‘7 ; bill to gape 1'2.
Iris, in some examples I have examined, slightly brownish.
Plumage similar to that of the male.
Young. Birds of the year have the tip of the bill and space round the nostril blackish ; iris yellowish brown ; legs
and feet dusky yellowish.
Throat and under surface lighter than in the adult ; wings and fail browner, or of a paler hue than in old birds ; the
quills deeply margined with pale tawny, and the edges of the tail-feathers slightly coloured with the same.
Ohs. This bird has been known under two names — //. ganeesa of Sykes and H. nilgliiricnsis of Jerdon. The former
author described liis type from the Ghats, and birds from that region were accordingly kept as ganeesa-, while
those from the Ndghiris were separated by Jerdon under the above-mentioned specific name, which he likewise
applied to the Ceylonese race. Blyth pointed out (Ibis, 1865) the identity of the two forms; and Mr. llolds-
worth accordingly applied Sykes’s title to our birds. I cannot do better than subjoin Mr. Hume’s note on this
subject, written after he had fully satisfied himself that these two supposed species wore one and the same. He
writes (iStr. Peath. 1876, p.400) : — “ I have carefully compared seven specimens from Mahabaleshwar with nine from
the Nilghiris, three from the Assamboo hills, and four from Ceylon. I find that adults and young birds from the
three former localities are precisely similar; in the youuger birds the bills are browner and the wing.s smaller, but
there is no difficulty in matching any Mahabaleshw'ar bird with some Nilghiri one. Birds from Ceylon are, in all
respects but one, identical with those from the other localities ; but they certainly do appear to have 8ome« hat
larger bills. I entertain no doubt that the birds from all these localities should henceforth stand under Sykes s
name of ganeesa.” Blyth noticed a peculiarity in the Ceylon birds in that they were paler than those from South
India. I have compared Ceylonese specimens with some from the Bombay district and Madras Presidency, and
find scarcely any appreciable difference, except, perhaps, in the throat and flanks, which, in the Indian examples,
are somewhat darker than in ours, A bird from Matheran measures 4-4 inches in the wing, and 1-21 in the bill
from gape to tip.
470
HYPSIPETES GANEESA.
The dimeusions of aii example shot by Mr. Eairbaiik in the Palanis are : — Length 9'5 inches ; wing 4-6, expanse
14'0 ; tail 4'0 ; tarsus 0'75 ; bill to gape I'l, Iris hazel, dyed with lake-red.
Ihis species is allied to the northern form, H. psaroides, which differs in being generally paler, and more particularly
as regards the lower parts and outer w'ebs of the wing-feathers ; the under tail-coverts are very broadly margined
with white, and it is likewise a larger bird. The wings of 7 specimens in the national collection vary from 4‘8
to 5T. It inhabits Bengal and the sub-Himalayan region.
Mr. Hume has lately described an allied species to this latter, which inhabits the Tenasserim hills, as H. suhniger. It
is smaller and everywhere much darker, with the interscapular region black. Males— length 8-5 to 8-9 inches,
wing 4-5 to 4-85. ’
Distribution.—The Black Bulbul is found throughout all the low country of the southern half of the
island, wherever there is forest or wild secondary jungle, particularly that growing on the sides of moderately-
sized hills. It is especially abundant in the interior of the Western Province, where the hills are well wooded,
as in many parts of the Eaygam and Hewagam Korales ; in Saffragam it is extraordinarily numerous, swarming
in the Peak forests and ascending to the highest elevations in it. In the Pasdun Korale and the south-
western hilly districts it is very common, extending into the Morowak and Kolonna Korales. It is also found
throughout the Kandyan districts, and in the dry season frequents the upper forests in the main range and
on the Nuwara-Elliya plateau. In the higher parts of Uva it is always stationary. As regards the forests of
the northern half of the island, it may be said to wander about in them, being found here and there when
perhaps little expected. I have seen it near Trincomalie during the north-east monsoon, and also in other
localities between that station and Anaradjapura. Prom this latter place, and also from the forests near
Puttalam, it is not recorded by Mr. Parker in the lists furnished to me by him, but it probably occurs in both.
This species does not enjoy a wide distribution on the mainland, though it is very numerous in the
southern hilly portions of the peninsula. It abounds, says Jerdon, on the summit of the Nilghiris from
6000 to 8000 feet, and likewise frequents the district of Coorg. It extends along the Western GhMs to the
Mahabaleshwar hills, where Col. Sykes hrst procured it, the dense woods of that region being given by him
as Its habitat. Mr. Fairbank remarks that it is rarely found on the Mahabaleshwar plateau, though it is
abundant on the Goa frontier; he found it on the tops of the Palanis and on the lower hills, and Mr. Bour-
dillon speaks of it as being very abundant at higher elevations on the Travancore hills, but less so at their base.
It is likewise found on the Assamboo hills.
This large Bulbul frequents forest, jungly ravines, steep woods, and most places in which there
are larp trees. It is a sociable and very restless bird, extremely noisy and lively in its movements, and
possessing, for a Bulbul, very varied notes. Out of the breeding-season it congregates in vast flocks to feed
on certain fruits, and, dashing about from tree to tree with loud notes, and with apparently no other object
than that of chasing its companions for amusement, it fills the forest with a ceaseless din, completely drowning
the voices of Ml other birds. Among its various notes is one frequently uttered when in company, resembling
the sound tehee, and another, a call-note, which may be likened to the syllables zu-ldnk up, zu-kink up, repeated
several times, and nearly alw’ays given forth when alone, either on the wing or feeding. Its usual harsh
waible, so well known to those who have frequented the forests in the south and west of Ceylon, is uttered
from the tip top of a high tree, to which the bird, with some show of good sense, invariably mounts when it
desires to make itself heard ! Its diet consists of fruits, seeds, and berries ; and when many trees are in bearing
in the same spot, all the Black Bulbuls in the neighbourhood flock to them in great numbers : it, however
also feeds upon insects ; and I have observed it dart occasionally at them from its perch, althouo’h its usual
manner of capturing them is to seize them from the branches of trees, to which it will sometimes clino' after
the manner of a Tree-creeper. °
Concerning its economy in India I find the following observations :-Jerdon writes that it lives in small
flocks in the dense woods, feeding on various fruits and berries, usually on the tops of trees; it keeps up a
lively and agreeable warbling, which it often continues during its occasional flight from one tree or patch of
wood to another. Its flight is undulating, easy, and rapid. Mr. Bourdillon finds that they are gregarious and
very noisy, apparently preferring the tops of trees, though they also feed on the berries &c. found in sccon-
aiy jungle. Mr. Fairbank noticed that they only assembled in flocks during the month of June.
HTPSIPETES aANEESA.
471
Nidification . — In the western parts of the island this species breeds from January till March, building its
nest on a horizontal hough or in the foi’k of a lateral branch at a considerable height from the ground. It is
a compact, though rather untidy-looking structure, made of dead leaves, roots, and moss, and lined with fibres
and “ bents.” The eggs are normally two in number, of the usual ovate shape characteristic of Bulbuls ;
ground-colour white, spotted and speckled with reddish brown, somewhat confluent at the obtuse end. Axis
I'O to 1’05, diameter 0‘73 to 0’73 inch.
In India it breeds, according to the experience of several observers, from March until June, laying two
eggs. Mr. Davison writes, “The nest is generally placed from 12 to 30 feet from the ground, in some dense
clump of leaves ; favourite sites are the branches of parasitic plants with which nearly every acacia, and, in
fact, nearly every other tree about Ootacamund, is covered. The nest is composed exteriorly of moss, dry
leaves, and roots, lined with roots and flbres.” Mr. Wait writes of its nest, as made at Coonoor, that it is neatly
and firmly made, composed chiefly outside of green moss, grass-stalks, and fibres j while inside it is lined with
fine stalks and hairs ; the cavity is from 2^ to 3 inches in diameter, and about half that depth. The ground-
colour of the eggs, says Mr. Hume, varies from white to delicate pink. The markings consist of different
shades of deep red and pale washed-out purple, which in some eggs are bold, large, and blotchy, and in others
minute and speckly, and in both forms there is a tendency to form an irregular zone round the large end ;
the shell has commonly little or no gloss, and is very fragile. The eggs vary from I’O to I'I7 inch in length
by 0'7 to 0'8 in breadth.
Genus CEINIGEE.
Bill stout, much shorter than in Hypsi;petes, moderately curved, the tip notched. Nostrils
linear, protected by fine bristles ; rictal bristles moderate. Wings with the 4th and 5th quills
equal and longest. • Tail rather long, broad, wider at the tip than at the base. Legs and feet
small. Tarsus about equal to the middle toe and claw.
Nuchal hairs more numerous than in the last genus.
CEINIGEE lOTEEICFS.
(THE FOREST BULBUL.)
Criniger ictericus, Strickland, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1844, xiii. p. 411 ; Kelaart, Prodro-
mus, Cat. p. 123 (1862) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 124 ; Jerdon,
B. of Ind. ii. p. 82 (1863) ; Legge, J. A. S. (Ceylon Branch) 1870-71, p. 43 ; Holdsworth,
P. Z. S. 1872, p. 450; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 282 (1873); Legge, Ibis, 1874,
p. 20, et 1875, p. 396 ; Bourdillon, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 400.
Pycnonotus ictericus, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1844, xiv. p. 570.
Hemixos icterica, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 207 (1849); Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B.
Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 250 (1854). '
The Yellow-browed Bulbul (Jerdon).
Male. Length 8-0 inches; wdng 3-7 ; tail 3-3; tarsus 0-72; mid toe and claw 0-75; bill at front 0-7, to gape
(straight) 0’82.
Iris light red, or red ; bill black ; legs and feet bluish leaden or dusky slatish.
liores and at the base of nostril, supercilium, face, throat, and entire under surface, under tail- and nnder wing-
coverts, with the basal portion of the inner margins of the quill-feathers and tertials, sulphur-yellow ; the face,
side of throat, and flanks shaded with the hue of the back; entire upper surface olive-green; inner webs of
quills brown, the shafts dark brown ; inner margins of all but central rectrices yellowish, the shafts are browm
above and yellow beneath.
Female. Length 7-75 inches ; wing 3-3 to 3-5 ; tail 3T.
Ihe yellow in front of the eye is confined to the lores ; the under surface slightly duller, the face duskier than in the
male.
Yoimg. Birds of the year have the cheeks faintly barred brownish, and the flanks generally somewhat darker than
adults.
Ohs. Indian specimens of this bird that I have examined measure as follows : — S. India — wing 3-5 inches, tail 3-3 ;
S. India wing 3-6, tail 3-4; Coorg— wing 3-6, tail 3-5. Size of bill and plumage identical with Ceylonese
e.xamples.
The nearest Indian ally to our bird is the northern form C.flaveolus, Gould. An example in the national collection
from Nepal has the head dull rusty brown, the feathers elongated ; lores, forehead, chin, and throat greyish white;
back greenish yellow, with a rusty tinge ; wings and tail rusty brown ; chest and under surface dull yellowish ;
wing 4T. As showing, however, the singular affinity of the Malayan avifauna with that of Ceylon w'e have
a much more closely related species in the C. simplex, Kuhl, of the Malay islands. This species has the upper surface
almost of the same tint as in our bird ; the throat and under surface dull yellow, suffused with oUve-greenish on
the sides of the chest and flanks ; it wants the yellow lores and face, which parts are duskier than the head
Wing 3-5 to 3-7.
Bistribution.— l:\i\% fine Bulbul is widely diffused throughout the island, restricting itself to forests and
heavy secondary jungle, m which it is a common bird. It is essentially a denizen of timber-jungle for though
it is not found in the cultivated portions of the Western Province, directly the forests in the Hewagam,
Raygam, Three and Four Korales are entered it at once forces itself upon the acquaintance of the naturalist.
In the Pasdun Korale, throughout Saffragam, in the south-west (beginning as near the sea as Kottowe and
Baddegama), and in the Morowak and Rukkul Korales it is a common bird. It is scattered throughout all
the northern forests, hut docs not apparently inhabit the Jaffna peninsula, for the simple reason that there is
no heavy jungle on it. In the wilds of the Eastern Province, and in the forest along the rivers flowing
thiough the Park country and the district lying to the south of Haputale, it is also found. As regards the
CEINIGEE ICTEEICUS.
473
Kandyan Province, it is a common bird in the forests up to an altitude of 3500 feet, and in the “ Knuckles,”
and on the slopes of the main range and the Peak wilderness, ascends to a greater elevation than this, but
does not, as far as I am aware, inhabit the immediate neighbourhood of Nuwara Elliya. In Uva it is very
numerous, affecting even little patches of jungle on the patua-streams.
Those who have not collected much in the heavy forests of the low country have but little idea how
common a bird this Bulbul is in the particular localities which suit its habits. Kelaart wrote that it was a
common species in the low country; but Messrs. Layard and Holdsworth have taken exception to this
statement, inasmuch as they had not perhaps met with it themselves. Layard infers that Kelaart spoke of
Ixos luteolus, and it is possible that there may have been such misidentification ; but nevertheless, as I have
shown, it is a common bird in all the forests of the low country ; had Kelaart written of it, “ common in
the low-country forests," his statement would have been beyond criticism.
As regards the mainland, this species has only been found in the peninsula, and its range does not
appear to extend further north than Bombay. Dr. Fairbank, who records it as common on the Goa frontier
and rarely found on the Mahabaleshwar plateau, remarks that it may extend along the strip of country which,
with similar conditions of climate and food, reaches as far up the west coast as Surat. Mr. Bourdillon states
that it is a common bird in the Travancore hills, and in the Palanis it is said to inhabit an elevation of
4000 feet and upwards. Jerdon writes that it prefers mountainous regions at from 3000 to 5000 feet, being
abundant on the slopes of the Nilghiris at that altitude, although it is also occasionally found “ at a few
hundred feet above the sea-level.”
Habits. — No bird that I am acquaiirted with appears to be more at home in the solitude and shade ot
the forest than the present. It is often met with associating in a little party far from the proximity of other
species, hopping actively about among the boughs of lofty trees or in the luxuriant sappling growth beneath
them, in which it finds no lack of insect-food, and, during the time that it is partaking thereof, testifies to a
happy existence by frequently flying on to some bare branch, to give out its quiet little warble and then
resume its sociable fellowship with its companions. I have always found it in the society of one or two of
its fellows, the little troop thus formed exhibiting a most restless character : their sombre-coloured backs and
wings and perpetual movement make it difficult to discern them among the foliage, although they may be
heard warbling close at hand ; and it not unfrequently happens that, when the jungle is at all thick, they
disappear without being detected, notwithstanding that the branches around have been diligently scrutinized
in the search for them. They do not, as a rule, keep to the tops of trees, but usually hunt for their food in
lateral branches or on the upper boughs of sapplings. Their low-toned varying notes are difficult to describe,
but, on the whole, form a not unpleasing little warble. Some of them resemble the sounds cly eye, te lohite up,
te whit up, which three modulations are continuously repeated for no little space of time. I have found its
food to be more insectivorous than frugivorous; but in India it is said of it that the latter condition chiefly
obtains. Mr. Bourdillon writes that it wanders “ about in small flocks, feeding almost entirely on fruits and
seeds.” Jerdon says of it, in the Madras Journal Lit. and Sci. x. p. 249, “In all specimens I have examined
I have found fruit only in its stomach ; but, from the strong bristles at the base of the bill, I suppose it
may, at certain seasons, partake of insects.”
Niclification. — I once found the nest of this bird in the Pasdun-Korale forests in August; little or nothing,
however, is known of its breeding habits in Ceylon, so that it most likely commences earlier than that month
to rear its brood. My nest was placed in the fork of a thin sappling about 8 feet from the ground. It was
of large size for such a bird, the foundation being bulky and composed of small twigs, moss, and dead leaves,
supporting a cup of about 2i inches in diameter, which was constructed of moss, lined with fine roots ; the
upper edge of the body of the nest was woven round the supporting branches. The eggs were two in number,
of a reddish-white gi’ound-coloui’, rather thickly freckled throughout with sienna, and forming a well-marked
zone round the obtuse end. They were broad, rather stumpy ovals, and measured 0'97 inch in length by
0-70 inch in breadth. The situation of this nest was near a stream in the forest ; and many other old ones, which,
I believe, belonged to this species, were in similar spots. Mr. Hume, in his ‘ Nests and Eggs,’’ remarks that
some eggs which he received had “ only the faintest trace of pale pinkish mottling towards the large end,”
3 P
474
CEINIGEE ICTEEICUS.
while others were “thiekly freckled all over, most densely at the large end, with salmon-pink or pale pinkish
brown,” showing that they arc subject to considerable variation in colour.
Naturalists quoted by Mr. Hume speak of the nest being ''suspended by the outer rim to two branches,”
or “ attached to twigs hy cobwebs,” and never placed in a fork. My experience (and I have no doubt about
my identification) tends to show that it does build at times like other Bulbuls. The bottom of the nest was
in the fork.
Genus IXOS.
Bill stouter, wider at the base, and less compressed at the tip than in Criniger. Wings
shorter, less pointed, with the 5th and 6th quills subequal and longest. Tail not so broad and
less square at the tip. Legs and feet stout. The toes strongly scaled ; lateral toes equal ; claws
rather short. Nuchal hairs lengthened, but scanty.
IXOS LUTEOLUS.
(THE WHITE-EYEBROWED BULBUL.)
llmmatornis luteolm. Less. Rev. Zool. p. 354 (1840).
Pijcnonotus flavirictus, Strickl. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1844, xiii. p. 413 ; Blyth, J. A. S. B.
1846, xiv. p. 567 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 210 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat.
p. 123 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 124 {flaviriatus
errore) .
Pycmnotus luteolus, Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 243 (1854).
Criniger tickelli, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1845, xiv. p. 571.
Ixos luteolus, Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 84 (1863); Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 450; Hume,
Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 283 (1874) ; Ball, Str. Eeath. 1874, p. 410, et 1876, p. 235 ;
Fairbank, ibid. 1877, p. 405.
The Yellow-belhed Bulbul, The White-browed Bush-Bulbul in India ; The Cinnamon-Thrush
(Europeans in Ceylon). Poda-pigli, Telugu ; Pastro Jcondache, Portuguese in Ceylon.
Guluguluwa, Sinhalese.
Adult male and female. Lenglh 7-4 inches ; wing .3-1 to 3-3 ; tail 3-0 to 3-2 ; tarsus 0-8 to 0-95 ; mid toe and claw 0-8 ;
bill to gape 0-8 to 0-9.
Iris ^'ariable, rust-colour, dull red, or blood-red ; bill black; legs and feet dusky-leaden blue or plumbeous.
Above olivaceous browji, the edges of the feathers obscure greenish ; on the head the centres of the feathers are brown,
edged with greyish, below the eye and a broad stripe from nostril above it white, with a dark brown dividing line
above the lores ; quills and wing-coverts edged with greenish ; the tail the same but duller, the exterior feathers
tipped with yellowish grey ; shafts reddish brown ; ear-coverts brownish ; beneath whitish, washed with brownish
on the chest, and becoming yellowish on the lower breast and abdomen ; vent, under tail-coverts, and under wing-
coverts pale sulphur-yellowish, showing rather conspicuously beneath the carpal joint. Some examples have the
feathers of the chest more markedly edged with yellowish than others.
I his Bulbul is in a constant state of moult, affecting its plumage chiefly at the back of the neck, which part is often
quite bare.
Youmj. Iris not so bright a red as in the adult. Plumage similar.
Obs. Two examples from South India measure in the wing 3'3 and 3‘4 inches respectively : one is identical with
Ceylonese specimens, the other is tinged with rusty ; the throat and vent are more tinged with yellow than in my
examples of our bird.
Another Ixos from South India, found on the Eastern Grhats, is I. xantholeemus, Jerdon, the “ Yellow-throated Bush-
Bulbul.” It has the head, face, and occiput dusky yellowish green, the chin and throat yellow ; hind neck and
back ashy grey; wings and tail hair-brown, the margins of the feathers greenish; under surface pale brownish
grey, mider tail-coverts yellow. An example in the British Museum measures in the wdng 3-15.
A more closely-allied Bulbul to 1. luteolus is I. analis from Java. It has very much the appearance of our bird, but
the lores and a ring round the eye are black, the supercilium is very broad and spreads at the back of the eye over
the face and ear-coverts ; the brown of the upper surface is more ruddy than in luteolus, and the tail-feathers not
margined with greenish ; throat w'hitish buff ; under tail-coverts and vent yellow ; the under surface greyish, the
centres of the feathers on the chest brown. The wings of examples in the national collection measure from 3*4
to 3*5 inches. I instance this species to show, as in the case of Cvinigev simjflex, how nearly allied the avifauna
of Java is to that of Ceylon.
Distribution. — ^Tliis soberly-clad and familiar bird is one of the commonest and best-known species in
Ceylon ; it is very abundant in most parts of the low country both in the north and south of the island,
and is especially so in the maritime districts. In the low jungle-covered tracts round the whole of the north
3p2
476
IXOS LTJTEOLUS.
coast and in the scrubs bordering the south-eastern shores it is as numerous as on the western sea-hoard. In
the interior it is almost everywhere to he met with, whether in the semicultivated country between Colombo
and the Kandyan hills, the forests of the northern half of the island, or the similarly interminable jungles of
the Eastern Province. In the south-western hill-region it chiefly frequents the open and partially cultivated
tracts of country ; but it is also found in wooded places, particularly in secondary jungle, where the forest has
been, at some time or another, cut down by the natives. In the Kandyan province it is common in Dumbara
and the surrounding neighbourhood up to an elevation of about 2500 feet ; but in the eastern district of
Uva I have observed it much higher, for in that part it frequents the patna-scrubs which clothe the hills
between Fort Macdonald and Badulla. I noticed it everywhere in the Jaffna peninsula; and Mr. Holds worth
writes that it is equally common at Aripu and Colombo. '
Jerdon writes of this Bulbul that it is plentiful in many parts of South India, that it is not found in the
forests of Malabar, but is common in low jungle and on the skirts of the forests occasionally. In the Carnatic
it is tolerably common in bnshy jungle, and even in gardens in wooded districts, also througliout the Northern
Circars to Goomsoor ; and in Central India it was found by Tick ell. It is not, however, remarks Jerdon, known
at Jubbulpore, Saugor, Nagpore, nor Mhow, nor on the bare tableland of the Deccan. Eefcrring to ‘ Stray
Feathers,^ we find Dr. Fairbank testifies to its local distribution in his remarks on the Khandala district, and
says that it is found in thickets by the Gatprabha river, but not on the Goa frontier ; further north it inhabits
portions of the country near Bombay. Mr. Ball writes that it is very abundant in Orissa, throughout a broad
zone in which the vegetation is characterized by certain species of plants which are not met with further to
the west, and which district, he says, extends “westwards as far as Ungul,^' beyond which it is not found.
Colonel Tickell procured it at Midnapur, which, I imagine, is its most northern limit. In the Palani-hill list
it is included as common at the east base of the bil ls.
Hadiss.— This Bulbul has been named the “Cinnamon-Thrush," on account of its abundance in the
plantations of that tree in the Western Province. It is fond of frequenting open bushy land, scrub, woods in
cultivated country, thickets at the edge of jungle, and underwood in dry forests ; in heavily-timbered countrv
it is not nearly so frequent, although it is more so than the Common Madras Bulbul. Except when feeding
on some favourite fruit, it does not usually affect tall trees, but prefers to live in the thick cover afforded by
brambles and other dense undergrowth, to none of which is it more partial than to the Zaniana-scnih so
abundant in the Western Province and in Dumbara. It associates usually in pairs, and, concealing itself from
view, frequently utters its loud, jerky Avarble while threading its way through the thickets, or darting actively
in and out with a quick irregular flight, and thus gives one the impression of being a most busy bird ! In the
evening it is particularly restless and noisy, and before going to roost flies to and fro among the bushes, darting
into the thickest cover at hand, where it gives out its voluble notes, and then starts out again with a rustle loud
enough to be caused by a much larger bird. It is both insectivorous and frugivorous in its diet, but chiefly
the latter; and there is nothing to which it is more partial than the seeds or berries of the Lan^ana-plant.
Nidification. The breeding-season of this bird in the west and south-w^est of the island lasts from
December until June, the months of April and May appearing to be the favourite time. On the eastern side
it breeds during the north-east rains. It builds in a low bush, placing the nest in the fork of an upright
branch, sometimes 3 or 4 feet from, and at others close to, the ground. It is a rather loosely made cup-shaped
structure, built of small twigs, grass-stalks, and fine roots, with occasionally a few dead leaves at the bottom
to act as a foundation ; the lining is scanty and is of fine grass. The eggs are from two to four iu number,
ovate in form, but sometimes stumpy at the large end ; the ground-colour is reddish white or pale reddish,
covered openly throughout with brownish or claret-red over a few markings of lilac-grey ; in many specimens
the spots are confluent round the obtuse end. They measure from 0-9 to 0-95 inch in length by 0'63 to
0-65 inch in breadth.
At Bombay it is recorded as laying in June and September, building a loose straggling nest in a bush a
few feet from the ground; it is there made of fine twigs, lined with grass-stems, and portions of the exterior
tied with wool and cobwebs to the surrounding twigs. A correspondent of Mr. Hume^s draws attention to a
nest which was tied at one place to a twig to prevent its being blown off its insecure site.
Genus EUBIGULA.
Bill short, stout, rather straight ; rictal bristles moderate. Wings short and rounded ; the
4th and 5th quills equal and longest. Tail nearly even at the tip. Legs and feet small. Tarsus
feathered just below the knee, as in the preceding genus ; toes short ; claws long and acute.
A portion of the back of the neck bare, but overlaid by the occipital feathers. Nuchal
hairs short.
EUBIGTJLA MELANICTEEA.
(THE BLACK-HEADED BULBUL.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Muscicapa melanictera, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 941 (1788).
JJJgitlima atricapilla, Vieill. N. Diet. i. p. 176 (1816).
lora nigricapilla, Drapiez, Diet. Class, vi. p. 170 (1840).
Eubigida aherrans, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1846, xv. p. 287.
Pijcnonotus atricapilliis, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 211 (1849) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag.
Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 125.
Pi/cnonotus nigricapillus, Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 123 (1852).
Rubigula gularis, Kelaart, 1. c.
Ruhigula melanictera, Walden, Ibis, 1866, p. 316 ; Blyth, ibid. 1867, p. 304 ; Legge, J. A. S.
(Ceylon Br.) 1870-71, p. 44 ; Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 452 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874,
p. 20 ; id. Str. Death. 1875, p. 368; id. Ibis, 1875, p. 396.
Yellow-lreasted Flycatcher, Brown, 111. pi. 32 ; Le Cap negre, Le Vaill. pi. 140 ; Le Gohe-
mouclie noir etjamie de Ceilan, St. Croix ; Black-capped Tanager, Latham.
Ka-Jcurulla, Sinhalese in Western Province.
cJ ad. supra saturate flavicauti-viridis, uropygio et supracaudalibus latius flavis : teetricibus alarum dorso coucoloi-ibus,
majoribus et primariis brunoeis Isotioro flavo limbatis, secundariis tiorsi colore lavatis : rectricibus nio-ricauti-
brunneis, versus basin olivasceutibus et olivaceo lavatis, omnibus (duabus mediis exceptis) albo terminatis, ex-
terionbus latius apieatis : pileo baud cristate nuebaque nitide nigris : loris, facie laterali, genis et regione parotica
uigns : corpore subtus toto Imtc flavo, lateribus vix olivascenti lavatis : subalaribus et axillaribus flavis, majoribus
basaliter albis : remigibus infra, brunneis, intus versus basin albicanti marginatis ; rostro nigro : iiedibus nigri-
cauti-olivaceis : iride sordidc rubra.
Adult male and female. Length from 6-3 to 6-5 inches ; wing 2-7 to 2-9 ; tail 2-5 to 2-6 ; tarsus 0-6 ; mid toe and
claw 0'58 ; hind toe and claw 0"48 ; bill to gape 0’75 to 0'8. Females are the smaller of the sexes.
Male. Iris dull red; bill black; legs and feet blackish.
Fetnale. Ms dark- hroivn ; legs and feet deep plumbeous or blackish blue.
Head and face, down to the level of the lower mandible, glossy black ; lower part of hind neck, back, scapulars, upper tail-
coverts, upper surface of tertials, and edges of quills dusky olivaceous green, palest on the rump, aiid with a
brighter or yellowish hue on the outer W'cbs of the primaries ; the first primary and the tips and inner webs of
all the other quills brown ; tail blackish browni, edged, principally near the base, with the hue of the back, and
with a terminal white spot to all the feathers but the central pair, which are simply tipped with it ; chin, throat,
low'er part of breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts saffron-yellow ; the chest and flanks washed with olivaceous
green ; under wing-coverts and flexure of the wing yellow.
478
ErBiaULA MELANICTEEA.
Ohs. The history of this species has been fully worked out by the late Lord Tweeddale in an article published in the
‘ Ibis ’ for 1866, in which is given a comprehensive review of the different names applied to it by various authors,
and a satisfactoiy conclusion arrived at as to which should have the priority. Vieillot’s name of atrkajpillus,
founded on Le Vaillant’s “ Cap n&jre ” (a title bestowed by the latter in 1802 upon a bird six specimens of which
he received from Ceylon), was thought to be the oldest, and is the one used by Layard in his notes on the orni-
thology of Ceylon. It is, however, plainly demonstrated, in the article referred to, that the bird was sent from
Ceylon many years previous by G-overnor Loten and figured by Brown in 1776, in his ‘ Elustrations,’ as the
Yellow-breasted Elycatchor, upon which plate Glmelin founded, in 1788, his Mtisdcapa melanictera, thus establishing,
by fourteen years, the priority of this last-named specific title. Some doubt is maintained as to whether the
Cap negre is really a peculiar Ceylonese form after all ; for Gould described a species, said to he from Travancore,
under the name of Bmchypiis gularis, and which the Marqms of Tweeddale {he. «<.) contends, from the descrip-
tion of the skin, was identical with the Ceylon bird. Nome years later Jerdon figured another species with a
red throat from Malabar, which he considei’od might be the same as Grould’s bird, in the description of which no
mention was made of the red throat. He styled it Brachypiis riibineus, which title, however, he afterwards placed
as a synonym of BrcccJiyjnts gularis, in tlie ‘ Birds of India;’ and the latter name, 1 observe, is still in vogue with
Inchau naturalists when writing of the Euby-throated Bulbul. How either Gould’s bird was from Ceylon and
not from Travancore, or else it was from the latter place and he omitted to notice the red throat* in his
description ; or, failing this, perhaps he had to do with a jmung bird which had not acquired this distinguishing
character. If neither hypothesis holds good, then G-oukTs bird w'as actually the same as ours, which, therefore,
inhabits the South of India as well as Ceylon, and his name does not apply to Jerdon’s Euby-throated Bulbul.
I cannot bring myself to accept this latter theory, as the present species has never since been detected in South
India, and I am loath to reduce it from its rank in this work as a Ceylonese bird.
It is remarkable that the eye of the male should differ from that of the female. We find the same singidar
character in the case of two other Ceylon birds, viz. the Eed-faced Malkoha and Palliser’s Ant-Thrush.
Distribution . — The Black-headed Bulbul occurs throughout all the forest-tracts of the low country,
ascending the mountains of the Kandyan and Southern Provinces to an altitude of about 5000 feet in the
former, and to the limits of the jungle in the latter. It is plentiful in suitable localities in the Western
Province, being found within 4 or 5 miles of Colombo ; it is also abundant in all the south-western hill-
regions, although almost absent from the arid maritime district between Hambantota and the Park country.
It is a common bird in all the forests of the northern half of the island, being numerous round Trincomalic and
along the coast to the north of that place. In Uva, Haputale, and the eastern coffee-districts it is found up
to the afore-mentioned altitude ; but I have not observed it so high on the western side. About Kandy and
the circumjacent districts it is very common, preferring to the forests the deep valleys of the Mahawelliganga
and its affluents the Maha oya and Bilhul oya, as well as other similarly openly-wooded localities.
Mr. Holdsworth does not record it from Aripu, the country in that immediate district being too open for it ;
but I have no doubt but that it is found in the adjacent forests of the interior.
Habits . — The “ Cap negre ” frequents shady luxuriant forest, low jungle, cheena-woods, deserted grounds,
the w'ooded borders of tanks, and so forth. It is very partial to forest, and is one of the commonest denizens
of such locality in Ceylon. It is met with either in pairs or three or four together, and at times is socially
inclined towards its neighbours of the forest, consorting wdth the Forest-Bulbul, Criniger ictericus ; and in less
heavily timbered spots may be found in company with the common White-eyebrowed Bulbul, Iwos luteolus.
It delights in the well-wooded shady ravines, watered by rocky streams, which intersect the patnas throughout
the Central Province ; and while halting for an instant by these delightful brooks on my journeys from one
estate to another, I have generally heard its unpretending little warble, which is much like the syllables wJm:-
whee, whFe-whee, frequently repeated. It generally affects the lateral branches of large trees, and searches
about among the outspreading boughs for its food, which is chiefly insectivorous ; small seeds are sometimes
devmured by it, and I have found snails of some little size and also minute ammonites in its stomach. I have
occasionally seen small parties in the topmost boughs of large trees ; but to ascend thither is not its usual
habit, and in such cases it is probably enticed from the foliage beneath by the presence of other birds.
* Lord Tweeddale latterly held this idea, which he expressed to me, in epist., shortly before his death.
EUBIGULA MELANIOTEEA.
479
Towards its own kin it is extremely sociablej generally liviug in elose fellowship, particularly in the nesting-
time. It is rarely disturbed without the little call-note loMe-ivh^ being speedily heard, and its companion
is seen flying across the jungle-path or other spot in search of it.
Nidification . — This Bulbul breeds in the southern and central portions of the island from April to
September, probably rearing two broods. In the Kandyan Province Mr. Bligh has found its eggs in the
former and I myself in the latter month. It usually builds in the fork of a low tree or bush near the ground,
and sometimes even on a dead stump. I have taken the nest fixed in a horizontal bifurcation of a small
branch which overhung a mountain-stream. It was a loosely-constructed fabric, but tolerably substantial
notwithstanding, made in a cup-shape of fine roots, grass, bents, and very small twigs, among which were fixed
some dead leaves, the interior being lined with fine grasses. The eggs were two in number, and the diameter
of the nest inside was If in. by If in. in depth. In other nests brought to my notice there were three eggs ;
one of these was constructed of grass and creeper-tendrils and placed on a low stump amidst some bushes.
In the southern province I have received its eggs in the beginning of April. Mr. Bligh describes to me a
nest which he found in Haputale on the top of an isolated hush about 6 feet from the ground. “ It was,” he
writes, “barely daylight when it was discovered, and the old bird was on the nest; this I took; aud about half
an hour afterwards, on returning to the spot, found the bereaved pair sitting by each other, their sides touching,
close to the former position of the nest; and though I approached within two yards of them, they sat still,
wearing the most dejected aspect — as well they might ! — causing me much to regret having removed it,
although I was under the impression that it was the first nest of this species ever discovered.” It was, he
remarks, a simple hut very strong little strueture for the materials used ; the outside was principally com-
posed of small dead leaves with rough surfaces, next to which was a thin weaving of a kind of flower-stalk
which partly entwined the leaves ; these stalks were a few inches in length, with a rough exterior, and of
the thickness of very thin twine : to the minute barbs on the surface of these stalks was fixed here and there
some spiders^ webs, which, combined with the peculiar nature of the stalks, which readily adhered to one
another, formed a compact and strong material. The interior measured 2 inches in breadth by IJ inch in
depth, and was lined with fine grass and fibres.
The eggs vary but little in character : the ground-colour is reddish white, thickly covered with moderately-
sized spots of reddish brown, dusky red. and red, under which lie a few specks of bluish grey ; in some
specimens the markings are confluent at the large end : in shape they arc rather broad ovals, slightly pointed
at one end, and average 0'78 to O'Sinch in length by 0'57 to 0‘59inch in breadth.
In the Plate accompanying my article on Myiophoms hlighi is to he found a figure of a male of this
species shot near Kanthelai Tank.
Genus KELAAETIA.
Bill with the upper mandible more curved than in Buhigula ; rictal bristles well developed.
Wings rounded, with the 3rd and 4th quills shorter than in the last ; the 5th and 6th the longest.
Tail nearly as long as the wings. Legs and feet robust. Tarsus scutellated.
Feathers of the crown scale-like ; nuchal hairs long.
KELAAETIA PENICILLATA.
(THE YELLOW-EAKED BULBUL.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Pycnonotus penicillatus, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1851, xx. p. 178 ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat.
p. 123 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 125.
Kelaartia penicillata, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Suppl. Madr. Journ. 1845, xiii. no. 70;
id. B. of Ind. ii. p. 86 (1863); Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 450 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874,
p. 20 ; id. Str. Feath. 1876, p. 245.
J acL supra flaYueanti-viridis, tectrieibus alarum dorso concoloribus : remigibus saturate brunneis, extus flavicauti-
Y iridi marginatis, secundariis intimis fere omnino flaY'icanti-Yuridibu.s : rectricibus olivascenti-brunneis, extiis
flaYucanti-viridi laYatis et angiiste flavo termiuatis : pileo summo nigricaute, postice flaYdcauti-Yuridi lavato : fascia
lorali alba : palpebra siimnia alba : loris posticis et facie lateral! nigricanti-bruuneis, fascia per regionem paroticam
superiorem dueta Isete flava : supercilio lato, beto flavo, supra regionem paroticam ducto, fasciam peiiicillatam
formante : genis antiois gulaque albis ; colli lateribus cinereis : gula ima et corpore reliquo subtus flaY’is, lateribus
olivascenti-viridibus : subalaribus et margine alari flavis : romigibus infr<\ cinerascenti-brunneis, intus albo mar-
giiiatis : rostro nigro : pedibus nigricantibus ; iride rufescenti-brunnea.
Male. Length 7'5 to 8-0 inches ; Yving 3-2 to 3-4; tail 3-1 to 3-2; tarsus 0-75 to 0-8; mid toe and claYV 0-8; hind
toe and claYv beneath 0-6 ; bill to gape 0-85.
Ins red mingled Yvdth brown, or red deepening to brown next the pupil ; tarsi and feet dark leaden blue ; bill black.
Lores, cheeks, forehead, and croYvn dull black, paling on the occiput into the oliY’e-green of the hind ueck, back, rump,
Yvings, and tail, and changing into a grey patch below the ears ; a stripe from the nostril up the side of the
forehead, a spot at the upper eyelid, the chin and gorge Yvhite; a bright yelloYv tuft of lanceolate feathers passing
back to the neck springs from above the eye, and an impure yelloYV spot lies on the ear-coverts ; inner YY'ebs of
quills and reetrices blackish brown, the latter washed Yvith the olive-green of the outer webs ; tips of tail-feathers
beneath yellovYush ; throat yellow, changing into oliv'aeeous or greenish yellow on the Yinder surface ; the abdomen
and centre of lower breast neaily as yellow as the throat ; flanks dusky, under tail-coverts like the breast. Varia-
tions exist in the depth of the green of the upper surface and in the yellow of the under surface.
Female (somewhat smaller). Length 7-1 inches ; wing 3-1. Bill, legs, and feet as in the male. The tail-feathers are
more broadly tipped with yelloYvish beneath as a rule.
Young birds of the year have the feathers of the head edged whitish, and the yellow of the throat less in extent and
more clearly defined from the hue of the chest.
Ohs. Until the publication of Dr. Jerdon’s great Yvork on Indian birds this species held rank as a peculiar Ceylonese
form. It was discoY’^ered by Kelaart, and forwarded by him to Blyth, Yvith, it appears, the suggested name of
penicillata. It was described by Blyth, loe. cit., and placed among the Ceylonese local forms. Jerdon, however,
included the species in his ‘Birds of India’ on the evidence of a specimen from the south of the peninsula, of which
he YYTites as follows : — “ I believe that this Ceylon bird is identical with one procured by me from the Mysore
country, beloYv the Nilghiris, which was accidentally dosiroyed before I had taken a description; but I had a
coloured sketch drawn, from which I briefly described it in my ‘ Supplement Cat. Birds of South India.’ ” I’rom
that time until the present no second example has, to my knowledge, ever been procured ; and Mr. Hume, ev’en
has no record of its occurrence in South India. I therefore include it in this Yvork among the birds “ peculiar to
Ceylon.” Its slight differences from Txos entitle it to generic rank ; and it forms the second genus only peculiar
to the island, Plioeneophaes being the first.
Distribution .— handsome Bulbul is a hill species, and more exclusively confined to the upper regions
than any of our “peculiar-” birds, with the exception of Stoparola sordida. It is abundant in all the
higher parts of the Central Province, from the altitude of Horton Plains and the Nuwara-Elliya plateau to
about 3500 feet, at which elevation it is common in the Kandyan and other western districts. In Uva, however.
KELAAETIA PENICILLATA.
481
it is not so numerous at that height, but is found more in the forests above 4000 feet. In the Knuckles it is
plentiful in the upper forests, as well as in the wooded patnas. In the southern ranges it is found in the
higher parts of the Morowak and Kolonna Korales.
Habits . — This showy Bulbul affects forest by choice, frequenting likewise the outskirts of jungle
surrounding coffee-estates and patna-woods which line mountain-streams in the Central Province. It lives
in low jungle and about underwood more than in the upper branches of lofty trees, except when the latter
are in fruit, and it then congregates in flocks, sometimes in company with the Blackbird. A tree thus
besieged with the feathered inhabitants of the Ceylon forests presents a lively scene. The sprightly Yellow-
cared Bulbuls dart in and out, chasing one another among the boughs and greedily feeding on the fruit,
which drops with a constant patter on the leaves beneath, while the more conspicuous Blackbirds, equally
active in their movements, fly hither and thither and endeavour to drive away their smaller companions from
the feast. It is shy in its disposition, and has a quick darting flight, during which it often utters its not
unpleasing whistle, which resembles the syllables whee, whee, whee, quickly repeated. Notwithstanding its
timid nature it is very inquisitive, and will often fly into a bush close to a bystander, peer at him, and then
disappear as suddenly as it came. The resemblance in the style of head-plumage in this bird to that of
some of the Meliphagidm from Australia is singular ; the tufts or gay-coloured stripes about its face call to
mind the markings of Meliphaga nova-hollandice.
In the Plate accompanying my article on Malacocercus rufescens will be found a figure of the present
species.
Genus PTCNONOTITS.
Bill stout, slightly curved. Nostrils somewhat advanced ; rictal bristles stout. Wings with
the 1st quill half the length of the 4th, which is the longest. Tail moderately long, square at
the tip. Tarsus somewhat lengthened, shielded with smooth scutse. Head crested ; nuchal hairs
well developed.
PYCNOIs^OTTJS HJ:M0EEH0TJS.
(THE MADEAS BULBUL.)
Muscicapa hcemorrhoma, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 941 (1788).
Hcematornis fusilhis, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1841, x. p. 841.
Pycnmotus Jicemorrhous, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1845, xiv. p. 506 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 209 (1849): Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 123 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 125 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 240 (1854) ;
Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 94 (1863) ; id. Ibis, 1867, p. 8 ; Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 451;
Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 292; Butler & Hume, ibid. 1875, p. 473.
Ixos cafer, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 88.
Molimstes chrysorrhoides, Adam & Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 378.
Moljmstes pusillus, Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 291 (1874).
Molpastes Jicemorrhous, Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 405.
Red-vented Flycatcher, Brown, 111. Zool. pi. 31. fig. 1 (1776). Bulbul, Hind. ; TonJci bulbul,
Bengal. ; Pigli pitta, Telugu; Konda lati, Tam. in India (Jerdon). TJie Ceylon Nightingale
of some in Ceylon.
Kondd-Jcurulla, Sinhalese ; Kondacla, Tamil, lit. “ Topknot bird,” from the crest ; The Con-
datchee Bulbul (Kelaart) ; Pastro Jcondache, Portuguese in Ceylon.
MaU. Length 7-6 to 8-0 inches ; wing 3-75 ; tail 3-2 ; tarsus 0-85 ; mid toe and claw 0-86 ; hind toe and claw 0-6 ; hill
to gape 0-78.
Iris deep brown ; bill black ; legs and feet dark or sepia^brown.
Entire head, chin, and throat black, not so intense on the throat, and with the ear-coverts inclining to brown ; the
feathers of the back of head elongated and capable of being erected at will ; hind neck, back, wings, chest, upper
part of breast, and thigh-coverts sepia-brown of various shades, deepest adjoining the black of the head and throat,
palest on the breast, and edged with greyish white everywhere but on the lower flanks ; the edgings are whitest
on the sides of the neck, where they coalesce to form a white streak next the black of the throat ; quills pale-
edged exteriorly ; tail blackish brown, broadly tipped with white ; under tail-coverts shining crimson.
Birds from high altitudes, such as the upper parts of Uva and about Hakgala have the edgings of the feathers more
albescent than low-country specimens, and the whole plumage has a paler appearance.
Young. The black of the head and throat not so intense ; and the upper surface with less plainly defined edgings of
fulvous grey ; quills margined externally with rusty brownish ; tail with an obsolete black terminal band, a dusky
whitish tip, and the base paler than in the adult ; vent and under tail-coverts reddish.
Ots. Some doubt exists as to the true specific name for this species. It has been of late referred to under Blyth’s title
Pycnonotus pusillus, which was held by this naturalist, in his commentary on Jerdon’s ‘ Birds of India ’ (Ibis, 1867
p. 8), to be alone applicable to the Madras Bulbul, on the ground that the Muscicapa hmnorrhoiim of Gmelin
referred to a Chinese species {Ixos chrysorrhoides). It does not, however, appear to me that this is a matter
beyond dispute, particularly as one of the localities given by Gmelin for his species was Ceylon (Syst. Nat. i. p. 941).
I prefer, therefore, not to depart from the nomenclature adopted by .lerdon and others; and I observe that
Mr. Hume, in his later notices of this bird, applies Gmelin’s title to it. This peculiarly Indian genus of Bulbuls
runs through a series of closely-allied species ixom P. pygmm, the large northern representative of the present, to
P. atricapillus, which is common in the north of Tenasserim. The first-named bird differs from ours in its
plumage by having the ear-coverts glossy chestnut-brown, and the black of the head descending upon the hind neck,
where it pales into the blackish brown of the back— thus being a much darker bird above, while in the lower parts
it is paler. The wings of Nepal, Himalayan, and Assam specimens which I have examined vary from 4-1 to
4-2 inches. P. nigropileus, a more eastern race than the last, found in Tenasserim, differs, says Blyth, from
P. Immorrhows “ in having no black on the throat and breast, which are brown, with greyish margins to the
PYCNONOTUS h.p:moeehous.
483
feathers, like the back; and the whole nape and back are much paler than P. hcemorrhous, the cap alone being
black;” wing 3-6 to 3-7 {Hume). P. frfricwjjilZws may be said, writes Mr. Hume, to be like P. nigropileus, h\it
with the throat, ear-corerts, breast, and abdomen uniform very pale greyish whity brown.
Distribution . — This very common bird is found abundantly throughout the whole of the island to a general
altitude of about 3500 feet, and in Uva ranges to about 5900 feet, its highest point being the neighbourhood
of Hakgala, to Avhich it e.\tends from the Fort-MacDonald patnas, a portion of the Kandyan Province where
many low-country birds are located. It is most numerous in open and cultivated districts, particularly in the
west and south of the island and in the maritime portions of the eastern and northern divisions. In the
extensive forests of the east and north-central portions it inhabits chiefly those localities which have been
cleared and are now open or covered with low jungle ; but in the depths of the woods it is less frequent than
the White- eyebrowed Bulbul. In Dumbara and other wide valleys of the Central Province it is almost as
common as in the low country, but it does not range so high on the Eambodde side as in Uva. Neither
Kelaart nor Mr. Iloldsworth record it from Nuwara Elliya, nor have I myself observed it there : that it should
not occur even as a straggler or occasional visitant in the gardens of the residents, while it is not uiifrequcnt
just lower down the valley at Hakgala, is perhaps a proof that it is not able to withstand the frost and cold at
nights on the plain.
Of this Bulbul J erdon says that it is one of the most common and generally-spread birds in the south of
India, extending throughout the southern part of the peninsula to the Nerbudda river, and beyond it appa-
rently to the north-west. It ascends the Nilghiris to about GOOD feet, and it is, says Dr. Fairbank, found at
the top of the Palanis, though it is more abundant at the bottom and on the adjacent plains ; in the Khandala
district it is an inhabitant of the slopes of the hills, as w'eU as the neighbouring portion of the Deccan. To
the north-west it extends as far as Sindh, to the avifauna of which province IMr. Blanford has recently added
it, stating that it is found in the deserts of Umarkot. Captain Butler remai’ks that it is found all over the
hills and plains of Northern Guzerat, to which Mr. Hume adds, “ Common at Sambhur and in the eastern
portions of Jodhpoor, also in Cutch and Kattiawar. In Western Jodhpoor it occurs for the most part only in
the rains.'’'’ In Bengal it is replaced by the large and allied species P. pygeeus, which extends eastw'ards into
Burmah.
Habits . — The Madras Bulbul affects gardens, compounds, cinnamon-plantations, the vicinity of roads, low'
jungle, open scrubby land, and the edges of forest. It is a fearless and very sprightly bird, most active and
animated in its manners, erecting its conspicuous crest to full height as it sits on the top of a bush chirping to
its companions. It locates itself in close pi’oximity to houses, and not unfrequently builds its nest in verandahs,
and is consequently a universal favourite with Europeans, who rate its attempts at singing so highly that it is
styled by many the “ Ceylon Nightingale ■’■’ ! As a matter of fact, however, its notes have but little music in
them ; but it is constantly uttering its quick chirruping warble, which, in the breeding-season, is to a certain
extent more melodious than at other times. Its food consists of insects, as well as fruit and seeds of all
kinds, the berry of the Lantana-\i\a.i\i being a favourite diet, a fact which conduces to the propagation and
spreading of this horticultural pest. In the evening little parties of this Bulbul assemble, and after a great
deal of excitement and chattering they choose a roosting-pilacc in some thick bush or umbrageous shrub.
J erdon remarks, in his ‘ Birds of India,’ that in the Carnatic it is kept for fighting, and that it seizes its
antagonist by the red feathers, attempting to pull them out. It is said to imitate the notes of other birds
when caged. I am not aware that this habit has been much noticed in Ceylon ; but it is a great favourite as
a caged bird wdth the natives, becoming excessively tame, and allowing itself to be carried about by hand.
It is, according to the author of the ‘ Birds of India,’ found in that country usually in pairs or in small
families, flying briskly about, restless and inquisitive, feeding chiefly on fruits, but occasionally descending to
the ground, and even hopping a step or two and picking up insects ; “ it destroys various buds and blossoms,
and is very destructive to peas, strawberries, brazil-cherries {Phy satis peruviana), and other soft fruit.”
Nidification . — In the western and southern portions of the island this bird breeds, as a rule, between
January and May, and on the eastern side during the north-east rains at the end of the year. It appears,
3q2
484
PTCNONOTUS HiEMOEEHOUS,
however, to have more than one brood in the year, the second being reared as late as August or September.
Its nest is a loosely-made cup-shaped structure of fine twigs, grass, and bents, with a scanty lining of grass or
vegetable fibre, fixed in the fork of a branch in low bushes a few feet from the ground. It frequently chooses
a small lime-tree close to a dweUing, and will sometimes, as above-mentioned, build in the verandahs of houses.
In a rest-house on the Trincomalie and Batticaloa road, I once found a nest placed between the tiles and a
rafter over the entrance to the apartment, the pretty little owner taking no notice whatever of the passers-by,
and, as we stood admiring her, scanned us from her little habitation with an amount of fearless curiosity that
was charming to behold. The eggs are three or four in number, and vary somewhat in shape, the usual
form being a pointed oval. The ground is reddish white, blotched and speckled all over, but most thickly at
the large end, where there is often a cap or zone of colour, with reddish brown of two shades over a few bluish-
grey spots, some eggs having much more of the latter tint than others. They measure from 0'84 to 0-87 inch
in length byO‘64 to 0‘66in breadth.
In India the breeding-season lasts in the plains from April until August, but in the Nilghiris it breeds
as early as April. Its nest is much the same as in Ceylon ; but the late Mr. A. Anderson speaks of one
which was “ entirely composed of green twigs of the Neern-tree on which it was built, and the under surface
was felted with fresh blossoms belonging to the same tree.''’ Mr. Hume gives the average of sixty eggs as
0‘89 inch in length by 0'65 inch in breadth.
P A S S E E E S.
BRACHYPODID^.
Subfam. PHYLLOENITHIN^.
Bill longer than in the last subfamily, curved in some genera throughout; rictal bristles
minute. Tail rather short. Legs and feet robust.
Body-plumage lengthened and flufiy. Nuchal hairs absent. Tongue in some bifid.
Genus PHTLLOENIS.
Bill long, gently curved, wide at the base, much compressed towards the tip ; gonys-angle
imperceptible ; rictal bristles minute. Wings moderately long and pointed ; the 4th quill the
longest ; the 1st about half the length of the 4th. Tail moderate, even at the tip. Legs and
feet stout. Tarsus short, covered in front with a single scale. Toes short.
PHYLLOENIS JEEDONL
(THE GREEN BULBUL.)
Phyllornis jerdoni., Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1843, xii. p. 392 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 212
(1849) ; Kelaart Layard, Cat. Ceylon B. Prodromus, App. p. 57 (1853) ; Layard, Ann.
& Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 176 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 97 (1863) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S.
1872, p. 451 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 294 (1874) ; Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 410.
Chloropsis jerdoni, Jerd. 111. Ind. Orn. pi. 43 (1847).
Chloropsis cochinsinensis, Jerd. Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1839, x. p. 247.
Blue-chinned Thrush, Lath. Hist. v. p. 93 ; Leaf -bird of some ; Common Green Bulbul, Jerdon.
Harrewa, TLind.. •, Wanna bojanum, lit. “Ornament of the forest,” Telugu (Jerdon) ;
Hurrooa in Manbhoom.
Giraw-kurulla, Sinhalese.
Adult male and female. Length 7'3 to 7‘5 inches ; wing 3-3 to 3-5 ; tail 2-8 ; tarsus 0-75 ; mid toe and claw 0-7 ;
hind toe, from sole, ‘35 ; bill to gape 0‘95. The 3rd quill is shorter in proportion to the 4th than in the next
species.
Iris brorni or pale brown ; bill, upper and lower mandibles blackish ; legs and feet pale bluish, milky blue, or pale
lavender.
Above and beneath, including the udngs and tail, grass-green ; lores, cheeks, chin, and throat glossy black, enclosing
a shining hyacinth-blue cheek-stripe ; the forehead, above the eye, and all round the black gorget washed with
yellowish, showing plainest in well-plumaged birds ; a brilliant turquoise-blue patch on the ulna, and a trace of the
same at the metacarpal joint (in some specimens the median wing-coverts are edged with blue) ; inner webs of
quills brown, those of the secondaries washed with green near the tip ; under surface of tail greenish grey.
Female. Has a small throat-patch and the lores bluish green instead of black, and the cheek-stripe greenish blue ; the
wing-pateh is less in extent, and the yellowish border round the throat generally more pronounced than in the male.
Ohs. A comparison of Ceylonese specimen^ with South-Indian and peninsular examples enables me to say that our
birds do not differ from continental ones. The following are the data from several examined : — Madras — <5 ,
wing 3’45; Travancore — d, wing 3’5, bill to gape 0-85; Eehar — d, wing 3’G, bill to gape 0‘95; Bengal — 2,
wing 3-4, bill to gape 0'85. Mr. Ball gives the wing-dimensions of four examples from the Chota-Nagpur district
as 3-4 to 3-6 inches ; from which results it appears that the example from Behar is longer in the wing and bill
than those from other localities. The head and throat are similar in coloration j but a specimen from Madras
exhibits an abnormal feature in having the black throat mingled with greenish-blue feathers ; and the moustachial
stripe is paler than in ordinary birds.
There are several other species of Phr/lloniis inhabiting the regions to the eastward of the Bay of Bengal ; among
these P. cyanopogon of Malacca is not very distantly related to the present. It is larger (wing 4-0), has more
black on the throat and face, wants the yellowish bordering, and has a very narrow cheek-stripe.
Distribidion. — The Green Bulbul is a very common bird in Ceylon, and diffused throughout all the low
country, except those parts which are covered with scrubby vegetation, such as the oft-mentioned jungle-plains
oil the south-east coast, and similar localities on both sides of the north of the island. It is particularly
numerous in the cultivated portions of the western and southern provinces, and ascends the hills of the latter
region, as well as those of the Kandyan district, to a considerable altitude. I have met with it in the Morovvak-
Korale coffee-estates and in the central ranges up to 3500 feet, and in Uva it may possibly be found at a
greater elevation. It occurs in open places, and especially on the borders of cultivation, throughout the
northern half of the island, the edges of the luxuriant jungle surrounding the great tanks being a favourite
locality. In the vicinity of Trincomalie I found it on the borders of paddy-fields and in isolated clumps of
486
PHTLLOENIS JEEDONI.
trees on irrigated land near village tanks. It is common in the Jaffna peninsula, affecting the “Jack,’'
tamarind, and other trees cultivated in native compounds.
In the ‘ Birds of India ' we read that the Green Bulbul “ is spread over a great part of the continent of
India, not extending, however, to Lower Bengal or to the sub-Himalayan forests. It is extremely common
in the Western Provinces and in the jungles of the Eastern Ghats; hut is more rare in the open country of
the Carnatic, Mysore, and Hyderabad. It is found in Central India at Mhow, Saugor, &c., and through the
vast jungles of Chota Nagpur up to Midnapore." Concerning the latter region, Mr. Ball writes that it occurs
abundantly throughout the division, and remarks that it is found pretty generally in the region to the south of
the Mahanadi river. Dr. Fairhank found it in the Palanis up to 4000 feet, and says that it frequents the hills
from Khandala to Goa. It is not recorded by any observer in ' Stray Feathers ' from the north of India,
Assam, or Burmah, and docs not, as far as is known at present, inhabit the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal.
Col. Tickell figures it, in his MS. Illustrations of Indian ornithology, from Tenasscrim ; but Lord Tweeddale
remarks that its occurrence there is extremely doubtful ; in fact, though the plate represents the species, the
description refers to another, Ph. chlorocephabis. Furthermore, Mr. Hume remarks, in his list of the birds of
Tenasserim, that it certainly does not occur in that province.
Habits. — This “ Leaf-bird ” frequents compounds, gardens, openly-wooded country, the edges of roads
leading through jungle, the borders of forests surrounding tanks, the outskirts of paddy-fields, banks of rivers,
and such-like places. It chiefly affects the topmost branches of trees, and has a great partiality for the cocoanut-
palm, about the heads of which it searches for insects, uttering its whistle, which can often be heard when
the bird, hidden by the luxuriant fronds, is invisible from beneath ; it often clings to the leaves like a Titmouse,
and flits actively about among the sprigs of waving boughs in search of insects. The form of its bill is very
much that of a Honey-eater ; indeed, Bonaparte classed this genus among the Meliphagidae, to which it has
some afSnity in the matter of habit, though its structure allies it to the short-footed Thrushes. There is, I
think, no doubt that it sometimes sucks the honey from flowers ; I endeavoured to detect it in this while
in Ceylon, but was unsuccessful. Mr. Ball, however, writes {loc. cit.), “ I have observed that it is especially
fond of the flowers of the parasitic Loranthus which grows on many trees ; so far as I could ascertain, it both
sips the nectar from the flowers and catches the insects attracted by the same.” I have more than once seen
a little troop on the branehes of a flowering tree, hut was unable to ascertain if they were doing further than
catch the insects, which, as Mr. Ball remarks, are attracted by such a condition. Seeds may often be found in
its stomach, though they are not so generally jiartaken of as insects.
When not breeding, the females of this species collect in little flocks, and may be found in scattered
company, searching for food and constantly uttering a sharp monosyllabic chick note. The ordinary voice of
the males is comprised of a number of varied w'histles ; indeed the bird is capable of mocking almost any
other species in the forest, and is a most clever imitator of the notes of Drongos, that of the W'hite-bellied form
inhabiting the northern forests being most cleverly mimicked by it. These powers of imitation are well known
in India, and were first mentioned by Tickell, who remarks that it is a “ most exceEent mocker, and imitates
the notes of almost every smaE bird in the country.” Blyth likens its call to that of the Indian Black Drongo
{Dicrurus macrocerens) , though softened down and mellowed ; this note, I imagine, is not natural to it, but is
simply an attempt at mimicry, which can be so cleverly executed that it would vary in tone according to
the particular King Crow that the bird was pleased to mock !
Nidification. — Common as this Bulbul is, I have never succeeded in finding or obtaining its nest. It
breeds, I imagine, in April or May in the Western Province. Layard says that it makes an open cup-shaped
nest; and he sent one to Sir William Jardine from Pt. Pedro, which the latter describes as having been placed
upon a branch, and being flat in general form, and composed of soft materials, such as dry grass and silky
vegetable fibres, rather compactly woven with some pieces of dead leaf and bark on the outside, over which a
good deal of spider’s web was worked.
Captain Beavan, who records it as breeding in April in Manbhoom, writes of a nest that was brought to
him, “ It is built at the fork of a bough and neatly suspended from it, like a hammock, by silky fibres, which
are firmly fixed to the two sprigs of the fork, and also form part of the bottom and outside of the nest. The
PHTLLOENIS JEEDONI.
487
outside is lined with dried bents and hairs. The eggs (creamy white, with a few light pinky-brown spots) are
rather elongated, measuring 0-85 by 0-62 inch; interior diameter of nest 2'25 inches by l-S.”
Mr. Hume, generalizing, says, “ The eggs are sparingly marked, usually chiefly at the larger end, with
spots, specks, small blotches, hair-lines, or hieroglyphic-like figures, which are typically almost black, but
which, on some eggs, are blackish (or even reddish) or purplish brown.” The avei’age size of a dozen is
0'86 inch by 0‘6 inch.
PHYLLOENIS MALABAEICITS.
(THE MALABAE GEEEN BULBUL.)
Txirdus malaharicus, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 837 (1788).
Phyllornis malaiaricus, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 212 (1849); Gould, B. of Asia,
pt. xiii. (1861); Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 98 (1863); Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 451;
Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 21; Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 258.
Chloropsis malabaricus, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, 2nd Suppl. Madr. Journ. 1844-45, p. 124.
Phyllornis malabarica, Kelaart, Prodromns, Cat. p. 120 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1853, xii. p. 176; Bourdillon, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 400.
The Golden-fronted Green Bulbul ; The Malabar Honey-eater, Kelaart.
Giraw-kurulla, Sinhalese (applied to both these species, probably on account of their
being the colour of a Parrakeet).
Adult male. Loiigtli 7‘5 inches ; wing 3'o to 3’6 ; tail 2'5 to 2-7 ; tarsus 0-7 ; mid toe and claw (straight) 0‘75 ; bill
to gape 0-85 to 1-0. The tail o£ this Bulbul is shorter and the under tail-coverts longer than in the preceding
species, a distinguishing characteristic which is noticeable the moment the bird is handled.
Iris brown ; bill blackish ; legs and feet slaty bluish.
Above and beneath a darker green than in the foregoing ; face, chin, and throat similarly enveloped in black, but the
colour extends lower douni on the neck and encircles the eye ; maxillary stripe larger ; forehead rich golden,
shading gradually into the green of the head ; the wing-patch deeper in hue, and along the carpal joint there is
a streak of hyacinth-blue.
Young. The male of the year appears to have the forehead and throat green, as specimens are often procured with
golden and black feathers mixed with the green respectively on these two parts ; the maxillary stripe in these
is small.
Female. Somewhat smaller than the male. Length 7’1 inches ; wing 3'4 ; tail 2-3. Bill not so black as the male’s.
Torehead green ; throat-patch and cheek-stripe smaller.
Ohs. Not having had access to any South-Indian examples of this species I am unable to give data concerning them,
but it is improbable that they differ in any way from insular specimens. The northern form of Golden-fronted
Bulbul, P. aiirifrons, erroneously included in the Ceylon list by Kelaart (Prodromus, p. 120), is allied to the present
species. The male has the forehead more occupied by the golden hue, and the gorge, as well as the sides of the
throat, are hyacinth-blue ; the black of the fore neck is bordered beneath with golden yellow, and the wing-
patch is larger than in P, malaharicus. The female, as in the present species, wants the golden forehead.
In my synonymy of this bird I have omitted Temminck’s reference, PI. Col. 512, as neither the drawing nor the
description apply to the present species. The whole head, nape, sides of neck, and throat beneath the black
gorget are yellow, and are described in the text as “ uue jaune jonquille,” which “ couvre la tete, la region des
oreilles et s’etend en zone autour de la grande et large plaque noire qui couvre toute la gorge.” He concludes his
notice by saying that a couple of these birds were sent to him from Sumatra. The plate and description are
perhaps those of Ph. cocliincJmiensis.
Distribution. — This handsome species has always been considered a rare bird in Ceylon : undoubtedly it
is far less numerous than the last mentioned ; but it is nevertheless widely distributed, both in the low country
and in the mountain-regions of the island. Kelaart is said by Layard to have procured it at Nuwara Elliya ;
and though the latter speaks of it as confined to the upland districts, he only procured one example, which
was brought to him by his collector “ Muttoo,^^ at Gillymally. There is an example in the British Museum
collected at Nuwara Elliya by Mr. Boate. The first specimen which came under my notice was one which
was obtained in Dumbara by Mr. Forbes Laurie, and afterwards noticed, in his catalogue, by Mr. Holdsworth.
PHYLLOEOTS MALABAEICUS.
489
In 1871 1 met with it in the Kukkiil Korale and afterwards obtained it in several parts of the island, and not
nnfrequently saw it in others. These localities were forests near Galle, coffee-estates in the Morowak Korale,
the Kandyan district, Uva, the Trincomalie, Anaradjapura, and Kuruncgala districts, and lastly in SafSragam
and the Pasdun Korale. In the hills I have not seen it myself above 4000 feet. It will, I believe, he found
throughout the northern half of the island wherever there are forests, and the same as regards the south-
eastern jungle-clad plains. Mr. Parker writes me that he has found it at Uswewa. While at large this bird
would, of course, be taken for the commoner species, as it is not distinguishable from it unless viewed close
enough to see its yellow forehead.
On the mainland this bird’s habitat is restricted to the southern and central portions of the Indian
peninsula. I am not aware that it extends further north than Bombay ; and being partial to the damp climate
of the Malabar region, it does not appear to extend nearly so far north on the eastern coast ; at any rate
Mr. Ball, who procured P. aurifrons, the northern representative of this species, in the district between the
Mahanadi and Godaveri rivers, did not meet with the present bird in that region. Dr. Fairbank writes that
it is found along the hills from Khandala to Goa, and usually near their western base. In Travancore
Mr. Bourdillon says that it is a common bird in open jungle with large trees. All that is mentioned of it
by Jerdon is as follows ; — “This species is found most abundantly in the forests of Malabar, in Wynaad,
Coorg, and on the sides of the Nilghiris up to about 4000 feet of elevation. It is also found, though rarely,
on the Eastern Ghats and in some of the forests in Central India.”
Habits . — In its economy this handsome Bulbul does not differ materially from the last species ; but it
does not appear to be so much given to the science of mimicry ! I have found it frequenting the topmost
branches and lateral boughs of moderately sized trees where the forest was not very dense, and also the
outskirts of patna-woods and the borders of jungle sui’rounding tanks in the Northern Province. It is very
active in its movements, and while hopping about and scrutinizing the leaves in search of food pipes out a
shrill note, differing from the clear whistle of the last species. The male likewise gives vent to a series of chirps,
which, combined, make up a short little warble. Of this performance Mr. Bourdillon remarks that the male
makes an attempt to sing, uttering a few notes something like those of the Bronzed Drongo {Chaptia anea).
Jerdon observes that it is “ seen in small parties, hopping and flying actively about the branches of trees, and
lives both on fruits and insects, chiefly the latter.”
Genus lOEA.
Bill shorter and straighter than in Phyllornis, the tip slightly notched. Nostrils oval and
exposed ; rictal bristles very minute. Wings rounded ; the 4th and 6th quills the longest, the
3rd considerably shorter, and the 2nd less than the secondaries. Legs and feet weak ; the tarsus
lengthened, equal to the middle toe and claw, and covered with wide smooth scales ; toes short,
the outer one considerably joined to the inner at the base.
Plumage of the lower back and flanks lengthened and fluffy.
lOEA TIPHIA.
(THE COMMON BUSH-BULBUL*.)
Iota tijpMa, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 331 (1776) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 214 (1849);
Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 266 (1854) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1853, xii. p. 267 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 103 (1863) ; Armstrong, Str. Feath.
1876, p. 326 ; Hume, ibid. 1877, p. 428.
lora multicolor, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. Linn. i. p. 924 (1788).
lora zeylonica, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. Linn. i. p. 964 (1788); Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 213 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 121 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1853, xii. p. 267 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 267 (1854) ; Jerdon,
B. of Ind. ii. p. 101 (1863) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 452 ; Butler, Str. Feath. 1875,
p. 473.
lora scapularis, Horsf. Trans. Linn. Soc. iii. p. 152 (1821).
JEgithina zeylonica, Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 438.
Mgithina typhia. Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 411 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 295 (1874) ;
id. Str. Feath. 1875, p. 129.
The Green Indian Warbler, The Ceylon Warbler, and The Green-rumped, Finch (Latham) ;
The Ceylon Blackcap, Brown ; The Ceylon Bush-creeper, Kelaart ; The Black-headed
Green Bulbul and The White-winged Green Bulbul, Jerdon. Shouhiga, Hind. ; Patsu
jitta, Telugu ; Pacha pora, Tam. in India, lit. “ Green Bird ;” Chak tuk, Bengal. (Jerd.).
Kirikahaye and Ka-kurulla, lit. “ Yellow Bird,” Sinhalese (Layard) ; Mam palla kuruvi,
Ceylonese Tamuls, lit. “ Mango-fruit Bird.”
Adult male and female. Length 5‘2 to 5-6 inches ; wing 2-4 to 2-6 ; tail 1-7 to 2-0 ; tarsus 0-8 ; mid toe and claw
0-6 ; bill to gape 0'72 to 0-75.
Male (black plumage). Iris grey, mottled with brown, occasionally hazel-brown ; bill, upper mandible black, with a
clearly defined blue edge ; lower mandible dusky blue with a bluish margin ; legs and feet slate-blue, claws black.
September (Colombo). Lores, top of the head, hind neck, wings, and tail deep black ; the back and rump intermixed
with dark olive-green, the centres of the feathers being of this colour ; the terminal half of the median wing-
coverts, the tips of the greater coverts, and the inner webs of the lower scapulars white (the latter forming a
concealed tuft, except when the bird is in flight) ; middle prijuaries with a faint white edge ; face, ear-coverts,
throat, sides of neck, and under surface, with the under tail-coverts, rich yellow, most brilliant on the throat and
chest; low'er flank-feathers white and much elongated; under surface of quills at the base w’hite.
This example, in w'hich the breeding-plumage is as perfect as in any that I have seen from Ceylon, is in moult and
patting on the dark upper surface ; the greater wmg-coverts are more tipped in one wing than in the other. The
iris is quite brown. An individual shot in January (Colombo) is in the same plumage, but the greater wing-
coverts are more tipped with white ; the iris is hazel, mottled with grey. Amother, shot in October (Colombo),
is in the dark dress, but the back-feathers are merely smeared with black, imparting a sooty-green appearance,
and the lower wing-bar is wider than in the two foregoing ; the yellow of the under surface is not nearly so
brilliant, which is invariably the case when the upper surface is not very black.
Green plumage : June (Glalle). Iris grey ; bill, legs, and feet as above; head, hind neck, back, and rump olive-green,
slightly smeared with black on the tips of the nape-feathers ; wings and' tail black, the upper wing-band broad,
* This seems to me to be the most suitable name to apply to this species.
lOEA TIPHIA.
491
the lower, formed by the tips of the greater coverts, almost wanting, partly owing to abrasion ; the secondaries
and inner primaries very finely edged with yellowish ; scapulars black, with the inner webs of those which are
concealed white ; lores yellowish, cheeks and an orbital fringe the same ; throat, fore neck, and down the centre
of the chest and breast pure saffi’on-yellow, but less bright thau in the dark stage, and shading off into greenish
on the sides of the chest and breast ; lower flanks mostly white.
August (Pasdun Korale). In the green plumage ; but the head and back more surrounded with black than in the last ;
both wing-bars conspicuous ; commencing to moult to black plumage, new and imperfect dark feathers being
perceptible among the old green ones of the back.
Ohs. Prom the evidence adduced by these descriptions it may, I think, be concluded that the black plumage is put on
in the autumn and the green in the spring. The former has been generally considered to be the breeding attire ;
but as the nesting-season in the south-west and west of Ceylon lies between Pebruary and June, it would appear
that the black upper surface is not always a sign of breeding-plumage. I have seen black individuals, however,
at all seasons of the year ; and therefore the safest hypothesis is that some breed in the green and some in the
black stage, as Mr. Hume and others have determined is the case in India ; and it may be that the black plumage
is, to some extent, a sign of age rather than a seasonal dress.
Female. Iris olive-grey ; bill somewhat paler than in the male.
Head and upper surface dull grass-green ; scapulars of a darker green, and the tail dusky green ; wings Uackish, the
quills and the white-tipped coverts edged outwardly with yellowish green, and the former with white inner
margins ; tertials and a few of the inner greater coverts with broad yellowish-green outer and white inner edges ;
orbits, chin, throat, and centre of under surface yellow, shading on the sides into greenish.
Young. The immature males are very similar to females ; but the wings are blacker, and the tail is blackish in some
and mingled with green feathers in others. An example (November) in my collection has the longer tail-coverts
and the central tail-feathers green, while the shorter coverts and the remaining rectrices are black.
Ohs. The Ceylonese birds of this species belong to the southern or black-backed race, I. zeylonica of Gmelin. After a
careful examination of Mr. Hume’s masterly review of this perplexing form (‘ Stray Peathers,’ 1877, pp. 428-41),
I cannot but accept his decision that the lora zeylonica of Gmelin, which is the “ Ceylon Blackcap ” of Brown
and the “ Green-rumped Pinch ” of Latham, is not separable from the lora tiplna of Linnseus (the Green
Warbler of Latham) inhabiting Bengal, and which was, in all probability, as Mr. Hume remarks, described from
a female or young male. In the latter race, which is not found in the south of India and Ceylon, the males do
not acquire the black back in the non-breeding-season, but frequently do while nesting, although, until the recently
acquired large collection of Mr. Hume’s demonstrated this to be the case, they were by many considered constantly
to preserve the green back, as in the southern form. The yellow of the under surface is likewise not so brilliant.
Mr. Ilume has tabulated his enormous series from localities extending from Ceylon throughout all India, Burmah,
Tenasserim, the Malay peninsula, and the hirger islands of the archipelago, by which it appears that the females
throughout all this range are inseparable, and that the black-backed males from Ceylon, South India, the Western
Ghfits, and also Mount Aboo as an outlying station, are similar to those from the south of the Malay peninsula.
Commencing in the central provinces and extending through Chota Nagpur, Lower Bengal, along the sub-Himalayan
region to Assam, and thence through Biu-mah to Tenasserim, we find the tiphia type of males existing, with,
however, as already mentioned, much individual variation in the character of their plumage out of the breeding-
season.
We likewise have these individual irregularities in Gmelin’s race, for it is evident that males breed in Ceylon
sometimes with green backs ; and they have been unquestionably proved to do so in the south of India. The
female of the Javan bird, described by Horsfield as I. scapularis, was stated by Lord Tweeddale to be identical
with the Indian tiphia, while the researches of Mr. Hume substantiate this opinion ; and, as further evidence
concerning the identity of the two species, I might mention, that Horsfield’s description of the note (which he
compares to the word cJieetoo), and the manner in which it is uttered, are in all respects applicable to that of
the Indian lora.
1. niqrolutea, Marshall, is an allied species, inhabiting the dry parts of western continental India, stretching across
from the coast-region at Kutch to the north-west provinces. It is distinguished from the present bird by the
white on the tail-feathers, of which Mr. Hume writes that the females always, and the males during the non-
breeding-season, have the central pair almost wholly greyish white, with the tips generally purer white and the
outer web often shaded with ashy ; the rest of the tail-feathers are black, broadly tipped with pure white. In
3e 2
492
lOEA TIPIIIA.
the breeding-plumage the male has the white tippings to the lateral feathers more or less reduced, and the central
tail-feathers, like the rest, jet-black and white-tijiped. In other respects the plumage is not dissimilar to that
of I. tiphia.
Distribution . — The Bush-Bulhul is a common bird in Ceylon and widely distributed, being scattered
throughout all the low country and the hills up to about 2500 feet. It is of course numerous in the open
cultivated lands of the south and west ; but it is not less so in the scrubby low jungle-tracts round the north
coasts, including the J affua peninsula. It inhabits also the east side of the island in the same abundance that
it does the west. In the dry forests of the north-central part of the island it is not unfrequent, but it is not
found in the damp timber-jungles of the south. In Dumbara and other similarly elevated valleys of the
Kandyan Province it is not uncommon j but I am not aware that it ascends to the upper hills, except perhaps
in Haputale and other districts in Uva bordering on the low country.
This Bulbul has a very wide distribution on the continent," and is, in many portions of the Indian
peninsula and the regions beyond the Bay of Bengal, as common as it is in Ceylon. In Southern India it is
an abundant inhabitant of the plains, and extends into the hills to the elevation of Ootacamund, whence
Mr. Hume records it. It is not, however, noted cither from the Travancore ranges by Mr. Bourdillon, nor
from the Palanis by Dr. Pairbank, though the latter procured it at the base of the hills. It is found in the
Deccan and in the northern parts of the Western Ghhts, whence it ranges to the north-west as far as Mount
Aboo, where it occupies a somewhat isolated position, the circumjacent plains being inhabited by the recently
discriminated and allied species, /. nigrolutea. Turning eastwards from the northern extremity of the Western
Ghats we find it inhabiting the central provinces, Chota Nagpur, and extending northwards to Oudh, Dehra
Doon, Kumaon, Nepal, and along the Himalayas to Assam. In Lower Bengal it is common, and about
Calcutta it is numerous. In Burmah it is also common, and inhabits therein the Irrawaddy Delta in tolerable
abundance. It is plentiful throughout the province of Tenasserim, not, however, ascending the hills.
Southward it extends through the Malay peninsula, specimens being recorded from Wellesley, Pinang, Malacca,
and Singapore, and thence onw'ard through the archipelago it is an inhabitant of Sumatra, Borneo, and
J ava.
Habits . — Owing to its partiality for large trees, which are usually found about the houses of Europeans in
Ceylon, this little Bulbul is one of our most familiar birds. It delights in the luxurious shade of the suriah,
the mango, the bread-fruit, and in the north the stately tamarind, which spreads out its welcome shelter
in the midst of almost every sea-coast village. In one of these latter trees a pair (for they are generally found
together) will remain sometimes for fully an hour searching among the boughs and foliage for insects, the
male every now and then uttering its flute-like whistle, cK^-toob, which imparts to the attentive listener the
idea that the little bird must be in a very contented frame of mind ! It is fond of open groves of trees, the
edge of jungle, and vegetation at the sides of roads, and it is very partial to the low scattered jungle bordering
the sea-shore on the north coast. Occasionally several pairs may be seen frequenting the same tree ; but it is
not usual to find more than one couple together. It is of a restless disposition, hopping actively about the
leaves in search of its food, and often clinging, like a Tit, to a slender twig while scrutinizing the surrounding
foliage. In its mode of flight it differs from all its family : owing, perhaps, to the fluffy nature of its long
flank-feathers, it appears to have no little difficulty in acquiring speed on the wing ; and its flight is at best
laboured, being performed merely from one tree to the other with a quick beating of its wings and a dipping
motion of the body, which combine to produce a whirring sound.
I have occasionally seen it dart out and sejze a passing moth or butterfly on the wing, and alighting again
swallow it whole, a habit which is testified to by the large Mantidse and other winged insects which are often
found in its small stomach. While in the black plumage the male presents a very handsome appearance, his
black back contrasting with his brilliant yellow breast, and when he darts from one tree to another, puffing
out while on the wing his long white flank -plumes, looks more like a ball of feathers than any thing else. Jerdon
remarks that the natives in the south of India state that this species repeats the words “ Shoubhiya, Shoicb-
hiya ” before rain.
lOEA TIPHIA.
493
Nidification .- — 1 have found the nest of the Bush-creeper iu the north of Ceylon in July; but^ if different
districts be considered, I believe it breeds all the year round, as males may be found in the black plumage
at all seasons. It builds at about 15 or 20 feet from the ground, attaching its beautiful nest to the upperside
of a small horizontal bough, generally near a fork, but sometimes, according to Mr. Hume, between one or
two upright twigs. It is a symmetrical, rather deep cup, with thin, steep, and compact walls, and is usually
made of cotton woven in with fine grass or A'cry slender tendrils of plants, the bottom being attached to the
bark by cobAvebs, Avhich also adorn the neatly finished top ; the interior is roomy and the bottom rather flat,
the caAuty measuring about 2 inches across. I have found several nests, but only one with eggs : the number
Avas tAvo ; they were broad, stumpj/^ ovals, of dirty white or whitish-grey ground-colour, openly blotched AA-ith
large longitudinal faded brownish spots. My eggs got broken in travelling, and I therefore lack measurements ;
but Mr. Hume gives the average size as 0'69 by 0’54 inch ; and the same author, in his ‘ Nests and Eggs,^
says that the eggs are at times pink or salmon-colour, Avith reddish-hroyni blotches, which are chiefly confined
to the large end, forming there an imperfect zone.
PASSERES.
Earn, TIMALIIDJE.
Bill curved, compressed, higher at the base than Avdde. Nostrils placed in a membrane
bordered by setaceous feathers. Wings short and rounded. Tail moderately lengthened. Legs
and feet strong, with the tarsus longer than the middle toe and scutellate in front ; the hind toe
and claw large.
Plumage often lax, and in many silky beneath. Insectivorous in diet.
Subfam. TIMALIIN^B.
Wings rounded, with the 1st quill moderately developed, the secondaries long. Tail ot 12
feathers, usually lengthened and graduated. Legs and feet stout and large. Toes stoutly scaled,
the outer and the middle slightly syndactyle.
Plumage mostly lax. Of gregarious and very active habit.
Genug MALACOCEECrS.
BUI moderately long, compressed, the base higher than wide ; culmen well curried ; rictal
bristles scanty. Wings short, rounded, the 1st quill half the length of the 6th, which is the
longest ; secondaries almost equal to the longest primaries. Tail graduated, rounded at the tip.
Legs and feet strong. The tarsus covered with broad smooth scutse, becoming obsolete with age.
Toes stoutly scaled.
MALACOCEECUS STEIATUS.
(THE COMMON BABBLER.)
Malacocercm striatus, Swains. Zool. 111. 2nd ser. pi. 127 (1833); Jerclon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 59
(1863); Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 300; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 449; Legge, J. A. S.
(Ceylon B.), 1870-71, p. 39 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 458.
Malacocercus hengalensis, Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 122 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag.
Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 271.
The “ Seven Brothers ” (so called from its associating in flocks of six or seven), Bust-bird,
I)irt-bird, Bung-Thrush, Mud-bird, Europeans in Ceylon. P astro manduco] Pastru
bragaru (Layard), Portuguese in Ceylon.
Bemelitcha, Sinhalese ; Pimil, Tam. (Layard).
Adult male and female. Length O'O to 9'2 inches ; wing 4’0 to 4-2 ; tail 4-0 ; tarsus 1'3 ; middle toe and claw I’O to
I’Oo ; hind toe and claw O'S ; bill to gape 0'95 to I'O.
Iris white, or white faintly tinged with green ; bill fleshy white or yellowish white ; legs and feet sickly yellow or
whitish in some, tinged in parts with yellowish ; eyelid yellowish.
Head, upper surface, entire neck, and chest brownish ashy grey, the brown portions of the feathers being darkest on
the lower part of the hind neck, interscapular region, and chest ; the edges grey, contrasting with the dark hue,
many of the feathers likewise with pale mesial striae ; the wing-coverts more uniform than the back ; quills and
terminal portion of tail-feathers glossy brown, the outer webs of the former pale greyish at the edges, showing
conspicuously when the wing is closed ; basal part of tail olive-grey, and the dark portion cross-rayed with the
same hue, which gradually blends into the brown ; lores greyish ; lower breast, belly, and under tail-coverts pale
rufescent, blending into the brownish grey of the chest and flanks ; imder wing-coverts tinged with rufescent,
the inner edges of the quills at the base of the same hue.
Individuals vary inter se in the amount of cross-raying of the tertials and tail-feathers ; but this character is always
most perceptible when the feathers are new ; it is plainly indicated in the back -feathers of some examples.
Young. Immature birds are very similar to adults. Mr. Holdsworth remarks that the depth of the strim varies with
age, and that in a well-grown young bird there is not a trace of stria; on the tertiaries, and they are very indistinct
on the tail.
Ohs. This Babbler is not very aptly named striatus, for this term is usually held to signify longitudinal lines or central
.streaks to feathers ; in the present case, however, it was applied by Swainson to the species in question to denote
the transverse rays which cross the scapular, tertial, and tail-feathers, and which is a prevailing character in this
family of Thrushes. His figure (pi. 127, 2nd series, of his ‘ Hlustrations ’) represents these transverse stria; more
pronounced than they ever really are ; for in the drawing they appear as hlaclc lines, well defined, on a greyish-
brown ground. It would appear that the name existed in a MS. form prior to Swainson’s description of the
species ; he writes of it, “ The present species we received from Ceylon, but without any notice of its habits • and
the specimen is in the Paris Museum, under the manuscript name of Graeula striata, from the circumstance of
the scapular quills and also the tail-feathers being marked \vith transverse lines of a darker brown, varying in
intensity according to the rays of light.”
This species is very closely allied to M. malaharicus, the Jungle -Babbler, found in the peninsula of India. It was formerly
thought to be peculiar to the island, but specimens in my collection from Eamisserum Island are not to be sepa-
rated from Ceylonese examples; they measure from 3-95 to 4-2 in the wing; the lower parts and under wing
are slightly more fulvous than the Ceylonese, and the tail-feathers are faintly tipped with the same ; in one
specimen the lateral pair have a very distinct rufescent tip ; as regards stria; and the pale wing-edging, they are
identical. Two specimens received from the same locality are partial albinos.
M. terricolor, the Bengal Babbler, has the brown of the back and wings more ruddy than in striatus, and the under
surface paler ; the throat is grey, passing into sandy fulvous on the chest, and thence into a more albescent hue on
MALACOCEECUS STEIATUS.
495
the lower breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts ; the feathers of the chest are pale-centred. This species varies
from 3-9 to 4-2 inches in the wing.
Jf. griseus has been said by Blyth to have been found in Ceylon ; but his remark, contained in Kelaart’s ‘ Prodromus,’
does not seem to refer to it, as he says the head is concolorous with the rest of the upper surface ; whereas in
this species the head is very pale grey, and the throat dark brown and grey ; the quills and tail are very dark
towards the tips of the feathers. The wing of a Decean specimen measures 3-8 nearly.
Distribution . — The “ Dust-bird,” or “ Dung-Thrush,” as it is commonly called in Ceylon, is found
throughout the whole low country from the Jaffna peninsula and north-west coast, where it is very abundant,
down both sides of the island to the extreme south. It is more numerous in low scrub or open bushy plains
and in cultivated districts than in the wilds of the forest tracts j but it is so universally distributed that it may
chance to be found anywhere. It ascends, on the northern side of the Kandyan Province, into Dumbara and
all the district round the hill-capital, but does not range in that district above 3000 feet, at which it is
not very common. In Uva and the great patna-basin between Port MacDonald and Haputale it is not
unfrequeiit as high as 4500 and 5000 feet. Kelaart records it in his list of Nuwara-Elliya birds ; but neither
Mr. Holdsworth nor Mr. Bligh have ever observed it there ; although it might find its way in the dry season
up the Hakgala pass, on the lower part of which, about Wilson’s Bungalow, I have myself seen it.
It is found in the island of Ramisserum and on the adjoining mainland of India; but how far it extends
northward in the Madras Presidency I am unable to say.
Habits . — The number of popular names (some of them by no means euphonious) which are bestowed upon
this bird amply testify to the familiar acquaintance which Europeans have with it. It is, perhaps, the best
known of all our feathered friends, save the impudent little Sparrow — as much at home in the tropics as in
England — and the Common Bulbul, which enlivens every compound in the suburbs of Colombo ; it is, in fact,
found in every variety of situation, from the grounds of the English bungalow to the wilds of the interior,
evincing no fear whatever of man, and from its habit of dusting itself by the sides of roads and in the most
public situations it bas acquired one of its best-known names. Its extreme sociability, causing it to associate
in a little flock of a certain number, generally six or seven, has given it another of its sobriquets, " The Seven
Brothers,” and is the most interesting feature in its economy, bringing out in a striking manner the curious
habits of which it is possessed. The anties which these little troops perform, often a few yards from the
verandah of a bungalow, are well known to the most casual observer, and are best described, to those who
have never seen it in a state of nature, by saying that, when performing them, these singular birds exhibit all
the symptoms of being charged with electricity ! While two or three jump to and fro on the dusty road,
shooting out their wings and twitching their tails from side to side, several more, who are perehed on the
branches above, peer down on their comrades with no little interest, uttering a scarcely audible whistling, and
then suddenly commence a spasmodic series of springs and up-dartings of the wings and tail, jumping round
on their perches, and uttering loud screams, until, at a given signal, all is silence and repose. On being
alarmed, the whole flock decamp, each bird scudding along after its mate to the next tree, where the same
performances are again repeated. It is a systematic bird in its movements. I noticed, while living at Colombo,
that a troop, which inhabited the Queen’s-house Gardens, sallied out, and joui-neyed by degrees along an
adjacent row of Suriah-trees at the same hour every day, and that they were peculiarly lively after a shower of
rain. Its food is entirely insectivorous, and is mostly taken by scratching among leaves and debris on the
ground. The cinnamon-gardens at Colombo are a favourite resort of these birds ; they delight in the leafy
Cadju-trees {Anacardium occidentale) , which afford them shade during the heat of the day, while the thick
bushes are an immediate shelter when they are disturbed while seeking their sustenance on the ground.
Plantations of young cocoanuts are never without these flocks of Dust-birds, which delight in the grand
platforms afforded them for their dances by the broad fronds of these graceful palms.
Layard writes as follows of this bird : — “ They are always seen in small parties varying from three to seven,
according to the number of young ones in a nest, which seem to remain with their parents until the period of
incubation again commences, when they separate to form families of their own. When alarmed, an old bird
utters a piping note, making several prodigious hops, and takes to flight ; his example is followed by all the
rest in succession, and the whole party wing their way in a long file, alternately beating the air with heavy
strokes, or sailing along on their rounded wings to a place of safety.”
496
MALACOCEECUS STEIATFS.
Nidijicahon.—T^hc breeding-season of the '' Seven Brothers » lasts from March until July. The nest is
placed in a cinnamon-bush, shrub, or bramble at about 4 feet from the ground, and is a compact cup-shaped
structure, usually fixed m a fork, and made of stout grasses and plant-stalks, and lined with fine grass, which
m some stances I have observed, was plucked green. The interior measures 2^ inches in depth by about
3 m width. The eggs are two or three in number, small for the size of the bird, glossy in texture, and of a
uniform opaque greenish blue. They measure from 0-91 to TO inch in length, by 0-7 to 0-74 in breadth.
I
t
i
1
KELAARTL4 PEIIICILLATA.
MALACOCEE.CUS EUFE S CEE S . •
MALACOCEECUS EUFESCENS.
(THE EUrOUS BABBLER.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Layardia rufescens, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1847, xvi. p. 453 ; Jerdon, B. of India, ii. p. 67
(1863); Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 449; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 300; Legge, ibid.
1874, p. 18 ; id. Str. Feath. 1875, p. 368.
Malacocercus rufescens, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 141 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus,
Cat. p. 122 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 271.
The Red Rung-Thrush, Red Jungle-Thrush, Europeans in Ceylon.
Rattu demelitchia, Parandal Jcurulla (Saffragam), also Pander ella, Kala farandal,
Sinhalese.
Supra sorclicle fulvescenti-brunneus, tectricibus alarum dorso concoloribus : remigibus brunneis extus dorsi colore lavatis,
secuudariis magis rufescenti-brunneis : rectricibus sordide rufescenti-brunneis, fulvescenti-brunneo marginatis :
pileo nuchaque magis grisescenti-brunneis ; loris rufescenti-fulvis ; facie lateral! et gula rufescenti-brunneis vix
vinaceo layatis : pectore fulvesceuti-rufo : corpore roliquo subtus saturate brumieo vix rufescente : subalaribus
fulveseenti-rufis : remigibus infra brunneis intiis fulvescentibus : rostro aurantiaco, basaliter saturatiore : pedibus
saturate flavis : iride alba ; palpebrit viresconti-ilava.
Adult male and female. Length 9-3 to 10-8 inches ; wing 4-0 to 4-2 ; tail 4-2 to 4-6 ; tarsus 1-3 to 1'4 ; mid toe and
claw 1’05 to I'l ; bill to gape I'O to !•! ; hind toe 0'55, claw (straight) 0‘37.
The above limit of length is that of an exceptional bird, as 10'5 inches is rarely exceeded-
Iris white, yellowish white, or greenish white ; bill orange-yellow, deepest on the basal haK ; legs and feet dull chrome-
yellow ; claws yellowish horn ; orbital skin and eyelid pale greenish yellow.
Porehead and head greyish brown, deepening on the hind neck into the brownish rufous of the whole upper surface
and wings ; quills edged with greyish ; tail deeper rufous than the back, and crossed, as are likewise the tertials,
with faint rays ; beneath dull ferruginous, slightly greyish on the chin and the flanks ; sides of belly and under
tail-coverts shaded with brown ; lores and cheeks concolorous with the throat ; ear-coverts brown, with
pale stria;.
Young. Birds of the year have the chin and gorge greyer than adults, and the lower parts are pervaded with a
brownish hue. Iris as in the adult.
Ohs. This species is closely allied, as regards colour, to the South-Indian Layardia, siibrufa, which has the upper
mandible brownish, the forehead ash-colour, and the upper surface rufous-brown, with a tinge of olive in it; the
tail is darker rufous, and the throat and fore neck brighter than in the Ceylonese bird. Besides having the
frontal feathers remarkably stiff, it has the bill more curved than in either the Grey Babblers of India or
the present species, and is quite worthy of being placed as a subgenus of Malacocercus, as, in addition to the
characteristics alluded to, it has the wings much shorter in proportion to the tail. The Ceylonese bird, however,
does not differ from t3-pical Malacocercus sulficiently to be separated as Layardia, M-hich has usually been done,
the only differences existing being that the bill is slightly deeper and the 3rd quill a little shorter ; I have therefore
removed it into the former genus. The wing, in an example of L. suhrufa in the national collection, measures 3-5
and the tail 5-0 inches.
Distribution. — This Babbler was discovered by Dr. Templeton, R.A., a gentleman who, as before remarked,
did considerable work in the ornithology of the island during his tour of service in it prior to 1850. Its
range is somewhat restricted, extending over the western and damp portion of the Southern Province, and
through the western highlands to the main range. In the Colombo district it is not found nearer the sea
than Killapana, at which point the country becomes wooded ; from there, throughout the whole interior of
3s
498
MALACOCEECUS EUEESCEXS.
the province, to Saffragam, and thence through the Kukkul and Morowak Korales to the subsidiary hills,
through which the Gindurah and Niwellc rivers flow, it is very common. It ascends the slopes of the wilder-
ness of the Peak to the extreme limits of the forest, and ranges through the vast jimgles reaching thence to
Horton Plains and Nuwara Elliya, throughout which latter district it is tolerably common. Mr. Holdsworth
only observed it there in the cool season ; but I am inclined to think it is resident there, as I have obtained it in
a state of breeding at the top of Totapella, and in the Peak forests I have shot it at great altitudes in the
height of the south-west monsoon. It is very abundant about Kaduwella and HanweUa, and in the bamboo-
scrubs of the Eaygam and Hewagam Korales ; but north of the Kelaniganga its numbers begin to diminish,
and I do not know of its occurrence beyond Kurunegala. I have never seen it in any of the eastern highlands,
nor in the low eountry south of Haputale, its range on that side not extending beyond the limits of the wet
south-west hill-region at Tangalla.
Habits. The Red J ungle-Thrush frequents thickets in the vicinity of cultivation, bamhoo-scrub (to which
it is as much, if not more, partial than any of our Babblers), thick jungle, and primeval forest. At times
it associates in large troops, and, as a rule, lives in parties of not less than a dozen, resembling, in these
respects, the Laughing Thrush more than its other congeners. It is very sociable, actively working about the
lower limbs of trees, and threading its way through the branches of low jungle in close fellowship, keeping
up a conversational, harsh chattering, and moving on from tree to tree without separation. It has the quick
movements of the last species, jerking up its wings and tail, and restlessly jumping to and fro on its perch,
when engaged in parleying with its companions. Its notes resemble those of Garrulax more than Malaco-
cercus, and it seems not to indulge in long periods of silence, as does the latter ; but a continual low babble
proceeding from the flock usually betrays its whereabouts in the jimgle. Its flight is not quick, and is per-
formed with vigorous beatings of the wings, simply to enable it to proceed about in search of its food from
tree to tree. I found the stomachs of several examples killed in the month of August to contain portions of a
large black beetle which was affecting the jungle in great numbers at the time. When located in damp
timber-forest, such as the Peak, Pasdun-Korale, and Kukkul-Korale jungles, it appears not to associate with
any other species : a solitary flock is often met with after walking through the forest for some distance
without seeing a single bird or even hearing a note ; notwithstanding the little troop is all life and animation,
isolated as it is in the gloomiest recesses of the primeval wood, its members busily engaged in twitting from
branch to branch, while they keep up a sociable chattering as if they rejoiced in the loneliness of their retreat
Nidification . — This bird breeds in the Western Province in March, April, and May, and constructs a nest
similar to the last, of grass and small twigs, mixed perhaps with a few leaves, and placed among creepers
surrounding the trunks of trees or in a low fork of a tree. It conceals its habitation, according to Layard,
with great care ; and I am aware myself that very few nests have been found. It lays two or three eggs',
very similar to those of the last species, of a deep greenish blue, and pointed ovals in shape — two which were
taken by Mr. MacVicar at Bolgodde measuring 0'95 by 0-75 inch, and 0'93 by 0-74 inch.
The figure in the Plate accompanying this article represents a male bird of this species from the Western
Province.
Grenus GAEEULAX.
Bill straighter than in the last genus ; culmen straight at the base, gonys-angle pronounced.
Nostrils oval, placed well forward and exposed. Wings longer than in Malacocercus, the 3rd
quill much shorter than the 4th, the 6th and 6th the longest. Tail rather long, graduated and
lax. Legs and feet very stout. Tarsus shielded with three wide scutae. Hind toe and claw very
large.
GAEEULAX CINEEEIFEOXS.
(THE ASHY-HEADED BABBLER.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Garrulax cinereifrons, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 18ol, xx. p. 176 ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 122
(1852); Layard, Ann, & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 270 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 300 ;
Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 448; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 20.
Laughing Thrush, The Ashy-headed Garrulax, Kelaart.
Ad. siipi-iv brunneiis, alis dorso eoncoloribus, primariis externis grisescenti-brunneo lavatis : rectricibus brunneis, extus
rufeseeiiti marginatis : pileo nucbaque cinereis, hac brunneo lavata : loris et facie lateral! tota cinereis : genis et
corpore subtiis toto rufescenti-fulvis, abdomine pallidiore : mento ipso albido : subalaribus rufesceuti-fulvis : remi-
gibus infra brunneis intus fulvescentibus : rostro nigro : pedibua plumbescenti-nigris : iride alba.
Adxdt male and female. Length 9-6 to lO'O inches ; wing 4-4 to 4-8 ; tail 4-0 to 4-3 ; tarsus 1-4 to 1-5 ; mid toe and
claw 1‘25 to 1'3 ; hind toe 0’6, claw (straight) 0‘45 ; bill to gape 1’25.
Iris white ; eyelid plumbeous ; bill black, inside of mouth greenish yellow ; legs and feet plumbeous brown ; claws
dusky horny ; posterior part of tarsus bluish.
Lores, face, and head ashy or cinereous grey, blending at the nape into the rufous-brown of the sides of the neck, upper
surface, wings, and tail ; the first 3 or 4 primaries with a pale edge, and the inner webs of the quills brown ; tail
deeper in hue than the wings ; chin albescent, blending into the fulvescent rufous of the fore neck and under
surface ; abdomen more fulvescent than the breast, the concealed portion of the feathers there being albescent ;
flanks and under tail-coverts dusky rufescent brown ; lower feathers of the thighs cinereous, under wing-coverts
rufous. On the centre of the throat the colour is brighter than elsewhere.
Young. Iris dull grey, with a dark outer circle ; bill black, the gape and base of lower mandible yellowish ; eyelid
greenish yellow ; legs and feet olivaceous brown, soles yellowish fleshy, claws yellowish horn.
Forehead and head as in the adult, the nasal plumes dark, and the grey of the crown not continued so far back ; the
back is deeper rufous than the adult, and the wing-coverts likewise are more intense ; chin not so wliite and the
throat and under surface more fulvescent. In the first plumage the feathers of the chest and breast are fluffy.
This dress appears to be quickly put off, and in the next stage or yearling plumage the iris is pearly grey or in
some white, with a tinge of reddish ; gape and eyelid yellow ; legs and feet bluish brown. There is scarcely
any percejjtible difference in the grey of the occiput, but the fore neck is paler or more fulvescent.
Ohs. (7. delesserti, the Wynaad Laughing Thrush, is allied to the present species. Mr. Bourdillon’s dimensions of a
specimen in the flesh are : — Length 9-0 inches, wing 4-3, tail 4-0, tarsus 1'45. It differs from Q. cinereifrons in
having the under mandible yellow at the base, and the fore neck and breast white, changing into cinereous grey on
the flanks.
Distribution. — The Ashy- headed Babbler was discovered by Dr. Kelaart ; it is not recorded in what
district he found it first, for Layard only writes of it as follows : — “ I do not know where he (Kelaart) found
it ; but I obtained several specimens along the banks of the Kaluganga, about forty miles inland from Kalatura
3 s 2
500
GAERULAX CINEEEIEEONS.
and one at Pallabaddoola in the Peak range/^ I infer, however, that the Doctor first made its acquaintance
in the Central Province, in the damper forest of the western portion of which it is found. I have seen it in
the Deltota district and in the Peak forests, and I have no douht it occurs in Dumbara and many places
between Kandy and the Peak range j but being an inhabitant of humid inaccessible jungles, it is less often met
with than any of its family. I have not seen it above 3500 feet ; but Kelaart speaks of it as being found at
Nuwara Elliya ; but whether it has erroneously found a plaee in his list of birds from that place I do not know ;
sutfice it to say that no one else, that I am aware of, has heard of it from so high an elevation, although there
is no reason why it should not be found there as well as the Rufous Babbler (Malacocercus nifescens). It
inhabits the forests of the southern ranges, and all the heavy jungles from the Kukkul Koraleto the Kaluganga.
I have procured it in the Singha- Rajah forest, in the Pasduu Korale, and also in the Ikkade-Barawe forest,
w'hich is only 18 miles from Colombo ; there are likewise specimens in the British Museum collected by
Mr. Chapman at a place called Dusiwella, which I believe is in the Western Province. It does not appear to
inhabit the jungles of the south-eastern portion nor the eastern and northern divisions of the island : the
Kuiunegala district, as far as is known at this time, forms its northern boundary ; and therefore its distribution
is one of the most restricted of any of the peculiar Ceylonese species.
Habits . — This Laughing Thrush has a similar disposition to the Wynaad species, loving the gloom and
shade of the dampest forests in the island, and delighting in the seclusion afforded by the thick underwood and
not unfrequently dense bamboo -thickets with which such localities abound. I once met with it in a dark
ravine in the very gloomiest recesses of the lofty timber-jungles of the Kukkul Korale; not the least daunted
by the tremendous downpour of rain which was falling at the time, the whole troop were darting hither and
thither about the dripping vegetation in search of food, and indulging in their wonted spasmodic cries, as if re-
joicing in the brightest sunshine on a pleasant lawn, instead of being imprisoned in the darkest, most dripping,
leach-infested glen in Ceylon ! It always associates in scattered troops of ten or twenty, and feeds amongst
tangled underwood, in spots which are covered with dead leaves, the product of many years^ dropping from the
monarchs of the forest, and delights in exploring the mossy recesses of fallen trunks, in which humid spots it
finds an abundance of caterpillars, bugs {Hemiptera) , and coleopterous insects. It breaks out constantly into
a harsh chattering, which is taken up in turn by all the members of the troop, and as suddenly stopped, when
all is silent again, until some trifling alarm sets the garrulous converse loose. This chattering is usually
finished up with a hurried sort of scream. Like the last species, it is very active in its gestures and not at all
shy, being very loath to break up its party when fired at, some members of it being occasionally bold enouo-h
to fly down to and hop about their fallen comrades with loud cries and vigorous flapping of their wings, wlfiie
the rest mount on to the topmost branches of low trees, and jerk themselves to and fro, peering down on their
assailant, and executing a series of spasmodic antics. It shuns the society of other birds, appearing to afFect
spots so gloomy and damp as to be avoided by all species, except, perhaps, the Rufous Babbler and the little
Quaker-I brush ; and in these sylvan retreats it would no doubt often be passed over unnoticed, were it not for
its garrulous habit, which is usually provoked when it hears the approach of danger. The stomach of this
bird is very muscular, and I have often found it contain a quantity of foul black liquid.
Nidification. The breeding-season of this bird is from April till July. FuU-fledged nestlings may be
found abroad with the parent birds in August; and from this I base my supposition, for I have never found
the nest myself. Intelligent native woodmen, in the western forests, who are well acquainted with the bird,
have informed me that it nests in April, building a large cup-shaped nest in the fork of a bush-branch, and
laying three or four dark blue eggs. Whether this account be correct or not, future investigation must
determine.
The lower figure in the Plate accompanying the next article represents a female of this species, shot in the
Ikkade-Barawe forest.
(
J
1
POMATORHINUS MELANURUS
GARRULAX CINEREIFRONS.
Genus POMATOEHINUS.
Bill long, curved, compressed from the nostrils to the tip, which is entire. Nostrils length-
ened, the membrane overlapping them. Wings short, rounded, the 6th and 6th quills the longest,
the 1st about half their length. Tail moderately long, lax, and graduated. Legs and feet stout.
The tarsus longer than the middle toe, the scutse smooth and large. Middle toe considerably
longer than the laterals ; hind toe and claw large.
POMATOEHINUS MELANUEUS.
(THE CEYLONESE SCIMITAR-BABBLER.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Pomatorhinus melanurus, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1847, xvi. p. 451 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 146 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 122 (1822); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1853, xii. p. 271 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 301 ; Legge, J. A. S. (Ceylon Branch) 1870-71,
p. 41; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 447; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 437 ; Legge, Ibis,
1874, p. 18, et 1875, p. 395 ; id. Str. Feath. 1876, p. 245 ; Whyte, ibid. 1877, p. 202 ;
Ramsay, Ibis, 1878, p. 132.
The Black-tailed Scimitar-Babbler, The Ceylon Pomatorhinus (Kelaart) ; The Gamut-bird in
Planting-districts.
Batitchia, Sinhalese, Galle district; Parandeliya, Western Province.
5 ad. supra rufescenti-bruiinea, pileo obscuriore, fronte et verticis lateribus nigricautibus : tectricibus alarum dorso
concoloribus : majoribus remigibusque saturate brunneis, extus rufesconti-brunneo marginatis, secundariis latius ;
rectricibus chocolatinis, rufescenti-brunneo marginatis: striga superciliari lata a basi rostri usque ad nucham
lateralom producta : palpebra alba ; loris, plumis iiifraocularibus et regione parotica uigris : colli lateribus
eastaneo lavatis : genis et corpore subtus albis, lateribus et subcaudalibus rufescenti-brunneis : tibiis cinerascen-
tibus : subalaribus ciiieraseonti-brunueis, axillaribus albis apicaliter brunneis : remi^bus infra biuuiueis, intus
pallide rufescentibus : rostro flavo, ad basin mandibula) nigricaute : pedibus fusceseenti-schistaceis : iride brunnea.
Adult male. Length 8-6 to 8'9 inches ; wing 3-5 to 3-8 ; tail 3'5 to 3-7 ; tarsus 1 '2 ; middle toe and claw 0'95 to I'Oo ;
hind toe 0'6, its claw (straight) 04 ; bill to gajje (straight) 1-13 to 1-23.
Adult female. Length 8'5 to 8‘7 inches ; wing 3‘2 to 3-6 ; tail 34 to 3-0 ; tarsus 1-2 ; bill to gape (straight) 14 to 1'2.
Examples vary inter se in size, but there is no constant difierence between low-country and hill birds. Dimensions of
various specimens are as follows: — d (Karawita hills, Saffragam), wing 3-6, bill to gape (straight) 1’26 ; d
(Dumbara), wing 3-6, bill to gape (straight) 1-2 ; d (Horton Plains), wing 3-65, bill to gape (straight) 145 :
c? (Banderawella, IJva), wing 3-61, bill to gape (straight) 1-2 ; d (Borella, Colombo), wing 3-55, bill to gape
(straight) 1'2.
The bill varies in length and curvature according to age.
Iris brownish red, dull red, or reddish brown ; orbital skin and eyehd dull blue ; bill gamboge-yellow, more or less
blackish from the forehead to a short distance in front of the nostril ; legs and feet plumbeous or greenish plum-
beous ; feet generally more bluish than tarsi ; claws dusky, pale horn at base.
Lores, region beneath the eye, ear-eoverts, forehead, and plumes bordering the supereilium above black, fading into the
dark olivaceous of the head and occiput, the crown-feathers having black shafts ; a conspicuous superciliary stripe
extending from the nostril to beyond the nape, throat, fore neck, chest, and breast pure white, passing up behind the
ear-eoverts ; hind neck, upper surface, wing-coverts, flanks, and under tail-coverts ferruginous brown, more intense
on the back of the neck than elsewhere ; in many examples the feathers on the sides of the neck and chest at the
502
POMATOEHINUS MELAKUEUS.
junction of the white with the brown hue are centred with the former ; quills with the outer webs more olivaceous
than the back, and the inner webs blackish brown; tail blackish brown, edged at the base with the hue of the
upper fcail-eoverts, and deepening to blackish at the extremity; there are indications of cross rays on the terminal
halt, which show plainer beneath ; abdomen rusty olivaceous. In some examples the hue of the nape blends imper-
ceptibly into that of the hind neck, in others the line of demarcation is plain.
The above is a description of the generality of examples from the Western Province, the south-west corner of the
island the Pasdun-Korale hills, and the lower parts of the Peak forests, where a ferruginous hue predominates.
As this bird ascends from the low country to the hills and to a cooler and drier climate than exists in the south and
west, the rusty hues gradually vanish, giving way to olivaceous tints; and examples from the upper zone and
likewise from the Uva patna-district, are clothed as foUows Upper parts, flanks, and wings (that is, those parts
which in the low country are ferruginous) olivaceous brown, faintly tinged with rusty on the sides of the hind
neck and on the rump. The same white-centred feathers on the sides of the chest exist in some hill specimens.
Soft parts Ue same, the legs, perhaps, slightly greener. The most ferruginous birds come from the damp districts
0 the south, where moist climate and heat are combined; and the gradation from their plumage to that of hill birds
troni the upper zone is very perfect, a complete sequence being obtainable on going up through the wilderness of
the Peak from the low-lying portion of Saffi-agam to the Horton Plains. Examples, however, vary in the olivaceous
character of the brown tints inter se. It must not be supposed that the greenest birds come from the highest
elevations : a specimen from Totapella, 7800 feet, is very strongly tinged with riistv, and so is another from
Kandapolla, 6.300 feet, while an individual from Banderawella and another from Diimbara are more olivaceous
than either. In like manner the ferruginous birds of the Western Province do not vary regularly accordino- to
elevation, the most intensely-coloured bird in my collection being from the neighbourhood of HiUvmallv BEds
from the forests of the north are very similar to Central-Province specimens, not in any way partaking of the
rusty character of those from the south-west. ^ ^ ®
Uuwara Eiliya, is very ferruginous above, and likewise on the sides of the
chest and flanks : the head and ear-coverts are not so black as in the adult, and the white of the chest is very much
contracted, and does not extend so far down upon the breast. The bill is much straighter than in an adult.
Ohs.
The difference between the Western-Province and the hill race of this bird (if I may use the term) has been the
suiject of some attention. Mr. Holds worth was almost of opinion that they merited specific distinction; and
l^ieut. VVardlaw Kamsay, in his synopsis of the genus Fomatoi-hinm, published in ‘ The Ibis,’ April 1878 has like-
wise made some remarks on the subject, based on an examination of the specimens (probably a small series) in Lord
Tweeddales collection; he writes that “the small race which is found at Nuwara Eiliya has the back olive-brown
without being m the least rufescent, whilst the larger race,” found in the A^^estern Province, “has a few of the
lateral breast- and flank-feathers partially white or centred white.” But I have shown that the hill race is not
smaller than the low-country, and that the white-centred feathers exist in both. This latter is, I imamne merelv
a transition-feature towards' an extended development of the white of the chest. A specimen in uTy collection
has white feathers ev-en in the wing-coverts and on the hind neck. The example measured by Lieut. Eamsay from
^ miara Eiliya, with the wing 3-2 inches, must have been a female, which is no smaller than a low-country bird of
black of the t*ead of the up-country bird with the olivaceous of the hind neck. The same variation in the brown
mg of these Babblers is to be found m the ease of the smaller relative {Akij^pe nigrifrom) of the present bird
amerr the“s“tt {Pelhmmm fusdcapillum). The Ceylonese^ ScimitalBabbler t
h ck on ^ ^®“th-Indiaii species (P. kors/eM) ; this latter is larger, with the wing 3-8 to 3-05; it is not so
‘ the upper surface and wings, together with the sides of the breast are brnwTii«ti
o ivaceous ; the white of the chest does not descend further than the upper part of the breast suddenlvnarmwino'
to a point ; the sides of the breast are black. Lieut. AVardlaw Eamsay, in his above-mentioned synopsis of thi!
genus, lemarks that our bird is intermediate between F. schistwns and F. monkmus of Java It is unt Ur,
el..el,. .Med to either to P The J.v„ bird iA difereet tvpe oZ'S;:
characterized by the sudden contrast between the plumage of the head and back. It has the head and nape dark
rnTt C 1 '■f ’”“<1 ™ck, together with the scapulars, are
thtb^f ; the throat, fore neck, and breast are white, and the flanks concoloious with
the back. Examples from Java, in the British Museum, measure 3-4, 3-35, 3-5 in the wing. The Bornean race
has been separated by Cabanis, as being smaller than the Javan, and having the secondLes and “ ^0
race O?’’'"' ' exammed specimens of this species, and believe it to be only entitled to rank as a local
example measures 3-4o inches in the wing, which exceeds two of the above dimensions of P montanus.
4
POMATOEHINUS MELANUEUS.
503
P. sehisticeps, from the Himalayas, has the head and nape dark slate-colour, and the upper surface olive-green ;
the throat and breast are white, and the sides of the fore neck rusty-coloured, with white streaks.
Distribution— Scimitar-Babbler, one of the most interesting Ceylonese species, is widely distributed
throughout the central and southern hills, but is by no means a mountain bird, being equally common in the
interior of the Western Province, more especially in the bamboo-district of Salfragam and the circumjacent
country, and likewise in the south-west hilly region. As regards the Kandyan Province, it is a very abundant
bird in the main range up to the highest altitudes,. and is one of those comparatively few species met with in
the woods on the Horton Plains. The same may be said of all the intermediate coffee-districts and the wooded
patnas throughout the Province. It is common in the forests of the south-east and on the Batticaloa side,
and is scattered pretty freely throughout all the northern forcst-tract, its numbers diminishing along the
central road, when the latitude of Kokelai on the east and Manaar on the west is reached. I have obtained
it as close to Colombo as the neighbourhood of Borella.
Habits . — This wood-loving bird frequents shady dark forests, patna-woods (particularly in the vicinity of
streams), bamboo-cheenas, low jungle, and almost every variety of thick cover. It usually associates in pairs,
but occasionally fraternizes, and goes about in small companies, searching for its insect-food on low branches,
or clinging. Woodpecker fashion, to the trunks or large limbs of trees, about which it jumps and twists itself
with considerable agility, proceeding easily upwards with active hops. Early in the morning, while seai’ching
among thick underwood for its food, it repeatedly gives out its far-sounding, melodious call, which must be
familiar to all who have travelled in the Ceylon jungles, although few are acquainted with the owmer of the
remarkable voice, proceeding, as it usually does, from dense thickets. The note may be likened to the words
chock off you poor boy, or wok wok ek ek wok, which is answ'ered by the female with a more humed scale
resembling wok off. While pouring out these voluble notes, the birds are all the time on the move, attentively
scrutinizing every dead leaf or rotten stick in their way. Mr. Bligh has observed them in the breeding-season
puffing out the feathers of the chest and bowing to each other ; and I have noticed that they were of an inqui-
sitive nature, alighting close to me when they have chanced to espy me watching them in the stillness of the
forest, and stretching out their heads for a closer inspection of such an unexpected intruder ! Mr. Holds-
worth remarks that they are very noisy in the pairing-time, and refers to the powerful notes of the male as
having acquired for the species the name of “ Gamut-bird.^^
I subjoin the following note on the habits of this bird, which Mr. Bligh has sent me from Haputale
“ A family reared near my bungalow roost in the thick ftr-tree near the bedroom-window. At early daw n 1
often see them 'getting-up;’ they hop from out of the thick tree to the open branches of a large oleander,
and, like a higher order of beings, commence to dress themselves, preening and ruffling out their feathers all the
time, chattering a little, as if of arrangements for the day : the male often repeats something like twoi, twoi,
twoi, in various keys, swelling out its beautiful white throat considerably each time. The young ones have a
plaintive mew-like call when following the old ones for food, and they often make a great clamour when being
fed. I once came upon about teu adults, having been attracted by a great noise they made, and found them
in a group on the bole of a large tree felled in the jungle. It was a most comical sight to see these excited
birds with throats extended like a pigeon, wings lowered and spread, and tail the same, but often elevated,
all advancing to a common centre by a quick jerking hop, then retreating backwards, and bowing their bodies
the whole time ; this went on for a few minutes until I disturbed them ; it was a veritable Pomatorhinus-
quadrille ! ”
mdification.—^\as Babbler breeds from December until February. I have observed one collecting materials
for a nest in the former month, and at the same period Mr. MacVicar had the eggs brought to him , they
were taken from a nest made of leaves and grass, and placed on a bank in jungle. Air. bligh has found the
nest in crevices in trees, between a projecting piece of bark and the trunk, also in a jungle path-cutting and
on a ledge of rock ; it is usually composed of moss, grass-roots, fibre, and a few dead leaves, and the
structure is rather a slovenly one. The eggs vary from three to five, and are pure wdiite, the shell thin and
transparent, and they measure 0-96 to 0-98 inch in length by 0'7 in breadth.
504
POMATOEHINUS MELANUEUS.
The figures in the Plate accompanying this article represent the hill olive-coloured form and the low-
country rust-coloured one. The former is from the Horton Plains, and the latter from the Kuruwite hills in
Safffagam.
Genus DUMETIA.
Bill high at the base, compressed, the culmen curved gradually to the tip. Nostrils oblong ;
a few loral bristles present. Wings short, rounded ; the 5th and 6th quills subequal and longest.
Tail broad, cuneate at the tip. Tarsus rather short ; toes slender, the lateral ones subequal.
Of small size.
DUMETIA ALBOGULAEIS.
(THE WHITE-THROATED WREN-BABBLER.)
Malacocercus alhogularis, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1847, xvi. p. 453.
Dumefia alhogularis, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 140 (1849) ; Layard & Kelaart,
Prodromus, Cat. App. p. 58 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. &Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 272 ;
Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Miis. E. I. Co. i. p. 403 (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 26
(1863); Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 447 ; Hume, Nest and Eggs, ii. p. 247 (1874) ;
Butler, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 471 ; Bourdillon, ibid. 1876, p. 399.
Thnalia hypergthra, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1839, x. p. 261.
Pellormum alhogulare, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1852, xxi. p. 357.
“ Pig-bird,” in India ; Batitchia, Sinhalese.
Adult male and female. Length 5'6 to 5‘7 inches ; wing 2’1 to 2'25 ; tail 2'2 ; tarsus 0'8 ; middle toe and claw 0 65 ,
bill to gape 0-65.
Iris greenish white or white ; bill, upper mandible dusky or pinkish brown with fleshy margin, lower mandible fleshy,
tip dusky; legs and feet reddish fleshy, toes slightly dusky, claws brownish.
Above olivaceous brown, the forehead and front of crown rufous, and the hind neck slightly fulvescent or paler than
the back ; wings and tail brown, the primaries and rectrices slightly edged pale ; upper tail-coverts in some
covered with a yellowish hue ; lores and orbital feathers whitish ; beneath rufous, with the chin, upper part of
throat, and centre of breast white ; under tail-coverts and wing-coverts paler than the flanks.
The rufous of the lower surface seems to be brighter in the breeding-season, with the white of the throat and breast
more sharply defined against it.
Toting. Iris pale olive-greyish. The forehead wants the ferruginous tint, and is concolorous with the head.
Obs. Several examples in the British Museum are somewhat darker in the tint of the upper surface than most
Ceylonese specimens that have come under my notice ; the rufous colour of the forehead is slightly darker in my
insular series than in the aforementioned, but the coloration of the under surface is similar. They measure in
the wing from 2-05 to 2-2 inches. Mr. Bourdillon records the dimensions of a South-Indiau specimen, measured
in the flesh, as— length 5-62 inches ; expanse 6-25 ; whig 2-12 ; tail 2-25 ; tarsus 0-73 ; bill from gape 0'57.
Distribution . — This interesting little bird is tolerably eommon in Ceylon, being found in nearly all parts
of the low country and on most of the open, bushy patnas of the hill-region up to an elevation of 5600 feet
or thereabouts. It i.s of frequent occurrence in the AVesteru Province, being very partial to the damp sedgy
parts of the cinnamon -gardens of Colombo ; in the extreme south it is, perhaps, rarer, but in the south-east
flat region betw'cen Haputale and the sea, and in many parts of the eastern portion of the island, it is a common
bird. In the northern parts, again, it is not so frequent. In the great patna-districts of Uva, in similar
localities in Hewahette, Dumbara, and on the slopes of the Knuckles, as well as in other open waste portions of
the Kandyan Province, it is as plentiful as in most parts of the low country, and especially so in the patna-
basin of Uva, being found there along the Badulla and Nuwara-Elliya road up to the vicinity of Hakgala.
In the southern ranges it is likewise not unfrequent.
Jerdon has the following short paragraph on the distribution of this little bird in India : ‘ It is oun
throughout Southern India in suitable localities, in bushy jungle, ravines, thick hedge-rows, &c., but is entirely
absent in the forest- districts of Malabar.” Mr. Bourdillon writes of it as common in the Travancore hills
from 1000 to 3000 feet elevation. Dr. Fairbank records it from Khandala and Mahabaleshwar, but not from
Ahmeduagar. The only other mention which I can find of it being found to the north of the Deccan is
that by Captain Butler, who says it is not uncommon at Mount Aboo, and is occasionally seen in the plains of
that district ; Mr. Hume adds that this is by far the most northerly point reached by the species.
3 T
506
DUMETIA ALBOGULAllIS.
Habits . — The little “ Pig-bird ” (as it is not very aptly called by some o£ the natives in India) frequents
bushy patnasj low scrub, grass-fields dotted with shrubs, detached woods, and waste land in the vicinity of
jungle, associating in little troops, and keeping mostly out of sight in the lower parts of bushes and thick
underwood ; from such haunts it seldom strays, except when alarmed or when roaming hither and thither
in the mornings and evenings, when little companies may be seen making their way from one piece of covnr
to another, in qrrite “ follow-my-leader " fashion, eaeh bird following its companion with a straight low flight
and a weak, plaintive wheet note. When hunted out from a shrub or clump of brambles it endeavours to remain
as long as possible under cover, hopping timidly from branch to branch, and cautiously peering out at its
enemy, until it is time to beat a retreat, when it betakes itself off in the above methodical manner. Its food
consists of the larvae of various insects and minute Coleoptera, and in feeding it possesses much the manner
of Alcvppe. On one occasion I observed a little flock, which was assembled at the base of an umbrageous tree iu
thick jungle, indulging in a series of quaint antics ; they were hopping spasmodically about, jerking up their
wings with a puffing out of their breast-feathers, and every now and then dropping like balls of fluff on to a
bed of dry leaves, where they seemed to have discovered a welcome supply of food.
Nidijication . — The breeding-season lasts from March until July, the nest being built in a low bush
sometimes only a few inches from the ground. It is globular in shape and loosely eonstructed of grass, stalks,
and dry blades or bents, sometimes interwoven with fibrous or eaterpillar-eaten leaves, the interior being
composed of the same but finer material than the body. The eggs are usually three in number, dull white,
closely fi’eckled throughout with small ferruginous spots ; in some there is a well-formed zone round the
obtuse end. They are rather small for the bird, measnring 0‘7 to 0'72inch in length by 0'51 to O'SSiuch
in breadth.
In South India this bird breeds in June. Mr. Hume thus describes a nest sent him by Miss Cockburn,
and taken from a coffee-bush in the Kotagherry district. It was “ small and nearly globular, composed
entirely of broad flaggy grass, without any lining or any admixture whatsoever of other material j it was
loosely put together, and had a comparatively narrow entrance at the top.” This nest contained three eggs ;
and mention is made of another one with the same number. The ground-colour of these eggs was china-
white, marked with a profusion of specks and spots, which, though spread over the whole surface, were
“ gathered most intensely into an imperfect, more or less confluent, cap or zone at the larger end, where,
also, a few purplish-grey spots and specks, not found on any other part of the egg, were noticeable.” They
vary from 0'7 to 0'75 inch in length by O'o to 0'53 inch in breadth.
Genus ALCIPPE.
Bill stout; culmen curved from the base, commissure curved throughout; tip distinctly
notched. Nostrils oval ; rictal bristles small but stout. Wings rounded ; the 5th quill generally
the longest. Tail short and rounded. Tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw.
Of small size.
ALCIPPE NIGEIEEOiXS.
(THE CEYLON WEEN-BABBLER.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Alcip 2 )e nigrifrons, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1849, xviii. p. 815 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 340
(1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 122 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1853, xii. p. 269; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 302; Legge, J. A. S. (Ceylon Branch)
p. 42 (1870-71) ; Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 446 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 18 ; id. Str.
Feath. 1875, p. 367.
Tlie Mountain-Thrush, Kelaart ; “ QuaJcer-Thrush," popularly in India.
Batitchia, Sinhalese.
Similis A. atricipiti, seel minor, et fronts tantum nigra distinguenda.
Adult male and female. Length 4-9 to 5-3 inches ; wing 2T5 to 2-3 ; tail 1-7 to 1‘9 ; tarsus 0-8 to 0-9 ; mid toe and
claw 0'7 to 0‘75 ; bill to gape 0’65 to 0'7.
Eomales are the smaller of the sexes.
Iris yellowish white or very pale yellow ; bill, gape, and culmen dark brown, margins of the upper and lower mandible
fleshy ; legs and feet fleshy lavender, claws dusky.
Forehead, face, and ear-coverts dull black, blenduig into the rusty brown of the occiput, upper surface, wings, and
tail ; outer primaries pale-edged ; tail nigrescent towards the extremity and distinctly cross-rayed ; beneath, the
throat, neck, breast, and abdomen sullied white, with a dusky shade on the sides of the chest ; flanks and under
tail-coverts olivaceous rufescent ; under wing-coverts and inner edges of quills beneath fulvescent buff.
Tlie amount of black on the head \aries, being continued further back in some specimens than in others.
Ohs. There is a marked difference in the tint of the upper surface of this species according to the locality it inhabits.
Examples from the south of the island and from the Western Province are, as described above, rusty brown, while
those from the colder climate of the upper hills are decidedly olivaceous on the back and wing-coverts ; specimens
from the north of Ceylon are, as a rule, intermediate betw'een the tw'o. Although individuals vary mte 7 ' se in
the amount of ferruginous tint present on the back, the up-country race will be found, as a whole, to be decidedly
less rust-coloured than the low-country birds. The same character, as already observed, is exemplified in the
Scimitar- Babbler, Fomatoi-hiniis melamirus.
Young. Ihe nestling has the iris olive, but in plumage almost entirely resembles the adult, the forehead only
differing in being less nigrescent.
Ohs. The Ce 3 donese species is allied to the South-Indian A. atrice^ps, Jerdon, to which another closely affined race
has lately been discovered by Mr. Bourdillon and described by Mr. Flume under the name of A. hourdilloni.
A. atriceps has the head, face, and nape black, in addition to the forehead ; the wings and tail are brow'uish olive
(resembling in this pai’ticular oiu’ up-country birds, but paler even than they are), and the species is somewhat
larger than ours, fepecimens in the national collection measure 2'3 inches in the wing. A. hourdilloni has the
black cap replaced by a brown one, and has the bill and tarsi stouter than in the last mentioned ; the wdng
measures 2-4 inches. The Nilghiri Quaker-Thrush (A. poioceplicda) is larger than any of the foregoing ; wdng
2-7 inches : it has the same style of coloration, but wdth the “ head and nape dusky cinereous ; back and rump
greenish olive.”
Distribution. — This little Wren-Babbler, which is the smallest of the Babbling Thrushes found in Ceylon,
was discovered by Layard in 1848, and described, loc. cit., by Blyth. It is one of the commonest and most
widely distributed of our jungle-birds, being found throughout the wdiole island ujt to the jungle-clad summits
of the peaks of the main range. It is common throughout the Kandyan and southern hills wherever there
3t2
508
ALCIPPE NIGEIEKONS.
is either forest, low jungle, or even scrubby copse; and the same is true of the low country, where even small
detached woods, containing any underwood at all, are tenanted by it. In some portions of the sea-board
which are clothed with dry, arid scrub, such as on the south-east and north coasts, it is rare ; but even m
these it is met with in spots sheltered by tall trees from the blazing heat of a tropical sun. It is especially
numerous in those portions of the Western and Southern Provinces in which the forests and jungle contain
bamboo undergrowth.
Habits. This modest but active little bird frequents underwood, thickets, and tangled jungle in little
parties of from six to a dozen in number, feeding among fallen leaves which have become lodged among
bushes, or about prostrate trunks of trees, and on the ground itself, subsisting entirely on various insects and
their larva;. It keeps up a constant little rattle-note as it threads its way about in the dense undergrowth,
dropping, perhaps, suddenly from a branch on to some large Bairoo-leaf {Sarcoclimum longifohum) with a
startling noise, or flitting through matted bamboos across the closely begirt jungle-paths, each little member
of the troop following its mate in true Babbler fashion. It is most active in its movements ; I ha,ve rarely
seen it in a state of quiescence, except when, in the heat of the day, I have chanced to espy a little row
seated in close proximity on some horizontal twig or bamboo-stalk, silently feathering themselves after their
morning's exertions in search of food. They display much inquisitiveness, flitting round any one who may
be standing still in thick jungle, jumping to and fro about the twigs and dead leaves, and stretching out
their heads while they utter their shrill little rattle.
Nidification . — ^The breeding-season in the north of the island lasts from November until March, and in
the south, where most of our birds nest during the rains, from March until August. Mr. Parker writes me
that in the Seven Korales they breed mostly in May. The nest, as stated in my note, ‘ Stray Peathers,'
1875, p. 368, ‘"is generally placed in a bramble or straggling piece of undergrowth, often in a prominent
position near a jungle-path, at a height of from 2 to 4 feet from the ground.” It is almost invariably made
of dry leaves placed horizontally or in layers one on the other, the top being supported by the intermixture
of a few twigs, and the opening being a wide unfinished orifice almost on a level with the bottom of the
interior, which is composed of the same material as the outside. The structure thus formed is a shapeless,
globular mass, sometimes of one foot in diameter at least, and from its large size and generally exposed
situation is one of the first nests which meets the eye in the Ceylon jungles.
The birds construct these nests with great rapidity, picking up the leaves one after the other from just
beneath the spot in which they are building. As mentioned in my notes in the ‘ Ibis,' 1874, I have seen
them, from a place of concealment, sticking the leaves into the structure at the rate of two or three a minute.
From the number of these leaf-nests that one finds in the forests of Ceylon it would appear that probably
several are constructed by the same birds before the eggs are deposited in the one finally chosen by the
little architects. They are used as a roosting-place by the young brood, who resort to them at nights after
they have reached their full size and are abroad with their parents. The eggs are invariably two in number,
stumpy ovals in shape, and of smooth texture. The ground-colour, before they are blown, is a clear fleshy
white, spotted openly all over, or in some chiefly at the large end, with rounded spots of dull red and brownish
red underlaid by a few specks of bluish grey. They measure 0’74 to 0-75 inch by O'Sf) to 0'56inch.
In the Plate accompanying the next article will be found two examples of this species the one from
Nuwara Elliya, showing the olivaceous character of the hill-birds, the other from the low country, exhibiting
the same rusty-coloured tints which characterize the lowland, form of Pomatorhinus.
ALCIPPE NIGRIFRONS.
PELLORNFiUM FUSCIGAPILLUM.
Genus PBLLOENEUM.
Bill lonaer than in the last, straighter; the nostrils more linear; rictal bristles feeble.
Winns rounded ■ the 6th, 6th, and 7th quills nearly equal and longest. Tail not shorter than
the ^ng, rounded at the tip and graduated. Tarsus lengthened, its scales obsolete; toes stout,
the lateral ones subequal.
PELLOKNEUM EUSCICAPILLUM.
(THE WHISTLING QUAKER-THRUSH.)^
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
sub-
man-
I)rymocata])hus fuscocapillus, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1849, xvni. p- 815 ; id. Cat. B.
p. 340 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 122 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. i t,-
Hist. 1853, xii. p. 269.
/icscomp tot, Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 301. Tyi Qet
Drymocataphns fiiscicapilMs, Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 447 ; egge, is, , p-
1875, pp. 393, 410.
BatitcMa, Sinhalese.
, . snpri br„« .u,«»d.libus pnultS
SprpS.-roU.jn . is.=i;';.nSS's b^, " r
dibula caniea : pedibus rufescenti-carneis : mde rufescenti-brunnea.
AduU «.i. ...d boned. ”o''“‘ . '™l! 2'5 » 2'8 i ‘o 2-6 . teoM I'O to 1-1 ; md too 0 , to
loaer teb-colfnr ; legs md toot bro.-nisb flesby, toes dni-ker thnn tarsi, claws pale btowms .
There are two me,, of this littl, bird in Ceylon^, dark ».d a pale, the lattor inhabiting the north of the ..land oniy,
the former being found in the soutb-west and central portions of the island.
le chin and abdomen, and mth flanks dusky ; the cheeks, ear-coverts, and sides of neck of a deeper
ru£ous liue than the throat. ^ ^ TOf>#i varv very much in depth of
Birds from the Southern and Central Province districts, which constitute the dark ™ce, vary y
colouring. Some have the head very dark and the feathers
at the si^e time of a deeper hue; in such examples the feathers at the sides of the chest are cent
j. c 4 .v,,w loinw.fl'i The head and nape are light
PaU race (from the whole of the northern and north-eastern and tail pale ol™^
sepia-brown, with the edges of the feathers distinctly daAer ; wing-coverts and rectrices more
with a greyish hue, and the shafts of the clothing-feathers very hght , the wmg
conspicuously tipped, and the under surface very pale throughout.
r Birds of the yetub.ve the iris browner tb» rfulls, »d to. "'”P “
"^^The sides of toe chest am liketrise more distinct, and toe tail but faintly tippe u ' oas.
610
PELLOENEUM EUSCICAPILLUM.
Ohs. This bird was placed by Blyth in the genus Dnjmocatajplms, which was instituted for a Malaccan species,
D. nigrocapHata, differing slightly in the proportion of its longer quill-feathers, and having a slightly different
type of plumage from Pellorneum. I have compared oiu’ bird wdth Pellorneum rvficeps of Southern India, and
the quills are the same, and also the biU. The proportion of the longer quills in any given species appears, in many
cases, to be an unsafe character, and certainly not worthy of consideration in the creation of genera, unless it be
thought desirable to burden ornithology with a still greater multiplicity of genera than it is at present hampered
with ! In the present case, for instance, the 7th quill is subject to variation in individuals, some having it equal
to the Gth and some shorter. In the type species of Drymocalaphus the tail is shorter than the wing by about
the length of the bill, and in this it therefore differs from our bird and from typical Pellorneum : the wing is,
however, much the same in both forms ; and I scarcely think that the genus Drymocataphus is a good one, unless the
character of the head-plumage, as exemplified in the several species forming this little group, be allowed consideration
enough to justify its establishment. The present species was subsequently classed by Blyth as a Pellorneum, and
Mr. Holdsworth again restored it to its position as a Drymocataphus.
Distribution . — This little bird, one of the most interesting species peculiar to the island of Ceylon, was
discovered by Layard. He writes : — “ But two specimens fell under my notice. One I killed with a blow-
pipe in my garden in Colombo, the other I shot in the Central Road.” Mr. Holdsworth procured but one
specimen, shot in the north of the island, and, in common with Layard, conceived it to be a rare species, its
very shy and retiring nature, and its habit of only frequenting thick underwood, obviously giving rise to this idea.
On the contrary, how'ever, it is a common and widely distributed bird, being found as a resident more or less
over the whole low country, with perhaps the exception of the Jaffna peninsula and some of the open coast
districts in the north-west. It is most numerous in regions covered with large tracts of jungle, occurring in
such places everywhere, and least so in cultivated portions of country, in which it is confined to wooded knolls,
or overgrown waste land. It is, accordingly, scattered through all the jungle-clad low hills of the Galle
district, the flat forests of the south-east, and the wilds of the Eastern Province, as well as through the
entire foi'cst-region of the north, across from Trincomalie (where it is numerous) to the confines of the open
country on the north-west, and thence down to the Chilaw and Kurunegala districts. In the Western Province
its distribution is partial, it being there most numerous in the jungles of the interior, of Saffragam, and in
the region lying at the base of the mountains. In these latter it is found, as also in the southern ranges,
ascending in the Kandyan Province to an altitude of about 5500 feet. In the district of Uva and in most
of the deep wood-dotted valleys below the coffee-estates it is common, frequenting likewise the intermediate
belts of forest above them in Haputale and the main range.
I would here remark that there is no bird in Ceylon concerning the distribution of which my predecessors
in ornithological w'ork appear to have been so misled. Scarcely any species shows itself less, but, on the
other hand, none make more noise from their place of concealment. An acquaintance with its note, therefore,
was required, and failing this one could not but pass it by completely. For my own part I imagined it,
during the first three years of my labours in Ceylon, to be one of the rarest of birds, for I could never meet
with it in the AVestern Province. Shortly after I went to Galle, while collecting one morning in the vicinity
of the Bonavista Orphanage (to the hospitable and kind superintendent of which I am indebted for the
passing of many a pleasant hour in one of the most charming little bungalows in the low country), I was
attracted by a bird-note which I remembered often to have heard, and on procuring its owner was surprised
to find that I had at last obtained this much-looked-for species. In the same manner I captured it very soon
afterwards near AA^'ackwella, and tlien in other copses in the neighbourhood, and soon ceased to pay any
attention to its whistle. On going to Trincomalie my first day's trip into the jungle renewed my acquaintance
with my little friend, and so on wherever I travelled I continued to hear the garrulous bird, until it had to be
noted in my catalogue as a common and widely distributed species, and as such was spoken of in my account
of the birds of the south-west hilhregion (‘Ibis,' 1874). To this Mr. Holdsworth, who had not made the
acquaintance of its note, somewhat naturally took exception in his comment on my paper published in the
following number of the ‘ Ibis.' Mr. Bligh, however, knows it to be a common bird in the Haputale jungles j
and those who hereafter work in the ornithological field of Ceylon will, I doubt not, substantiate my
experience.
Habits . — This Babbler, as has just been remarked, is a very shy and retiring bird, and a denizen, for the
PELLOENEUM EUSCICAPILLUM.
511
most part, of forests and cheena-woods, but likewise frequents scrub, brushwood, low jungle, or overgrown
land in the vicinity of native cottages. It dwells entirely in the seclusion of such vegetation, feeding near
the ground in dense thickets or picking up beetles and insects from amongst decaying herbage ; it rarely
shows itself in the open except to flit across a jungle-road or forest-path. It is usually found in pairs, except
after breeding, when it combines with its newly-reared family to form a little troop, which comport themselves
much as Alcippe. Its note, which is one of the characteristic sounds of the Ceylon jungles, is a persistently
repeated whistle, resembling the words “ to-meet-you.” This is varied, on the part of the male in the breeding-
season, by a combination of ascending and descending bars, which form a pleasant little warble. In the short note
there is a peculiar intonation which partakes of the power of ventriloquy, and which renders, at times, the
determining of the bird^s position a difficult matter. The Whistling Babbler is especially noisy in wet weather,
and during the breeding-season utters a low purr when the vicinity of its nest is approached. At this period
I have observed a pair seated on a low branch, bowing and courtesying to each other, with their tails carried
erect, and appearing to be most intent on rendering themselves mutually attractive. The stomach in this
species is muscular ; and I have found large beetles therein, proving its digestive powers to be considerable.
Nidification . — ^The nest of this species is exceedingly difficult to find, and scarcely any thing is known of
its nidification. Mr. Bligh succeeded in finding it in Haputale at an elevation of about 5500 feet. It was
placed in a bramble about 3 feet from the ground, and was cup-shaped, loosely constructed of moss and leaves ;
it contained three young. I found what I have reason to believe was a nest of this species at Agalewatta,
which was constructed chiefly of the dead leaves of a recently felled shrub, in which it was placed about 2 feet
from the ground ; it was large and loosely made, resembling the nest of Alcippe, but lined with fine dry roots.
Although it contained no eggs, I observed the birds frequenting it, and have no doubt, therefore, as to its
ownership. Mr. Bligh writes me concerning a brood of four or five young which he found in the Central
Province ; they had just left the nest and were frequenting some thick brambles, in which he caught several
of them with ease. The parent birds, he remarks, “ seemed as if they wordd have died of distress, trying to
draw me away by tumbling and fluttering about on the ground as if badly wounded, and nearly buffeting me
when I had the young in my hand.”
The figure in the Plate accompanying this article is that of a dark-coloured Western-Province specimen,
which was shot in the Three Korales.
Genus PYCTOEHIS.
Bill short, curved, high at the base, tip entire. Nostrils rounded ; rictal bristles strong ;
orbits nude. Wings rounded, the 5th to the 7th quills subequal and longest. Tail long and
graduated. Legs and feet stout. The tarsus shielded with broad smooth scutee, anterior toes
moderately short ; hind toe and claw lengthened.
PYCTOEHIS NASALIS.
(THE BLACK-BILLED BABBLER.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
CliTysoniifiKi sinensis, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 150. no. 860, spec, c (1849) ; Kelaart
& Layard, Prodromus, App. p. 58 (1853) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 185b, xii.
p. 27 k
Pyctorliis sinensis, Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 15 (1863, in pt.) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 448 ;
Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 290.
Pyctorhis nasalis, Legge, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1879, iii. p. 169.
Batitchia, Sinhalese.
Similis P. smensi, sed saturatior, et remigibus baud rufo marginatis, supercilio albo longiore et naribus nigris nec flavis
distinguenda.
Adult male and female. Length 6-2 to 7-0 inches, average about 6-5 ; wing 2-5 to 2-85 ; tail variable, extreme length
about 3-5, centre feathers 1'25 longer than the outermost; tarsus 0'05 to 1-1 ; middle toe with its claw 0-85 ;
bill to gape 0-65 to 07. The average length of wing is 2'6 ; the limit above given relates to an exceptionally
Large specimen shot in IJva.
Iris golden yellow ; eyelid chrome-yellow ; loral skin, which is perceptible through the feathers, greenish yellow ; bill
and nostril black*; legs and feet dull yellow, extremities of toes dusky ; claws dusky horn-colour.
Above ruddy earth-brow, the head darker than the hind neck; wings brown, the primaries at the base only edpd out-
wardly with niddy brown, elsewhere with greyish ; wing-coverts concolorous with the bases of the primaries ; tail
greyish brown, the feathers edged pale ; lores, a conspicuous supercilium, throat, and under surface white ; the
flanks, lower parts, and under tail-coverts tinged with buff ; under wing-coverts buff-white.
Some examples, probably immature birds, are more deeply tinged on the lower parts than others, and some have a
browmish spot immediately below the gape.
Ohs. A comparison of a series of Pyctorhis sinensis from various parts of continental India, with a number of Ceylonese
specimens of the species, which has hitherto been united with it, induced me to separate the latter as a subspecies
or local race, differing in the absence of both the yellow nostril and the reddish wing-coloration from its Indian
congener. Examples from Kamptee, Kattiawar, Behar, Nepal, N.W. Himalayas, and the North-west Provinces
have a smaller eye-stripe and the upper surface of a ruddier hue than our bird ; the head, in particular, displays
this character ; some specimens (Futteghur and Kattiawar) are more sandy than others, and have the rump and
tail-feathers markedly pale. A Bhotan-Doars example, however, differs from all others I have seen in being very-
dark on the head and back ; in all, the outer webs of the quills, except near the tips, are dull cinnamon-ied, and
the coverts are chestnut-brown, that is, not quite so red as the quills. The nostril membrane is deep yellow,
while that of the Ceylonese race is as black as the bill ; and this singular character forms, perhaps, the chief
distinction between the birds of the tw-o localities. As regards size, the Indian bird appears to measure some-
what less in the wing (2-35 to 2-6) and more in the tail (3-3 to 3-7 inches).
I hav-e not had the opportunity of extending my examination to specimens from the south of India; and, in so far as I
have not done this, I still consider my determination of the Ceylonese species as pecnliar to the island open to
correction. It may be that the race inhabiting the extreme south resembles the Ceylonese in coloration more
closely than does that from continental India ; but I have not yet seen any peculiarity in the colour of the nostril
spoken of by recent observers. Blyth, in the first mention of the Ceylonese race which he received from Layard,
says, “ less rufous variety from Ceylon;” but in this he compares it with specimens from Lower Bengal.
Distribution. The Black-hilled Babbler is widely distributed throughout the island, particularly as regards
the southern half ; hut at the same time it is a local bird, being altogether absent from some parts, while it is
tolerably common in others. Commencing with the Western Province, it is not uncommon in the sedgy
PTCTOEHIS NASALIS.
513
overgrown portions of the Colombo cinnamon-gardens^ and occurs in such-like situations throughout the more
open parts of the interior ; further south I have found it at Amblangoda and near Galle and Matara ; hut it
does not become common until the dry low-lying south-eastern country is reached, of nearly all parts of which
it is an inhabitant. The open elevated regions of Madulsima and Uva are, perhaps, its head-quarters, in all
the patnas of which it is a very common bird, extending up to the vicinity of Hakgala, which has an elevation of
5800 feet. In the eastern portions of Dumbara, and in the country lying between Bintenne and Batticaloa, it
is also found, occurring likewise in low cheena-copses throughout the north-east, or the country on the right
bank of the Mahawelliganga. Layard writes that he obtained a few specimens in the Anaradhapura Vanni,
and I have no doubt that it is found in places as far north as Elephant Pass.
Habits . — Swampy fern-brakes, grass-fields interspersed with bushes, low jungle in cheenas, and patnas
covered with maana-grass, lantana, and thick cover are the localities chiefly frequented by the present species.
It is a shy bird, except in the breeding- season, resorting to underwood or long grass during most of the day,
and not showing itself to any extent until evening, when it perches on the top of a bush, and gives out its loud
far-sounding, rather plaintive whistle of two notes, varied w'ith a peculiar mewing call. It is generally found
in pairs, in which habit it differs from most of its family, and when disturbed from its haunts flies quickly
out, and, settling for a moment on a tall grass-stalk or prominent stick, drops into the nearest bush at hand.
A little group of three or four are, however, sometimes seen together ; but, in general, I imagine that they
consist of a young brood with their parents. It proceeds swiftly through the thickest grass, and when wounded
or winged runs with great speed on the ground, and inevitably escapes into the tangled undergrowth. In the
breeding-season it is a lively bird, with all the manners of a Warbler, flying hither and thither, the male
continually alighting on some prominent position and uttering a strong and rather pretty warble. I have
always found its food to consist of small Coleoptera and various minute insects. The district of Uva is the only
locality where I have seen small parties of this bird, and then not more than three or four together, which
were pi’obablj'^, as previously remarked, a young brood accompanied by their parents.
Jerdon writes of its Indian ally, “ It frequents low jungles on the skirts of forests, long grass, hedge-rows,
and even comes occasionally into gardens. Though sometimes to be met with singly, it is generally seen in
small parties of five or six, flying from bush to bush before you, and trying to conceal itself in some thick
clump. It has a low chattering note when at rest, and when flying from bush to bush a loud sibilant whistle.
I have on several occasions heard one, perched conspicuously on a high bush, pour forth a remarkably sweet
song.” In this latter habit the Indian species exactly resembles ours.
Nidification . — In the Western Province this Babbler commences to breed in February; but in May I
found several nests in the Uva district near Fort Macdonald ; and that month would thus seem to be the
nesting-season in the Central Province. The nest is placed in the fork of a shrub, or in a huge tuft of maana-
grass, without any attempt at concealment, about 3 or 4 feet from the ground. It is a neatly-made compact cup,
well finished off about the top and exterior, and constructed of dry grass, adorned with cobwebs or lichens,
and lined with fine grass or roots. The exterior is about 2^ inches in diameter by about 2 in depth. The
eggs are usually three in number, fleshy white, boldly spotted, chiefly about the larger end, with brownish
sienna ; in some these markings are inclined to become confluent, and are at times overlaid with dark spots of
brick-red. They are rather broad ovals, measuring, on the average, from 0‘76 to 0’79 inch in length by 0‘56
to O' 5 9 in breadth.
The figure of this species in the Plate accompanying the next article is that of a female shot in the
Madulsima district.
Genus ELAPHEOEXIS
Bill straight, compressed, rather slender; culmen straight at the base, the tip notched.
Nostrils oblong and oblique ; rictal bristles feeble. Wings short and rounded, the 5th, 6th, and
7th quills subequal and longest, the 1st about half their length. Tail exceeding the wing by
the length of the hind toe, of 12 feathers, lax and graduated. Tarsus longer than the middle
toe and its claw, and covered with long obsolete scales ; anterior toes slender, the hallux stout.
Plumage lax and soft ; the feathers of the back much lengthened. Nape furnished with
abnormal hair-like feathers.
ELAPHEOENIS PALLISEEI.
(PALLISER^S ANT-THEUSH.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Bracliypteryx palliseri, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1852, xx. p. 178; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 102
(1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 269; Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872,
p. 443, pi. xviii.
Kelaartia palUseri, Gray, Hand-1. B. i. p. 312. no. 4668 (1869).
(3 ad. supra brunneus, pileo saturatiore et magis olivascente : tectricibus alarum bruunei.s dorsi colore lavatis : remi-
gibus brunneis, extus olivascentibus : cauda saturate brunuoa, rectricibus clstriore bruuneo lavatis : loris cineras-
centi-albis : lineS. superciltari cinerascento iiidistincta : regione parotlca. et plumis iufraocularibus brunneis,
anguste albido lineatis : gula pallide cerviuo-rufa : pectore olivascente flavo lavato, lateraliter ciueraceo adumbrate;
corporis lateribus, tibiis et subcaudalibus brunneis : abdomine medio pallid^ flavo : subalaribus olivascenti-brunueis :
remigibus infri brunneis, intus pallide marginatis : rostro nigro, maudibula pallidiore : pedibus purpurascenti-
brunneis : iride 3 pallide rubri, J flaveseenti-cerviua.
Adult male and female. Length 6-4 to 6-75 inches ; wing 2-35 to 2-65 ; tail 2-5 to 2'7 ; tarsus I'O to !•! ; middle toe
and claw 0'8 to 0’85 ; bill to gape 0'73 to 0'87. The female is the smaller of the sexes.
Male. Iris clear red ; bill black, slate at the base beneath ; legs and feet deep neutral brown or purplish brown, claws
pale brownish horn.
Female. Iris bufi.
Above olive-brown, darkest on the forehead, and changing to rusty brown on the rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail, the
centre of the tail-feathers darker than the margins ; wings dark brown, the outer webs of the quills rusty olive-
brown ; lores just beneath the eye, as also the ear-coverts, blackish brown, the latter with pale striae ; a faint light
stripe passing from the bill over the eye ; oi-bits greyish ; chin whitish, changing into buff-yellow on the gorge
and upper part of throat, which blends into the olivaceous slate-colour of the chest and sides of breast ; lower
flanks and under tail-coverts rusty brown ; centre of the breast and the belly flavescent, blending into the
surrounding colour.
Toung. Iris, in the male pale reddish bufi ; in the female white.
06s. A question to be decided by future obesrvation is whether the iris of the female ever turns red. I have one
specimen with a faint inner reddish circle ; but I have never shot one with a red iris like that of the male, the
* From eXa^pos, nimble, active.
PYCTORHIS NASALIS:
ELAPHRORNIS PALLISERI
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ELAPHEOENIS PALLISEEI.
515
invariable colour being buS. As tbe iris in the male turns from buff to red, and that of the female from white to
buff, the inference is that, in the end, the latter may possibly become as dark as that of the male.
Chin dusky greyish, the centres of the feathers whitish, and a slight wash of buff across the centre of the throat ;
breast and underparts more greenish than in the adult, the chest being devoid of the slaty hue.
Ohs. This curious bird is quite a Timaliue species, both as regards its habits and its external structure. Its wdngs and
legs are essentially those of the present family, and the texture of its plumage is not unlike that of Pomatorhinus,
although it is considerably more lax. It has, however, its abnormal characteristics, such as its slender bill and its highly
developed nuchal hair-like plumes, which ally it to the Drymoecina). These plumes possess the remarkable structure
of dividing at the tip into three or four branches, each of which is furnished with a scanty web ; it likewise differs
from most of the Timaliinse in its non-gregarious propensity, resembling also, in this respect, the Drymcecinas.
Notwithstanding, it seems to me to take a better station among the Babblers, to which its active habits, wing- and
tail-structure ally it, than among the Wren-Warblers ; and I accordingly place it at the end of the Timaliinse.
It was placed by Blyth in the genus Bracliypteryx, which is located by Jerdon and others among the Thrushes in the
subfamily Mylotherinoe. With the exception of the short wing, it does not appear to have any thing in common
with this genus, one of the principal characters of which is the very short tail, much exceeded hj the icing in all
the species I have examined. In some, such as Braehypteryx poliogenys, Wallace, the tail falls short of the wing
by the length of the tarsus, whereas in the present bird the tail considerably exceeds the wing, and the gape is
bristled and not smooth. I have accordingly founded for its reception the genus Elaphrornis, which title I conceive
to be not inappropriate, owing to its active manners.
Distribution . — This singular and little-known bird was discovered by Ivelaart, who suggested its present
speeifie name in honour of a friend, Mr. Palliser of Diinbulla ; ho j)rocured it at Nuwmra Eliya and Dimbulla.
But few naturalists have met with it, owing to its propensity for inhabiting dense thickets in thick jungle. It
is confined to the upper hills and higher ranges in the outlying districts, in all of which it is found above an
elevation of about 5000 feet. It is a common bird in all the forests of the main range, from False Pedro to
the Horton Plains, and thence along the Peak forest to Maskeliya. It is found on Namooni-kuli mountain
and on the Haputale hills. Mr. Bligh, however', writes me that for the past tln-ee years he has not met with it
in the higher jungles of this district, in wdiich it used formerly to be common during the autnmn months.
For my own part I do not believe much in its moving about ; it may be more silent at one time than another,
and consequently may chance to be overlooked, for it shows itself but little, except during the early morning,
and an acquaintance with its singular note is requisite to a knowledge of its wdiereabouts. It is, perhaps,
more numerous on the Horton Plains than any other part of the Nuwara-Elliya plateau ; the woods there are
overgrown with elephant-grass {Arundinaria debilis ?), its favourite haunt, and in this it dwells securely. It
must be looked for in the upper jungles of the Knuckles range : when I visited them I was unacquainted with
its note, and consequently it found no place in my catalogue of the birds of that district ; but the conditions
of climate and vegetation are similar there to those of other parts.
Habits . — This Ant-Thrush dwells entirely in the damp close underwood with which the upper Ceylon
forests are overgrown; it delights in the nilloo-scrub and the densely matted “elephant-grass,” which I
have just referred to, both of w'hich form the chief part of the undergrowth in the Nuwara-Elliya
district : equally favourite haunts, however, are the numberless little nullahs leading to the mountain-
streams, and which are generally blocked up with fallen timber of all sizes, and a tangled mass of dead nilloo-
sticks, thorns, decaying boughs, and such like ; and here this little retiring bird passes a quiet though active
existence, nimbly searching about the mossy trunks, quickly hopping and running along the ground beneath
the tangled thickets, through which it threads its way with astonishing rapidity, or darting about the bases of
standing trees in the pursuit of ants and other minute insects. It likewise partakes, to some extent, of small
seeds, some of which I have occasionally found in its stomach. To the ordinary obsen'er, therefore, it is likely,
with such habits, alw'ays to remain a stranger; but those to whom its insect-like note, which sounds like
the syllable “ quitze’’ sharply uttered at moderate intervals, is familiar may frequently detect it in the vicinity of
forest-paths, at the sides of which it often appears for a moment, quickly darting across and clinging to the
upright trunk of a tree, while it utters a rapid little warble, and then darts into the surrounding vegetation.
As with other birds in Ceylon which are denizens of thick jungle, I find that scarcely any Europeans are
3u2
516
ELAPHEOENIS PALLISEEI.
acquainted with the Ant-Thrush, although it is, in the limit of its range, quite a common bird, but at the same
time of such retiring manners, and so difficult to hunt into the open, that its presence is overlooked by those
who are unacquainted with its voice ; while, on the contrary, those who are familiar with it will recognize its
sharp little quitze at every 100 yards in such quiet solitudes as the jungles of the Horton Plains and other
similarly elevated regions. It is chiefly astir in the early part of the day ; and its lively little song is at that
time oftenest heard. It feeds entirely on the ground and among fallen timber, its strong, curved, hind claw
enabling it to cling to wood in any position, and its stout legs affording it the power of threading its way
quickly through the densest brakes. It is of unsociable habit, shunning the companionship of any species
but Alcippe nigrifrons, with which I have once or twice found it associating.
Mr. Holdsworth’s experience of its habits corresponds well with my own. He writes, “ Frequently it
betrays its close neighbourhood by its ‘ cheep ’ once or twice repeated ; and it will show itself for a moment
within two or three yards of one ; then it is lost again in the thick jungle When on the gi’ound it
often jerks up its tail after the manner of the Eobins ; but I have not observed this habit when it has been
on the stems of the jungle plants or creeping about the dry sticks.'”
Nidification . — The Ant-Thrush breeds in March and April. Mr. Bligh writes me, “ I found a nest at
Nuwara Eliya in April 1870 ; it was placed in a thick cluster of branches on the top of a somewhat densely-
foliaged small bush, which stood in a rather open space near the foot of a large tree ; it was in shape a deep
cup, composed of greenish moss, lined with fibrous roots and the hair-like ajipendages of the green moss
which festoons the trees in such abundance at that elevation. It contained three young ones, plumaged exactly
like their parents, who kept churring in the thick bushes close by, but would not show themselves much.”
The figure in the Plate accompanying this article is that of a male shot at Horton Plains.
PASSEKES.
TIMALIID^.
Subfam. DRYMCECIN^.
Bill more or less straight, acute at the tip. Wings rounded, with the 1st quill about half
the length of the longest. Tail as long as, or longer than, the wing, graduated, the feathers lax.
Legs and feet stout ; the tarsus lengthened and shielded with moderately developed scutes ;
hind toe and claw large.
Of small size. Nape mostly furnished with “ hairs.”
Genus OETHOTOMUS.
Bill long and slender, straight, tip entire. Nostrils basal, lateral, and somewhat advanced;
rictal bristles minute. Wings short and rounded ; the 1st quill more than half the length of
the 2nd ; the 4th and 5th the longest. Tail very narrow, the centre feathers, in some, elongated
at the breeding-season. Tarsus long, stout, and scutellate in front. Toes slender, claws much
compressed.
Nuchal “ hairs ” moderate.
OETHOTOMUS SUTOEIUS.
(THE INDIAN TAILOR-BIED.)
Ortliotomm sutorius, G. K. Forster, Ind. Zool. p. 17 (1781).
Motacilla sutoria, Penn. Ind. Zool. p. 17, pi. 8 (1790).
Motacilla longicatida, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 954 (1788).
Orthotomus longicauda (Gm.), Strickl. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1844, xiii. p. 35; Blyth, Cat. B.
Mus. A. S. B. p. 144 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 120 (1852) ; Layard, Ann.
& Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 262 ; Moore, P. Z. S. 1854, p. 81 ; Horsf. &, Moore,
Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 317 (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. j). 165 (1863) ; Holdsw.
P. Z. S. 1872, p. 455; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 331 (1874); Oates, Str. Feath.
1875, p. 135 ; Butler & Hume, t. c. p. 479.
Orthotomus sutorius (Forst.), Hodgs. in Gray’s Zool. Misc. p. 82 (1844) ; Walden in Blyth B.
Burm. p. 120 (1875); Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 406; Davison & Hume, ibid.
1878, p. 345.
Le petit Figuier a longue queue de la Chine, Sonn. Voy. Ind. ii. p. 206 ; Long-tailed Warhler,
Lath. ; The Rufous-headed Kelaart. Phutki, Hind. ; Tuntuni, Beng. ; Patia,
lit. “Leaf-bird,” Nepal.; LikJcu jitta, Telugu.
Tavik, Sinhalese, from the note.
Adidt male. Length 4-2 to 5-0 inches (according to length of tail in breeding-season), average normal length 4'3 ;
wing 1-8 to 1-9 ; tail 2-0 to 2-5, centre feathers 0-75 to 0’8 longer than the rest ; tarsus 0-75 ; middle toe and claw
0’55 ; bill to gape 0'65 to 0-7.
Adult female. Smaller than male; length 4T to 4’2 inches ; wing 1-7.
Iris pale reddish ; eyelid rufescent yellow ; bill fleshy, with dusky culmen ; legs and feet fleshy reddish or “ flesh-
colour.”
Eorehead and crown rufous, changing into ashy on the nape, and thence into the olive-greenish of the hind neck,
back, scapulars, and lesser wing-coverts ; quills and tail light brown, the latter tipped pale and with a subterminal
bar of darker brown ; tail-feathers towards their bases, and the w'ing-coverts and tertials, edged wdth the hue of
the back ; the primaries edged with olivaceous ; throat, face, and under surface whitish, purest on the lower breast ;
the flanks and sides of chest ashy grey ; a dark patch (usually concealed) on either side of the throat, formed by
the bases of the neck-feathers and the blackish skin of that part ; under wing-coverts rufescent yellow, and the
thighs brownish rufous. The elongated centre tail-feathers are yellowish ohve-green, and they are indistinctly
tipped and banded like the rest. The nuchal hairs are small in this species.
Young. Birds of the year have the under mandible dusky and the legs brownish fleshy.
The forehead and crown are dusky rufous ; the upper tail-coverts and margins of tail-feathers near the base are slightly
rufous ; otherwise as in the adult.
518
OETHOTOMUS SUTOEIUS,
Ohs. Jerdon has pointed out that in specimens from Ceylon “ the ashy nape is inconspicuous, being nearly overlaid
with rufous, and passing into the green of the back.” A comparison of my specimens with various examples from
different parts of India demonstrates that, as a rule, the latter are of a darker green on the back, and have the
forehead a deeper rufous, this colour not receding so far back as in the island birds, and also that frequently the
ashy nape extends more forward. Then, again, as a rule, in the Indian birds the central tail-feathers are longer,
consequently projecting further beyond the adjacent pair. These differences, however, are by no means constant,
some examples from various parts of India coinciding exactly with ours. A Malabar example in my collection
is in all respects the same, having the ashy nape similar to Kurunogala specimens, and the forehead and upper
surface of precisely the same tint ; its measurements are : — ^wing 1-9 inch ; tail 2-o, central feathers 0-65
longer than the next; bill to gape 0-65. A Deccan specimen has the tail 2-8 inches ; but this is exceptional, for
one from Darjiling measures 2-4 inches, central feathers 0-65 longer than the next, bill to gape 0-65 : one from
Debar, tail 2’4, central feathers O'o longer than the next ; another from Tenasserim 2'5, central feathers
O'o beyond the rest. In the latter the rufous of the forehead does not recede so far back as in some Ceylonese
birds, but the nape is not more cuiereous than in them. In the Darjiling specimen the nape is slightly darker
than in most island birds, and in that from Debar it is considerably so.
0. edela, Temm., from Java, is allied to the present species, and differs in having the cheeks and ear-coverts rufous as
well as the forehead, and the upper surface greyish green ; wing 1-7 inch.
Distribution . — The Tailor-bird is ubiquitous in Ceylon, inhabiting the whole island, without regard to the
nature of the locality, from the sea-coast to the highest parts of the upper hills. It is uniformly diffused
through the low country, being quite as common in the north and east as it is in the south. In the Kandy
district and throughout the Central Province it is a well-known bird, and about Nuwara Eliya it is not
uncommon. I found it in the Horton-Plain jungles and on the surrounding mountains, and have met with it
in all parts of the main range that I have explored.
In India this little bird is spread throughout the whole country to the Himalayas and thence into Burmah
and Tenasserim, in which latter province Messrs. Hume and Davison say that it is generally distributed where
the country is cultivated ; they procured it as far south as Mergui. It ranges into the hills of the southern
part of the peninsula, but not to so great an altitude as in Ceylon. Miss Cockburn, in wilting from the
Nilghiris to Mr. Hume, remarks that it is seldom met with on the highest ranges, but appears to prefer
the warmer climates at about 3500 or 4000 feet. Mr. Fairbank, however, observed it at 5500 feet in the
Palanis. In the Himalayas it breeds up to 4000 feet. In Guzerat and the Mount-Aboo district it is common,
and in Sindh it has likewise been procured.
Habits . — This interesting little bird, which is a great favourite among Europeans in Ceylon, appears to
have no choice of situation, frequenting gardens, cultivated districts, and open country, as well as thick
jungle and the depths of the forest. In the vicinity of habitations, however, it is particularly at home,
occupying the grounds of European and native houses, and therein delighting in the broad foliage of the
Lettuce -tree and other umbrageous shrubs, about which it hops during the heat of the day, swaying its tail
to and fro and repeating its continued and rather tiresome notes. The male during the breeding-season is
most persistent in giving forth his sharp te-ivike, twike, and his well-known metallic-sounding call somewhat
like the sharpening of a saw, which he reiterates close to one’s verandah in some adjacent tree till it becomes
deafening. The muscular action consequent on the display of these vocal power’s exposes the naked black
skin (otherwise concealed) at the side of the throat, giving the appearairce of a dark stripe at this part.
Jerdon likened its call to the syllables to-tvee, to-ivee, to-ioee. Although it usually consorts in pairs, it is not
strictly a sociable bird, its companion being, for the most part, seen at some little distance off, now and then
answering the notes with which it is hailed. x\.fter rearing its young brood, however, the little family go
about in company for some months, flitting actively around and feeding on larvEe and insects which they secure
among the leaves of trees. It is a bird of very restless habit, particularly in the breeding -season, and when
watched at that period quickly disappears into the nearest thick foliage.
Nidification . — The breeding-season in the west and south of the island lasts from about March until
November, during which jreriod probably more than one brood is reared; in the Central Province it com-
mences somewhat later, and in the north it is during the cool season or north-east monsoon. In the low
OETHOTOMUS SUTOEIUS.
519
country an umbrageous tree with large leaves, more especially its favourite liabitation the “ Lettuce ’’-tree, is
usually chosen in which to construct its ingenious nest, while in the Central Province it frequently builds in
a colfee-bush, sewing four or five leaves together. Layard speaks of one being constructed of a dozen oleander-
leaves ; but the usual number of which it makes use is two. I have found beantiful nests constructed in a
single leaf, the edges of the lower half being brought close together, sewn firmly, and the nest bnilt into the
cone thus formed, the back of the leaf serving for one half of the egg-cavity; but these are rare exceptions.
Two, or perhaps three, adjacent leaves, about 4 or 5 feet from the ground, arc selected and their ends brought
together and so formed as to make a cavity for the nest, which is built inside it and consists of fine grass,
bits of cotton, thread, coir-fibre, wool, small roots, and such like, some of whieh ingredients are passed through
the holes perforated in the leaf casing and then incorporated with the body of the structure, the whole
forming a very solid and substantial piece of workmanship. The coir used is mostly pulled from the mats in
the verandahs of houses near which the nest is often built. The egg-cavity formed in this skilfnl manner is
about 2 inches in diameter by the same in depth, the lining being simply the finer materials of the body of
the nest. The eggs are generally three, sometimes four, in number, of a whitish or gi'eenish-white ground-
colour, spotted openly throughout, but chiefly at the large end, with one or two shades of rather light brown
and brownish red. In shape they are rather pointed ovals, with but little gloss, and measure about O'GSinch
in length by 0'45 inch in breadth. Naturalists in India appear to differ in opinion as to the Tailor-bird using-
dead leaves for the formation of its nest. I have found and examined many and I have never seen such a
thing. The most likely solution of the problem is that snggested by the late Mr. A. Anderson, and quoted in
‘ Nests and Eggs,’ p. 33, and which is, that the dead leaves sometimes fo-und in the composition of the nest are
those which have been pierced to excess, separated from the stalk, and afterwards withered. Writers quoted
in Mr. Hume’s useful work testify to its building at all times of the year and in very various situations.
Mr. Anderson speaks of a nest being taken in his presence from the very top of a high tree and enclosed
within a single leaf ; another seen by him was composed of seven or eight leaves. Miss Cockbum writes that
it builds in coffee-trees in the Nilghiris. Mr. Hume gives the average length of Indian eggs as 0’64 by
0‘46 inch.
Genus PEINIA.
Bill shorter, slenderer, and more curved than in Orthotomus. Nostrils linear and exposed as
in that genus ; tip entire. Wings as in the last genus. Tail variable, of 10 feathers in some,
12 in others, much graduated, the feathers lax. Tarsus long, shielded in front, with large but
smooth scutes.
Nuchal “ hairs ” more developed than in Orthotomus.
PEINIA SOCIALIS.
(THE ASHY WREN- WARBLER.)
Prinia socialis, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 89 ; Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1839, xi.
p. 3 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 143 (1849) ; Layard & Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat.
App. p. 67 (1853) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 263 ; Horsf. & Moore,
Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 321 (1854); Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 170(1863); Holdsw.
P. Z. S. 1872, p. 455 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 337 (1874) ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 21,
et 1875, p. 397 ; Hume & Butler, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 479 ; Morgan, Ibis, 1875, p. 321 ;
Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 406; Davidson & Wender, ibid. 1878, p. 83.
Foodkey Warbler, Latham, Hist. viii. p. 125.
Pliidki, Hind. (Blyth).
Adult male and female. Length 4-5 to 5'0 inches ; wing l-7o to 1-9 ; tail 1-8 to 1'9 ; tarsus 0-75 to 0-8o ; middle toe
and claw 0-55 to 0'6 ; bill to gape 0-65. Eemales are smaller, as a rule, than males.
Note. This species has 10 tail-feathers.
Iris pale red or brownish yellow ; bill black ; legs and feet fleshy reddish, claws dusky.
Male. Head, back, and wing-coverts dark bluish ashy, the colour just encircling the eye and covering the upper half of
the ear-coverts ; two long hairs spring from the nape on each side ; wings and tail umher-hrown ; the tail with whitish
tips and a subterminal blackish-brown bar, the central pair of feathers less lightly tipped than the rest, and all
the bars showing darker beneath ; under surface rufescent buff, paling to whitish on the centre of the breast, and
tinged most deeply on the flanks with the rufescent hue ; thighs brownish rufous ; under wing rufescent. The
plumage of the under surface is silky.
Female. Has a buff and more or less conspicuous stripe above the lores ; under surface not so deeply tinged with buff
as in the male.
Young. Similar to the adult, with the exception of the less pronounced hues of the upper surface, and more albescent
character of the lower parts.
Ohs. Eor want of South-Indian specimens to compare with those in my possession from Ceylon, I am at present, I
regret to say, unable to deal satisfactorily with this species. I believe it will have to be separated as a smaller
browner race of P. socialis ; and I hope to refer to it again in the Appendix. It may turn out to be one of those
forms which undergo a gradual change of plumage and size as they range south towards Ceylou, making it
difficult to define their limits as distinct birds from their northern representatives ; but even then I should almost
doubt the propriety of not separating the Ceylon race as a subspecies. Sykes’s male type of P. socialis, which was
described from the Deccan, and is now in the India Museum, has the lower part of the back ashy, like the upper
part, as in Ceylou birds ; but the wings and tail are a decided brownish rufous, and consequently much redder than
in the insular bird ; the tail measures 2-2 and the wing 2-1 inches : another example (labelled $ ) has the wing
1-85 and the tail 2-3. There is a third example, from the Deccan (but not one of the types), which is similar to
the above in coloration, and measures 2T inches in the wing and 2'4 iu the tail. These Deccan specimens are
nearer to our birds than those from more northern parts ; but it will be seen at once how much the tail, in parti-
cular, exceeds that of the Ceylon birds ; and the dark caudal bands are not so broad as in the latter. Travelling
northwards we find some examples have the rump ashy, Hite the back, but with much longer tails than those from
Ceylon, and others with the rump brownish rufous, running so much into P. stewarti (which species has the back
overcast with an olivaceous hue, becoming quite rufous on the rump and upper tail-covorl s) that I do not wonder
that Mr. Hume considers the two species doubtfully distinct. A Sikhim example collected by Anderson, and
labelled P. socialis, has the back similar to Sykes’s specimens, and the wings and tail rufous-brown, somewhat
approaching in colour those of Ceylonese birds; but the secondaries are edged with brighter rufous-brown, and the
PEINIA SOCIALIS.
621 '
tail, besides being very long (2-7), bas the siibterminal spots very narrow, as in Deccan skins. The determination
of this bird appears to be correct, for it is much closer to the true P. sodalis than to P. stewarti. The Ceylonese
race might stand as P. hrevicauda, if proved to be distinct.
Distribution .— little bird is widely distributed both in the low country and the hills up to 5500 feet,
but is nowhere very numerous. In the western and southern parts of the island it is found chiefly in paddy-fields
and plots of Guinea-grass in the vicinity of native houses, as well as in other suitable spots in the interior. In
the north I have met with it usually either in scrubby jungle interspersed with long grass, or in the dry
grassy beds of large tanks, such as Hurulle, Topare, or on the borders of Mincry Lake and other large sheets
of water. In the Central Province it is a common bird on the maana-grass patnas ; and in Uva, where the
large hilly wastes are suited to its habits, it is very frequently met Avith, and ranges up theNuwara-Elliya road
to within a short distance of Hakgala. I have seen it on the Elephant Plains, between Udu Pusselawa and
the Sanatarium, and likewise in Lindula at an almost similar elevation, namely 5500 feet.
Jerdon writes of its range in India that it is only found in the south, and docs not extend north of the
Godaveri j of late years, lioweA^er, it has been found to inhabit the north-western portions of the empire. At
Khandala it is very common, as also in the Deccan, ranging southwards to the Nilghiris and other mountain-
ranges, on which it is found, Avhere their sides are grassy, up to 6000 feet. In the Carnatic it is met with
among reeds and long grass by the sides of the rivers and tanks, and on the west coast it is, says Jerdon,
found in similar situations. Captain Butler remarks that it is common on Mount Aboo j but the race which
inhabits the adjoining plains appears to be a variety of P. stewarti.
Habits . — In the low country this species exhibits a tendency to wander about in search of localities
favourable to its habits. It appears in fields of “ Guinea-” and “ Mauritius-grass ” when they have grown up,
rears its brood, and then departs on the field being cut ; it finds a permanent home, however, in low grassy
jungle, the sedge-covered borders of reservoirs and marshy places, and in the overgroAvn beds of large tanks.
In the south of Ceylon it is a common bird about sugarcane-fields j in fact it is the characteristic Warbler of
these localities, and may bo seen clinging actively to the tall Avavy stalks, energetically jerking its tail about
and uttering its twittering little warble until disturbed by the approach of some one, when it drops suddenly
into the brake and disappears. Its special delight is in the fields of tall Guinea-grass cultivated near towns
and villages on the west coast ; and it flits about in the dense cover which they afford, until some fine day its
habitation is cut from under its feet and its retreat ruthlessly laid bare ! It tben vanishes, and takes up its
quarters in the nearest favourable locality. I found great numbers of these birds in the long grass covering
the dricd-Aip tank of Ilurulle, their companions in this thick A'egetation being the Common Grass- Warbler and
the White-browed Warbler. It is to be found permanently living in the maana-grass of the hill-patnas and on the
bushy sides of the hills in the Eort-Macdonald district. Its food consists of insects ; hut occasionally I have
found small seeds in its stomach. Its flight is weak and of short duration, for the tiny rounded Avings with
which nature has endoAved it are not such as to afford it great powers of locomotion ; it is very active in
threading its Avay through long grass or reeds, and clings adroitly to upright stalks in its progress onwards.
Sykes calls its flight a straggling one, as if it had a difihculty in making its way.
Nidification . — ^This Warbler breeds, both in the low country and in the hills, during the months of May,
June, and July, constructing, as a rule, a very different nest from what is ascribed by some Avriters to its
handicraft in india. There it is said to huild generally a fabric resembling that of the Tailor-bird, using,
however, more grass in its construction, and not seAving together the leaves with the same neatness as that
species. I have found several nests in Avidely different parts of the island, and watched the birds building them,
but in no case was there a single leaf of any kind present. For a description of one of the most remaikable,
1 quote the words of my note to Mr. Hume, published in ‘ Nests and Eggs,^ Rough Draft, part ii. p. 337 .
“ In May 1870, a pair resorted to a Guinea-grass field attached to my house at Colombo, for the pm’pose of
breeding. I soon found the nest, which was the most peculiarly constructed one I have ever seen. It was an
almost shapeless ball of Guinea-grass roots, thrown, as it were, between the upright stalks of the plant about
2 feet from the ground. I say ‘ throAvn,’ because it was scarcely attached to the supporting-stalks at all. It
522
PEINIA SOCIALIS.
was formed entirely of the roots of the plants which, when it is old, ‘ crop ’ out of the ground and are easily
plucked up, the bottom or more solid part being interwoven with cotton and such like, to impart additional
strength. The entrance was in the upper half of the side, and was tolerably neatly made ; it was about an inch
in diameter, the whole structure measuring 6 inches in depth by 5 in breadth.’^ When this nest was finished
and the complete clutch of three eggs laid, I took it ; and the following day another was commenced and built
in a similar manner. The time occupied in building these nests was about eight days. Other nests found in
the Central Province were neat bottle-shaped structures of grass, fixed among the stalks of maana-grass, some
of the fine blades being sewn through the stalks for stability ; the openings were at the side, and the interior
was roomy and lined with a finer description of the same material as the body of the nest. The number of
eggs is three ; they are pointed ovals, and possess a considerable gloss ; they are of an almost uniform dull
mahogany colour, show'ing indications of a paler underlying surface in parts, particularly at the small end.
They measure about 0-65 inch by 0‘46.
My experience, however, of this bird’s nesting by no means compasses the question of its habits ; for it is a
bird which, like some of its congeners, the nearly-allied P. stewarti for instance, indulges in a very varied
style of architecture. Two observers, Miss Cockburn and Mr. Davison, writing of the same district, the
Nilghiris, give accounts of very differently-constructed nests. The former found them neatly built in Tailor-
bird fashion, the bird drawing the leaves of the branches on which they were placed close together, and
sewing them so tightly that the lining of fine grass, wool, and the down of seed-pods was supported by the
framework thus made.
Mr. Davison, again, says that the nest is made of grass, beautifully and closely woven, domed, and with
the entrance near the top; a third naturalist, Mr. Wait, found two nests in September — “the one deeply cup-
shaped and the other domed; both constructed of root-fibre and grass, 'bents,’ and down of thistle and
hawkweed, all intermixed.” Mr. Morgan says it constructs a very neat pendent nest, which is artfully con-
cealed and supported by sewing one or two leaves round it, which is very neatly done with the fine silk
that surrounds the eggs of a small brown spider. The eggs in all these nests are severally described as light
red, deep brick-red (darker at the larger end, where there is generally a zone) , and deep brownish red (deeper
than brick -red), mottled with a still deeper shade. Mr. Hume’s average for twenty-one eggs is 0'64 inch
hy 0-47.
PRINIA HODGSON!
(THE MALABAE WREN-WAEBLER.)
Prinia gracilis (Franklin), Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1840, xi. p. 3.
Prinia hodgsoni, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1844, xiii. p. 376; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. x. p. 143
(1849) ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 322 (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii.
p. 173 (1863); Flume, Nest and Eggs, ii. p. 342 (1874) ; Legge, Mem. B. Hambantota,
Ceylon Blue-book, 1874, p. 9 (first record from Ceylon) ; id. Str. Feath. 1875, p. 203 ;
id. Ibis, (1875, p. 397 ; Oates, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 136 ; Butler & Hume, t. c. p. 480 ;
Bourdillon, ibid. 1876, p. 401.
Prinia albogularis, Walden, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1870, v. p. 219.
Prinia pectoralis, Legge, Mem. B. Flambantota, ut sugwa, note.
The Small Wren-Warhler, Jerdon; The Slaty-breasted Wren-Warbler, Hodgson’s Wren-
Warbler. PJmtki, Hind.
Adult male and female. Length from 4'3 to 4'6 inches ; wing 1‘65 to 1'85 ; tail 1’85 to 2'0 ; tarsus 0’7 to 0'75; mid
toe and claw 0-52 to 0-57 ; bill at front 0-55 to 0-58. Females are, on the average, the smaller of the sexes.
jybte. This species*, together with P. gracilis and P. einereocapilla, has 12 tail-feathers.
Male. Iris reddish yellow ; eyelid brownish yellow; bill black ; legs and feet fleshy yellow, in some a faint tinge of
brown on the tarsus ; claws brown.
Head, hind neck, back, and wing-coverts dusky cinereous ashy, with a slight olivaceous tinge on the back, and the rump
somewhat pale ; wings and tail hair-brown, the latter tipped whitish, with an adjacent blackish bar, showing
darkest beneath and almost obsolete on the centre feathers ; edges of the quills lighter than the rest of the
feather; beneath white, with a broad cinereous ashy pectoral band, above which the throat is tinged with buff ;
flanks concolorous with the chest ; thighs fulvous-brown.
Female. Iris as in the male ; tarsus not so clear in colour. Less cinereous above, wings paler brown ; a light streak
above the lores; the pectoral band about the same width, but much paler ; flanks the same.
Young. In the nestling just fledged the iris is olive ; bill dark brown, yellow beneath at base ; legs and feet brownish
yellow, claws light yellowish.
Above brownish olivaceous, inclining to rusty on the rump; wings browm, edged with light ferruginous; beneath
white, a faint dark band across the chest, and a slight tinge of buff over the whole ; edge of wing white.
For some little time the upper parts remain the same, but the pectoral band darkens, the tips of the rectrices
are whiter than in the adult, and the soft parts undergo a gi’adual change ; the iris becomes yellow, the bill
blackish, with a.pale base belowq and the legs less brownish. At the end of the first j^ear the head is cinereous as
in the adult, but the back is more olivaceous, the wing-covmrts and quills still edged rusty, and the pectoral band
of not quite the normal depth, with the lower parts tinged still with buff.
During nonage females are distinguishable at all stages by the pectoral band being lighter than in the male, and slightly
incomplete in the centre.
Obs. Examples of this species procured by me in Ceylon in 1873 were identified by Mr. Blanford as identical with
his Nellore specimens, which he had compared with the types of Lord Malden’s P. albogularis from Coorg and
which corresponded wdth them. Misled by the omission of all mention of the pectoral band in Jerdon s description,
arid not possessing Indian specimens for comparison, I had, on first discovering the species in Ceylon, come to the
conclusion that it w'lis new, and had named it, in my manuscript for a paper I w’as writing at the time, P. pectoral^.
I have been unable to compare South-Indian specimens with mine, as the series of Prinia-skins in the British
Museum is scanty ; but, in addition to the above evidence, Mr. Fairbank writes me that a specimen he got at the
base of the Mahabaleshwar hills had a broad dark slaty band across the chest. Captain Butler and Mr. Oates both
refer to the dark band across the chest in this species ; and therefore I conclude that Ceylon specimens will
* It has been stated that Jerdon erroneously described this species as having 12 tail-feathers. It, how'ever
certainly has 12.
3x2
524
PEINIA HODGSONI.
compare well with those from all parts. But two or three examples I inspected in the national collection
from Bhotan and Burmah, labelled as P. liodgsoni, had nothing but a slaty wash over the chest, blending imper-
ceptibly into the surrounding white, and not taking the form of even a pale band ; they were rufescent brown
above, and the quills were edged with the same colour ; the lower parts w ere likewise w’ashed with buff mstead of
being pure w'hite ; they resembled P. gracilis above, but had the chest darker than that species, which may be said
to be, in its pkunage, an ally of P. hodgsoni, and has the upper surface, wings, and tail rufous-brow'n, and the under-
parts silky white, shaded wdth greyish on the sides of the neck.
Distribution . — The present species is of local range in Ceylon, and was unknown in the island until I
discovered it in 1873, near Hambantota. I found it subsequently all over the Wellaway Korale, the Magam
Pattu, and in other parts of the south-east, as far up the coast as Batticaloa. On the road from that place to
Badulla I met with it frequently, and traced it as far up as Passara, between which and the skirts of the
Madulsima district, where the range descends suddenly into the Nilgalla country, it was tolerably common.
I have not seen it to the north of Vendeloos Bay, nor west of Hatagalla, on the Tangalla road.
In regard to the reference P. pectoralis in the synonymy of this article, I may mention that the memo-
randum of the birds inhabiting the Hambantota district of the south-east of Ceylon was written at the request
of my friend Mr. Thos. Steele, C.C.S., Government Agent of that part, to be embodied in the reports of the
Ceylon Blue-book for 1874, relating to the district in question; it contained a list of 190 species, with some
remai’ks on their distribution, and was printed at the Government Offices in Colombo.
On the mainland this Prinia is, according to J erdon, to be found “ all through the Malabar coast
the Wynaad, the slopes of the Nilghiris, and more rare on the Eastern Ghats and in wooded valleys at the
northern termination of the tableland.^-’ As already mentioned, Mr. Blauford has it from Nellore on the east
coast; and Mr. Eairbank records it from the base of the Khandala hills. Air. Ball has procured it at
Sambalpur ; and to the north-west it is found in the AIount-Aboo district, the avifauna of which is much
the same as that of the Western Ghats, it being, as it were, a northerly but isolated spur of this
range. Air. Hume remarks that it is found in the adjacent hill-ranges of Girwar in Kattiawar and of
Kooehawun. It extends eastward along the sub-Himalayan region through Bhootan and Nepal (that is, if the
species there be identical with the southern form), and is found in Burmah, concerning which region Air. Oates
writes that round Thayetmyo it is common.
Habits . — This tiny Wren-Warbler is more arboreal in its habits than its other congeners of Ceylon; it
frequents the edges of low' jungle, underwood at the sides of the roads and jungle-paths, and also the tangled
vegetation with which badly-cultivated cheenas or deserted forest-clearings are overgrown. It is a more sociable
bird than P. socialis, little troops of three or four consorting together and following each other from bush to
bush, or moving about in the underwood in a restless manner, all the while giving out a feeble sibilant
utterance. In the early morning I often found these little families by the sides of the roads and paths in the
hot dry jungle of the south-eastern district, and was enabled to procure the young in all stages, from the
nestling to the immature bird acquiring the dark pectoral band ; their flight was very short and feeble, and,
after alighting in a bush or shrub, they had the faculty of quickly threading their W'ay to the further side, from
which they again took flight. The food of this bird consists of small insects, which it picks up among the
dead wood to which it is so partial. Mr. Bourdillon remarks that it has a feeble twittering song; and Mr. Oates
writes that the “ male sits on the topmost twig of a bush, and sings a tremendously hearty little song.” I have
only heard the feeble chirping above mentioned, which I conclude must be tlie usual call-note of the
species.
Nidijication . — I never succeeded in finding the nest of this Warbler, but know that it breeds in Alay and
June, from the number of young birds I met with in July in the low country below Lemastotta. Air. Hume
and his correspondents, cited in ' Stray Feathers,’ describe its nest as quite Tailor-bird like, composed chiefly
of fine grass, with no special lining, carefully sewn, with cobwebs, silk from cocoons, or wool, into one or two
leaves, which often completely envelop it, so as to leave no portion of the true nest visible. The ground-colour
of the eggs is very delicate pale greenish blue, and the markings differ so much as to divide them into two
“ distinct types ” — the one unspotted, and the other finely speckled throughout with brownish or purplish red,
frequently forming a zone towards the large end. They vary from 0-53 to 0'62 inch in length, by from O'd
to 0'45 in width.
Genus DEYMCECA.
Bill stouter and shorter than in the foregoing genera of the subfamily. Nostrils linear ;
rictal bristles stout but few. Wings with the 4th, 5th, and 6th quills the longest, and the 1st
more than half the length of the 5th. Tail of 10 feathers, graduated and moderately long.
Ijegs and feet stout ; tarsi covered with strong and prominent scutse, and longer than the middle
toe and claw ; claws strongly scaled ; hind toe and claw large.
Nuchal hairs much developed in some species.
DEYKECA VALIDA.
(THE KOBUST WREN-WAEBLER.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Drymoica robusta, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1849, xviii. p. 812; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 142
(1849).
Drymceca valida, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1851, xx. p. 180 ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 120
(1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 262 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 302.
I)rymoi])US validus, Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 182 (1863); Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 457 ;
Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 21, et 1875, p. 397.
Suya robusta, Bonap. Consp. vol. i. p. 281 (1850).
Similis D. jerdoni, seel robustior, alis caudaque longioribus, et rostro toto nigi-o, robustiore et magis curvato distiugueuda.
Ad^ilt male and female. Length 6'0 to 6-4 inches ; wing 2-3 to 2-5; tail (varies much) 2-4 to 2-8 ; tarsus 0-95 ; mid
toe and claw 0‘5 to 0‘7 ; bill to gape 0'7 to 0’75.
Iris light reddish or reddish grey; eyelid and bill* black, in some with the base very slightly pale ; inside of mouth
hlacJe ; legs and feet fleshy or fleshy reddish, claws browidsh.
Above greyish brown, slightly cinereous on the sides of the neck ; wings and tail brown, with rufescent grey edgings
to the quills and coverts, and the tail with whitish tips and subterminal blackish-brown bars, indistinct on the
central rectrices ; these latter have obsolete dark cross rays ; lores dark grey, surmounted by a just perceptible
streak of whitish; cheeks brownish, the lower parts blending into the colour of tho throat and crossed by narrow
dark lines ; beneath fulvescent whitish, with the buJS tinge strongest on the chest and sides of the belly close to
the flauks, which darken into cinereous grey ; thigh-coverts pale fulvous brovTOish.
Young. Iris whitish or greyish yellow ; bill brown ; under mandible fleshy with dusky tip ; legs aud feet fleshy
reddish, or more delicate in hue than the adult.
Above rufescent brown ; loral spot small ; whigs and tail edged with faded rufous ; the tips of the rectrices, which
are subeven, fulvous white, and the dark spots lighter than in the adult ; cheeks washed with brownish ; beneath
white, strongly tinged with rufescent buff on the chest and sides of belly ; under tail-coverts dusky buff.
Ohs. This species has, like many others in Ceylon, a representative form in South India, the Jungle Wren-Warbler,
D. sylvatica. This bird, which is found in many parts of the peninsula and ranges up the IVilghii’is to an elevation
of 4000 feet, is paler on the upper surface and has a plainly developed superciliary streak. I have not had an
opportunity of examining this species; but it is evidently exceedingly close to the present, as is also the next bird.
The Dymceeinm of India, as Mr. Hume has more than once remarked, want reviewing exceedingly ; and I trust
* The bill in this species frequently dries in the specimen, so as to leave the base of the under mandible white.
626
DEYM(ECA VAL ID A.
that when he amasses a large enough series he will publish a monographic notice of them, determinin'^ once and
tor all which are and which are not good species. I regret to say that, owing to a want of Indian material, my
treatment of the Ceylon members of this genus must needs be very imperfect.
Distribution.—lhis is one of the many species discovered by our indefatigable ornithological pioneer
Layard ; he procured it in 1848, and on sending it to Blyth this naturalist named it primarily D. robusta but
two years afterwards gave it its present title, the reason for this change of name being because D. ro’bmta
was preoccupied by another species described by Dr. Riippell.
Layard does not seem to have become well acquainted with it, for he speaks of it as “ rather a rare bird ”
and as such it was likewise considered by Mr. Holdsworth. It is, however, a common bird, frequenting the
cinnamon-gardens iii the environs of Colombo, and also every similar locality along the western sea-board • in
the interior it is found by the sides of roads and in low scrubby land near paddy-fields or semicultivatcd
native gardens. In the south-west it is of frequent occurrence. In the eastern portion of the island, from
Hambantota round the coast to the Trincomalie district, it is usually found in jungle clearings in which low
bushes have sprung up ; and these are, in fact, its favourite localities throughout the wilder northern half of
Ceylon. In the hilly districts of the Morowak and Kukkul Korales it is fond of kurrakan-fields, and in the
Central Province may usually be seen in the hill paddy and among the long grass of the patnas. In the
western portion of the hill-zone I have not detected it above 3000 feet j it is eommon at a higher altitude
between Badulla and Haputale, where the vast stretch of patna-hills affords a considerable tract of country
suitable to its habits and nature. ^
Habits — As will be gathered from my remarks on its distribution, this species delights in any situation
afiordmg the cover which it frequents, such as low grassy jungle, open scrub, brambly wastes, the borders of
paddy-fields, rank patna vegetation, the sides of roads through jungle and deserted forest clearings, or rude
cultivation near jungle-begirt tanks. It passes most of its time near the ground, searching in thick grass and
undergrowth for insects, often flying up to the top of the bush which has afforded it shelter; here it sits
motionless for some little time, and commences suddenly to reiterate its loud clear call. It is particularly noisy
in the afternoons, and is able, in the stillness of the evening, to make itself heard at no little distance as it
sits on the top of a fence or dead stump in a solitary jungle clearing. It has but little pretension to the name
of Warbler ; but there are perhaps few birds which endeavour to make themselves heard more than it^ or which
give one the impression of trying to proclaim their whereabouts to all their neighbours. AVhen it desires to
give out the singular ringing note of which it is possessed, it invariably mounts to the very top of a bush and
having commeneed its eall continues lustily with it until disturbed, when it often remounts to an adjacent
shrub and prolongs its evening salutation. It is equally noisy throughout the year; and I have no doubt its
notes are well known to most of the residents in the handsome bimgalows now adorning the cinnamon-gardens
of Colombo, as well as familiar to those who take an afternoon's drive round the " Circular,” or on the many
radiating roads whicli start from that pretty spot. It often descends to the ground and feeds among -rass
and when wounded I have seen it run with considerable facility. Its diet is purely insectivorous ; and Layard
remarks that it hunts in small parties, and traverses the branches up and down in a similar manner to the
lailor-bird. I have usually seen it solitary, and it is rare to see more than two or three together.
In the Plate accompanying the article on Drymceca insularis will be found a figure of the present species
taken from a male example shot in the Kalebokka district. Central Province.
DEYMCECA JEEDONI.
(JERDON’S WREN-WARBLER.)
Brymoica jerdoni, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1847, xvi. p. 459 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 142 (1849).
Brymoica inornata (Sykes), Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 328 (1854), in pt.
Brymoipus jerdoni (Bl.), Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 180 (1863) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 456 ;
Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 437 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 21.
Adult male and female. Length 6-0 inches ; -n-ing 2-1 to 2-3 ; tail 2-45 to 2-6 ; tarsus 0-75 to 0-8o : middle toe and
claw 0'75 ; bill to gape 0’71 to 0*74.
Iris pale reddish or yellowish red ; bill, upper mandible dark brown, lower dusky, pale at the base ; inside of mouth
Jlesli-colour ; legs and feet brownish fleshy, claws blackish.
Above oKvaceous brown, not so dark as the last species ; the lores brownish grey ; wings darker brown than the back,
the quills edged pale ; tail slightly paler brown than the wings, with obsolete transverse strim, all but the central
feathers with a pale tip and narrow subterminal dark bar showing beneath ; face and ear-coverts pale brownish,
mingled with the albescent hue of the throat ; under surface, from the chin to the under taU-coverts, fulvescent
whitish, most strongly tinged with buff on the sides of the chest and on the flanks : under wing-coverts and
inner edge of quills fulvescent; thighs brownish fulvous.
Young. Iris as in the adult, bill with the under mandible lighter, and the tarsus washed with brownish.
An individual shot in .Tune, and seemingly about two months old, has the upper surface of a more earthy hue than
the adult ; the quills are edged with fulvous, and the tertials have a broad but indistinct pale cross band formed
by the margins of the centre of the feathers being fulvous ; tips of the tail-feathers fulvous, and the subterminal
dark spot indistinct.
Ohs. This species is very close to the last. It may, however, be distinguished from D. valida by its having a straigkter,
slenderer, and paler bill, and a flesh-coloured mouth, by the wing being shorter, and the tarsus not so stout and
studded with less prominent scutse. As a rule, the brown of the upper surface is paler, and the lores are lighter,
although much stress cannot be laid on this last character, as the lores are variable in the last species, being, in
some specimens, nearly as pale as in the present bird. Neither can any dependence be placed on the tint of the
under sui’faee, for it is, in many specimens of D. valida, quite as much tinged with buff as in this species.
Specimens of this Warbler were sent by Jerdon from Southern India to Blyth, who described it under its present title,
but afterwards absorbed it into D. longicaudata. Jerdon, however, sent examples to the British Museum, and
udth these Mr. Iloldsworth compared his Ceylonese skins and found them to agree. But little is known of this
species in Southern India — that is, as far as we can judge from the experience of late observers, not one of whom
mentions it among the collections which have from time to time been described in ‘ Stray Feathers.’ I imagine,
therefore, that its distribution must be very local or that it must be a rare species.
Distribution. — Jerdon’s Wren-Warbler is widely diffused throughout the low country, but is nowhere
very common. It occurs, but only sparingly, according to my experience, in the hill-country up to about
3500 or 4000 feet, at which elevation I have met with it in the Knuckles district. Mr. Iloldsworth procured
his specimens near Colombo, and I found it commoner there than anywhere else. It frequents the cinnamon-
gardens, chiefly affecting those low-lying spots which are overgrown with fern and bracken. I have procured
it in the Eastern Province, also in clearings in the Kukkul Korale, and I have no doubt that some of the
many birds of this genus which I have seen in the south-eastern region and the Northern Province may
have belonged to the pircsent species. It is not possible to distinguish it from the last bird when at large, and
it may not, therefore, be so sparsely diffused through the island as I suppose ; at the same time, however,
I may mention that the majority of specimens of these large Wren-Warblers which fell to my gun in various
parts of Ceylon belonged to the last-named, D. valida.
Concerning its distribution in South India I am unable to give particulars. I conclude it occurs in
suitable localities in the low country of Madras, and probably on the slopes of such ranges as the Palanis.
528
DEYMCECA JEEDOYI.
Habits . — Tills bird frequents fern-brakes, the sides of overgrown ditehes, long grass, and hill-paddy ”
fields. It is of a sneaking disposition, keeping as much as possible under cover, and when roused from its
haunts it flies along near the ground and quickly reestablishes itself in some thick vegetation. It has none
of the bold habits of the Ceylon Wren-Warbler, although at eventide I have often heard it pouring out its
warble, but not from a prominent position, as is the custom of its insular ally. Its food consists of various
small Coleoptera and other minute insects. Its notes are moderately loud, but not so shrill as those of
D. valida.
Nidification . — I have never found the nest of the present species, but have obtained fledgings in the Eastern
Province in September. It breeds, therefore, on that side of the island in July or August, and on the west
most probably from March until June.
I
I
I
DEYMCECA INSFLAEIS.
(THE WHITE-BROWED WREN- WARBLER.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon ?)
Lrymceca inornata, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 142, spec. F (1849) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag.
Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 263 ; Layard & Kelaart, Cat. B. App. Prodromns, p. 57 (1853).
Brymoipus inornatus, Legge, J. A. S. (Ceyl. Br.), 1870-71, p. 50 ; Holdsw. P. Z, S. 1872,
p. 456 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 439; Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 396.
The Plain-Warhler, Grass-hird, Europeans in Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 4-9 to 5-4 inches ; wing 1-85 to 2-15 ; tail 2-1 to 2-5 ; tarsus 0-8 to 0-9 ; hind toe and
claw 0-58 to 0-61 ; bill to gape 0‘6o to 0‘68.
Iris very pale reddish or reddish yellow, a dark, thin, outer ring generally visible ; eyelid reddish ; bill black, with a
clearly-defined white base ; legs and feet flesh-colour or fleshy grey, claws dark brown.
Above dull cinereous or greyish brown, pale on the rump and tinged with chestnut on the head ; wings and tail brown,
edged with riifescent greyish ; centre rectrices with faint cross rays ; tips of rectrices white, with an adjacent
blackish spot, both showing most beneath and least defined on the centre pair ; a conspicuous white supercilium
spreading oa er the lores, except at the coimer of the eye, which is brown ; orbital fringe whitish, with the posterior
corner rufesceiit brown ; beneath white, tinged with buff, most strongly on the sides of the chest and belly ; flanks
slightly dusky ; under wing and under tail-coverts buffy white ; thighs fulvous-brown.
I do not observe any constant difference in the plumage of adults in the winter. Some specimens are certainly darker
in the cool season than the generality of breeding birds ; but I have an example, shot from the nest in July, quite
as dark as one killed at the latter end of October. The tail is, if any thing, shorter in winter than in summer.
Young. Iris greyish ; bill, upper mandible brown, lower fleshy, with a dusky tip ; legs and feet pinkish flesh-colour.
Upper surface rufescent brown ; the wings broadly margined with brownish rufous ; tail tipped fulvous, with a trace
of the subterminal bar ; supercilium narrow aud biiff-white, under surface more washed with fulvous buff than
the adidt.
Ihe tail is even in the nestling, the lateral feathers being nearly as long as the centre pair.
Ohs. This Wren- Warbler has hitherto been united with the Lidian species, Drymoi'pus inornatus, Sykes, to w'hich it
is, indeed, very closely allied. I will, however, keep it distinct, on account of its shorter tail, generally smaller
size, and darker summer plumage, which differences, I find, exist between it and the type of the above-mentioned
species, w hich is jmeserved in the Lidia Museum. Mr. Brooks has lately compared this specimen, which is from
the Deccan, with others of the northern race, which he aud Mr. Hume have recently*demoustrated to possess a
distinct summer and winter plumage, and he finds that it is identical with them. In his notice on this subject
( Stray leathers, 1876, dO”), Mr. Hume contrasts the winter phase {D. longicaudatus, Tickell) with the
summer (1). terricolor, Hume) as follows : —
Drynioipus inornatus. Winter, longieaudatus : lower surface w'arm buff ; upper surface strongly rufescent ; wings
hair-browm, strongly margined with dull ferruginous ; tail 3'2 inches, rufescent brown. Summer, terricolor : lower
surface white, with a faint yellowish tinge ; upper surface dull earthy grey-brown ; wings earthy brown, mar-
gined albescent ; tail 2-5, central feathers pale earthy brown.”
Now although, as I have above remarked, some winter specimens of our bird are darker than some summer ones, no such
thorough change or increased length of tail takes place as I have just quoted ; and as Mr. Brooks says (‘ Str. Death.’
1876, p. 274) that Sykes’s type of Brymoijms inornatus is in the longieaudatus or dark winter plumage of terrkolor,
it follovvs that it must be a different bird from ours. Touching Mr. Brooks’s decision, how'ever, I W'ould remark
that Mr. Moore and myself have compared a pale sinnmer-plumaged Ceylon specimen with Sykes’s type, and find
that the latter is the paler of the tw-o, so that it cannot well be as dark as the above diagnosis of Mr. Hume, and
likewise former writings of Mr. Brooks’s on the subject, would lead one to suppose B. longieaudatus really is.
Furthermore it would be necessary to possess summer specimens of the Deccan bird (there is no date of
procuring on Sykes’s specimen) before a decided opinion could be pronounced whether it wms identical with the
northern form. But whether Mr. Brooks be right or not, Sykes’s bird docs not agree well with ours ; for besides
3y
530
DEYMCEOA INSULAllIS.
being paler than even a summer example o£ the latter, it is 0'37 inch longer in the tail and a trifle shorter,
notwithstanding, in the wing ; the eye-stripe is not so conspicuous and the bill is paler, the ground-colour of the
fail darker beneath, with the blackish subtenninal bars not so conspicuous. Another example of Sykes’s measures
2'15 in the wing and 2-9 in the tail. As our bird, therefore, cannot be united to D. inornatus, it remains to be
seen whether it is the same as the species inhabiting the Nilghiris and Southern India generally, and which
Mr. Hume says should stand as D. fusuus, Hodgson. The natural inference worild be that it is so ; but Mr. Hume
points out that the Hilghiri bird is larger, and has not so slender a bill as the Ceylonese ; and I observe, further-
more, that its eggs are marked with fine hair-lines or streaks, which is never the case, to my knowledge, noth the
Ceylonese race, the eggs of which are always spotted openly with rather large blotches. I have therefore decided
to separate our bird as an insular though closely allied race to the Deccan form, which, I have no doubt, will prove
to be the same as the South-Indiau species, now styled D. fusais.
Distribution . — This sprightly little bird is about equally common with Prinia socialis, being widely distri-
buted throughout the low country, as well as an inhabitant of the Kandyan and Southern- Province hills up
to an altitude of about 5000 feet. At this height it is to be found on patuas in Uva, Haputale, and the slopes
of Northern Saffragam, in which I include the sides of the ranges from Haldamulla round to Ratnapuraj
it also affects grassy spots and paddy and hill-grain fields in most of the upland valleys of the Central
Province. In the Western Province it inhabits the Guinea- and Mauritius- grass fields in the neighbourhood
of towns and villages, and in the interior is to be found in paddy-fields as soon as the grain is of sufficient
length to afford it cover. In the Galle district I have often detected it in sugar-cane cxrltivation, and in the
eastern and northern province it inhabits sedges and long grass in the beds of dried-up tanks.
Habits . — This Warbler frequents grass-fields, tall paddy and other native cereals, and long grass or
tussocky wastes of all kinds, such as are found in the dry beds of tanks, on open plains, or the sides of hill-
patnas. It is an active little bird and generally found in pairs, which flit about the tall corn, alighting on,
and clinging with ease to, the most pliant stalks, while they constantl^^ utter their repeated note, kink-kink~kink.
Several pairs frequented the Guinea-grass near my quarters on the Galle face, and, together with the Ashy
Wren- Warbler and the little Grass- Warbler, conduced to make the little field an interesting resort of small
birds. I found it in great abundance in the bed of Hurulle tank, which, in the dry season, is a vast area of
long grass ; to such large tracts as this, as w'ell as to extensive paddy-fields, it usually flocks for the time being,
taking itself off again when its shelter is removed by fire, water, or the hand of the reaper. It consorts much
with the Ashy Prinia, and at a distance is with difficulty distinguished from that species, except by its note.
I have found the nests of both in close proximity to one another. It has a weak jerky flight, sustained for a
short distance only, and it is insectivorous in diet, feeding on small catei’pillars, larvae, minute insects, &c.
Nidification . — I have found the nest of this species in almost every month from February till November ;
the prevailing time, however, in all parts of the island is from May until June, birds breeding in October and
November being probabTy in the act of rearing a second brood. It builds its neat and cleverly-constructed
nest between the tall stalks of paddy or other cultivated species of grass, about 3 feet from the ground. The
egg-cavity is very deep for its width, for the better security of its contents, which are liable to be sw'ayed to
and fro with the wind. The nest is sometimes dome-shaped, with the top forming a hood over the entrance^
which, in some instances, is neat and rounded, and in others wide and unfinished. Many, however, have an
ingeniously made roof of the green blades of the supporting stalks, cleverly bent dowm and interlaced. The
body of the nest is constructed of strips of green grass, generally sewn into the stalks at the bottom to form a
secure foundation, the rest being woven round them to foi’m the walls; the lining consists of finer strips of
grass, scantily arranged in some cases, so that the bottom can be plainly seen through. The interior usually
measures 2 inches in width by 3 in depth. The eggs are almost invariably 4 in number, of a beautiful blue
ground-colour, very handsomely though sparingly blotched with rich umber and sepia blotehes of two shades,
which in some examples are gathered mostly round the larger end. They measure from O'G by 0’47 to 0-67
by 0'49, and the period of their incubation is from 11 to 13 days. They are almost entirely hatched by the
heat of the atmosphere in fine weather, the bird resoi’ting to the nest at sundown and leaving it again in the
morning.
The figure on the Plate accompanying this article is that of a male shot in July at Hurulle tank.
Genus CISTICOLA*.
Bill more comiiressed than in JJrymwca, high at the base, the culmen moderately curved ;
rictal bristles small and fine. Wings ample, with the secondaries much curved, the 1st quill less
than half the length of the 4th, 5th, and 6th, which are snbequal and longest, the 2nd shorter
than the 7th, which is slightly less than the 6th. Tail of 12 feathers, and not exceeding the
wing, the lateral feathers graduated. Legs long ; the tarsus exceeding the middle toe and its
claw, and shielded with broad smooth scutse. Toes delicate ; hind toe and claw large.
Plumage above striated. Nape furnished with short hair-plumes.
CISTICOLA CUESITANS.
(THE COMMON GRASS-WAEBLER.)
Prinia cursitans, Frankl. P. Z. S. 1831, p. 118; Jerdon, 111. Ind. Orn. pi. 6 (1847).
Cisticola schoenicola, Bonap. Geogr. and Comp. List B. of Eur. p. 12 (1838); Jerdon, B. of
Ind. ii. p. 174 (1863) ; Shelley, Ibis, 1871, p. 133 ; id. B. of Egypt, p. 97 (1872) ; Holdsw.
P. Z. S. 1872, p. 465 ; Hume, Str. Eeath. 1873, p. 439 ; id. Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 343
(1873); id. Str. Eeath. 1874, p. 235, et 1875, p. 137 ; Butler & Hume, t.c. p. 481 ;
Irby, B. of Gibraltar, p. 91 (1875).
Cisticola cursitans (Frankl.), Blyth, J. A. S. B. xvi. p. 457 (1847) ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 145 (1849); Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 324 (1854); Layard,
Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 262 (in pt.) ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 90;
Davison & Hume, B. of Tenass.- ibid. 1878, p. 349.
Cisticola omalura, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 145 (1849) ; id. J. A. S. B. 1851, xx. p. 176 ;
Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 120 (1852) (in pt.) ; Layard, ut supra, p. 262 (in pt.) ;
Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 302 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 21.
Prymoeca cisticola. Von Heuglin, Ibis, 1869, p. 132.
Cisticola homalura, Hume, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 93.
The Moimtain Grass-Warl)ler{G. omalura)-, The Grass-Warhler {C. cursitans), Kelaart; The
Fan-tatlWarhler, Shelley ; Bou-fesito, Moorish, lit. “ Father of eloquence ;” Cierra-puho,
Tin-Tin (from its note), Spanish ; Bolsicon, Spanish (Saunders). GhasJca phutki, Flind.,
lit. “ Grass-Prinia ; ” Kher ghusa. Hind, at Bhagulpore (Jerdon); Chittu kuruvi, lit.
“ Small bird,” Ceylonese Tamils.
Adult male. Length 4-0 to 4‘(j inches ; wing 2-0 to 2-3 ; tail 1'3 to 1-6 (lateral feather from 0-3 to 0-5 shorter than
central); tarsus 0’7 to 0'8 ; mid toe and claw 0'59 to 0'65; bill to gape 0'55 to O'Gl.
* This peculiar genus, on account of its short 1st and long 2nd quill, and likewise its striated plumage, appears to
form a link between the Drymoecine division of the Tiinaliid® and the Sylviidse, which latter family I propose to place
next in order to the present. Notwithstanding these characters, the rounded form of the wing, the lengthened
secondaries, the stout legs and feet, and the graduated tail ally Cisticola to the Drymoecinae, in which subfamily Jerdon
jdaced it.
3y2
532
CISTICOLA CUESITANS.
Female. Length 3'9 to 4'3 inches ; wing 1‘9 to 2-05.
Iris varying from greyish yellow to olive-grey or pale olive ; bill fleshy, the culmen varying from dusky to blackish
brown, tip of lower mandible dusky ; inside of mouth in the male l>lac/c, in the female fleshy ; legs and feet fleshy ;
joints of toes dusky.
Male (Hambantota, 30th June). Centres of the hind neck, back, scapulars, and wing-coverts deep sepia-brown, paling
gradually off at the margins into brownish rufescont and rufescent greyish, the mug-coverts and scapular feathers
having the lightest edgings ; forehead and sides of the crown uniform sepia-brown, but the feathers of the centre
of the occiput and of the nape and hind neck indistinctly edged with rufous-grey ; tertials and the innermost
feathers of the greater coverts brownish black, broadly edged with fulvous greyish ; primaries and secondaries
darlt brown, edged with greyish ; rump brownish rufous ; upper tail-coverts dark brown at the centres of the
feathers ; central tail-feathers and a subterminal band on all the rest black-brown, these latter deeply tipped with
whitish, W'hieb, together with the black bar, is clearer and more conspicuous beneath ; above the bar a rufous
patch, chiefly confined to the inner webs of the feathers.
Lores and supercilium whitish, a small dark spot just in front of the eye ; face and ear-coverts rufescent, the latter
with pale shafts ; throat and under surface white, changing on the flanks and under tail-coverts into rufescent ;
wing-lining tinged with the same ; thighs pale rufous.
Colombo (27th January and 8th Eebruary). These two examples have the feathers of the centre of the crown very
faintly margined with fawn-colour, the head being scarcely less uniform than in the above ; the feathers of the back
are darker, as also the wings ; rump deeper rufous.
(xalle {12th April). Head almost uniform brown ; margins of the feathers just perceptibly paler than the rest of
the web.
Colombo (26th October). Feathers of the crowm conspicuously margined with pale fawn, the forehead uniform, and
the brown tint of the head very dark.
Horton Plains and Kandapolla (January). These birds are darker above than low-country ones ; the margins of the
feathers are more greyish than rufescent, the rump rufous-brown, and the tail-feathers with the tips not so white
as in the above detailed examples ; the spot in front of the eye is darker, and the bill is also blackish ; the under
surface is not so white, but is pervaded with greyish on the chest, and the flanks are brownish rufous ; the head
is more plainly striated than in any lowland birds.
It w'ill be seen from the above that there is but little difference in Ceylon specimens in summer and in winter plumage.
Genus SCHCENICOLA* (?).
Bill straight, the culmen curved, compressed, rather deep at the base ; the tip slightly notched. Nostrils oval and
placed wnll forward ; tw'O or three stout rictal bristles, one of which is much longer and stouter than the others. Wings
rounded, the 1st quill more than half the length of the longest, which is the 3rd ; the 2nd subequal to the 5th. Tail long,
of 10 feathers, the middle pair very broad, the laterals graduated. Tarsus long, covered wdth broad transverse scutee ;
middle toe long, the lateral ones subequal and reaching to the last joint of the middle one ; claws very straight.
SCHCENICOLA PLATYUEAf?).
(the broad-tailed reed-bird.)
Timalia fllatyura, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1844, xiii. no. 96 his.
Schcenicola platyura, Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 73 (1863) ; Hume, Str. Peath. 1878, p. 37.
Adxdt (Ceylon : ex Cuming). Length from skin, which is rather stretched, 6 inches ; wing 2-6 ; taU. 2-7 ; tarsus 0-9 ;
middle toe 0'7 ; bill to gape 0’61. Lateral tail-feathers 1-3 shorter than the central pair, which are 0'15 longer
than the adjacent ones ; under tail-coverts 0‘3 shorter than the outermost pair.
Head, hind neck, back, scapulars, and rump ruddy brown, darkest on the head, and inclining to rufous-brown on the
*■ These are the characters of a bird presumed to belong to this genus, which is now in the British Museum.
CISTICOLA CUESITANS.
533
the up-country birds cited proving, however, an exception : in breeding-plumage the head is somewhat more
uniform than in winter ; but there is in this sex always an absence of that striation which is characteristic of
the other ; some birds at the autumn moult retain the dark head more than others.
Female. G-alle (June). Edges of the feathers of the head dusky buff, and those of the back conspicuously wide.
Colombo (September : two examples). Hoad and upper surface the same as in the above.
Horton Plains (January). Head striated, edgings of back-feathers very dusky ; rufous of the lower back the same ;
flanks dark ; spot in front of the eye not so dark as in the male. At all seasons the head of the female is striated,
owing to the light edgings of the feathers.
The length of the lateral tail-feathers, and also of the adjacent pair, varies. Specimens from the eastern province are
more rufous in their marldngs than those from the Colombo district.
Young. Iris greyish olive ; bill dark horn, under mandible yellowish fleshy ; legs and feet fleshy reddish.
In first plumage (July) a male in my collection has the feathers of the head, hind neck, back, and wing-coverts very
broadly margined with fulvous, the quills edged conspicuously with the same ; the centres of the feathers are very
black ; fore neck and chest tinged with bufi, and the flanks strongly coloured with fulvous, as in the adult.
Obs. Blyth described (loo. cit.) a second species of Cistieola from Ceylon, under the title of omalura, alleging that it
differed from G. cursitans in having “ a shorter bill, the whole upper parts much darker, and the tail subeven,
except that its outermost feathers are J inch shorter than the next. The prevailing hue of the upper parts is
dusky black, with much narrower rufescent margins to the feathers than in 0. cursitans, the rump, how’ever,
being unimxed rufescent as in that species, and the neck much tinged with the same.” This is simply the plumage
of a dark specimen from up-country, in which district Eelaart allirms that he found this supposed species, although
Bayard discovered it first of all at Gallo, and afterwards met with it at Pt. Pedro. IMumbers of examples may
be met \^ith corresponding to Blyth’s C. omalwa ; but it is impossible to separate them from O. cursitans, which is
as variable in Ceylon as it is throughout the vast range of territory in which it is elsewhere found. Males of the
omalura type have the inside of the mouth black and the forehead uniform, as in typical cursitans ; and the females
of both have the inside of the mouth fleshy and the head striated, and there is no difference in size, which, more
than any thing, shows the identity of the tw'O supposed species. Ajiy one examining a large series of this inter-
esting little bird from India, Europe, and Africa must speedily come to the conclusion that it would be very
unsafe to take slight differences in plumage into consideration, so variable is it in this respect. The relative
upper tail-coverts ; primaries and secondaries plain brown, the feathers margined with rufous-brown ; tail ruddy
brown, obsoletely and narrowly barred with brown ; the ground-colour of the two outer pairs of rectrices dark
brown towards the tips, which are pale ; lores, which are brown, surmounted by a wdutish streak ; ear-covert
feathers brown at the tips and whitish at the base ; chin, throat, and down the centre of the breast dull white,
the sides of the fore neck and the flanks brownish fulvous ; under tail-coverts fulvescent brownish, tipped whitish;
under wdng whitish.
Ohs. While examining some drawers of skins in the British Museum, I came on this example of a Timaline bird,
labelled “ Ceylon, ex Cuming.” It appears to have been entirely overlooked during a period of more than twenty
years ; for no bird corresponding to it has ever been noticed as being in the national collection from Ceylon.
My friend Mr. Sharpe informs me that there is no doubt about the locality, and therefore the subject of this
notice must be added to the already long list of Ceylonese birds. AVhether the specimen in question is correct y
identified as being the SehcenicoLa platyura of Jordon it is impossible to say, for he only procured one examp e, an
that w'as lost, not, however, until after Blyth had seen it, and applied to it the generic appellation of toniico a.
I have carefully compared the skin in the British Museum with the description given by Jerdon o t e generic
characters and plumage of his bird, and it corresponds in both respects so closely, that I feel almost sure t at i is
the same species. Jerdon’s generic characters are : — “ Bill moderate, rather deep, much compresse , s ig j
curved on the culmen; a few strong rictal bristles Wings moderate, slightly rounded, 4th quill longest,
3rd equal to the 6th ; tad. moderate, very broad, soft,” &c. His description is extremely curt, and runs as follows :
“Above dark olive-brown ; the feathers of the tail obsoletely barred ; beneath ochreous yellowish, bill horny
yellow; hides yeUowish brown. Length 5-25 inches ; wing 2g ; tail 2-5 ; bill at front 0'4 ; tarsus 0'9,
It would appear that the Broad-tailed Eeed-bird has recently again been procured in Travancore, as in the last number
534
OISTICOLA CUESITANS.
length of the respective tail-feathers is furthermore not to be depended upon, at all. Mr. Hume notices the
conspicuous difference in the cold- and hot-weather plumage of this species in India, the head being striated in
the former, and unifom in the latter; but this does not apjiear to be the case in Ceylon, where there is but little
change in the seasons. Specimens from Madras, Hepal, and the North-west Himalayas have the lateral tail-
feathers variable in length, and nearly all have the head paler than in Ceylonese birds ; but the back in some is as
dark as in our up-couutiy birds, while in others, notably in one or two from Nepal, it is very pale. The wiiig^ vary
from I'S) to 2-2 inches in the males, and the tails from 1-65 to 1-8 inch. A Nicobar example in the national
collection, which is, judging from its size, a female, has the wing 1'7 ; the upper surface is somewhat dark, and
the edgings of the feathers rather rufescent.
TheM’^est- and South- African representatives of Gisticola cursitans do not admit of separation from ours. I append the
following among the results arrived at on comparison of a large number of specimens. A West- African example, a
presumed female, from the Eiver Volta, has the wing 1'85 inch, tail 1'55, bill to gape 0’5, and is the exact counter-
part, as regards plumage, with one of my Galle birds ; another, a male from Potchefstroom, measures 2‘03 in the
wing and 1-8 in the tail, and has the colour of the upper surface pale, like a Hambantota specimen, from which it
cannot be separated. Captain Shelley records the wing of Egyptian specimens as 1-9 inch, and Mr. Gurney
that of Sicilian examples as 1-86 to 2-0. Turning south-eastwards from India we find that examples of the
Gisticola from the Malayan archipelago are scarcely separable from ours. A male specimen from Macassar has the
wing 1’9, and the edgings of the back-feathers slightly more rufous than most Ceylon birds, but the rump not
more so than in some ; in the length of the tail, which measures i'9 inch, it differs from the generality of
G. cursitans from the continents of Asia, Europe, aud Africa ; but it is not so sufficiently removed from them to
be treated as a distinct species. An example from Elores (G. fuscicapilla, Wallace) has the head uniform brown,
but not more so than some of my old male specimens in summer plumage. The wing measures 2-0 and the tail
I'C, and I do not think it can be separated from G. cursitans.
My space does not permit me to instance further examples ; but the evidence here adduced is sufficient to show that
specimens throughout the vast range of the species maybe found to correspond with others from Ceylon, although
races, as a whole, from particular localities may present special characters. I also find that individuals from all
parts vary inter se in the proportion of the tail-feathers to one another.
Distribution , — This curious little denizen of the grass frequents the whole island of Ceylon from Pt. Pedro
to Doudra Head and up to the elevation of Horton Plains. It is, of course, only found in grassy localities,
which are alone suited to its habits. It is equally abundant in these spots all over the low country, and is
of ‘ Stray Feathers ’ which I have received I find an account of its (presumed) rediscovery by Mr. Bourdillon on
the 18th of April last year. Mr. Hume gives a mijiute description of the specimen ; and it appears from it that
the 3rd, 4th, and 5th quills are almost equal, and the 1st 0-9 shorter than the 4th ; the tail of ten feathers, soft,
very broad, aud much rounded. Length 5-75 inches ; wing 2-5 ; tail 2-5. The plumage is rich rufescent olive-
brown, darker on the crown and tail, which latter is obsolctely rayed ; the feathers of the upper surface lax, lower
surface brownish olivaceous, with the centre of the abdomen fulvous-white. This bird may or may not be identical
with Jerdon’s species ; it appears, except as regards the length of the tail, to correspond pretty well with the
Museum example. Jerdou places his specimen at the end of the TimaUinse ; and I consider the Ceylonese bird to
belong to what I have separated as the Hiymoeeine section of the Tiinaliidie, to the members of which its bill, tail,
wdngs, and feet ally it. I accordingly place it here ; but as I am uncertain as to whether my identification of it
as the Sehmnicola platyura of Jerdon is correct, I shall assign it a place in this work as a doubtful species.
I'he type of Jerdon’s bird having been lost, and no other apparently similar specimen having been subsequently
procured or noticed prior to the capture of the Travancore bird and my discovery of the Ceylonese skin in the
British Museum, it will be a very difficult matter to determine what Schoenicola platyiira of Jerdon really is.
Distribution. — The scanty information on the label of this bird affords me no clue as to where Mr. Cuming procured
it ill Ceylon. It would seem reasonable to suppose that it occurred in the island as a straggler from the coast of India,
otherwise subsequent collectors would surely have met with it. There is, perhaps, no spot more favourable to its habits
than the great swamp lying between the Negombo Canal and the highroad to that place from Colombo ; in this vast
morass I met with one species of similar disposition, which has never before been seen in Ceylon, and I would therefore
indicate it as a not unlikely locality for the rediscovery of this rara avis.
Jerdon’s remarks on his meeting with Schcenieola platyura are : — “ I only once observed this curious bird among
CISTICOLA CURSITAN'S.
535
likewise just as plentifully diffused over all tlie patnas and grass-lands of the Central Province, being quite as
numerous at Nuwara Elliya and on the Horton Plains as it is several thousand feet lower down. It is a very
well-knowm bird in the neighbourhood of Colombo, frequenting in large numbers the ‘‘Water"" grass-fields in the
cinnamon-gardens, and those in Borella, Malagaha kauda, and other suburbs of the capital. It is equally
' common near Galle, Trincomalie, and J affna.
It is found in suitable localities throughout the whole of India, e.vtcnding into Burmah, where Mr. Oates
says it is “ very common in all paddy -lands during the rains."’ Further south, in Tenasserim, it does not
seem to be so generally distributed as there. The same writer remarks, “ I have only oceasionally met Avith
this species in the Thatone plains and at Tavoy in grassy lands or rice-fields. It was by no means numerous,
and always seen singly or in pairs."" In the Malayan archipelago it may be said to exist in the form of a
species Avhich cannot well be separated, and specimens of which I have seen sent from Macassar and Ilores.
Turning northward Ave find it, according to Swinhoe, an inhabitant of China, Hainan, and Formosa; and
Pore David Avrites that it occurs throughout the east of China, from Hainan to Tientsin, and that he met
with it frequently at Shanghai. In Europe it inhabits the countries bordering the Mediterranean, being much
more common in some localities than in others. In Corsica Mr. Bygrave Wharton says it is numerous at
Biguglia, but observed nowhere else. Dr. Giglioli reports it as common in the neighbourhood of Pisa,
frequenting grass- and corn-fields in the spring. It is likewise found in SAvitzcrland. Near Gibraltar it is,
according to Col. Irby, resident and very plentiful in winter, and in Southern Spain it is said by Mr. Saunder.s
to be common as far north as lat. 40°. It has been stated to be plentiful in Portugal; but I observe that the
Rev. A. C. Smith, in writing to ‘The Ibis" of 1868, states that he did not meet with it in that country,
though he searched diligently for it in likely places. Crossing OA^er to Africa, avc find it noted as the most
common of aquatic (?) warblers in Tangier by Mons. Favier ; and Captain Shelley, in his excellent book on
the Birds of Egypt, says that it is one of the most abundant birds in that country and Nubia ; further testi-
mony as to its distribution in this part of the world is afforded by Dr. von Heuglin, in his exhaustive monograph
of the Malurime of North-eastern Africa (Ibis, 1869, p. 132), Avho says that it inhabits Arabia, besides being
a permanent resident in Egypt and Nubia, and goes southwards to Abyssinia and probably to Senaar. In
Western Africa it is common in various localities, having been procured on the River Volta, at Cape Coast,
Acra, &c. ; on the opposite side of the continent Dr. Kirk records it from Zanzibar. In South Africa it is
some reeds in swampy ground close to Goodaloor, in the Wynaad, at the foot of the Nilghiris. Mr. Bourdillou s Krd,
however, Avas met with under very different circumstances, from which 1 infer (should it in reality be the same as Jerdon s)
that the Broad-tailed Reed-bird is not entirely a denizen of reeds. “ It was obtained,” says Mr. Hume, “ in open grass-
land at Colathoorpolay patnas, at an elevation of 3800 feet, in the Assamboo hills, the southernmost section of t le
Western Ghiits, about three degrees due south of Goodalore, where the lost type and hitherto unique specimen vas
obtained.” Nothing is said of its habits ; but Jerdon informs us that his bird “ took short flights, and eiideaA oured to
conceal itself among the thick herbage.” Its food consisted entirely of small insects.
The accompanying woodcuts represent the bill, tail, and Aving of the Ceylonese bird.
536
CISTICOLA CUESITANS.
plentiful in parts of the Transvaal^ Natal, and also in Damaraland, in which region it exists in the form of
C. ayiesi (Natal) and C. terrestris (Transvaal), which two races. Air. Gurney has pointed out, are identical
with the C. schcenicola of Europe, and consequently with C. cursitans of Asia.
Habits. — The Grass- Warbler, as its name implies, frequents both cultivated and wild grass-land of all
sorts, paddy-fields, marshes, swamps, meadow-land surrounding inland tanks, waste ground covered with rank
herbage, patnas, and all places where the soil will grow sufficient cover for it to thread its way about in. It
is essentially terrestrial in its mode of life, and is the most restless little creature imaginable, rising up a
Imndred times in the day, with its spasmodic jerking flight and singular chick-chick note, and then suddenly
descending to earth, as it it were simply desirous of exercising its muscular powers or discontented with the
haunts that fate had allotted to it. Nothing, perhaps, can be more interesting to the lover of animated
nature than, on a lovely morning, to walk through the rich pastures clothing the alluvial deposits round the
vast Alinery tank, and while the car is arrested with the sweet song of hundreds of Sky- Larks, to watch the
vagaries of these little denizens of the grass, as they flit up and down and send forth their singularly sharp
little notes. Its manner of hovering on the wing when it reaches its greatest altitude, which is geuerally from
50 to 100 feet, is a mere habit, and not done with any view of selecting a place to alight in, as it invariably
“ jerks itself down to the ground considerably beyond where it has been poising itself. The large variety,
which frequents the patnas of the Nuwara-Elliya plateau and the Horton and other elevated plains, has a
habit of alighting on the tops of bushes and rhododendron-trees, and there I’emaining perched for some time
which I have not observed in the low-country birds. This species is particularly lively in the evenings, just
before going to roost, and when it settles on the ground, immediately threads its way through the grass, not
by running on the ground, but by adroitly springing from stalk to stalk, and darting here and there^vherever
an opening in the vegetation presents to it an easy way of escape. When it realights, after being flushed, it
will always be found a good number of paces from where it first disappeared, no matter how quickly one
follows it up.
There is perhaps no bird of this family concerning which more has been written than the present ; and
that which has attracted notice, in the case of all naturalists who have observed it, is its peculiar flight, as also
its interesting mode of nidification. Of the European race, which, however, appears to frequent sedges and marshy
places much more than ours. Col. Irby writes In the spring they go to the cornfields as well, never, however,
being found away from water. I do not recollect ever seeing them perch on bush or tree, but always on some
plant. Their note and jerky flight somewhat remind one of the Aleadow-Pipit ; during the nesting season in
particular they will fly darting about high over head for several minutes, continually uttering their squeakv
single note (whence the name of Tin-Tin), all the time evidently trying to decoy the intruder from their nest.”
In spite of what I have already said about the European, African, and Asiatic Cisticoks being identical, I would
here remark that the difference in the note of the European and the Indian bird, and likewise the extraordinary
variety in the eggs of the former (allusion to which will presently be made), while those of the latter are all of
the one type, is somewhat remarkable, and might well be considered sufficient to establish grounds for a slio'ht
separation of the two races. As far as external characteristics go, I do not perceive that the African bird can
be separated from the Indian, as has already been stated in this article ; and competent ornithologists affirm
that there is no difference in the birds on both sides of the Aleditcrrancan. The diet of the species in Ceylon
consists of many sorts of small insects and caterpillars j and Brehm says that “ the indigestible parts of the food,
which consists of small beetles {Biptera), caterpillars, and little snails, arc thrown up in pellets.” It is with
reference to observations made in Africa that this statement is made ; but I have no knowledge of the same
thing having been noticed in India. Jerdon remarks that “ during the breeding-season the male bird may be
seen seated on a tall blade of grass, pouring forth a feeble little song.-’"’
Nidification.— Warbler apparently has two broods in the year, nesting for its first in Alay, June, and
July, and for the second in November and December. Its style of architecture is suited to the locality iu
which it builds j but at all times it constructs a very beautiful little nest. It is, when built in tall grass or
paddy, usually situated about 2 feet from the ground : a framework is first made by passing cotton or other
such material round and through several stalks or stiff blades of grass ; when a tolerably secure wall is thus
CISTICOLA CUESITAXS.
537
obtained, several blades belonging to the stalks round Tvbicb the framework is passed are bent down and inter-
laced to form a foundation, on which, and inside the cotton network, a neat little nest of fine strips torn off
from the blade is built ; this is, as a rule, beautifully lined with cotton or other downy substance, mixed with
the saliva of the bird and having the appearance and texture of thick felt. The average dimensions of the
cgg-cavity are 2 inches in depth by in diameter; the network or frame takes two or three days to construct,
and the entire nest is finished in about six days. When nesting in short, tussocky grass, such as is found on
the “ Plains” of the main range, the Grass- Warbler builds in the centre of a thick tuft close to the ground,
the blades being drawn round the nest and brought into a point above it, in which the entrance is placed, and
the whole is so well concealed, that, unless the bird be roused from it, it would invariably elude the best search.
The eggs are usually three, but sometimes four, in number, short ovals in shape, and without much variation
in colour ; the ground is white or very pale greenish white, spotted and blotched, generally in an open zone
round the large end, with brownish red and reddish grey. Dimensions, on the average, 0-6 to 0'63 inch in
length by 0'48 to O'ol in breadth. The period of incubation lasts from nine to ten days, the bird sitting for
the most part only at nights. I had ample opportunity of ascertaining this fact from two years^ observation of
this and other birds breeding in the “Guinea-grass ” field attached to my bungalow on the Galle face, Colombo.
The nesting-season in India lasts during the rainy months — April to October. Mr. Hume, writing, in
' Nests and Eggs,^ of its nidification there, says that it selects a patch of dense fine-stemmed grass, from
18 inches to 2 feet in height, and, as a rule, standing in a moist place ; in this, at the height of from 6 to
8 inches from the ground, it builds. Corresponding with my own observations in Ceylon, he states that the sides
are formed by the blades and stems of the grass in situ, closely packed and caught together with cobwebs and very
fine silky vegetable fibre ; ” the interior is also stated to be closely felted with silky down, in Upper India usually
that of the Mudar [Calotropis hamiltoni). In India, as in Ceylon, the eggs appear to be all of one type, the
ground being white, spotted, most densely towards the large end, with, as a rule, excessively minute red,
reddish-purple, aud pale purple specks, thus resembling, though smaller, more glossy, and far less densely speckled,
the eggs of the Rufous-fronted Wren -Warbler. The average dimensions of a large number are recorded as
()‘58 in length by 0‘46 in breadth. Dr. Von Heuglin found it nesting in Africa in date-palm groves and
low thorn hedges, about 2 or 3 feet from the ground. He likens the nest to that of the Reed- Warbler, and
describes it as interwoven with leaf-sheaths, thorns, twigs, and even grass-stalks, and composed of fine dry
grass and rootlets, the interior being “ carefully lined with wool, hair, and fibres.^^ These nests appear to be
somewhat abnormal, as it is unusual for this species to build anywhere except in grass, standing corn, sedges, &c.
Concerning its nidification in Egypt, Capt. Shelley writes [loc. cit.) : — “ It breeds in March, forming a
charming little deep purse-shaped nest, open at the top, which I have found in clover, corn, and sedge, at a
height of from a few inches to a foot from the ground. The nest is constructed of dried grass and cotton, and
often thickly lined with soft downy seeds of the reed or thistle, and is firmly secured by the interweaving of
the surrounding herbage, which assists to hide it ; in general appearance it looks very like the cocoon of a
large caterpillar.” The eggs are said to vary to a great extent in Europe. Dr. Bree figures three varieties,
one pink, another bluish white, and the third a dark bluish green, all being spotless.
PASSERES.
Earn. SYLVIID^.
Bill moderately slender and straight ; the culmen acute ; the tip notched ; rictal bristles
short. Wings pointed ; the 1st quill much reduced. Tail of 12 feathers, shorter than or not
exceeding the wing. Tarsus scaled, longer than the middle toe.
Of small size, with a double moult, and of unspotted young plumage.
Genus SYLVIA.
Bill small, rather straight ; the culmen gently curved from the base. Nostrils oval ; gape
beset with small bristles. Wings long ; the 3rd, 4th, and 6th quills equal and longest, the 1st
not much exceeding the primary-coverts. Tail rounded at the tip. Tarsus rather short, shielded
in front with well-developed scales ; toes stout and strongly scaled.
SYLVIA AFFINIS.
(THE LAEGER INDIAN WHITETHROAT.)
Silvia affinis, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. spec. C (1849) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1853, xii. p. 267 ; Layard & Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 57 (1863) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind.
ii. p. 209 (1863) ; Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 467.
Sterparola curruca (Lath.), Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 373 (1874).
Sylvia altJicea, Hume, Str. Feath. 1878, vol. vii. p. 60.
The Allied Grey Warbler, Jerdon. ifella kumpa-jitta, Telugu.
Adult male (Aripu, Dec. 1869). Length (from skin) 5-6 inches; wing 2-8 ; tail 2-8; tarsus OY ; middle toe 0-5, its
claw (straight) 0-15; bill to gape 0-57.
2nd quid intermediate in length between the 6th and 7th.
“ Irides pale yellow ; bill, base slate, tip dusky ; feet dark leaden” (Holdsworth),
Crown and nape dull bluish ashy, changing into the subdued earthy brown of the hind neck, back, and scapulars ; the
upper tail-coverts more ashy than the back ; lesser wing-coverts ashy at the margins of the feathers, the centres
being concolorous with the back ; w’ings brown, the edges of the primaries and secondaries pale fulvous brownish
the tertials more conspicuously margined than the outer secondaries ; tail darker brown than the wino-s, the
margins of the feathers albescent, the outer web and terminal portion of the inner web of the outer feather and
the tips of the two next dull white ; lores and ear-coverts dark brown, contrasting with the ashy hue above and
below the oars on the side of the neck ; lower portion of orbital fringe w'hite ; chin and throat pure white ; chest
and under surface whitish, faintly tinged with reddish ashy, mostly on the sides of the chest and the under tail-
coverts ; flanks slightly shaded with greyish ; edge of the wing white ; under wing-coverts tinged with reddish
ashy.
Obs. The above is a description of an example procured by Mr. Holdsworth at Aripu, and the only one, I believe,
now extant from Ceylon, unless Specimen C of Blyth’s Catalogue is still in a state of preservation in the Calcutta
Museum. It appears to belong to the larger race lately distinguished by Mr. Hume as S. althcea ; it, however,
has the head more ashy than I am led to suppose is the case in S. althcea ; and as I think Mr. Hume will require
a larger series before he can safely found his new subspecies, I will keep the Ceylonese bird as S. affinis, the title
SYLVIA Arviisris.
539
by which the Indiau Whitethroat has hitherto been known. S. altlicea is characterized by its large size, the
wings of five examples in Mr. Hume’s museum varying from 2-7 to 2-8 inches, and further by having the upper
surface darkish grey, slightly tinged with brown on the back. The 2nd quill of one of these examples nearly
equals the 8th, and in three others is intermediate between the 6th and 7th, as in the Ceylonese example. The
ordinary form of Indian "Whitethroat, S. ajjinis, from which Mr. Hume separates the last named on account of
the characters here noticed, has a smaller wing ; in 93 specimens it varies from 2-4 to 2-71 inches, and several
that I have examined from Putteghur and Cawpore measin-e 2-5 to 2-6 inches. The 2nd primary , as a rule,
equals the 6th. All these examples have, according to Mr. Hume (and so have others which I have examined),
the crown brownish grey and the mantle earth-brown. An example in Mr. Seebohm’s collection, procured at
Tenesaisk, is almost as “ earthy brown” as the Cawnpore birds above mentioned, and its wing measures 2-5mches.
The third and smallest race, which appears to be confined to “ the extreme western portions of the contment,
has the wing varying from 2-3 to 2-45 inches, and has the “ crown pale bluish grey, and the mantle pale sane y
brown ” {Hume). _ i- r ii
These Indian Whitethroats differ from their closely allied relative of Europe, S. curntea, in the proportion ot the
primaries to one another. The 2nd quill in the latter is considerably longer than in the Indian birds, it being
generally equal to the 5tli, or only very little shorter than it. The bill in the European bhd is usually shorter, and
the ear-coverts are not so dark, while the upper surface is more cinereous or less brown than in /b. affinis. The
coloration of the upper surface varies, however, scarcely any two specimens being jirecisely alike. A Heligoland
specimen in IVIr. Seebohm’s collection is almost a counterpart of Mr. Holdsworth’s, being only slightly paler on
the head. A specimen from Christiania is nearly as sandy-coloured as any Indian example of affinis. Two
specimens from Asia Minor, which I have examined, are ashy on the back, being almost devoid of any earthy
tint at all ; they belong to the European species, having the 2nd primary longer than Indian examples.
Mr. Seebohm,in his notice of the Whitethroats he procured in Siberia, ‘ Ibis,’ 1879, p. 8, hesitates to allow the Lidian
bird to be a good species, and instances one specimen from India which has the 2nd quill as long as an the
European species. He will, however, lao doubt reinstate it in his forthcoming volume of the Catalogue, now that
the results of Mr. Hume’s researches have been published. If the proportion of the primaries is allowed to hold
good in the separation of certain PhyVMScoffi and Acroceffiiali, members of this famfiy, it must be a matter of equal
iinporttiiice in th© present case.
distribution .— Wliitethroat is evidently a very rare cool-season migrant to Ceylon. "Whether it m
actually commoner than is supposed, and escapes observation owing to the habits of concealment which it
no doubt affects in the non-breeding season, I am unable to say ; but certain it is that it has only, as j et,
come under the notice of two observers. Layard, its first discoverer, writes as follows concerning ^ it
“ I noticed a few of this species at Ambegamoa in the year 1848, but I never afterwards met with it. I e
informs me, in epist., that, as far as he can recollect, the month of March was the time of his meeting with
them. Eccently it was again observed by Mr. Holdsworth, who procured the example noticed in this article
at Aripu in December 1868. The two localities in question arc far apart ; and the facts of the case prove that
it wanders over the island when it does visit it, and there is no saying where it may not be met with in future.
I always kept a look out for it in my wanderings in the north, but never once saw it that I am aware of.
The larger race, to which I have attached Mr. Holdsworth’s specimen, has been found in the western parts
of peninsular and continental India— Mr. Hume’s specimens being recorded from Ahmednuggur, Deesa,
Jhansie, Bhawulpur, and Ramoo Cashmeer. J erdon, in speaking of the distribution of the Indian Whitethroat
generally says he “ found it in the Carnatic at Jaulnah and other parts of the Deccan, and also at Mhow;
and these observations may possibly refer to the larger race as well as the smaller, 8. affinis. The majority o
Mr. Hume’s specimens of the latter appear to come from the central portion of continental India, between
Sambhur and Cawnpore.
Habits .— the European Whitethroat, this species frequents low bushes, grassy patches of land,
gardens, and groves, and is very active in its movements. Hitting from place to place, an tireacing ns way
among the thick masses of vegetation in which it takes up its abode. Jerdon remar s a ^i a i ion o
being insectivorous in its diet, it feeds -much on flower-buds. Blyth writes of i s • « server
many of them frequenting the Bauhul {Mimosa) trees, and, as in England, keeping chiefly to the tices and not
Tlow bush-coverts, as is the habit of cinerea ” (the Greater Whitethroat). Mr Brooks writes that its song
rLmbles that of the European species, being full, loud, and sweet, and that the male usually sings near
the nest.
3z2
540
SYLVIA AFYINIS.
Ntdification.~T!h.is species breeds in Cashmere in May, building a nest, according to Mr. Brooks,
similai in size and structure to the European Lesser Whitethroat, “ formed of grasses, roots, and fine fibres,
and scantily lined with a few black horsehairs.’^ The nests are “ slight and thinly formed, very neat but
strong, and are decorated on the outside with bits of spiders’ webs. At the time this was written, Mr. Hume
did not accept the Indian birds as distinct from the European ; but having since altered his opinion, based on
the characteristic wing-formula of the two species, I shall be correct in giving his description of the eggs as
applying to the Indian bird, though perhaps not to the larger race with which I am principally dealing. He
characterizes them as somewhat broad ovals typically, a good deal pointed towards the lesser end ; the ground-
colour is white, marked with small spots, blotches, and specks of pale yellowish brown, more or less intermingled
with spots of dull inky purple ; in some the markings are confined to a zone, in others scattered over the
surface of the egg. The average dimensions of sixteen eggs are 0'66 by 0’5 inch.
Genus ACEOCEPHALUS.
Bill lengthened, straight; culmen acute, the tip sUghtly bent down and plainly notched.
Nostrils basal and oval ; rictal bristles well developed. Wings pointed ; the 1st quill minute,
the 3rd and 4th the longest; the 2nd variable, but never much less than the 3rd. Tail moderate
and rounded at the tip. Legs and feet strong ; the tarsus protected by broad scutes in front,
and longer than the middle toe ; lateral toes short ; hind toe and claw very long.
ACEOCEPHALUS STENTOEIUS.
(THE CLAMOROUS REED-WARBLER.)
Curmca stentorea, Hemp. & Ehr. Symb. Physicse, Aves, fol. hh (1828) ; Blanford, Ibis,
1874, p. 79.
Agfohates hrunnescens, Jerdon, Madr. Journ. 1839, x. p. 269.
Acrocephalm hrunnescens (Jerd.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 181 (1849); Horsf. &
Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 331 (1854); Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 154 (1863);
Hume, Lahore to Yarkand, p. 214, pi. 16 (1873); Legge, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 488
(first record from Ceylon).
Calamolierpe hrumiescens (Jerd.), Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1846, xv. p. 288.
Calamodyta hrunnescens (Jerd.), Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 190; Adam, t.c. p. 381;
Legge, ibid. 1875, p. 369.
Acrocephalus stentorius (H. & E.), Allen, Ibis, 1864, p. 97, pi. 1 ; Shelley, Ibis, 1871, p. 133 ,
id. B. of Egypt, p. 95 (1872).
Calamodyta stentoria (H. <& E.), Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 326 (1874).
Calamodyta meridionalis, Legge, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 369.
The Clamorous Sedge -Warhler, Shelley ; The Greater Indian Reed-Warbler. Rora-jitta,
Telugu.
Adult nude. Length 7-5 to 7-8 inches ; wing 3-3 to 3-4 ; tail 3-2 ; tarsus 1-05 to 1-1 ; middle toe and claw 0-9 to 1-0 ;
bill to gape 1-05.
Adult female. Length 7-5 inches ; wing 3-1 ; tarsus 1-0 ; middle toe and claw 0-85 to 0-95 ; bill as long as m
the male.
Iris brownish yellow ; bill, upper inaudible dark brown, lower fleshy at base, with dusky tip ; gape and inside of mouth
red ; legs plumbeous grey or greeni.sh plumbeous; feet olivaceous, claws brownish.
Above shining olivaceous brown, in some specimens slightly darker on the forehead ; wings and tail brown, margined
with the hue of the back ; from the nostril over the eye a pale streak, beneath this the lores are dark brown ;
orbital fringe fulvous-grey, dark at its posterior corner ; chin and throat white, with a fulvous-grey wash over the
chest and flanks, darkening on the lower parts above the thighs and paling again to white on the centre of the breast
and abdomen ; under taU-coverts whitish ; under w'ing and its edge fulvous ; between the flanks and abdomen the
grey hue is tinged with tawny. In non-breeding plumage the underparts are more fulvous than after the
spring moult.
During the breeding-season, in July and August, the plumage becomes much abraded, causing the feathers of the
upper surface to have pale edgings, and exposing on the fore neck the dark portions of the shafts of the feathers,
which are quite concealed in a newly-plumaged bird, the effect of this being to produce a number of pa e
brown stria 3 . I observe the same feature in examples sent me by Mr. Hume from North India.
Ohs. I was under the impression, when writing of this species in 1875, that it merited separation r^ e n an
form, on account of the presence of striai on the chest, and the absence, in some specimens rom ey on, ° ®
rusty hue on the upper surface, which is a character of the latter species. Mr. Hume, however, ® ^
these characters were seasonal ; and I have since examined Cashmere specimens shot in u y wi ese roa
marks and find they show on the surface merely, on account of abrasion, the dark sha t-stnpe, as a ove rein^ e ,
existing more or less always, but being concealed by the tips of the feathers in bir s in P
Lamples from the locality in question have very large bills, varying from 1-1 to 1-2 inch m length from the gape;
but one from Calcutta, perhaps bred in the lowlands, is the counterpart of my Ceylonese birds, both as regards
plumage and length of bill (I’Oo inch).
542
ACEOCEPHALUS STENTOEIUS.
This Warbler and A, orientalis, which inhabits China, Japan, and some of the Malay islands (Lombok, Morty, Batchian,
and perhaps others), are very closely allied Asiatic representatives of the large Eeed- Warbler of Europe,
A. arundinaeeus, from which they differ in their smaller size and the proportion of the quills to one another.
The European bird has a more pointed wing than its Asiatic relatives and is larger. The following is a diagnosis
of the characters of the three races : —
A. arundinciceiis. Larger : wing (5 examples measured) 3-7 to 3-9 inches ; Ist long primary longer than the 3rd.
A. orientalis. Smaller ; wing (19 examples measured) 3‘05 to 3'5 inches ; 2nd long primary slightly shorter than,
or equal to, the 3rd.
A. stentorius. Intermediate in size in its average measurements : wing (6 Ceylonese and 6 Indian examples
measured) 3'1 to 3'55 inches ; 2nd long primary shorter than the 4th.
A Labuan specimen is intermediate between the two latter; it has the 2nd long primary equal to the 4th; wing
3-4 inches, bill to gape 0-98.
Mr. Seebohm recognizes the Acrocejpluilus longirostris of Gould and the Sylvia syrinco of Kittlitz as subspecies of
A. stentorius, depending for their rank chiefly on their peculiar distribution and smaller size. The first-named
bird, which winters in Lombok and breeds in Western Australia, has a proportionately longer bill than A.
and measures in the wing 2-8 to 3‘1 inches ; the 2nd primary is intermediate in length between the 6th and the
6th. The second, Aerocephalus syrinx, is confined to the island of Ponape in the Caroline group. It has a
proportionately shorter tail than the preceding species, and measures in the wing 2-9 inches ; the 2nd primary
is intermediate between the 6th and the 8th.
The whole of these Austral-Asiatic Eeed-Warblers appear to be merely local races of our European species.
Distribution . — It is only of late years that this fine Warbler has been known to inhabit Ceylon. It was
first discovered by myself in the J affna-Eort ditch, where there is a bed of reeds suitable as a refuge for such a
lurking species as it is. It is also an inhabitant of the adjacent lotus-ponds, and occurs in similar spots
throughout the island. I found it breeding in J uly in the Tamara-Kulam near Trincomalie, which, in the dry
season, is a vast bed of gigantic rushes ; at the celebrated Pollanarua tank it was abundant during the same
month, and in the extreme south I procured it near Hambantota likewise in the hot season. Mr. Parker
met with it near Puttalam, and aftei’wards, in the month of July, came on “ dozens in a small tank full of
reeds at Ambanpola ou the Anaradjapura road a few miles beyond Bulalli.^’ There is therefore abundant
proof that it is a tolerably plentiful resident in the island, a cirmamstance somewhat remarkable when it is
considered that the bird is a visitor to the plains of India. On strict search being made for it, it will doubtless
be found in many places, similar to those mentioned, in the wild dry districts of the country. From the damp
portion comprised of the Western Province and south-western district it appears to be absent; for I examined
the lofty reed-beds (a most likely place) which line the old Dutch canal and its branches which intersect the
Mutturajawella swamp between Colombo and Negombo, and found no trace whatever of it, which, I think,
is strong testimony that it docs not inhabit any part of the south-west.
Dr. Jerdon writes that it is found in most parts of India during the cold weather, being only a winter
visitant. Mr. Hume likewise, in 'Lahore to Yarkand," expresses the same opinion; but I observe that
Mr. Adam found it at the Sambhur Lake in the middle of May ; and though the eggs in the ovary were very
minute, yet it was close to its breeding-time, Mr. Brooks having found its young in Kashmir on the 10th of
J une ; it is therefore probable that some examples may remain behind to breed. On the other hand. Captain
Butler gives the date of its departure from the district with which he deals as the 8th of April. Dr. Fairbauk
merely remarks, with regard to the Deccan, that it is found among rushes, giving no details of its arrival or
departure; but Dr. Jerdon specifies the Carnatic as a region to which it is a visitant; therefore we may
conclude that this writer's statement, backed as it is by the experience of Mr. Hume, will be found to hold
good for the entire peninsula, and that this Warbler, while migratory from Northern India to the Southern
parts of the empire, is a resident in Ceylon ! I believe, however, that further investigation is still necessary,
as, owing to its habits, it may have been overlooked ; and I commend the matter as one of great interest to
my Indian readers.
Mr. Blanford records it from Persia, and says that it was rather scarce at Bampur in Beluchistan in April,
but abounded in June near the lake of Shiraz ; in these localities he considers that it probably breeds, leaving
ACEOCEPHALTJS STENTOEIUS.
643
the highlands in winter; it probably extends into Northern Persia^ as Mr. Blanford notices that De Eilippi
gives an account (Viag. in Persia, p. 162) of a bird which he saw resembling this species.
In Northern Africa it is an inhabitant of Egypt and Nubia. Mr. Allen, who gives an account of its breeding,
found it in a lake near Damietta, and speaks of it as being very rare ; subsequently Mr. E. C. Taylor and
Captain Shelley met with it in the same place. The latter author considers that it is resident in Egypt, as
he noticed a specimen as early as the 7th March in the Eayoom.
ffabits. In Ceylon, as in other countries inhabited by it, this Warbler is only found in high reeds or
lofty rush-beds surrounding water, in the thickest parts of which vegetation it skulks, rarely showing itself
except during the breeding-season, when it becomes very noisy and restless, constantly flying up to the tops
of the tallest reed-stalks and there giving out its harsh warble. This commences with somewhat measured
notes and then breaks forth into quick and jerky variations. Its usual voice consists in nothing but a mono-
syllabic “ chit,” varied sometimes by a “ churr ” sound. There are few spots in any part of the island suitable
to its habits, as Ceylon is not at all prolific in reeds or any tall rushes, and to those which furnish it with
a good retreat it clings with an instinctive tenacity which is something quite remarkable. The tank which I
have mentioned above as being overgrown with enormous rushes in the dry season, abounded with these
Warblers in the month of June; shortly afterwards it was burnt by herdsmen for feed for their cattle,
leaving nothing but a few solitary clumps of reeds standing amidst the blackened waste. When I visited it no
sign of a Warbler was anywhere to be seen. Blue Coots and Waterhens were moping about at the edge of
the only remaining sheet of water, and a few of the handsome Water-Pheasants [Hydrophasianus chiruryus)
“ scudded ” along the lotus-leaves as I approached. None of these I wanted, and was about to turn my
back upon the wild scene when a flock of Weaver-birds {Ploceus) flew across the open and settled on one of
the reed-clumps, when immediately out sallied one of my looked-for Warblers and chirped defiance at the
strangers, which was the signal for farther notes almost in every little oasis of vegetation. On my trying
to drive them out of their strongholds they retreated to the base of the reeds, and no amount of shouting or
stone-throwing, and in some cases of stamping even on the rushes, sufficed to flush them. It was only by
setting fire to the almost impenetrable cover that I succeeded in getting a shot. At Topare tank they were
constantly on the wing and very noisy, and I had ample opportunity of observing their animated movements,
although I could not get a shot at them. I found the food of the specimens I procured at various times to
consist of small flies and minute insects.
Of its habits in India Jerdon writes: — “It frequents high grain-fields, to the stalks of which it clings,
and on being observed conceals itself among them. At J aulnah I have seen it in my garden, hunting about
various low shrubs, peas, and beans, &c., among which^ on being observed, it immediately withdrew, most
carefully hiding itself and being with difficulty driven from its place of refuge. I occasionally heard it utter
a harsh clucking note. I found its food to consist of small grasshoppers and ants.’^
Mr. S. S. Allen {1. c.) thus describes meeting with it in Egypt : — “ Shortly after entering the labyrinth of
tall reeds which covers the greater part of the lake, and is intersected by narrow lanes of water, along which
the flat-bottomed boat is poled, a cmious harsh grating note burst out suddenly, with almost startling
abruptness, from the reeds a little distance ahead, and was answered by others in two or three diflerent
directions. On questionmg the Arabs who accompanied me, they replied that it was ‘ only a little bird,"
which I could scarcely believe at first ; but on watching the spot closely for a short time, we presently saw a
little sober-coloured bird, rather larger than a Nightingale, hopping in and out among the reeds, every non
and then making the air ring with his noisy song.”
Nidification . — This species breeds in Ceylon during June and July. Its nest was proem ed by me in
the former month at the Tamara-Kulam, and was a very interesting structure, built into the oi o one
of the tall seed-stalks of the rush growing there ; the walls rested exteriorly against three of t e ranc les o
the fork, but were worked round some of the stems of the flower itself which sprung ti om t e ase o t e
fork. It was composed of various fine grasses, with a few rush-blades among them, and was lined with the
fine stalks of the flower divested, by the bird I conclude, of the seed-matter growing on them. In form it
was a tolerably deep cup, well shaped, measuring 24 inches in internal diameter by 2 in depth. The single
•544
. ACEOCEPHALUS STENTOEIUS.
egg which it contained at the time of my finding it was a broad oval in shape, pale green, boldly blotched
with blackish over spots of olive and olivaceous brown, mingled with linear markings of the same, under
which there were small clouds and blotches of bluish grey. The black markings were longitudinal and thickest
at the obtuse end. It measured 0-89 by 0-67 inch.
In India it has as yet only been found breeding in Cashmere, and there only (at the time Mr. Hume’s
" Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds ’ was published) by Captain Cock and Mr. Brooks. It breeds in May
and June; and the nest is deseribed variously as an “inverted and truncated cone,” “a deep cup,” and
“a largish nest of a deep cup form,” composed of coarse water-grass or dry sedge, woven round the
reeds whieh support it about 2 feet above the water. Mr. Hume describes tw'o types of eggs— the one
stippled minutely with small specks, over which are scattered bold and well-marked spots of greyish black,
inky purple, olive-brown, yellowish olive, and reddish umber-brown ; in the other the stippling is almost
wanting, and the markings are smaller and less well defined. The average size of nine egars was 0'89 bv'
0-61 inch.
ACEOCEPHALUS DUMETOEUM.
(BLYTHES REED-WARBLER.)
Acrocephalus dimetorum, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1849, xviii. p. 815 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
App. p. 326 ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 120 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1853, xii. p. 263 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 332 (1854); Jerdon, B.
of Ind. ii. p. 155 (1863) ; Iloldsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 455; Adam, Str. Eeath. 1873,
p. 381; Brooks, ibid. 1875, ]3- 241; Anderson, t.c. p. 351; Butler, t.c. p. 479;
Dresser (Severtzoff’s Fauna of Turkestan), Ibis, 1876, p. 84.
Calamodyta dumetorum (BL), Hume, Nests & Eggs, ii. p. 327 (1874) ; Ball, Str. Feath. 1874,
p. 414.
The Lesser Reed-Warhler, ^erdLOw, The Bush-Warhler of some. TV^ra, Bengal. ; Podena,
Hind. ; Tik-tiMi, Mussulmen,
Adult male and female. Length 5'4 to 5-G inches ; wing 2-35 to 2-55 ; tail 2-1 ; tarsus 0-8 to 0-9 ; middle toe and claw
0-6 to 0-68 ; bill to gape 0’7 to 0-72 ; 2nd quill equal to the 6th.
Iris clear olive ; bill dusky brown or dark brown above, lower mandible light fleshy, tip slightly dusky ; legs and feet
plumbeous or bluish grey, claws dusky bluish.
Above uniform brownish olive, paling slightly towards the upper tail-coverts ; in some specimens the upper surface is
of a darker hue than in others and the forehead deeper in colour ; wings and tail hair-brown, edged with the hue
of the back ; orbital fringe fulvous-grey ; lores dusky, surmounted by a pale supercilium ; cheeks mottled brownish ;
beneath white, more or less shaded with pale brownish on the sides of the chest and flanks, this colour blending
into the wHte with a fulvous tinge ; the hue of the sides of the neck likewise blends softly into the white of the
throat.
Young. Some specimens which are obtainable in Ceylon during the season of their visit have the tips of the secon-
daries and tertials pale ; these are probably immature birds.
Obs. Ceylonese specimens of this bird were stated to possess a greenish shade ; they, however, migrate to us from the
peninsula of India, and it is difficult to see how they could differ from their fellows on the mainland. I find that
the hue of the upper surface varies in specimens from India and elsewhere ; and in comparing six from Ceylon with
the same number from India and Siberia, I observe that the former as a whole are not more olivaceous on the back
than the latter. The wing in nine examples varies from 2-3 to 2-5 inches, one specimen from Etawah alone exceeding
2'4; A. dumetorum is the Indian representative of the Reed-Warbler of Europe (A. stre2)ents), wffiich is a summer
visitor to England. It is closely allied to this latter, differing from it in the proportion of the longer primaries to
one another, which give it a more rounded wing ; likewise in its deeper bill, the more olivaceous tint of the upper
surface, and its somewhat smaller size. Various examples of A. streperus which I have examined vary in the
wing from 2-45 to 2-5 inches in males, and from 2-4 to 2'.5 in females. The 2nd quill or 1st long primary is equal
to the 4th.
The following comparison of the difierentiating characters of these two Warblers will show at a glance in what respect
they differ: — , r n+i n for
A. strepifrus. Larger, browner on the lower back; bill slender ; 2nd quill (1st long primary) equal or s ig y s or
than the 4th. j -ii i f fVi Cfli
A. dumetorum. Smaller, back and rump more olivaceous than in A. streperus, bill stouter ; 2nd qui equa o e
The Acrocephalus montanus of Jerdon, B. of Ind. p. 155, and which he compares with A. is a small Babbler
(Alcippe), about the size of A. nigrifrons. There is, at least, a specimen of it, collecte y r. a a^ce, in e
British Museum, and provisionally labeUed A. montanus. It is olivaceous brown above and pale beneath, tinged
with fulvous.
Distribution.— Lesser Reed- Warbler (or Bush- Warbler, as it would be more appropriately called, as
4 A
546
ACEOCEPHALUS DEMETOEUM.
lar as Ceylon is concerned) is a cool-season visitant to the island, arriving usually in Octoher, but some
seasons not appearing about Colombo until the beginning of November. It is found throughout the entire
low country, being very numerous in the north and in all the west of the island. It inhabits the Jaffna
peninsula and adjacent islands, as well as Manaar, in great numbers, and about Colombo it is very common.
In tlie Central Province it ranges up to 4500 feet, at which height I have seen it at Catton, in Haputale, inha-
biting there patnas and coffee-estates ; above 2500 feet it is not very frequent in any part but Uva j but lower
than this, in Dumbara and portions of the western districts of similar altitude to that valley, it is almost as
common as in the low country. Its time of departure varies according to season ; during some years I have
seen it at Colombo as late as the 15th of April; but I should say all leave the island, at the latest, before the
25th of that month. Mr. Hume remarks that they leave the plains of India after the end of March ; but I
conclude that they remain somewhat later than this in some parts ; in fact Captain Butler says it does not quit
the Mt. Aboo and Deesa districts until the middle of April.
In the cool season (namely, from September until April) it is found throughout India, more or less, inha-
biting such districts as are suitable to its habits. Jerdon writes that it is found in the Nilghiris and on the
west coast, and also in the Carnatic, Central India, and Bengal ; it likewise, he says, extends into Assam ; but
it does not migrate southwards into Burmah, if we may take the experience of naturalists who have lately
collected there. It breeds in the Himalayas and Cashmere, whither it retires after its season’s residence in
more southerly latitudes, and inhabits these hills to an altitude of 7000 feet. In some parts of the north-
west it is plentiful, as in Kattiawar ; in others it is rare, as in the Sambhur-lake district and in Sindh, from
which latter place it has only lately been recorded by Mr. Blanford. In Chota Nagpur it is local, for Mr. Ball
has only obtained it in Sirguja. About Calcutta he speaks of it as common, although Blyth wrote, many
years ago, that it never was to be seen about the marshy salt lakes of that neighbourhood, among which the
last species is common. Severtzoff found it in Turkestan ; but it does not seem to range to the eastward of
that region, as Prjevalsky did not meet with it in Thibet or Mongolia.
Habits. — Blyth’s Warbler frequents low and thick bushes, detached thickets, and bushy trees, even in the
most public places, but never betakes itself (in Ceylon) to reeds or sedgy spots, although I have noticed it
sometimes in clumps of bamboos overhanging streams. When it first arrives it takes up its quarters in some
thickly-foliaged tree or dense bush, and there remains throughout most of the season ; and so regular is it in
its habits, that I have perceived it for weeks from my windows, sallying out of the same tree to another close
by, about the same hour every morning. It feeds on insects, whicli it procures among the branches and leaves
of trees, attentively searching for them, and leisurely hopping about from twig to twig, now and then jerkin»-
out a sudden “cUk,” reminding one of the note of the “ Wliitethroat ” in our hedges at home. It remain^
almost perpetually concealed from view, showing itself, when it does emerge from its stronghold, for a very
short time. It commences to warble slightly in March ; and on one or two occasions I have seen it perched on
the top of a bushy Suriah-tree in the Fort at Colombo, endeavouring to utter its love-notes, perhaps prepa-
ratory to winging its way, in a few days, to far more temperate climes, where they develop into a fine and
vigorous song.
In India it seems to avoid reeds, in the same manner as in Ceylon. Blyth writes that it comes a good
deal into gardens, frequenting pea-rows and the like. Mr. Adam noticed it hunting for insects among reeds,
and says that after each hunt it perched well up on a reed and uttered its peculiar loud call.
Nidijication . — This species breeds, as far as is known, not further south than the Himalayas. There,
according to Indian observers, it nests along the banks of streams or in thick bushes near water, building, as
noticed by Captain Hutton, a globulai nest of coarse dry grasses, lined with finer grass. The eggs are
described by Mr. Hume as “ broad ovals, smooth and compact in texture, with little or no gloss ; they
arc pure white, very thinly speekled with reddish and yellowish brown, the markings being most numerous
towards the larger end.” Dimensions 0‘62 by 0'5 inch.
Since the publication of Mr. Hume’s ‘ Nests and Eggs ’ in 1873, the late Mr. A. Anderson found this
Warbler breeding in Upper Kumaon at elevations from 3000 to 6000 feet ; his experience corroborates that of
ACEOCEPHALUS DUMETOEUM.
547
Captain Hutton as to its building in a bush ; he found a nest in the middle of a small rose-bush, about 2 feet
from the ground ; it was “ elliptical in shape, and about the size of an OstricVs egg, made of the largest and
coarsest blades of a kind of dry grass, the egg-cavity being lined with grass-bents of a finer quality.” The
eggs in the nest were four in number, “ pure white and beautifully glossed, and well covered with rufous or
reddish-brown spots, most numerous at the obtuse end.”
Subgenus LOCUSTELLA.
Similar in external structure to the last, but possessing longer under tail-coverts, minute
instead of well developed bristles, and a striated upper plumage.
4a2
348
COEONE MACEOEHYNCHA.
but in the Nicobars it is only found in Camorta and Trinkut^ having been introduced into the former place
from Port Blair.
From Burmah its range extends as far east as China and Eastern Siberia. Swinhoe notes it as being
found throughout theformerj including Formosa and Hainan; and^ in its large form of C. japonensis, it inhabits
North China and Japan. The smaller Eaven, designated Corvus culminatus by Sykes, and kept distinct by
Mr. Sharpe, has been found at Yarkand.
Habits . — This bold bird frequents native villages, some of the towns in Ceylon, pasture-lands, and other
situations in open country, as well as the wildest forest and jungle of the low country. It is usually found in
pairs, except when collected to feed on carrion, when large flocks come together. They are constantly in
attendance on cattle and buffaloes, perching on their backs and feeding on the ticks which infest these animals.
In the interior it is very destructive to poultry and young chickens and is particularly partial to eggs. Several
pairs always take up their quarters during the breeding-season in the swamps and tanks where Herons and
Egrets breed, and rob the nests right and left while the owners are absent. I have seen one drop into the
nest of a Purple Heron, turn over the eggs, and selecting one, adroitly carry it off in his bill, in less time than
it takes to write this. On two occasions I have known them to kill squirrels [Sciurus penicillatus) , in one of
which the marauder seized the animal by the tail and dashed it against the limb of a tree until it was killed ;
in the other, which I witnessed myself, my attention was attracted by the creature’s cries, when I obsei'ved it to
be doubled up, in its agony, round the bird’s bill, which had transfixed its stomach, the Crow holding it firmly,
without any apparent exertion. It is a bird of powerful flight, traversing wide tracts of country high in the
air, and frequently mounting to considei’able altitudes in its pursuit of Hawks and Eagles. In its own turn it
is subject to the feeble but troublesome attacks of the “ King-Crow ” [Buchanga leucopygialis ) . The “ caw ”
of this Crow is louder than that of C. splendens, but it has the power of modulating it and altering the tone
to an extraordinary extent.
J erdon speaks of it in India as eminently a carrion-crow, and often the first to discover a dead animal ;
while Mr. Ball writes of it as being a most useful guide to the sportsman as to the whereabouts of both dead
and living game, for, he says, “ A tiger or a bear cannot walk about in the daylight without being made the
subject of some loudly-expressed remarks on the part of the Crows of the neighbourhood.”
I have myself observed this inquisitive tendency in the Corby in Ceylon ; and Layard remarks that though
a wounded deer may retire to the most tangled brake to die, its covert is invariably revealed to the hunter by
the Crows, w'ho, congregating in small parties on the surrounding trees, patiently wait till life is extinct to
begin their repast with the jackals and wild hogs.
Nidification . — The principal months for breeding arc May, June, and July, most nests being built during
May. The nest is placed in the fork of a top bough, often so slender that it will not admit of the eggs
being safely reached ; or it may rest at the bases of cocoanut-fronds, entirely concealed from sight below. It
is a large structure of sticks and twigs, lined with fine roots, hair, w'ool, &c. The exterior is often very
straggling; but the nest is very little larger on the whole than that of C. splendens. As remarked in a former
article, it is the favourite receptacle for the eggs of the Koel, containing sometimes as many as three or four
of them. The eggs are usually four in number, and much resemble those of C. splendens. They are long
ovals, and in many cases somewhat pyriform, of a pale sea-green or light bluish-green ground, some being
thickly spotted with small specks of pale brown or umber-brown over the whole surface, mingled with linear
spots of the same ; others have the markings much darker, larger, and more openly distributed. They vary, in
general, from \'7 to I‘58 inch in length by 1‘2 to 1-7 in breadth; but Mr. Hume records one specimen as
1‘95 in length, and says that in India they vary inter se surprisingly in size, in tone of colour, and in character
of marking, and that the birds of the plains lay slightly larger eggs than those of the Himalayas or Nilghiris,
tlie average of twenty of the former being 1-74 inch by 1-2 against 1-73 by I'lS and 1-7 by 1-18 respectively.
COEONE SPLENDENS.
(THE COMMON GEEY CROW.)
Corms splendens, Vieill. N. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. viii. p. 44 (1816) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S.
B. p. 90 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 214 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. 1. Co. ii. p. 559 (1856); Jerdon,
B. of Ind. ii. p. 298 (1863); NeHll, J. A. S. (Ceylon Br.) p. 33 (1870-71); Legge,
ibid. p. 52; Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 460; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 23; Butler,
Str. Feath. 1875, p. 493; Hume, ibid. 1876, p. 463.
Corvus impudicus. Gray, Hand-1. B. ii. p. 14 (1870) ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 413 (1873) ;
id. Str. Feath. 1873, p. 206 ; Adam, ibid. p. 386 ; Ball, ibid. 1874, p. 418.
Corone splendens, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 33 (1877).
The Indian Hooded Crow, Kelaart ; The Common Indian Croio, Jerdon.
Kowa, Patti-Jeown, Desi-Jeowa, Hind., in various districts ; Kag or Kak, Beng. ; Manchi-kaki,
Telugu ; Nalla-kaka, Tam. (Jerdon).
Karavi-kaka, lit. “ Low-caste Crow,” Sinhalese ; Eakum, Ceylonese Tamils ; Grdya,
Portuguese in Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 16-75 to IT'O inches ; wing 10-0 to 11-0 ; tail 6-0 to 6-5 ; tarsus 1-9 to 2-0 ; mid
toe 1-4 to 1-5, claw (straight) 0-5 ; bill to gape 1-9 to 2-0. This species is as variable as the last in size’, but
females average smaller than males.
Iris dark brown ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Eorehead, crown, chin, cheeks and throat, back, wings, and tail black ; the back, wing-coverts, and outer webs of
secondaries with purple, and the throat, primaries, and tall with green reflections ; nape, ear-coverts, sides and
back of neck cinereous grey, blending into the black of the surrounding parts, and passing on the chest into
a slightly duskier hue than that of the hind neck ; breast and lower parts greyish black, glossed slightly with
greenish and blending into the hue of the chest ; under surface of primaries, particularly near the base, pervaded
with greyish.
Toung. Birds of the year have the wing var-ying from 9-0 to lO'O inches.
In the nest-plumage the hind neck is dirll grey and the crown is pervaded with the same ; the chest and under surface
are of an earthy browm, and at the age of three or four months the greenish-black feathers appear on the breast.
Ohs. The plumage of this Crow is subject to variation dependent on age and freshness of the feathers ; in abraded
plumage the hind neck becomes quite fulvous, losing the grey tint of the newly acquired feather. This character
is not the result of age in the individual : birds that are in moult may be seen with grey feathers intermingled
with old fulvous-coloured ones. The amount of metallic reflections present on the upper-surface plumage increases
somewhat as the bird grows to maturity.
Ceylonese specimens have been said to be blacker than Indian ; but I do not Imow whether this alleged character would
invariably hold good as regards the upper surface, were an equally large series of adult examples from the tw-o
localities compared ; certainly continental birds are paler on the chest, and the grey tint descends lower down
than in those from Ceylon, but some examples from India will coincide as regards the hind neck with insular
ones. Birds which I have examined from Nepal and Darjiling are very pale on the hood and chest. The wings
of eight specimens measure respectively 11-2, 11-0, 11-4, 10*8, 10-0, 11-9, 11-0, 10-8 inches; the largest are
from Nepal. Ce)donese examples compared, therefore, with the above series will be seen to be smaller than their
Indian fellows ; but in regard to size insular birds vary very much ; one has only to look at a number of adults
as they hop about in the streets to notice at once the variation in size which exists among them. Mr. Hume
writes that specimens shot in the Laccadh-es w-ere very dark, recalling G, insoleiis.
In Burmah is a nearly allied race or subspecies of the present, the Gorvus insolens of Hume. It differs from the
Indian bird in being blacker with a somewhat dull appearance about those parts which in the Indian Crow are
550
LOCFSTELLA CEETHIOLA.
it darted out with a quick jerky flight into the nearest tussocks, from which I found it, in several instances,
impossible to drive. It frequented the same spots from day to day, as on escaping my pursuit on one occasion
I was sure to find it, at my next visit, in the same place. I was unable to detect it uttering any note save a
little chik of alarm; hut in the breeding-season it very likely has a somewhat similar creaking song (like the
noise of a crieket or grasshopper) to that which has earned for its European relative the name of Glrasshopper-
Warbler. Mr. Seebohm remarks of it, as observed in Siberia in August, that he “found it very shy and
skulking in its habits. The young birds,” he writes, “ some only half-fledged, were still in broods ; and occa-
sionally 1 got a shot at one which left the sedges and ventured into the willows. They were calling anxiously
to each other, the note being a harsh tic, tic, tic.”
All the members of this interesting group of Wai'blers are characterized by their skulking habits. The
English bird {L. nevia), which arrives in the country in April, secretes itself in thick branches and grassy
underwood, out of which I have seen it running like a mouse. We read of it in Yarrell that “ except on first
coming, when the cocks, awaiting the arrival of their mates, display themselves more than is their wont, it is
at all times difficult, and in the breeding-season, when bushes and shrubs are clothed with leaves, almost
impossible to obtain a sight of it.” It is said to sing more at sunrise than any other time, and it has the
power of pitching its note so that it is very difficult to determine the direction from which it comes. This is
said to arise from the bird turning its head, which produces a remarkably ventriloquistic effect, already noticed
in this work in the case of other species.
Genus PHYLLOSCOPUS.
Bill straight, rather slender and wide at the base ; the culmen curved at the tip only ; tip
notched. Nostrils oval and lengthened, placed in a wide membrane; rictal bristles scanty.
Wings long ; the 1st quill exceeding the primary-coverts, the 3rd and 4th the longest, the 2nd
variable in length. Tail of 12 feathers, slightly emarginate. Tarsus longer than the middle toe
and shielded with smooth scutse. Feet small.
PHYLLOSCOPUS NITIDUS.
(THE GREEN TREE- WARBLER.)
Sylvia hippokds, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1840, xi. p. 6.
Phylloscoims nitidtis, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1843, xii. p. 965 ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1853, xii. p. 263; Layard & Kelaart, Prodromns, App. Cat. p. 57 (1853); Jerdon, ^B.
of Ind. ii. p. 193 (1863) ; Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 457 ; Adam, Str. Feath. 1873,
p. 382; Legge, ibis, 1874, p. 22 ; Seebohm, Ibis, 1877, p. 72.
Ahrornis nitidus (BL), G. K. Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 175 (1848).
Regulus nitidus (BL), Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 390 (1850).
Adult male and female. Length 4'5 to 4-75 inches; wing 2-5 to 2-6 ; tail 1-6.5 to 1-8 ; tarsus 0-6o to 0-/ ; mid toe
and claw 0-55 ; bill to gape 0-55 to 0-0 ; bastard primary about 0-3 longer than the primary-coverts.
Iris dark olive-brown ; bill dark along eulmcn, margin of upper mandible^ and almost all the lower fleshy ; legs anc
feet brownish fleshy, or the tarsus bluish grey and the feet olivaceous in some.
Above olivaceous greenish; the breast slightly darker than the back ; wings and tail brown, edged with the hue ot the
upper surface ; the outer primaries pale-edged ; basal inner edges of quills whitish; greater wing-coverts with
whitish tips, forming a slight bar across the wing ; superciliary streak and beneath the eye ^eenish yellow-white;
lores and a streak at the posterior corner of the eye brown ; beneath whitish, tinged with flavescent greenish,
generally brightest on the chest; flanks shaded with dusky grey; tail-feathers in some tipped beneath with
greenish white, but not so conspicuously as in P. mafjnirostns ; shafts of the tail-feathers beneath white.
Summer phmage. The above description is taken from Oeylon-Hlled winter specimens. Mr. Seebohm recognizes a
difference in the breeding attire. Specimens I have examined from Northern India certainly appeax to difler
from mine in being uniform dull pale green above, the head concolorous with the hind neck, and the upper
tail-coverts paler than the back, having a yellowish tinge.
Obs This Tree- Warbler and the two foUowing are among those classed by Mr. Seebohm in the section which have
■ no mesial line on the crown, in addition to which the under mandible is pale and the ^
whitish, forming one and sometimes two bars across the wing. It is very closely allied to the Greenish Tree:
Warbler, but can be easily distinguished from that species, as I shall presently point on . ave su ^
all my specimens to Mr. Seebohm for examination, and have myself compared them with examples of the Greenish
Tree-Warbler P.viridanus, and there is no doubt that they are all P. nitidus. A male from 1 utteghur, in
Mr Anderson’s collection, measures 2-5 inches in the whig, and three females vary from 2-3 to 2-4 inches.
Distribution.— T\iis diminutive W^arbler migrates in great numbers from the Himalayas through India
to Ceylon spreading over the whole island, from the sea-eoast to the summits of the highest mountains, and
frequenting all districts independently of climate or nature of locality. It is equally at home in the Suriah-
trees in the streets of Colombo and in the heart of the forests of the Northern Province. It arrives in the
island about the middle of September, and departs again at the end of March and the beginning of Apnl.
By the end of September it may be found all over the coffee-districts and throughout the extreme south ot the
island. It is common at Nuwara Elliya and in the circumjacent forests, and frequents the woods on t e
Horton Plains ; w'hile I have even procured it on the summit of Totapella, one of the mountains w nc
The Green Tree-Warbler is spread throughout India in the cold weather, and breeds, in all probability, in
the Himalayas. It would seem to be less numerous in the central portions of coutmenta n la in
Ion liGt is in Southern India and Ceylon. Jerdon writes that he frequenriy proeni.d it in ^e hills G
the peumsuU; Mr. Bourd.ll„« of it, '' ^ art
hiah trees but sometimes descending to the underwood. As legaras tuc noii, , , t u
M cAtte; aod Blyth .rites that it is generally distributed, but rare m Lower Bengal. 1 have seen
552
PHYLLOSCOPUS NITIDUS.
specimens collected at Futteghur and at Etawali. About tlic Sambhur Lake Mr. Adam says that it is very
rare; and it has only lately been added to the avifauna of Sindh, having been procui’ed at Kotri by a collector
of Mr. Blanford’s. But there is much more still to be learnt about the distribution of this tiny Warbler. The
extraordinary fact of a specimen of it having been shot in Pleligoland some years since proves that it must
breed in Western Siberia. Many species, singularly enough, after breeding in Northern Asia stray, on their
migration back, westwards through Europe till they find their way to the little island of Heligoland ; and
this example of the Green Tree-Warbler must have been, as Mr. Seebohm infers, loc. cit., a young bird which
had got out of its track.
Habits . — This species frequents the upper branches of umbrageous trees, no matter whether they may
be situated in busy thoroughfares or in the quiet of the forest. It is especially fond of Jack-trees, which are
mostly found in the gardens of the natives, and again is very partial to the monarchs of the forest which
surround the many romantic tanks of the interior. In these spots its perpetual little chirrup invariably
discloses its presence when otherwise it would certainly be passed over in the lofty foliage which it frequents.
It affects the leaves of trees more than the next species, and darts out from its place of concealment on various
insects, after the manner of a Flycatcher. It is very lively in its actions, and is sociably inclined, for one
or two of its fellows may usually be found in an adjacent tree, each answering the other with its cheerful little
note. Its flight is swift, although its powers of locomotion are not much brought into play after it once
locates itself in its winter quarters ; it then merely darts from tree to tree, and often remains for a considerable
time without moving out of its retreat. The powers of wing which these little Phylloscopi have are marvellous;
that they should be able to make their way across such a chain of mountains as the Himalayas, as some of
them undoubtedly do, is one of the greatest wonders connected with the migration of birds.
PHYLLOSCOrUS M AGNIEOSTEIS.
(THE LARGE-BILLED TREE-WARBLER.)
Phylloscopus magnirostris, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1843, xii. p. 966 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 191
(1863) ; Brooks, Ibis, 1872, p. 26 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 439 (first printed record
from Ceylon) ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 22 ; Brooks, Str. Featb. 1875, p. 243 ; Seebohm,
Ibis, 1877, p. 77 ; Hume, B. of Tenass., Str. Feath. 1878, p. 352.
Pkyllopieuste magnirostris (Bl.), G. R. Gray, App. Hodgs. Cat. B. of Nep. p. 15 (1846).
Phyllogiseuste magnirostris (BL), Hume, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 236.
Pkylloscopus javanicus, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 185 (1849).
The Large-billed Willow-Warbler.
A^dult 'lYUilc and female, L6iigth 4*9 to 5*2 inches ; wing 2*5 to 2*75 ; tail 1*85 to 2*0 ; tarsus Ow to 0*8 ; middle toe
and claw 0*55 ; bill to gape 0*5 to 0*6.
Iris light or yellowish brown ; bill dark horn, with the base and tip of lower mandible fleshy ; gape pale ; legs and feet
bluish grey or dusky bluish.
Above dusky olive-greenish, paling on the rump ; wings and tail brown, edged with a pale greeni,sh hue, and the latter
tipped with the same ; greater coverts with pale terminal spots, forming a wing-bar ; a whitish supercilium from
the nostril over the eye to the ear-coverts ; lores and a moderately large space behind the eye dark brov u ; cheeks
mingled brown and greenish white ; beneath whitish, washed with flavescent greenish, with the flanks and sides of
the chest cinereous brownish (in some the whole chest is overcast with dusky) ; under tail-coverts greenish v'hite ;
under wing gi*eeuish yellow.
Ois. This Warbler is easily recognized from the last species by its stouter build and darker upper plumage, also by
the dark head and space behind the eye, over which the rather conspicuous supercilium reaches ; these are differ-
ences which prevent it being confounded for a moment with P. nitidus, where the larger bill might at first be
overlooked, especially as this varies somewhat in size.
This Willow- Wai*bler is very closely allied to F. lugubris, another Indian species, the only reliable point of difference
between the two being the proportion of the primary quills to one another. In the present species the 2nd and
8th primaries are siihequal, whereas in P. lugubris, the 2nd primary is shorter than the 8th. In one of my skins
from Ceylon, the 2nd primary is somewhat shorter than the 8 th ; but it is so exactly identical with the rest of mj
series that it is not advisable to separate it. Mr. Seebohm has examined it and is of the same opinion. On the
whole, I think, the wing of P. Iwjubris is shorter than in the present species ; several specimens from Sikkim I
have examined measure as follows ; — 2*6, 2*oo, 2*4, 2*6, § 2*5 inches, and they are, as a whole, a trifle darker on
the upper surface than P. magnirostris. I have not procured a female of this latter with the wdng less than
2*5 inches, and one specimen measures 2*6, although I see that Mr. Seebohm, in his excellent paper on the Phyl-
loscopi already referred to, gives a minor limit of 2*23. Two examples from India measure 2 83 and 2*5 inches in
the wing.
ig reason to infer why P. lugubris should not occur in Ceylon j and I commend the subject of its discoveij'
there to those who may hereafter pay attention to this genus in the island.
Both these species much resemble the Willow-Wren of Europe, P .trochilus; but this latter has no wing-bar, is slightly
greener on the back, and the throat, chest, and under wing-coverts are washed with a brighter greenish yellow ;
the bill is smaller and legs longer. An example in my collection measures : — length 5*1 inches, wing 2*6o, tad
2*1, tarsus 0*85, bill to gape 0*5. Iris brown ; bill, upper mandible brown, lower fleshy ; legs and feet brown.
Distribution. — Like the last species, this Tree- Warbler is migratory in the cool season to Ceylon, arriving
and departing much about the same time as that bird. It is common in many parts of the island, particularly in the
forest-region of the northern half and in the Eastern Province. I found it likewise in considerable numbers
in some parts of the North-west Province, particularly on the Deduru oya and its tributaries, and also in the
Ikkade-Barawe forest and other spots in the Western Province. In the Kandy country and in the upper hills
it is likewise common. It was particularly abundant during the cool season of 1876-/7; in January 1877, at
554
PHTLLOSCOPUS MAGMEOSTEIS.
the Horton Plains^ it was quite as frequent as the last-noticed bird. The first example recorded from Ceylon
was shot by myself on the banks of the river in Lindula, in November 1870, and I have never detected it in
any collections but my own. It is worthy of note that females are rare in Ceylon.
Jerdon writes as follows : — “ It apjjears to be spread, but rare, over India. I obtained it at Nellore in
the cold weather, and it has been procured near Calcutta and in Nepal.^’ Its head-quarters, in the summer,
seem to bo the sub-Himalayan districts. Mr. Brooks found it in forest in Cashmere, and met with it in
numbers in the valley of the Bhagarati river above Mussoori. In the winter it wanders down the eastern side
of the Bay of Bengal, and is, according to Mr. Hume, a rare cold-weather visitant to the central portion of
the provinee of Tenasserim. It likewise finds its way to the Andamans, where it was procured by Lieut.
Wardlaw Ramsay, and also on Mount Harriet, above Port Blair, during Mr. Hume^s expedition to the island
in 1873.
Habits. This Tree- Warbler frequents the upper branches of trees in jungle and forest, and does not affect
the vicinity of human habitations like the last, preferring the retirement of the woods to the shelter of umbra-
geous trees in compounds, gardens, and other open places. It likewise does not seem to dwell so much among
the leaves and boughs as P. nitidus. On hearing its sweet three-note whistle, which somewhat resembles the
note of the Redbreast Ply catcher (C. ticMlia), if you look up you will see the little bird, Avhence it comes
flitting from one bare branch to another, peering down for an instant on you, and at the next rapidly darting
among the surrounding foliage at some passing insect, and then realighting at some little distance off. These
actions are so much like that of a Flycatcher, audits note so unlike the chirrup of the last species, that the first
time I procured it under these circumstances I was surprised to find I had killed a Willow- Warbler instead of a
Flycatcher. It constantly repeats its note as it moves from tree to tree in search of insects, which form its
entire food ; and it generally hunts singly, notwithstanding that one of its companions may usually be heard
not far off.
Blyth writes of its song, “ My shikaree, who shot it, informed me that it sung prettily j and on my imitating
the well-known note of P. trochilus (the Willow-5Fren), he assured me that the song of this bird was quite
different.” Mr. Brooks, who has paid so much attention to the members of this genus, says that its song is
peculiarly shrill and sweet, but is the most melancholy one that could be imagined. He further writes,
concerning his observations of the species in the Mussoori district, “1 frequently heard its song near
Danguli, and again not far from Gangaotri. Also on the road from Sansoo to Kauriagalia, in a rocky wooded
glen through which a small stream flowed. The eonditions this bird requires are wooded cliffs or very steep
rocky banks impracticable for man, and plenty of flowing water below. Above a roaring torrent it is in its
element, and sings most vigorously It is very shy and of a retiring disposition, and the female is
rarely seen. But for its song the male also would escape observation.”
PHYLLOSCOPUS VIEIDANTJS.
(THE GREENISH TREE-WARBLER.)
Phyllopneibste mfa, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xii. p. 191 (1842), nec Bodd.
Phylloscojius viridanus, Blytli, J. A. S. B. 1843, xii. p. 967 ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1853, xii. p. 263 ; Layard & Kelaart, Prodromus, App. Cat. B, p. 57 (1853) ; Jerdon,
B. of Ind. ii. p. 193 (1863) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 457 ; Brooks, Ibis, 1872, p. 31 ;
Henderson & Hume, Lahore to Yarkand, p. 220, pi. 19 (1873) ; Scully, Str. Feath. 1876,
p. 148 ; Seebohm, Ibis, 1877, p. 73.
Ahrornis viridana, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av. p. 290 (1850).
Phylloscojpus plimieitarsus, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1861, p. 330 ; Seebohm, Ibis, 1877, p. 73 ;
Brooks, Str. Feath. 1878, vii. p. 505.
Adult male and female. Lengtli “ 4-75 to 5 inches ” {Jerdon) ; wing 2-2 to 2‘4 ; tail 2-0 ; tarsus 0‘7 ; middle toe 0-4,
claw (straight) 0T5 j biU to gape 0’5. These measurements are from two specimens in my collection from
E utteghur.
Dr. Scully gives the following complete measurements of a specimen hilled in Turkestan : — Length 4’3 inches ; expanse
7T5 ; wing 2-34; tail 1-8; tarsus 0'81 ; bill from gape 0'53; weight 0'35 oz.
“ Bill, upper mandible dusky brown, lower mandible yellowish brown ; irides dark brown ; legs and feet brownish grey ;
claws brown horny.” {Scully.)
Above dull olivaceous green, pervaded with a brownish hue, the rump greener than the back ; primaries and secondaries
brown, edged with the hue of the back ; greater coverts tipped with whitish, forming a single wing-bar ; tail bi-own,
the feathers edged, principally near the base, with the colour of the upper tail-coverts ; a dark spot in front of the
eye ; above it a rather wide yellowish supercilimn passes from the nostril to above the ear-coverts, which are
brownish ; beneath from the chin to the under tail-coverts whitish, tinged slightly with greenish yellow ; under wing-
coverts washed with greenish yellow, brightest at the edge of the wing; shafts of the tail-feathers beneath white.
Obs. This species may be distinguished from P. nitidus by its browner upper surface and less yellow-tinged under-
parts ; it is aptly named the Cfreenish while the latter is styled the Green Tree-Warbler.
Distribution. — The evidence on which this bird takes its place in our lists rests on the following statement
of Layard’ s, w'ho writes, in speaking of a Warbler which he calls Phyllo'pneuste montanus, Blyth : — “ The present
species is migratory, and abounds in low thick hushes in company with Phyllopneuste viridanus.” There is some
error here, as there is no such bird as P. montanus, Blyth, and it is strange that the present species should
be said to abound. Perhaps it may visit Ceylon ; and if its note is not to be distinguished from that of the very
numerous species first noticed, it would naturally be supposed by Layard to be common after he had once
procured it. It is to be hoped that naturalists will pay particular attention to this point.
The Greenish Tree-Warbler, as hitherto considered, inhabits Cashmere, according to Mr. Brooks, in the
breeding- season ; and Jerdon proeured it at Darjiling. It ranges, however, north of the Himalayas, as
Dr. Scully procured it in Kashgharia, and Dr. Henderson found it common in Hill Yarkand at the Arpalak
river. In the cool season it migrates to the plains, Blyth stating that it is very common in Lower Bengal.
It is not unfrequent in the North-west Provinces; and Jerdon obtained it in Southern India. It passes to the
eastward of the Bay of Bengal on to Tenasserim, whence Mr. Hume records it from Thatone, river Salween,
and Moulmein.
Concerning its habits Dr. Scully writes : — “ This species was noticed among the tamarisk and willow
bushes fringing the Sanju stream, and along the banks of the Karakash river. It seemed very restless, con-
tinually Hitting from spray to spray, and its note was a weak sort of chirp frequently uttered. Blyth pronounces
its voice to be very weak, and to be expressible by tiss-yip, tiss-yip, frequently uttered.’
4 B 2
556
PHTLLOSCOPUS VIEIDANU8.
Presuming, however, that the P. plumbeitarsus of Swiiihoe is the same as P. viridanus (and Mr. Seehohm
informs me that he believes in the identity of the two species, the former being the summer plumage of the
latter], the range of this Warbler becomes enormously extended, and reaches “ in the breeding-season
the subalpine districts of the North-eastern Palsearctic Region from the Ural to the Pacific. Prjevalsky found
it in the breeding-season in the pine-districts of Camsu. It passes through China on migration, and probably
winters in Burma and the East-India islands'’ {Seebohm). The identity of this northern species with our
Indian P. vindanus might account for the fact of a skin of the latter having been identified by Messrs. Brooks
and Seebohm in a collection made in the month of August in the Ural. It has likewise been recently procured
in Heligoland by Herr Gatke.
On the other hand, however, Mr. Brooks gives it as his opinion, in the last number of ' Stray Feathers ’
(vol. vii. pp. 508— 10), that Swinhoe's species is distinct from the present. He points out, among other points,
that P. plumbeitarsus has a stronger, differently shaped and coloured bill, two wing-bars instead of one, which
are yellowish instead of white, and also a darker upper plumage than P. viridanus.
Mr. Brooks found its nest in Cashmere at an elevation of about 4000 feet ; it was a domed structure,
on the steep bank-side of a ravine full of small birch ti’ees.
PASSERES.
Earn. PAEID^.
Bill short and conical, with the tip entire. The nostrils concealed by a tuft of feathers ;
gape furnished with bristles. Wings rather long ; the 1st quill about half the length of the
longest. Tail moderate. Legs and feet stout ; the tarsus scaled.
Of small size and of arboreal habit.
Genus PARUS.
Bill typical in form, the margin of the upper mandible lobed ; the tip s lig htly more curved
than the rest of the culmen. Nostrils circular and concealed by the impending tufts ; rictal
bristles feeble. Wings with the 4th and 5th quills subequal and longest, the 2nd shorter than, or
about equal to, the 8th. Tail moderately lengthened and slightly graduated. Tarsus exceeding
the middle toe and claw, and shielded with broad scales. Lateral toes short ; hind toe and claw
large.
PAEUS ATEICEPS.
(THE GEEY-BACKED TITMOUSE.)
Pams atriceps, Horsf. Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 160 (1820), “ ex Java ” ; Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832,
p. 92 ; Tweeddale, Ibis, 1877, p. 304.
Parus cmereus, Vieillot, Tabl. Enc. Method, p. 506 (1823), ex Levaillant ; Blyth, Cat. B.
Mus. A. S. B. p. 103 (1849) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 267 ;
Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 121 (1852) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 278 (1863); Holds-
worth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 460 ; Ball, Str. Eeath. 1874, p. 417 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 23.
Parus nifolensis, Hodgs. Ind. Rev. 1838, p. 31.
Parus ccesius (Tick.), Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 361 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 405 ;
Brooks, Str. Eeath. 1875, p. 253; Hume 8c Davison, B. of Tenass., Str. Eeath. 1878,
p. 376.
Le Mesange grise ajoue hlanche, Levaillant, Ois. d’Afrique, pi. 139 ; Le Mesange cap negre,
The Tit, also Coffee-hird,” Planters. Eamgangra, Bengal. ; Glate wingho, Java.
Adult male and female. Length 5'3 to 5‘.8 inches ; wing 2'6 to 2'9 ; tail 2‘3 to 2‘6 ; tarsus 0'7 to 0'75 ; middle toe and
claw 0-G to 0'7 ; bill to gape 0-48 to 0'5o.
Some hill-birds are larger than those from the low country : a male from Horton Plains measures — length 5'8 inches,
wing 2’9, tail 2‘6 ; a male from Colombo — length 5’5 inches, wing 2-6, tail 2-2.
Iris dark bi'own ; bill black, a slaty edge to the lower mandible ; legs and feet dusky bluish or plumbeous ; claws brown.
Head, nape, sides of neck, chin, throat, chest, and down the centre of breast, belly, and under tail-coverts shining blue-
black, enclosing a large white patch, which extends from the gape over the cheeks and ear-coverts; back, rump,
and wing-coverts cinereous bluish, with a whitish patch adjacent to the black nape ; wings and tail black, edged
with bluish, the longer primaries with nari’ow, and the tertials with broad white margins : greater coverts broadly
tipped white ; outer tail-feather white, with a broad black inner margin, the next with a variable white streak
running up from the tip ; sides of the breast, belly, under tail-coverts, and the lower portion of the thighs 'wiiitish,
tinged with bluish grey on the flanks.
The amount of white on the outer tail-feathers varies; in some examples the outer web of the penultimate is wholly
white. This may be the result of age. The size of the w’hite nuchal spot varies much, and the black at each side
of it descends further down the hind neck in some specimens than in others.
Fbunff. Iris as in the adidt; bill dark horn-colour; margin and gape yellowish.
The back of the head and chest has less gloss than in the adult; the ventral stripe is narrower ; the back dusky bluish,
with a greenish tinge.
Obs. Examples from India are identical with our Ceylon bird, which I cannot likewise separate from the Javan and
Malayan form, although individual specimens may be perhaps chosen from a series of the latter which would not,
in all respects, correspoml with some from our island. This is only to be expected, as it is a species subject to
local variatioji. A West-Javan skin has the w'ing 2‘6 inches, and corresponds entirely on the upper surface with
one from Ceylon ; another from the same distidct measures 2‘4 only, and is slightly darker on the back ; another
from East Java measures 2-4, and is paler than most Ceylonese examples. A Lombok specimen has a wing of
2'6 in length and tail 2‘6 ; it is also a very pale bird, but differs in no other way. Swinhoe remarks, in his
“ Catalogue of the Birds of China” (P. Z. S. 1871), that the Javan bird can be readilydistinguished from the conthiental
one by “ the black of the head extending beyond the white nuchal spot, and separating it from the grey of the
back,” and accordingly he applied a name of Tickell’s (P. ccesms) to the Chinese and Indian bird, which has been
in vogue in ‘ Sti-ay Eeathers ’ ever since. I do not see this character exemplified in the British-Musoum specimens,
and 1 have, since my examination of them, asked Mr. Sharpe to look at them. He informs me, in epist., that he
cannot see the distinction here referred to, although, in some examples, the “ black bordering the white nape-spot
is carried a little further down the mantle.” I have referred to this above as an individual peculiarity in Ceylonese
558
PAEUS ATEICEPS.
birds, and it is therefore not a character of sufficient value to justify a separation of the two varieties. If it were,
however, the name of P. ccesius would, in my opinion, be objectionable, as no one knows where TickeU first
employed it, and he certainly never published it. Jerdon uses it as a synonym of P. cinereus ; and this is our only
authority for its employment at all. As to the latter title, it is three years junior to P. atrice^s, and is therefore
merely a synonym of it.
This Titmouse may be styled the Asiatic representative of the English “ Great Tit,” which has the distribution of
the black on the head and throat and the white cheek-patch the same ; but the back is greenish and the
nuchal patch yellowish ; the underparts are yellowish instead of greyish white.
Distribution. — ^The Grey Tit is very numerous in all the hill-districts of Ceylon, frequenting the highest
parts of the main range and other forests above 3000 feet more abundantly than those of lower altitude.
It is scattered over all the forest districts of the low country, but is not common near the sea. I met with it
in most parts of the eastern side of the island and in the north-central jungles ; and Mr. Parker informs me
that it is common about Uswewa, in the Puttalam district. In the neighbourhoods of Colombo and Galle I
have found it during both monsoons, but mostly in the cool season, and I believe that it is an occasional
visitant only to those places. In the Morowak and Kukkul Korales, and likewise in the Saffragam and Pasdun-
Korale jungles it is common, and probably visits the coast region from these localities. I never observed it
close to Trincomalie, although it is tolerably frequent further inland.
Jerdon writes of the Grey Tit’s distribution in India: — “This Tit extends throughout the Himalayas
from Nepal to Bhootan, Assam, and through Central India to the Nilghiris I have procured it
on the Nilghiris, and it extends all along the range of Western Ghats north to Kandeish. I have also obtained
it in the hilly regions of Nagpur and at Saugor, and Tickell got it at Chaibassa, in Central India, but it does
not occur in Bengal.” In Travancore it is, according to Mr. Bourdillon, not uncommon at higher elevations.
It is, in fact, chiefly found in hilly wooded tracts of country : at Mt. Aboo, for instance. Captain Butler records
it as occurring sparingly, though very rare in the plains, where he procured it once in the month of June,
about 18 miles from Deesa; and Mr. Hume writes that it is found in the Gir and Girwan districts, in
Kattiawar, and the Koochawun and Marot jungles north of the Sarabhur Lake, but nowhere else in the entire
region. An exception to this rule, however, is found in Dr. Armstrong’s notes on the Birds of the Irrawaddy
delta, in which he writes : — “ This species was met with abundantly in the open tidal jungle bordering portions
of the coast between Elephant Point and China-Bakeer, and also in similar localities along the margin of the
Eangoon river at Eastern Grove.” It is found in various parts of Burmah, and is a rare straggler to the central
portions of the province of Tenasserim. It is likewise, no doubt, an inhabitant of the Malay Peninsula, which
forms a link between its Indian and Malayan habitat. It was flrst described from Java by Horsfield; to the
east of that island it is found in Lombok, and to the west in Sumatra. A region quite as remote as these
islands is the east coast of China, to the avifauna of which Swinhoe added this Tit; he found it in the island
of Hainan, and writes that his specimens thence procured were identical with those from India.
A notice of this bird’s distribution would not be complete without referring to Levaillant’s remark on it as
a South- African species ; he says, “ It was the only species ” (of Titmouse ?) ” I saw in the vicinity of the
Cape or in the colony ! ”
Habits. — This interesting little bird, like its European congeners, possesses a restless and inquisitive
disposition, and is a most diligent worker when in search of its insect food. It consequently frequents a variety
of situations, and intrudes itself upon the notice of the most casual observer. In the hills it is found in pairs,
or two or three together, in forest, thick jungle, and patna-woods ; it is likewise common on estates, the well-
grown coffee-bushes affording it such a welcome shelter that it appears to live permanently among them ; thence
it makes casual raids upon the neat little gardens attached to so many bungalows, and deals destruction to the
buds and young shoots. In the low country it resides chiefly in forest ; but its wandering disposition brings it
often into the vicinity of habitations, where it locates itself for the time being in the shady compounds and
pleasant groves among which the villagers pass their existence. There it frequently resorts to the heads of
cocoanut-trees, searching among their flowers and at the bases of the broad fronds for the numerous insects
which affect these favourite situations. On the Horton-Plain woods, where it is common, it delights in the
PAETJS ATEICEPS.
559
moss-covered trunks and limbs of the rather stunted timber-trees of that elevation, and attentively scrutinizes
every nook and eranny in quest of its morning meal. While hopping about the branches of trees, it gives out
a sharp two-note whistle, and repeats it for a considerable time, after the manner of its European relative. I
am not aware whether it has the interesting habit of tapping branches in the same style which must be familiar
to all who have observed our Great Tit in England during the autumn and winter. No little bird can possess
a more thoroughly busy and at the same time contented air than this one, when he is diligently working away
at the branch of some find old apple-tree, making his well-directed blows heard at a considerable distance from
his perch. ''
Jerdon says of the Grey Tit, “ it is a very familiar and abundant bird on the Nilghiris, with the usual
habits of the tribe, entering gardens, and feeding on various small insects and also on seeds.^’ Dr. Armstrong
observes that it is very active, “ moving from one bush or tree to another, and frequenting alike the highest
Sonneratia-tvees and the lowest mangroves.’'’
Nidification . — In the Central Province this species breeds from March until July. It usually selects a
hole in some moderately-sized tree, perhaps one which has been cut by a Barbct or a Woodpecker, and at the
bottom of this retreat forms a large and slovenly nest of moss, feathers, and hair. It lays from four to six
eggs, broad ovals in shape, pure white, openly spotted with well-defined marks of purplish red, which often
form a zone round the large end. It often chooses a hole in a bank, and has been known to build on a branch
of a tree, Mr. Hume citing an instance of a nest so situated in a “ Banj ” tree, 10 feet from the ground.
This author states that they rear two broods in India, the first in March, the second in June, while in the
Nilghiris they lay as late as September and October. Miss Cockburn, who has made so many interesting notes
on the nidification of birds at Kotagherry, remarks that they show great affection and care for their young,
and that they bite savagely at the hand of an intruder, puffing out their throats and hissing like a snake. The
average size of a number of eggs taken in India is stated to be 0'71 by 0‘54 inch.
PASSERES.
Earn. CEETHIID^.
Bill variable, either straight or much curved, but al-ways compressed and -with the tip entire.
Tail variable, rather long in some, with the shafts rigid and pointed, in others short and even at
the tip. Legs short ; feet very large ; toes in many syndactyle, the hind toe and claw larger than
the rest.
Of scansorial or climbing habit.
Subfam. sitting:.
Bill straight and rather short. Tail shorter than the wings and even at the tip.
Genus DENDEOPHILA.
Bill straight, widened at the base ; the culmen gently curved from the base to the tip.
Nostrils oval and lateral; a few weak rictal bristles. Wings long, pointed; the 1st quill
exceeding the primary-coverts by about 0-2 inch, the 4th the longest, and the 2nd shorter than
the 6th. Tail very short, slightly exceeding the closed wing. Tarsus short, scaled, exceeding
the middle toe, which is shorter than the hind ; outermost toe much exceeding the inner and
syndactyle ; hind claw very large and much curved.
DENDEOPHILA EEONTALIS.
(THE INDIAN BLUE NUTHATCH.)
Sitta frontalis, Horsf. Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 162 (1821).
Sitta coralUna, Hodgson, J. A. S. B. 1836, v. p. 779 ; Gray’s Zool. Miscell. p. 82 (1840).
DendropMla frontalis (Horsf.), Jerdon, Madr. Journ. 1839, xi. p. 218 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus.
A. S. B. spec. B & C, p. 190 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 120 (1852); Layard,
Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1863, xii. p. 176 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 388 (1862) ; Holdsw.
P. Z. S. 1872, p. 435; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i. p. 161 (1873); Legge, Ibis, 1874,
p. 16 ; Bourdillon, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 393; Fairbank, ibid. 1877, p. 399 ; Hume and
Davison, B. of Tenass., Str. Feath. 1878, p. 201.
Bendropliila coralUna (Hodgs.), Hume, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 89; Sharpe, ibid. 1876, p. 436.
The Velvet fronted Nuthatch, Jerdon; The Tree-creeper, The Blue Creeper, Europeans in
Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 6’1 to 5‘2 inches ; wing 2‘9 to 3'15 ; tail 1'8 ; tarsus 0'65 to 0-7; middle toe and
claw 0'75 ; hind toe 0'6, its claw (straight) 0-35 ; bill to gape 0'67 to 0‘73.
Iris pale golden yellow, eyelid greenish leaden, orbital skin dusky yellowish ; bill coral-red, the tip of upper mandible
nearly always blackish ; legs and feet wood-brown, claws pale horny, soles duU yellowish.
Male. Above casrulean blue, somewhat deeper on the upper tail-coverts and shoulder, and changing at the edge of
the frontal band into lazuline blue ; lores, a broad band across the forehead, and a streak over the eyes to the
nape deep velvety black ; quills and most part of tail dull black ; secondaries edged with the hue of the back;
several of the primaries with a whitish-bluo margin ; central tail-feathers dull blue, .and the tips and outer edges
of the remainder bluish, the under surface of the feathers being greyish ; just below the eye a slight wash of blue ;
cheeks, ear-coverts, and the neck just beneath them lilac ; chin and upper part of throat wliitish, changing into the
brownish- or fulvous-lilac of tho whole under surface ; tibia and under tail-coverts w'ashed with bluish grey.
Pemaile. H ants the black superciliary stripe, and has the lores edged wuth bluish. In most specimens I have seen
there is a series of one or two dark spots across the shaft of the centre tail-feathers, which seems peculiar to
this sex.
Young. The bird of the year has the terminal portion of the upper mandible blackish, and the sincipital stripe, in the
male, smaller than in the adult.
Ohs. Mr. Sharpe, on the evidence of a small series of skins in the British Museum, has recently pointed out that the
Javan bird is distinct from the Indian, inasmuch as it has the throat coucolorous with the chest and not white
as in the latter, and also the under surface richer in colour. I have examined the series in question, and also
some skins of the late Mr. A. Anderson’s collecting, and find that 3 Malayan examples from Java, Sarawak, and
DENDEOPIIILA PEONTALIS.
561
Palawan do differ in the above respects from the continental Indian and the Ceylonese specimens. The series
however, is too small, it appears, to form a correct conclusion from ; for I find that Mr. Hume, commenting on
this subject in ‘ Stray Peathers,’ 1878, vol. vii. p. 459, states that he has “ numerous Indian and Burmese
specimens exhibiting in a marked degree the alleged characteristics of both forms,” — that is, that both white and
lilac-coloured throats exist in continental birds. This being the ease, I do not think it advisable to place the
Ceylonese birds at present under Hodgson’s name, as, although all my specimens exhibit the white-throated
character, I have not enough of them to base a safe conclusion on. As regards size, there is but little to choose
in either of the alleged races. Mr. Oates gives the wing-measurements of four males from Pegu as 2-75 to 3-0
inches ; and the wnigs of those I have examined are as follows : — D. condlvna ; 5 , Burmah, 2-75 inches ; cJ , Nepal,
2'9 ; $, Nepal, 2'7; 5 , N.W. Himalayas, 2'85 ; cj , Pegu, 2-95. D. frontalis •. $, Sarawak, 2'8 ; $, Palawan, 2-8 ;
Java, 2-9. I must remark that these examples from the Malay region seem to be slightly more purple on the back
than the Indian birds ; and I do not think the matter can be definitely settled until a large series is procured from
Java and the fact is ascertained satisfactorily whether the Javan birds have or have not white throats occasionally.
Hodgson bestowed his title on a Nepalese skin ; and Gray subsetjuently applied it to birds from Nepal, Ceylon,
and Pegu, placing the Burmese form with the Javan as D. frontalis, his distinction being that the latter was
smaller and had a darker bill than D. corallina. The latter character is peculiar to immature birds.
Distribution . — This pretty little Creeper is numerous throughout all the hill-zone, inhabiting the upper
ranges to their summits, and is likewise common in the forests and fine tree-jungle of all the low country.
In various parts of the northern forest tract wherever the trees are large and lofty it is numerous ; and this is
likewise true of the Eastern Province and the forest regions of the south-east, along the rivers of which, as
well as in the country between Pollanarura and Anaradjapnra, I have found it almost as abundant as in the
hills. It frequents the timbcr-j tingles between the southern ranges and Galle, and is common in the Pasdun
Korale and in the timber-forests of Saffragam. It occnrs sometimes, dnring the north-east monsoon, on the
sea-board between Colombo and Galle.
On the continent this Nuthatch is found in the wooded and hilly districts of India, from the extreme
south to the Himalayas, and extends south-eastwards through Burmah and Pegu to Tcnasserim. It appears
to be very abundant in the hills of the south of the Indian peninsnla. Jerdou speaks of it being numerous
in the Nilghiris, and further remarks : — “ I have found it on the Malabar coast, .... in Central India, in
Goomsoor, and also in the Himalayas. It is also found in Assam and Burmah. On the Himalayas I only found
it in the warmer valleys.-” Mr. Bourdillon says it is a common species in the hills of Travancore, “ frequenting
the margins of clearings in the forest and on the Palanis it is, according to Dr. Fairhank, found wherever
there are trees, both at the top and bottom of the range. He likewise obtained it on the Goa frontier.
Tickell procured it in Dholbhura, and it has been obtained all along the snb-Himalayan region from the north-
west to Darjiling. It is recorded from Assam by McClelland, and from Arrakan by Messrs. Barry and
Anderson. Mr. Oates writes that it is very common in the Pegu hiUs. In Tenasserim it is noted by
Messrs. Hnme and Davison from many localities ; and these gentlemen consider it to be common everywhere
throughout the province up to 5000 feet, though it is not as numerous, according to the latter gentleman,
as in the Nilghiris. Its range through the countries to the south, in common with that of all birds in these
imperfectly explored regions, is not so well known. It is believed to be found all down the Malay peninsula
to the very south, and probably occurs in Sumatra, as it is found in the next island, Java, and further east
still in Borneo, whence it has been sent from the province of Sarawak.
Habits . — This pretty little species, which recalls to the wanderer in the wilds of Ceylon the familiar
little Nuthatch of England, lives in small troops of half a dozen or so, and is in its habits one of the most
active birds imaginable. It is ever on the move, nimbly running up and down and round the trunks of trees,
traversing and retraversing the huge boles which protrude from the giant pillars of the forest, or tripping
along beneath the massive limbs which grandly overhang the solitary sylvan tanks of Northern Ceylon. It
does not remain long in one tree, but darts quickly on from one to the other, followed by its companions, and
when it alights gives out its trilling little note, which, although comparatively weak, is audible at a considerable
distance. In the tall timber-forests of the Central Province which grow on steep inclines this little note may
be heard far overhead, as one is toiling up the face of the mountain, although it is often scarcely possible to
4 C
662
DENDEOPHILA PEONTALIS.
discover the tiny little birds, so difficult are they to discern in the gloom against the sombre-coloured bark.
While searching for its food it frequently runs doion the bark as well as up and across it, locomotion in any
direction being alike easily performed by it ; it may likewise just as often be seen running along fallen logs
or over small dead wood lying on the ground j and in this situation I have not unfrequently observed it near
paths and cart-tracks in the forest. It must, during some portion of the day, rest from its labours ; but I
have never succeeded in finding it in a state of quiescence.
Mr. Davison writes of it as follows : — “ They are always busy working up and doAvn and round and round
the branches of trees, standing and fallen, sometimes even foraging in brushwood, always, like the rest of the
Sittas, coming down head foremost, never tail foremost, as some Woodpeckers Avill ; feeding exclusively on
insects ; often hammering away at the bark and constantly uttering a sharp chick, chick, chick, rapidly repeated
as they work about, but not as they fly.”
Besides this well-known sound in the Ceylon forests I have heard the males utter a short little warble,
with which they answer one another while feeding.
Nidification. — I am unable to give any particulars of this bird’s nesting in Ceylon. In India Mr. Thompson
notes it as breeding in the Kumaon forests, where it is common in May and June. Mr. Davison has found
its nest at Ootacamund in April, and Miss Cockburn at Kotagherry as early as the 10th of February. It
builds in a small hole in a tree, a natural cavity in itself, but with the entrance, according to Mr. Hume,
trimmed by the bird. The nest, a compact structure, is made of moss and moss-roots, and lined with feathers
and hair.
Miss Cockburn has an interesting note, in ‘ Nests and Eggs,’ on the finding of one of these nests, in which,
among other details, she describes the manner in which the parent bird entered its nest; she writes to
Mr. Hume, after describing an inquisitive visit of a Titmouse to the opening, which he found too small and
soon flew away from : — “ I continued to watch, and was quite repaid by seeing a Velvet-fronted Nuthatch fly
to the top of a tree containing the nest [the italics are mine] and descend rapidly down the trunk, which was
about 12 or 13 feet high, knowing well where the nest-hole was, and disappear into it.”
The eggs are three or four in number, white, “ blotched, speckled, and spotted, chiefly, however, in a
sort of irregular zone round the large end, with brickdust-red and somewhat pale purple.” An egg taken by
Miss CockburiL measured 0‘68 by 0'55 inch.
PASSEEES.
Earn. CINNYEID^*.
Bill slender, lengthened, compressed and curved throughout, very acute at the tip, which is
entire. Nostrils linear, placed in a capacious membrane. Gape smooth. Wings more or less
pointed, with the 1st quill exceeding the primary-coverts. Tail of 12 feathers, usually rather
short, the central feathers in some genera elongated. Legs and feet stout. The tarsus strongly
scaled ; hind toe and claw large.
Of small size ; mostly of brilliant metallic plumage. Tongue lengthened and bifid.
Subfam. NECTAEINIINiE.
Bill typically curved and slender. Wings with the 1st quill slightly longer than the primary-
coverts. Tail even, or with the central feathers attenuated and much longer than the next pair.
Genus CINNYEIS.
Bill variable in length and curvature, much compressed, the margins of both mandibles
inflected towards the tip. Nostrils overlapped by the membrane. Wings with the 3rd and 4th
quills the longest, the 2nd either equal to or shorter than the 7th, and the 1st not half the length
of the 2nd. Tail short and even. Tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw ; the outer toe
not much shorter than the middle, and joined to it at the base ; hind toe equal to the middle,
its claw large.
CINNYKIS LOTENIFS,
(LOTEN’S SUN-BIRD.)
Certliia lotenia, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 188 (1766).
Cinnyris lotenius (L.), Cuv. Eegne An. i. p. 412 (1817) ; Bonap. Consj). Gen. Av. i. p. 408
(1850) ; Shelley, Monog. Cinnyr. pt. v. (1877); Fairbank, Str, Feath. 1877, p. 399.
Nectarinia lotenia (L.), Jard. Monogr. Sun-birds, pp. 220, 263, j)l. 23 (1842); Blyth, Cat. B.
Mus. A. S. B. p. 224 (1849) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. j). 175 ; Gould,
B. of Asia, pt. viii. p. 3, pi. 3 (1856).
Nectarinia letonia (apud Layard) {e'lrore), Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 119 (1852).
Arachnechthra lotenia (L.), Florsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 743 (1856-58) ; Jerd.
B. of Ind. i. p. 372 (1862) ; Walden, Ibis, 1870, p. 23 ; Holdsw. P.Z. S. 1872, p. 434 ;
Swinhoe, Ibis, 1873, p. 229.
* I follow Captain Shelley in using the oldest family title for this group, although it has been usually styled Necta-
riuiidse, after the genus Nectarinia, the first established, I believe, for any of the Sun-birds.
4 C 2
564
CINNIEIS LOTENITJS.
Purple Indian Creeper, Edw. Glean, pi. 265 ; Le Soui-manga pourpre, Buffon ; LotevUs Creeper,
Polished Creeper, Creen-gold Creeper, Latham; The Large Purple Honeysuc]cer,JQrdiOn-,
Humming-bird, Long-billed Sun-bird, Europeans in Ceylon.
Ran sutika, Modara sutika, Gewdl kurulla, Sinhalese ; Tahn-kudi, Ceylonese Tamils ; Tutika,
Portuguese in Ceylon.
Adult male. Length to forehead 4-2 to 4-3 inches ; bill along the culmen about 1’2, from gape across the are to tip
1‘1 to 1'13 ; wing 2-2 to 2‘4 ; tail 1’8 ; tarsus 0'6 ; middle toe and claw 0'5 ; hind toe 0-3, claw (straight) 0‘15.
Iris brown, variable in shade ; biU, legs, and feet black.
Breeding plumage. Head, upper surface, lesser ■nang-eo verts, and cheeks deep metallic green, glossed with purple in a
contrary light ; wings and greater coverts umber-brown ; tail black, the edges of the feathers glossed with purplish
towards the base ; chin and centre of throat dull metallic purple, contrastuig with the bright green of the cheeks,
and deepening into metallic hlac on the chest, where it is bounded beneath by a narrow band of maroon-red ; breast
and lower parts uniform smoke-brown ; a brilliant yellow tuft on each side of the breast, streaked in some examples
with orange-red.
Winter plumage. After breeding the male bird moults, almost entirely assuming the plumage of the female, with the
exception of a dark metallic stripe down the fore neck, and the lesser wing-coverts, which remain green ; during the
change the plumage is mingled fantastically with feathers of both dresses : one specimen I have examined in
change has the upper surface a darker brown than a female, the upper tail-coverts tipped with green and the
breast and flanks striped with brown ; there is likewise a metallic purple band across the back.
Female. Length to forehead 3'8 inches ; bill from gape, across arc to tip, I'O ; wing 2-15; tail 1‘6.
Iris, bill, and legs as in the male.
Above glossy ohve-brown, somew'hat darker on the rump than on the back ; wings darker brown, the inner webs darker
than the outer, which have fine pale edges ; tail black, the two outer pairs of feathers tipped deeply with dull
white, the rest, with the exception of the middle pair, slightly less so ; beneath dull sulphur-yellow, darkening into
greyish on the flanks, the yellow of the fore neck abruptly set ofE down the sides of the neck against the brown
of the upper surface ; under wdng-coverts yellowish white.
Ohs. Ceylon birds''bf this species are a very little larger, have the bill slightly longer and more curved than, and have
not the pectoral tufts so much striped with orange as the Indian race. Captain Shelley does not consider these
differences of sufficient w'eight to entitle our bird to specific rank ; and in this 1 agree with him. A South-Indian
male specimen w'hich I have examined measures 2-18 in the wing and 1-06 across the bill from gape to tip, and
the bill is straighter than in Ceylonese birds ; a female has it similarly shaped. The figure of the male bird in
Captain Shelley’s splendid monograph shows the orange markings of the pectoral tufts as they exist in Indian birds.
Distribution. — Loten’s Sun-bird is very common in the Western Province, from Puttalam down the coast
to Galle and Matara, and inhabits the interior of that side of the island as well in considerable numbers. It is
fond of a damp climate, as on travelling round to the dry south-eastern district I found it much less commonj
it being mostly replaced in that part by the next species. It is found generally throughout the Kandyan
Province up to about 3000 feet ; but in Uva ranges to a higher altitude, and ascends from the Fort-Macdonald
patnas, in the north-east monsoon, as high as the Hakgala gardens, in which Mr. Thwaites tells me he has
observed it. I have not heard of its being seen at Nuwara Elliya ; but if it has been rightly identified at
Hakgala, it doubtless occurs there occasionally. It occurs on the Morowak-Korale hills. In the north it is
much less numerous than C. asiaticus ; and Mr. Holdsworth remai'ks that he never saw it in the Aripu district.
Jerdon writes of this species, “ It is common on the Malabar coast, and also tolerably so in the more
wooded parts of the Carnatic, as about Madras and other large towns.” Messrs. Hume and Davison write to
Captain Shelley that it is not found north of lat. 15° in the Indian peninsula, and, further, that “ it is a bird of
the plains, and does not ascend the hills, but is common in localities such as Calient, Trinchinopoly, Salem, and
Madras itself.”
In common with several other species, this bird owes its introduction to the scientific world to Governor
Loten, w'ho sent home the type specimens from Ceylon, and after whom it was named.
CINNYEIS LOTENIUS.
565
Habits . — Its lively mauners^ powerful song, aud perhaps its remarkably long bill render this species the
most showy of the Ceylonese Sun-birds, though in plumage it cannot vie wdth either of its congeners. It is
found in most situations but forest, and is very partial to open bushy land studded with large trees ; its love
of frequenting gardens and compounds, in the flowering trees of which it finds employment for its long and
brush-like tongue, makes it a familiar bird to both European residents and natives ; and it always seems to be
an object of admiration to the half-clad Singhalese boy who often accompanies the collector in his morning
excursions. Besides feeding on the honey and pollen of flowers, it catches spiders and other insects ; and one
which Mr. Swinhoe shot at Galle in April had a number of small Pipulce (hairy long-legs) in its gizzard.
Oleanders and hedge-rows of “ shoe-flower ” trees [Hibiscus) arc a favourite resort of this Sun-bird, and it may
often be seen, half-flying, half-clinging to the flowers of this fine shrub while it inserts its long bill into the
petals and extracts the honey therefrom. The male has a very lively and (for such a small bird) powerful
song, which it utters from the tip top of a tree or when seated on some outstretching lateral branch, which is
a favourite perch with it. While thus engaged in serenading its soberly clad partner, the bill is pointed
upwards, as if to give full vent to its love-song, and its wings are anon opened and shut to add still more to
the attractions of an already gay plumage. In India Jerdon writes that it frequents both jungles and gardens,
and that he has seen it frequently enter his verandah to feed on spiders.
Nidification . — The breeding-season of this Sun-bird in the south lasts from February until May ; and the
nest is a pear-shaped, purse-like structure, suspended from a hanging twig. A lime or orange-tree is frequently
chosen, and the nest placed about 5 feet from the ground. It is composed of fine grass, interwoven and
decorated with bleached leaves aud small pieces of bark, which are sown to the exterior with grass split into
fine threads, the whole structure measuring about 7 inches by 3 the interior is composed of cotton from the
pod, mixed with spiders’ webs, and formed into a compact mass. The eggs are two or three in number, of a
greenish-grey ground-colour, speckled throughout with two shades of light brown or brownish grey, sometimes
forming a zone round the obtuse end. Dimensions — axis 0’64 inch, diameter 0-45 inch.
CINNykis asiaticus.
(THE PUKPLE SUN-EIKD.)
Certhia asiatica, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 288 (1790).
Cmnyris asiaticus (Lath.), Lesson, Man. d’Orn. p. 36 (1828) ; Shelley, Monogr. Cinnyr. pt. iv.
(1877) ; Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 399.
Cinnyris mahrattensis (Lath.), Jerd. Cat. B. S. Ind., Madr. Journ. 1840, xi. p. 224.
H^ectarmiamahmttensis (Lath.), Jard. Monogr. Sun-birds, pp. 222, 264, pi. 24 (1843); Kelaart
(Nectarina errore), Prodromus, Cat. p. 49 (1852).
Ifectarinia asiatica (Lath.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 224 (1849) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag.
Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 175 ; Gould, B. of Asia, pt. viii. pi. 2 (1856).
Arachneclithra asiatica (Lath.), Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 370 (1863); Walden, Ibis, 1870, p. 20 ;
Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 434; Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 151 (1873); id. Str. Feath.
1873, p. 174; Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 396; Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 285 ; Morgan, tom.
cit. p. 315 ; Flume, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 87 ; Fairbank, ibid. 1876, p. 256; Armstrong,
tom. cit. p. 313; Flume, Str. Feath. 1878, B. of Tenass. p. 190.
Arachmchthra intermedia, Hume, Ibis, 1870, p. 436.
Nectarinia hrevirostris, Blanf. Ibis, 1873, p. 86.
Purple Indian Creeper, Edwards; The Yellow-winged Creeper-, Sugar-Creeper, Maliratta
Creeper, Eastern Creeper, Latham ; The Short-billed Purple Honey-bird, Kelaart ; The
Purple IloneysucJcer of some ; Purple Humming-bird, Europeans in Ceylon. Jugi-jugi
at Bhagalpur ; Hunbarg in Sindh, Blyth.
Gewal kurulla, Sinhalese ; Tahn-Tcudi, Ceylonese Tamils.
Adult male. Length to forehead 3-7 inches ; bill along culmen 0-73 to 0-77 ; wing 2-2 to 2-3 ; tail 1'4 ; tarsus 0-55 ;
middle toe and claw 0-5.
Iris deep brown ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Breeding plumage. Head, back, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, upper tail-coverts, and the sides of the neck and throat
brUliaiit metallic green, glossed on the back a,nd upper tail-coverts with purple, the basal portion of the feathers
on all these parts being black, and the metallic hue confined to the terminal parts ; wings dark brown, the greater
coverts and secondaries edged with purple ; tail black, glossed with purple, and the feathers edged towards the
base with green ; chin, centre of throat, and chest lilac-purple, glossed with green, and changing into metallic blue on
the chest ; across the breast a narrow dull maroon band ; beneath this to the under tad-eoverts black, glossed with
purple, which is glossed in some lights with green ; under tail-coverts broadly margined with purple ; on the
sides of the breast, concealed beneath the closed wing, a bright yellow tuft, streaked with orange-red.
In those specimens which have come under my notice in Ceylon the maroon pectoral band has always been present,
but, as I have not examined a large series, it may be absent in some birds. Captain Shelley says that he has found
it thus in about half the examples he has seen, irrespective of locality.
Nmi-hreeding plumage. Head, back, scapulars, and upper tail-coverts mouse-grey, with a short yellowish-white
supercilium ; ning black, the lesser covert s edged with metallic green, the greater series and the inner secondaries
with purple ; tail black, edged with metallic green j under surface variable, in some rather bright yellow, in others
whitish tinged only with yellowish ; a broad stripe of purple from the chin down the fore neck and breast ; thighs
dark brown.
This plumage in Ceylon is acquired in November and December in the Western Province ; and, while in a state of
moult, specimens are procured with both upper and under surface mingled with summer and winter feathers ; the
broad throat-stripe becomes clearly defined before the breast loses the metallic feathers.
CIXNTEIS ASIATICUS.
■567
Adult female. Similar to the male in size. Above olive-brown like the last species, with a narrow supercilium of
yellowish white ; wings brown, edged with a paler hue ; tail blackish, the outermost feathers deeply tipped with
white, and the rest successively less so towards the centre j beneath whitish, tinged with yellow on the chest
Young. 1 have no specimens ; but Blyth describes the young as being dark olive-green above and tolerably bright
yellow on the imderparts ; wings dusky, with brownish margins to the tertials ; tail black and its exterior feathers
tipped with whitish.
Ols. Although I have not detected any difference in the size of the bill in different individuals in Ceylon, this species
is subject to considerable variation on the continent in this respect, as well as in the colour of the gloss on the
upper parts. In Ceylon this is undoubtedly green and not purple. In birds from Eangoon, according to
Mr. Hume, the purple hue is chiefly developed ; whereas it would appear that in the Baluchistan variety, described
by Mr. Blanford as O. brevirostris, the upper surface is very green ; but here, again, Mr. Hume remarks that many
Indian exa.mples are absolutely inseparable from Mr. Blanfoi'd’s. As regards size, the type of the Persian or western
variety quite equals Ceylon birds. Mr. Blanford’s measurements are : — Total length 4-5 inches ; wing 2-2 ; bill
to gape 0-G7 ; but, notwithstanding, it is stated to be smaller than typical C. asiatieus. Mr. Hume once^'separated
the birds from Tipperah and other eastern parts, as well as those from the south of the peninsula, as G. intermedium,
as he considered them to have larger bills and to bo more brilliantly coloured ; but neither he nor Captain Shelley now
consider these species distinct from the true O. asiatieus, which may be said simply to vary in size of bill and colour
according to locality. Mr. Hume gives it as his opinion that western birds from the dry-plains coimti-y run
smaller and greener, while those from the well-watered eastern and southern regions run, as a rule, larger and
purpler. . To this I n ould add, as already slated, that Ceylon birds are also characterized by their OTeen upper
siu'face. ■ ^ ^
Distribution.— YUs Sun-bird is perhaps more local in its distribution than the last species. It is common
in certain districts in the Western Province wherever the country is open and hnsh-covered, and is accord-
ingly an inhabitant of the environs of Colombo. In the south-west it occurs rather sparingly j but in the
scrubby country beyond Hambantota, as well as in many parts of the Eastern Province and in the north
generally, it is common in spots wEich suit its habits. Near Trincomalie and in the Jaffna peninsula I found
it more numerous than the last ; along the west coast, and in the island of Manaar, as well as in the islands
of Erinativoe, I likewise found it. Mr. Holdsworth records it as common at Aripu, and he procured it at
Nuwara Elliya in October. It inhabits the eastern parts of the Kandyan Province, and finds its way to
Hakgala and Nuwara Elliya from the Fort-Macdonald district.
On the mainland it has a very wide range. Captain Shelley thus epitomizes its habitat on the
continent; — “ India, northward to the Himalayas; westward it extends through Sindh and Baluchistan to
the confines of Persia, and is possibly to be found in Southern Arabia. To the eastward it ranges through
Assam, Tipperah, Chittagong, Arrakan, Burmah, and Tenasserim, but in this direction has not been collected
southward of the river Yd.”-
As regards its locale in the Himalayas, Mr. Hume has obtained it far into the range “ in the valley of
the Beas, almost at the foot of the Eohtung pass, in the valley of the Sutlej as far as Chini, in the valley of
the Ganges, or rather Bhagirati, to within four or five marches of Gangaotri but eastward of this he did
not observe it at any distance from the plains. Blyth states that it arrives at Calcutta in the cool season,
and leaves that district before breeding-time ; he considered it (J. A. S. B. xii, p. 978) to be only a summer
visitant to bicpal. Mr. Hume found it common all over Sindh; and in Kattiawar it is, according to
Capt. Lloyd, abundant. In the Mount-Aboo district Capt. Butler found it common both on the hills
and in the plains. Mr. Ball gives the like testimony concerning Chota Nagpur. Dr. Fairbank found it
abundant in the vicinity of Khandala, and “ common at the base of the Palanis and on the plains.^'’ In the
Nilghiris it is numerous, and breeds, according to Mr. Morgan, as high as 6000 feet. In open jungle near
the foot of the Travancore hills it, according to Mr. Bourdillon, “ occurs abundantly It is found in
Ramisserum Island ; and I may here remark that in perusing Mr. Humefr article on the avifauna of that
group Stray Feathers,^ 1876, p. 458), Captain Shelley has misread this locality for the Laccadive Islands, in
which it does not appear to occur.
Mr. Blanford met with his short-billed variety near the Mekran coast, and remarks that “ it is very
568
CINNYEIS ASIATICIJS.
probably confined to Baluchistan and the low portion of Fars^ in Southern Persia, perhaps ranging along
the noi'th-east eoast of the Persian Gulf ; but it has not been obtained in the neighbourhood of Bushire or
Shiraz.” He goes on to say that near Maskat, in Arabia, he saw a Nectarinia which may have been this
species. In Tenasserim Mr. Davison says it occurs from Pahpoon to about Yea, the most southerly point
where he ever observed it being about a day^s march north of the river Yea.
Habits. This beautiful species has very similar habits to the last ; but it does not seem to frequent large
trees as mueh. It is very lively in its aetions, fluttering and poising itself over flowers while it extraets the
nectar from them, and is constantly giving out its sharp but not unpleasant little chirping notes ; its song in
the breeding-season is not so loud nor so varied as that of its larger relative. It feeds on small flies and
insects, especially spiders, as well as honey ; and it is constantly opening and elosing its wings, both when
flitting about the branches in search of food and when singing in a state of rest on some pi’ominent twig.
Blvth remarks that he has taken so large a spider from its stomach that he wondered how it could have been
swallowed.
Out of the breeding-season I have observed that the male birds associate together in little troops, and
they may be seen in a variety of different plumages while moulting.
Nidification . — In the south of the island the Purple Sun-bird breeds in April, May, and June, but in the
north it nests as late as August. In this month Mr. Holdsworth writes of a nest being constructed in the
verandah of his bungalow at Aripu " It was fastened,” he says, “to the end of an iron rod hanging from
the roof and once used for suspending a lamp. The birds showed very little fear, although I was for several
days sitting within a few feet of the nest, engaged in the preparation of specimens.” The nest is generally
suspended from the outspreading branches of a shrub or from the lateral down -hanging boughs of small trees;
it is, like the last described, made of grass interwoven with hairs and covered often with spiders’ webs ; it is
pear-shaped, tapering to the point of suspension, and with the opening near the top and shaded ^vith a little
hood which projects slightly ; the interior is lined with cotton and feathers. Layard, in referring to the nest
being artfully concealed with cobweb, writes that he has “ seen the spider still weaving her toils, having
extended the web to the surrounding branches, thus rendering the deception still more efiective ; and it
would seem that the birds were aware of it and left their helper undisturbed.” In his exhaustive article on
the nesting of this Sun-bird Mr. Hume thus describes the construction of the nest : — “ A little above the centre
of the oval a small circular aperture is worked, and just above it a projecting cornice, 1 to 1^ inch wide, is
extended ; then — on the opposite side of the oval — the wall of the nest, which is ready some days before the eggs
are laid, is pushed or bulged out a little so as to give room for the sitting bird’s tail. The bulging out of
the back of the nest is one of the last portions of the work, and the female may be seen going in and out,
trying the fit, over and over again. When sitting, the little head is just peeping out of the hole under the
awning.” Nests which are not built in a perpendicular direction appear not to be provided with this hood
or awning. We gather from the article in question that the nest is constructed in the most varied situations, as,
indeed, Mr. Holdsworth’s experience in Ceylon proves. In India verandahs seem to be frequently chosen ; and
consequently, being so much under observation, few bii’ds have had so much written concerning their nesting
habits. Mr. Adam observes that they are very fond of tacking on pieces of paper, light-coloured feathers, &c.
to the outside of the nest, and that, in one instance in which he watched the construction of a nest, the male
“ never assisted the female in the slightest degree ; he seemed exceedingly happy, fluttered every now and
then about the nest, and after each careful inspection he was so seemingly pleased with the handiwork of
his mate that he perched on an adjoining branch and poured forth a joyous strain, flapping his wings and
making his axillary feathers rotate in the most extraordinary manner.” Two is the usual number of eggs,
but sometimes three are laid; the ground-colour is greenish white, and they are closely marked with small
specks of brownish and greyish brown; these markings are generally almost confluent at the large end.
Mr. Hume gives the average size of fifty eggs as 0’64 by 0‘46 inch.
CINNYEIS ZEYLONICTJS.
(CEYLONESE SUN-BIRD.)
CertJiia zeylonica, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 188, “Ceylon” (1766),
Cinnyris zeylonicus (L.), Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 409 ; Shelley, Monogr. Cinnyr. pt. i.
(1876); Hume, Str, Feath. 1877, p. 270; Fairbank, t.c. p. 398,
Nectarinia zeylonica (L.), Jard. Monogr. Sun-birds, pp. 213, 261, pi. 20 (1843) ; Blyth, Cat.
B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 226 (1849) ; Layard, Ann. «& Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 174 ;
Gould, B. of Asia, pt. xix. pi. 4 (1867).
Leptocoma zeylonica (L.), Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. 1. Co. ii. p. 740 (1856); Jerdon,
B. of Ind. i. p, 368 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i. p. 147 (1873) ; Ball, Str. Feath, 1874,
p. 396; Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 275.
NectaropMla zeylonica (L.), Walden, Ibis, 1870, p. 37 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 434 ;
Morgan, Ibis, 1875, p, 315.
Cinnyris zeylonica, Davidson & Wender, Str. Feath. 1878, vii. p. 79.
Ceylonese Creeper, Latham; The Amethyst-rmiped HoneysucJcer, ^erdioxi-, Humming -bird of
Europeans.
Mai sutika, lit. “ Flower Honey-bird,” Sinhalese ; Than-kudi, lit. “ Honey-feeder,” Ceylonese
Tamils.
Adult male. Total lengtli 4T to 4-5 indies ; wing 2'05 to 2‘15 ; tail 1'35 ; tarsus 0’6 j middle toe and daw 0‘45 to
0-48 ; bill from gape across to tip 0'64 to 0-7. Some hill-specimens are more robust than those I have obtained
in the low country, but do not measure larger in the bill.
Iris red and variable in tint from brick-colour to vermilion ; legs and feet black.
Head above to the nape, together with the point of udng, brilliant metallic green ; hind neck and its sides, upper back,
scapulars, and a band across the chest deep maroon-red, the feathers at the origin of the scapulars metallic bronze ;
lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts brilliant amethystine purple ; wings brown, edged, except on the outer
primarios, with dull ferruginous red ; tail dull black, the lateral feathers with pale tips ; chin, throat, and cheeks
metallic purple-bronze ; beneath, from the maroon pectoral band, primrose-yellow, paling to white on the flanks
and under wing-coverts ; under tad-coverts washed with yellow.
Some specimens have the green of the head tinted with amethystine (the centre portion of the feather being of this
colour), and the amethystine of the rump glossed with brilliant metallic steel-blue ; some specimens, again, have the
two outer tail-feathors tipped whiter than others.
Female. Total length 3‘95 inches ; wing 2'0 ; bill, gape to tip (straight) 0-65.
Iris brick-red, in some as intense as in the male ; bill, legs, and feet blackish brown.
Upper surface greyish brown, washed with greenish on the back ; wings edged with duller rufous than in the male :
a pale supercilium ; chin and throat greyish white ; breast washed with yellow ; two outer pairs of rectrices tipped
white.
Young (nestling : coU. Shelley, India). Bill 4-6 inches across arc to tip ; wing 1‘65.
Head and back olivaceous brown ; a faint light supercilium ; wings plain brown, the secondaries faintly edged with
yellowish brown ; longer upper tail-coverts and tail blackish, the outermost feathers smoky white, the next two
tipped with the same colour ; beneath primrose-yellow, tinted with greenish ; the throat albescent.
Ymng male. “ Similar to the adult female, excepting that it is less ashy above and slightly more olive-brown in colour ;
the eyebrows yellowish ; chin, throat, and under tail-coverts sulphur-yellow.” {Shelley, Monogr.)
Ohs. I much neglected the collecting of these beautiful birds while in Ceylon, their lovely plumage, as far as I was
concerned, generally ensuring their safety ! I therefore procured no very young birds ; but, in addition to the fact
4 D
-570
CINNYEIS ZEYLONICUS.
that Jerdon aflSrms the throat of the youug male to be more yellow than that of the female, Captain Shelley states,
in his excellent article on this species, that the specimen labelled “ Jiiy. d , Malabar,” from which he took his
description, had “ one metallic-coloured feather on the throat, indicating that it would hare assumed the adult
male plumage.” It is certainly a very interesting character in its plumage that the young male should only differ
from the female in the colour of the throat being yellow. I myself obtained a specimen in August which had a
metallic throat mingled with yellow feathers ; the plumage of the head and back was mixed with dove-grey
feathers, but the amethyst rump was not. I take this bird to have been changing to the adult stage from immature
plumage. Indian birds have the bill longer, and are slightly larger than Ceylonese, but do not differ from the
latter in the character of their plumage.
Males in Captain Shelley’s collection measure 2-15, 2-2, 2-23, 2-25 in the wing ; bill ‘from gape across to tip 0-72,
0-75, 0'65, 0-68. In some the bills are more curved than in my specimens, in others slightly straighter.
Distribution. — The “ Ceylonese Sun-bird ” is a very abundant species with us j it is found throughout the
whole island, but is particularly numerous in the western, southern, and lower parts of the Kandyan Province.
About Colombo it is one of the most familiar of Ceylon birds, but it likewise frequents the forests of the
interior, and its numbers do not seem to diminish towards the north. I found it tolerably plentiful in the
Jaffna peninsula; but Mr. Iloldsworth did not meet with it at Aripu, the country, perhaps, there being of too
arid a nature for it; it occurs, however, in the south-east of the island, a district inhabited by other typical
northern-province birds — Pijrrhulauda grisea, Munia malabarica, Merops swinhoii, and others ; and it is, no
doubt, only locally absent from the neighbourhood of Aripu. It inhabits the Trincomalie and Batticoloa
districts, and is found throughout the northern forest tract. At Uswewa, in the Puttalam forests, Mr. Parker
says it is common ; and adjoining this section of country I have met with it in the Seven Korales. In the
north-east monsoon season it ascends to the vicinity of the Nuwara-Elliya plateau, occurring not unfrequently
in the Hakgala gardens. I did not see it at Nuwara Elliya ; but I have no doubt that it may occasionally
be seen, as a cool-season visitant, in tlie gardens of the residents there.
Concerning its distribution in India I cannot do better than subjoin here Mr. Hume’s note on the subject
which he published (Str. Feath. 1877, p. 270) in reference to Capt. Shelley’s article {loc. cit.)-. — “It may generally
be stated that this species is confined to Southern and Eastern India. It does not occur, as far as we know,
in Sindh, Kutch, Kattiawar, Bajpootana, the Punjab, the North-west Provinces, Oudh, Behar, the Central
Indian Agency, nor in the major portion of the Central Provinces, though in these latter it has been observed
occasionally near Chanda, and is common in the Raipoor and Surabulpoor districts. It does not extend to
any part of British Burmah. It is normally a bird of the heavier rainfall and better-wooded provinces, though
it certainly occurs in the comparatively dry uplands of the Deccan. It never ascends any of the mountain-
ranges, to the best of our belief, to any considerable elevation, but is essentially a bird of the plains country.
Mbth this reservation its range may be said to include Travancore, Cochin, the whole Madras Presidency,
Mysore, Hyderabad, the Bombay Presidency south of 20° N. lat., the southern portions of Behar, and the
Central Provinces to about the same latitude, Raipoor, and the eastern states of these provinces, Orissa, the
tributary Mehals, Chota Nagpur, and Lower Bengal, west of the Burrumpooter. I have never seen it from any
of the districts east of this, i. e. Chittagong, Cachar, Tipperah, or Sylhet, though at Dacca, immediately west
of this river, it is common. Nor have I seen it from Assam, though said to occur there, and though Godwin-
Austen records a specimen from the Khasya hills.”
Mr. Bourdillon does not appear to have noticed it in the Travancore hills, and the Rev. Dr. Fairbank only
obtained it at the eastern base of the Palanis ; yet it is common at no inconsiderable elevations in Ceylon.
Habits. — There is no more beautiful occupant of the bungalow-grounds, which make the environs of
Colombo so pretty, than this lovely little creature. Attired in a plumage rivalling in splendour the gorgeous
dress of the Humming-birds of South America and the West Indies, it may well be styled a “ Humming-bird ”
by European residents in Ceylon. On almost every fine morning of the year it may be seen coming to the
verandahs of the houses in the cinnamon-gardens, where it gathers nectar from the flowers which hang from the
trellis-work, or snaps up the ill-starred spider as he diligently draws out his silken web in the rays of the
morning sun ; in other grounds equally pleasant, but not provided with such a favoirrite resort as these
luxuriant creepers, it may be observed darting about among the handsome -ffiSisews-shrubs, its metallic-plumaged
CINNYEIS ZETLONICUS.
571
head and hack glistening in the powerful sunlight, and exciting, perhaps, the warm admiration of some “ new
arrival ” from England, who, rising from the morning tea-table, seeks the luxury of a pipe in the welcome
long chair of eastern climes. But it frequents a variety of situations ; it may he found in the tallest primeval
forest or on the borders of isolated woods hung with creepers, in the flowers of which it finds the same sustenanee
as in the bungalow compound. Besides feeding on nectar it is very partial to small insects of all sorts and,
out of the breeding-season, flocks of young birds, and perhaps females, may be seen searching among the
branches of forest-trees for food, unaccompanied by a single metallic-plumaged bird. At such times I have
more than once, when I had left behind my binoculars, dropped specimens with a charge of dust-shot from
the upper boughs of some noble keeua-tree in the southern forests, or from an equally magnificent “ koombok
overhanging the broad sandy bed of an eastern-province stream, and, expecting to pick up either of the much-
sought-after Flowerpcckers '' of the island, been disappointed at finding that the little troop consisted of
nothing but these Sun-birds. Had I taken the trouble to carry home some of these examples, my collection
would have doubtless been enriched by the acquisition of birds in immature plumage. The song of this species
is a lively pretty little chirping, which it constantly utters with a raising and shutting of its wings.
The males are most pugnacious ; and, hearing on this point, Layard has an interesting note on the habits of
this and the other Sun-birds of Ceylon; he writes (/oc. ci<.), after speaking of their visits to his verandah, “they
would then betake themselves to the trellis supporting the passion-flowers, or to the branches of a pomegranate
close by, where they pruned themselves and uttered a pleasing song. If two happened to come to the same
flower, and from their numbers this often occurred, a battle always ensued, which ended in the vanquished bird
retreating from the spot with shrill piping cries, while the conqueror would take up his position upon a flower
or stem, and swinging his little body to and fro, till his coat of burnished steel gleamed and glistened in the
sun, pour out his note of triumph. All this time the wings were expanded and closed alternately, every jerk
of the body in Nectarinia asiatica and N. lotenia disclosing the brilliant yellow plumelets on either side of the
breast.^^
Nidification . — The breeding-season lasts from November until July, during which time probably two
broods are raised. I have taken the eggs in the north in November and in the south in December. The nest
is a beautiful little structure, purse-shaped, and about 5 inches in length by 3 in breadth, and is attached to
a pendent twig of a thorny shrub, generally about 4 or 5 feet from the ground. The exterior is composed of
various materials, nests differing much in external appearance. They are generally constructed of fine grass
or moss, decorated with small pieces of twig, bark, or decaying wood, which are fastened on with cobwebs and
interlaced with lichens, white mosses, and such like — one nest, found near the shore of a salt lake, being covered
with small pieces of bleached weed collected from the dry mud on the shore. The opening into the interior,
which is composed of fine cotton, and sometimes strengthened with very fine grass, is just above the centre
and shaded with a tiny hood; the depth of the egg-chamber is about 2 inches, and the diameter 1^. The eggs
are usually two, hut sometimes three in number; large for the bird, rather stumpy ovals in shape, and of a
dingy whitish or pale greenish or greenish-white ground, freckled with fine spots of greenish or olive-brown,
which are often confluent round the obtuse end, and underlaid with small blotches of a lighter hue. The
average dimensions are about 0'63 inch in length by 0'48 inch in breadth.
From ‘ Nests and Eggs^ we glean that in India the breeding-season lasts from February until August, and
that two broods are reared. The nest is constructed of the same materials as in Ceylon — vegetable fibres,
cobwebs, chips of bark, dry petals of flowers, moss, cocoons, &c., and the interior felted with cotton-down.
It is built sometimes as high as 30 feet from the ground.
The average size of the eggs is stated to he 0-65 inch by 0-47.
4d2
CINNYEIS MINIMUS.
(THE TINY SUN-BIRD.)
Cinnyris minima, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 99; Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Jonrn. 1840,
xi. p. 226.
Nectarinia minima (Sykes), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S, B. p. 226 (1849) ; Layard, Ann. &
Mag. Nat. Hist. 1863, xii. p. 175.
Nectarinia minuta, Jard. Mongr. Sun-birds, pp. 224, 265, fig. titlepage (1843).
Nectarina minuta (errore), Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 119 (1852).
NectaropMla mmma (Sykes), Walden, Ibis, 1870, p. 40; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 434.
Leptocoma minima, Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 472 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind.
i. p. 369 (1863) ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i. p. 150 (1873) ; Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1876,
p. 265 ; Bourdillon & Hume, t. c. p. 392.
Cinnyris Shelley, Mongr. Cinnyr. pt. iv. (1877) ; Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 398.
The Tiny Honey sucker, Jerdon, B. of India.
Adult male (Travancore). “Length 3-5 to 3-7 inches; wing 1'8 to U81, expanse 5-37 to 5'62; tail 1-0 to I’l ;
tarsus 0'48 to 0’5.” (Hume.)
Iris brown (light hazel, Fairbank); bill, legs, and feet black.
Adult male. “ Forehead and crown metallic green ; loros, cheeks, and ear-coverts black ; back and sides of the neck,
upper back, scapidars, and least and median series of wing-coverts dark red ; lower back, rump, and upper
tail-coverts bright red, strongly glossed with steel-blue, making these parts in certain lights appear rich
metallic lilac ; remainder of the wings and tail brownish black ; chin and throat metallic lilac ; crop and front of
the chest dark red ; remainder of the breast, abdomen, thighs, and under tail-coverts yellowish white ; pectoral
tufts sulphur-yellow; under wing-coverts and inner marguis of the quills w'hite.” (Shelley.)
In non-breeding plumage Messrs. Hume and Davison state that the males assume the garb of the female, except that
they “ retain invariably the amethjrstine-glossed rump, and usually a little red about the shoulder of the wing.”
A male in this stage in Captain Shelley’s collection measures : — wing 1-9 inch ; tail 1-2 ; tarsus 0‘5 ; middle
toe with its claw 0-4 ; bill across arc to tip 0-52.
Head, hind neck, and interscapular region bi’ownish olive, brightest on the forehead and crown ; lower back, scapulars,
tips of lesser wdng-coverts, and rump rich maroon-red ; upper tail-coverts the same, but brighter and illumined
with metallic lilac ; wings deep browm ; tail black-brown ; beneath from the chin to the under tail-coverts
primrose-yellow, with a dusky w^ash across the chest.
Adidt female. Wing l’7o inch.
Above with the wing-coverts olive-browm, like the male in non -breeding plumage ; wings dark brown ; the primaries
edged pale ; rump and upper tail-coverts dull maroon-red ; tail blackish brown, edged with fulvous-brown ;
beneath pale yellowish.
Young male. “ Differs from the adult male in having the upper half of the head and neck olive, and the entire under-
parts very pale yellow.” (Shelley.)
Ohs. I quote the following interesting information from Messrs. Hume and Davison’s notes to Capt. Shelley
respecting the change of the male to the non-breeding dress, and from which it will appear that the female attire
is donned for a short time only : — “ About April some of the males begin to doff the brilliant nuptial plumage ;
early in May some may be obtained in full non-breeding plumage ; but during May some may stUl be obtained in
the nuptial garb. In June most of the birds have assumed the complete non-breeding dress ; but a few will still be
found that have only partially moulted. After the first of July not a bird is to be seen in the nuptial dress.
During September they begin to assume their wedding garb ; by the end of that month a good many males are
in perfect plumage ; and by the middle of October every bird is in the gay nuptial attire.”
CINNYEIS MINIMUS.
573
Distribution . — The only records which we have of the occurrence of this lovely little bird in Ceylon are
contained in the catalogues of Messrs. Layard and Holdsworth. The former says Nectarinia seijlonica is
replaced in the north by N, minima, and the latter states that it '^is occasionally seen about Colombo." For
my own part I searched diligently for it the whole time I was in the island, but never saw it and never met
with any one who was acquainted with it. It does not certainly occur in the Trincomalie district, and on
two visits to Jaffna I failed to observe it; so that I am led to believe that Layard, when he used the word
north, referred to Pt. Pedro, where he resided. I have not visited Pt. Pedro ; but in other parts of the Jaffna
peninsula I found the last species common enough. My friends Messrs. F. Gordon and W. JMurray, who
have both collected much in Jaffna, have never met with it to my knowledge; and up till the receipt of my
latest advices it had not been obtained at Colombo by any one since I left the island in 1877. It is therefore
strange that Layard found it so common as to replace C. zeylonicus in the north. Its occurrence in Ceylon is
one of the many points which require attention at tlie hands of naturalists in Ceylon.
Messrs. Hume and Davison state that it is common in all the hilly tracts of the peninsula, in the Ghats,
as at Matheran (above Bombay), and Mahabaleshwar, all over the Nilghiris, in the Wynaad, and the hills of
South Travancore. In this latter locality Mr. Bourdillon found it common at the edges of forest; and
Dr. Fairbank observed it from 4000 feet to the top of the Palanis ; he likewise records it from the western
slopes of the Ghdts at Khandala, Mahabaleshwar, and the Goa frontier.
Habits . — From the writings of uatm’alists in India we gather some information of considerable interest
touching the economy of the Tiny Sun-bird. Mr. Bourdillon remarks as follows : — “ It is slightly gregarious
in habit, three or four hunting about together amongst the boughs of some gamboge-tree, which is a tree
they seem pai’ticularly to like. They are not at all shy, and when sitting quiet in brushwood I have seen
them perch inquisitively within a few feet of my face." The following interesting account is from the notes
supplied to Capt. Shelley by the writers already mentioned : —
“ Though not strictly migratory, this species moves about a great deal ; and though there are places in the
Neilgherries, at elevations of 5000 or 6000 feet, where some may be seen at all seasons of the year, the
mass of them move higher in summer, and descend a great deal lower in the winter. Thus in the Chiuchona
plantations at Neddivuttum, at an elevation of about 6000 feet, some specimens may be seen at all seasons ;
but it is not till the first burst of the south-west monsoon, between the 10th and 15th of June, that a single
bird is to be seen higher up at Ootacamund. After this they swarm in every garden where there are flowers,
and especially about the apple-blossoms of tlie orchards. By the end of October they have all left Ootaca-
mund, and have descended to a lower level, while, again, in J anuary and February they abound at the base of
the hills, as in the Moyar valley, in the Wynaad.
“ They are very restless, active little birds, hopping about ceaselessly from twig to twig and flower to
flower, and using their legs probably more than their wings, keeping up all the time a soft uninterrupted
chip, chip, chip ; very rarely, if ever, are they seen poised Humming-bird-like in front of any flower. So far
as our observations go they always perch to feed, and probably feed quite as much on insects as on nectar.
They may be often found in low brushwood, especially in the thickets of the wild raspberry and along the
outskirts of all the sholas, or strips of jungle which run down every ravine on the hill-side. About the
Chinchona plantations they are so numerous when the trees are in flower in November, you might probably
shoot a dozen specimens any morning off a single tree."
Nidification. — Mr. Davison writes to Mr. Hume (^Nest and Eggs,’ 1874, p. 150) that the Tiny Honey-
sucker breeds on the slopes of the Nilghiris in September and during the early part of October. “ I have
seen," he says, " young birds only just able to fly about the middle of October. The nest is suspended to a
twig about 4 or 5 feet from the ground ; it is similar both in shape and materials to that of Leptocoma zeylonicu,
but considerably smaller. They lay two eggs." Mr. Hume describes the eggs as “perfect miniatures of some
of the eggs of Arachnechthra asiatica ; in shape they are somewhat elongated ovals, a good deal compressed
towards one end. They have scarcely any gloss. The ground-colour is dull greenish or greyish white, and
it is thickly speckled and mottled all over, mostly so towards the larger end (where the spots have a
tendency to become confluent and form a zone), with dull greyish white and olivaceous brown. The eggs
measure 0'62 by 0‘42 inch."
PASSERES.
Series B. Tanagroid Passeees.
Wing with ^primaries, the of which is fully developed and very long.
{Cf Wallace, Ibis, 1874, p. 410.)
Earn. DIC^ID^.
Bill variable, moderately short and wide at the base ; curved and compressed in some, in
others very thick and triangular, with the lower mandible inflated at the gonys. Wings pointed,
with the 1st quill long. I’ail of 12 feathers, usually very short, always less than the wings. Legs
and feet strong. Tarsus scaled.
Of small size and of arboreal and mostly gregarious habit.
Genus DICiEUM.
Bill high and wide at the base, suddenly compressed beyond the nostrils, the upper mandible
curved throughout, tip entire and very acute; gonys straight. Nostrils basal, oval, and placed
close beneath the culmen. Wings with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quills nearly equal and longest.
Tail very short and even at the tip. Tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw, and shielded
with broad transverse scales ; outer toe slightly longer than the inner ; hind toe and claw large.
DICJ]UM MINIMUM.
(TICKELL’S FLOWEEPECKEE.)
isectarinia minima, Tickell, J. A. S. B, 1833, ii. p. 577.
Licmim minimum (Tick.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 227 (1849); Jerdon, B. of Ind.
i. p. 374 (1862); Beavan, Ibis, 1865, p. 416; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 434; Hume,
Nests and Eggs, p. 155 (1873); Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 397; Legge, Ibis, 1875,
p. 275 ; Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 256.
Uicceum ticJcellioe, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1843, xii. p. 983.
Bicoeum ticJcelli, Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 119 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1853, xii. p. 175.
Parasite-hirdf Europeans in Ceylon. Sungti-gmo-pho, Lepchas (Jerdon).
Adult male. Length 3-4 inches ; wing 1-85 to 1-95 ; tail 0-95 ; tarsus 0-45 to 0-5; middle toe and claw 0-4; bill to
gape 0'45.
Female. Length 3‘3 inches; wing 1'7 to lw5.
Iris yellowish brown or brown ; bill dark brown above, the lower mandible fleshy ; legs and feet brovvmsh slate.
Above olivaceous brown, slightly greenish on the rump ; wings brown, the coverts and tertials with slightly paler
margins ; tail blackish brown; lores and cheeks albescent, darkening on the ear-coverts ; beneath whitish, with a
DIC.^UM MINIMUM.
575
dusky wask on the sides of tiie chest, and becoming flavescent on the centre of the breast and belly ; flanks
cinereous.
In some examples the secondaries are edged with olivaceous.
Young. Iris darker browm than in the adult, with a slaty outer circle ; upper mandible tinged with yellowish, and its
margin, together with the under mandible, yellowish.
Above more olivaceous than old birds ; quills and wing-coverts edged greenish ; throat and fore neck duskier thnn in
adults.
Ohs. I have not been able to compare Ceylonese examples with many from the mainland. A specimen in the national
collection, marked “ India,” measures 1-95 inch in the wing, and 0-41 from gape of bill to tip. It is somewhat
more olive-coloured on the back and rump than my specimens, but corresponds otherwise with them.
An allied sj)6cies to this is B. concolor from South India, an inhabitant of the Nilghiris and other peninsular ranges.
It is larger than B. minimum., and is, according to Jerdon, more albescent beneath. Dr. Dairbank remarks that it
frequents a parasitical LoTcuithns which grows on the Australian Blackwood (Acacia melctnoxylo'ii), and gives the
measurements of a female as follows ; — Length 3-6, wing 2-1, tail 1-0, tarsus 0-55, bill from gape 0-5. This s^xicies
might possibly occur in Ceylon. These Flowerpeckers are seldom shot, and it may have been passed over.
I should perhaps likewise notice another species described of late years from the Andamans, belonging to the subgroup
containing the two species already referred to here. This is B. vireseens, Hume (Str. I’eath. 1873, p. 482). It
“ differs from B. minimum iu its somewhat longer bill, which is very differently coloured, in the much greener
hue of the upper surface, and in the olive-yellow tinge of the runqq upper tail-coverts, and abdomen. It is
considerably smaller than B. concolor, is of a purer and lighter olive-green, and differs from that, as from
B. minimum, in the rump and upper tail-coverts. Length 3-1 to 3-4 inches, wing 1’75 to 1'85.”
Distribution. — This tiny bird is very numerous in Ceylon, and inhalits the whole island, irrespective of
climate or elevation. It seems as much at home in the damp cool jungles of the Horton Plains as in the hot
forests of the Northern Province or the warm humid “ Mukalaney ” of the south. It is found as plentifully
near the sea as in the interior, and is very common in the cinnamon-gardens of Colombo.
It occurs, according to Jerdon, “throughout lower Bengal and the jungles of Central India, extending
to the Himalayas, Assam, and Aralcan. Blyth observed it in extreme abundance in the hill-jungles about
IMoulmein. It is also found, though rarely, in Southern India, being there replaced by D. concolor.”
As it is so abundant in Ceylon, it is strange that it should be rare in the adjoining part of the mainland ;
but in this respect it, after all, only forms one of the many curious instances of the affinity of the avifaunas of
Ceylon and Northern India. The Rev. Dr. Fairbank found it common on the western slopes of the Sahyadris,
and near Bombay and Poona it is, according to Mr. B. Aitken, very numerous. Mr. Ball remarks that it is
found in Sal-jungle in most parts of Chota Nagpur, though it is not very common anywhere. Captain
Beavan recorded it as plentiful near Maunbhoom in the breeding-season.
Habits. — This Flowerpecker, which is the smallest of Ceylon birds, frequents the parasitic plants
{Loranthusi) which grow on various trees throughout the island, none of which are so infested with this
singular vegetable growth as the Cadju {Sarcoclinium longifolium). It may consequently always be met with
where there are many of these trees, about the leaves and smaller branches of which it flits when it is not
gorging itself on the berries of the parasite. In the forests it affects the various creepers, some of them of the
Pandanus tribe, which entwine the trunks of large trees. It is usually a solitary bird; I have sometimes seen
more than two in the same tree, but such is an exception to the rule. It is very active, springing from branch
to branch of the thick bunches of parasitic plants, and then darting off to another tree with a quick dipping
flight, uttering its sharp little monosyllabic chirp while on the wing. It appears, from personal observation,
to be entirely frugivorous ; and feeding so gluttonously on its favourite berries, it becomes stupefied to such
an extent that it may sometimes be almost taken with the hand before flying off. Its bill is generally stained
with the juice of some sort of berry or fruit whenever it is shot ; and I have never detected any trace of insect-
food in the crop of those I have procured. It is, however, said by Indian writers to be insectivorous ; for
Beavan writes {he. cit.), “ It has a weak piping note, and is met with in heavy jungle, in thick trees, busily
engaged seeking amongst the leaves for insects.^’
576
DICTUM MINIMUM.
Nidification . — The breeding-season in the Western Provincej as^well as I can ascertain, is in July and
August ; but the nests are so rarely found (Mr. MacVicar, of the Survey Department, and a very successful
egg-hunter, being, I believe, the only person who has discovered it) that it would not be safe, with so little
evidence in the matter, to restrict the season to any particular month. This gentleman, who found one nest
in August containing three young birds, described it to me as being a beautiful little cup-shaped structure,
suspended, about 7 or 8 feet from the ground, to the twig of a Cadju-trcc, constructed of wild cotton, mingled
with cobwebs and lichens, and about 1^" in interior diameter. Subsequently he writes me of having found
another, whi(;h was hanging to the branch of a wild cinnamon-bush growing in a fence. This one ivas formed
outside of “ some soft substance like tow, with a few pieces of bark and some spiders^ webs the inside was
entirely lined with white ‘ cotton.’ It measured 4 inches in length and SJ in breadth, external dimensions.”
It contained an egg, on which the bird was sitting when the nest was found, and which is stated to be white,
speckled with minute brownish specks. In India, Messrs. Beavan and Aitken have both taken the nests and
eggs, and describe the latter as white. I am, notwithstanding, sure that my informant, who knows the bird
too well to mistake it, is right in his identification of the speckled egg just noticed. Mr. Hume thus speaks
of the nest found by Mr. Aitkin, “ It is a beautiful little ^ egg,’ suspended by the pointed end (which is slightly,
and only slightly, extended) from the point of junction of three slender twigs. The length of the nest is exactly
,3 inches, the greatest breadth 1-7 inch. In front, from near the point of suspension to the middle of the nest,
is an oval aperture 1-25 inch in length and nearly 1 inch in breadth. The whole nest is composed of the
silky pappus of some asteraceous plant, or it may be of the silky down of the Calotropis, held together by a
slender irregular webwork of vegetable fibres, in which here and there a very few minute fragments of the
excreta of caterpillars and tiny pieces of bark and fine grass have been, perhaps accidentally, intermingled.
The whole interior is soft, silky, felted down.” Captain Beavan remarks that three pure white
eggs brought to him measured 0'6 by 0'4 inch.
Genus PACHTGLOSSA.
Bill short and very stout, both high and wide at the base ; culmen curved considerably ; tip
faintly notched, but not serrated ; gonys deep and curved up to the tip. Nostrils linear, in a
capacious membrane, and partly protected by a tuft ; gape with minute bristles. Wing long ;
the 2nd quill the longest, the 1st slightly shorter and subequal to the 3rd, 4th slightly shorter
than the 1st. Tail short and even. Legs and feet stout; the tarsus covered with obsolete
transverse scales; anterior toes joined at the base, the outermost syndactyle ; inner toe slightly
shorter than the outer ; hind toe and claw large.
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PACHYGLOSSA VINCENS.^,3.
ZOSTEROPS CEYLONENSIS.
PACHYGLOSSA VINCENS.
(LEGGE’S FLOWERPECKER.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
PrionocMlus vincens, Sclater, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 729; Holdsw. t.c. p. 483; Legge, J. A. S.
(Ceylon Branch) 1873, p. 13; Sclater, Ibis, 1874, p. 2, pi. 1; Legge, t.c. p. 23;
Holdsw. t. c. p. 126 ; Hume, Str. Peath. 1875, p. 493 (redescription).
(3 ad. supra plumbeus indigotico nitens, uropygio clariiis plumbescenti-cinereo : teetrieibus alarum secundariisque
nigris, dorsi colore inargiuatis : remigibus reetricibusque nigris, his (duabus mediis exceptis) albo termiiialiter
maeulatis, extemis latius : facie laterali tota et colli lateribus piloo concoloribus : gala et prsepectore albis : cor-
pore rehquo subtus flavo, hypochondriis vix olivaeeo lavatis : tibiis et subcaiidalibus albis, flavo lavatis : subalaribus
albis : remigibus infra nigris, intus albo marginatis.
$ ad. mari similis, sed pallidior et supra minus nitens ; dorso olivaeeo lavato : teetrieibus alarum quoque nigri-
cantibus, olivaeeo vix marginatis.
Adult male. Length 4'1 to 4-2 inches ; wing 2-3 to 2-4 ; tail 1-2 ; tarsus 0-5 ; middle toe and claw 0'52 ; bill to gape 0-45.
Iris reddish ; bill black, lower mandible pale at the base ; legs and feet blackish brown.
Head, hind neck, back, rump, and lesser wing-coverts dull steel-blue, palest on the rump, and with the concealed
portion of the feathers dark; wings and tail blackish, the coverts and tertials edged with the hue of the back, the
secondaries edged faintly towards the tips with bluish green ; terminal portion of the three outer tail-feathers
white, tip of the next pair the same ; throat and chest white, changing into saffron-yellow on the breast and
lower parts, and p.aling to yellowish on the under taU-coverts ; under wing-coverts and basal portion of the inner
webs of the quills white. In specimens in abraded plumage the rump assumes a whitish aspect.
Female. Length 3-9 to 4-1 inches ; wing 2-15 to 2-3 ; bill somewhat lighter than that of the male ; iris not so intense ;
legs and feet slightly paler.
Head and hind neck bluish ashen, changing into the olivaceous brown of the back, which is overcome with dark
olivaceous green on the lower back and rump ; wings paler than in the male, coverts edged with olivaceous ; tail
brownish black, the terminal spots less deep and confined to the three outer pairs of rectrices ; breast much less
bright than in the male, with the flanks cinereous.
Yomig. Males of the year are very similar to adults ; the breast not so yellow. Iris brown or red-brown. Females
have the iris in nestling plumage olive-brown, changing when older to reddish brown ; bill with the base of
lower mandible yellowish fleshy. Above dull greenish brown, changing to dull brown on the sides of the neck
and face, the white of the chin and throat confined to the centre ; sides of chest cinereous, under surface washed
wdth yellow.
Ohs. This species was classed by Dr. Sclater as a PnonocMlus, a genus of Strickland’s, instituted for the reception, as
this gentleman tells us (‘ Ibis,’ 1874, p. 1), of the birds described and figured in the ‘Planches Colorie'es ’ of Temminck
as Pardalotus percussus, P. iJioradcus, and another Malayan species, P. maculatus. This group is characterized by
minute serrations on the upper mandible, and hence the name — irpiwv, a saw, and ye'tXos, a lip. They have likewise,
as Mr. Wiillace states in his note on the genus (‘Ibis,’ 1874, p. 411) and also writes me recently, a minute 1st
primary. On again examining the Ceylonese bird and carefully comparing it with a closely allied congener from
'NeTpad, Pacliyglossa melatioxaniha {devdan,^. of lud. i. p. 378), I find that these serrations are not present in
either, and in addition to this they possess but nine jirhnaries, which at once precludes their being placed with
the PnonocJiili. This latter genus, according to the system of classification followed in this work, would be located
in the Sturnoid Passeres, while Pachyglossa, to which the Ceylonese form belongs (it being a congener of the Nepal
species), must be placed among the Dicseidae in the Tanagroid or nine-primary section of the Passeres. I have
lately sent my specimens to Mr. Wallace for examination, in order to obtain the benefit of his valuable opinion ;
and he w'rites me that my bird being a decided Pachyglossa, this genus will now consist of three species—
P. aureoUmbata (a beautiful species described by himself from Northern Celebes), P. melauoxantha from Nepal,
and P. vincens from Ceylon.
4 E
578
PACHTGLOSSA VINCENS.
P. melamxaniha (figured in ‘ The Ibis,’ 1874, pi. 1) is a rare species and larger than P. vincens, measuring in the wing
2'80 inches : the proportion of the quills differs slightly from that of the Ceylonese bird, the 1st quill being
slightly shorter. The coloration is much the same as regards its distribution ; but the sides of the throat are blackish
slate, contracting the white into a broad stripe ; the under tad-coverts also are yellow, like the breast and abdomen.
Distribution . — When this little bird was brought to the notice of the scientific world by Dr. Sclater in
the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society ’ in 1872, the credit of its discovery was given to myself, as the
specimens which I had sent him from the south of Ceylon were considered to be the first ever procured.
Mr. Hugh Cuming, however, a well-known collector of Ceylonese birds, had, as noticed by Mr. Holdsworth
in ' The Ibis ’ for 1874, brought home a male of this species, which was, I conclude, overlooked among the
skins acquired from him by the British Museum, and was not identified until after its rediscovery by myself
nearly thirty years afterwards. I am glad, therefore, to be able to give the true history of its discovery to
my Ceylon readers, and ensure the credit of it being given to Mr. Cuming.
It is, as far as we know, essentially a bird of the heavy rainfall districts. My first specimens were
procured in 1871 in the Kottowe forest near Galle, where it is abundant. I subsequently found it in other
jungles adjacent to this one, in the fine timber-reserves near Oodogamma, on the south bank of the Giudurah,
and in the Kukkul Korale, more particularly in the Singha-Bajah or Lion-king forest. Thence northward its
range e.xtends into Saffragam, where I obtained it in the Kuruwite Korale, in the lower Peak jungles, and
saw it even as far north as Avisawella. Mr. Bligh shot, in 1873, a fair number of specimens in Kotmalie,
to wbich district, lying at the base of the western slopes of the main range, it must extend through Maskeliya
and Dimbulla, in both of which valleys it will doubtless some day be found. Its habitat is, I suspect, limited
to the damp forest region, consisting of the south-west of the island, the southern coffee-districts, Saifragam,
and the western portion of the Central Province as above indicated. It may perhaps be found in Uva, but
will not, I should say, extend into the low country of the Eastern Province.
Habits . — I subjoin here the following extract from my notes on this Flowerpecker contained in the
Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Asiatic Society for 1873 “ It dwells exclnsively in high jungle (the
"Mnkalaney’ of the Sinhalese), and afiPects the leaves and smaller branches of moderately sized trees, but
more particularly the luxurious creeper Freycinetia anyustifolia, a species of Pandanus, which grows so
plentifully in the southern forests, entwining and clothing the stately trunks so completely that they have,
in the distance, the appearance of ivy-clad columns. It associates in small flocks, which, when this plant
is in fruit, may be seen feeding on its seeds. Its movements are most active, now hovering for an instant
over a flower, now clinging 'tit-like’ to the underside of some chosen sprig. . . . Although it usually
takes but short flights in the jungle, from tree to tree, its powers of locomotion are considerable, and at times
it may be seen darting across openings in the forest from one belt to another. Its note is a weak tze-tze-tze,
somewhat resembling that of the Long-tailed Tit of Europe {Acredula caudata), and which is scarcely audible
on a stormy day amidst the soughing of the wind through the forest trees. It is generally uttered in concert
by the flock when searching together for food.” I observed that in the Singha-Rajah forest it frequented
the flowers of the Bowittiya plant [Osbeckia virgata), but whether in search of insects or not I was unable to
ascertain.- The stomachs of nearly all the specimens I have procured contained succulent matter, evidently
extracted from fruit and seeds j and I therefore suspect that it is almost entirely fmgivorous. It does not
always confine itself to low situations in the forests, for I have met with it in flocks frequenting the tops of
the loftiest trees in the Oodogamma timber-jungles.
The breeding-season, I imagine, must be during the south-west monsoon, for the organs of examples
killed in both June and August testified to their nidification being carried on during that period. It is
probable that this bird builds somewhat similarly to its Nepalese congener, which, says Hodgson, " makes an
ingenious pendulous nest.”
The figures in the Plate accompanying this article are those of a male and female from the southern
forests.
Genus PIPEI80MA.
Bill very short and wide at the base, triangular when viewed from above, compressed
suddenly beyond the nostrils ; culmen keeled and compressed between the nostrils, below -which
the margin is inflated ; gonys very deep, ascending and keeled near the tip. Nostrils very small.
Wings long ; the 1st quill equal to or slightly less than the 2nd and 3rd, which are the longest ;
4th equal to the 1st. Tail short, even at the tip, not exceeding the closed wing by more than
the length of the middle toe. Tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw ; toes rather slender,
hind toe moderately long ; claws stout and well curved.
PIPEISOMA AGILE.
(THE THICK-BILLED FLOWEKPECKER.)
Fringilla agilis, Tickell, J. A. S. B. 1833, ii. p. 578.
Pipra sgualida, Burton, P. Z. S. 1836, p. 113.
Piprisoma agile, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1844, xiii. p. 314; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 228
(1849) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 262 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 376
(1863) ; Beavan, Ibis, 1865, p. 416 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 365 ; Beavan, ibid. 1867,
p. 430, pi. X. ; Jerdon, Ibis, 1872, p. 18 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 434 ; Hume, Nests
and Eggs, p. 158 (1873) ; id. Str. Feath. 1873, p. 434 ; Ball, ibid. 1874, p. 397, et 1878,
vii. p. 209.
Chitlu-jilta, Telugu (Jerdon).
Adult 'male and female. Length 3'9 to 4‘0 inches ; wing 2-15 to 2’3 ; tail 1‘1 ; tarsus 0'48 ; middle toe and claw 0'4
to 0'45 ; bill to gape 0‘4.
Iris orange, with an inner golden circle ; bill plumbeous brown, low^er mandible bluish ; legs and feet plumbeous.
Above ohvaceous brown, greenish on the rump and upper tail-coverts, and with the margins of the wings and tail the
same ; centres of the feathers on the forehead shghtly darter than the margins ; wings brown ; tail blackish brown,
narrowly tipped with white on all but the two outer tail-feathers, which have a terminal white spot ; lores greyish ;
face and ear-coverts brownish ; a rim of minute pale feathers on the eyelid ; fore neck and under surface white.
In Lesson’s ‘ Century of Zoology ’ is figured (pi. 26) a very remarkable httle bird, said to have been procured by
a Dr. Reynard at Trincomalie, and named by Lesson Prionoehilus pijira. The engra^ving certainly represents a bird
belonging to this group of Elowerpeckers ; but whether it is Pijirisoma, Pachyglossa, or Prionoehilus it is impossible to
say. Lesson’s description of this rara avis is in French, and could not be better translated than it has been by Blyth
(notes on Ceylon ornithology, ‘ Ibis,’ 1807, p- 306). I accordingly give it verbatim for the benefit of my readers
“ Tipper parts brownish ashy ; the w ings and tail brown, with a russet tuige ; throat and front of the neck rust-coloured :
the rest of the lower parts brown, rayed (the feathers tipped in the figure) with whitish ; vent and lower tail-coverts
russet ; axillary tufts hrilliant violet ; bill and tarsi black, the low'er mandible whitish beneath. Length about 4 inches,
the closed wing 2'25.” The date given by the author for the publication of this note is April 1830. From that day to
this the bird has never been heard of ; and the extraordinary character of its plumage, exemplified in its possessing, in
combination with an otherwise sombre dress, two brilliant axillary tufts like those of a Sun-bird, almost suggests the idea
of a made-up bird !
The following is M. Lesson’s note on the species : — “ M. le Docteur Reynard a decouvort cet oiseau a Trinquemahe
sur la cote de Ceylon. Ses moeurs sont inconnues, et ses earactcres mixtes porteraient sans doute h, en faire un petit
genre intermediaire a ces des Pardalotus et des Pipra, si le genre Pardalote u’etait pas lui-meme pen caracterise.”
4e2
580
PIPEISOMA AGILE.
the sides of the chest and breast with dull olivaceous mesial stripes to the feathers ; flanks olivaceous ; bases of
the under tail-coverts dark.
Some examples are less conspicuously striated beneath than others ; and one from the Uva district is greener than
those from the Northern Province.
Ym,ng male. “Length 3-9 inches ; wing 2-2 ; tail I'l ; bill at front 0-3. Iris differing from that of the adult,
yellowish brown, darkest near the pupil, and without the bright ‘thread* or cii'cle round it; bill brownish horny,
tip of upper mandible black, lower mandible paler ; legs and feet dark leaden ” {Parher, in epist.). Described as
being like the adult ; the orbital rim of feathers “ dull white, and the outermost tail-feathers much paler than the
rest ; the forehead with indications of strise.”
In a young female the terminal w’hite spots on the lateral tail-feathers are almost absent.
Ohs. In his paper on Ceylon birds (Str. Death. 1873, p. 434) Mr. Hume calls attention to certain characteristics of
Ceylon examples of this species, concerning which he remarks that “ they have a much more decided green cast
on the upper surface, especially on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; they are slightly smaller, and the bills are a
little shorter and somewhat less compressed tow’ards the point.” I have carefully noted these remarks and
endeavoured to get together as large a series as possible for comparison ; but skins of this little bird are by no
means plentiful. I have examined four skins in the British Museum, two of w'hich are from the North-west
Himalai'as, six of Mr. Ball’s, and one of Mr. Elwes. The latter is from Saugor, Central Province, and Mr. Ball’s
skins are from Sambalpur, Satpura, andTalchin. The comparison of this small series with four Ceylon specimens
tends to show that low-country Ceylon birds are smaller than Indian ; but a hill example almost equals a
Himalayan one. Twm from this latter locality measure 2-4 and 2'45 inches. A Logole-oya (Uva) specimen
measures 2’4. Sambalpur examples are as follows :■ — $ , wing 2-29 ; $ , wing 2-38 ; $ , wing 2-3 ; d , wing 2-4 ;
Satpura, d, wing 2-3; Talchin, d, wing 2-4. In all these the wing is slightly more pointed than in the
Ceylonese bird, the 1st quill usually almost equalling the 2nd, and in the others being a trifle shorter than it ;
in the Satpura specimen it is about -gig inch less than the 2ud. The Ceylon specimens all vary in this respect,
this feather in twn falling short of the 2nd by nearly Were there, therefore, no variation in the continental
bu’ds our race might stand as a subspecies. With regard to the colour, the green of the Indian birds on the rump
and upper tail-coverts is of a more yellow tinge than in the island race, which is characterized by its more olive
tint. Newly moulted specimens are much brighter than birds in old feather. Males are greyer than females on
the head. These several differences would appear on paper to have some weight ; but on laying the two series of
skins side by side I have btion unable to separate them, the Ceylonese birds merely differing in that slight manner
which one expects in such a small bird isolated somewhat from its fellows of the mainland.
Distribution. — This curious little bird, as far as it has yet been observed, seems to inhabit principally the
midland portion of the northern forest tract. Layard obtained it on the Central road, and Mr. Parker, from
whom I have received specimens, informs me that it is not uncommon at Madewatchiya and about Aiiarad-
japura, and he has lately procured it at Uswewa in the month of July. I met with it in Uva, and obtained
a specimen on the Logole oya at about 3000 feet elevation. It occurs, I believe, in the Kandy district, and
would therefore appear to be scattered sparingly over a considerable portion of the island.
Jerdon writes of this bird, “ It is found over the greater part of India, from the Himalayas to the Malabar
coast most commonly in jungle-districts ; but it is also seen occasionally in groves of trees in bare
country. I have procured it at Goomsoor, on the Eastern Ghats, in Malabar, and the Deccan. Blyth obtained
it in the Midnapore jungles.” Captain Beavan remarks, “ This bird cannot be considered common in Maun-
bhoom, although it is certainly tolerably abundant during the breeding-season.” In Kumaon it was observed
by Mr. Thompson, who spoke of it also as breeding at Kamnuggur, which is on the borders of the sub-
Himalayan range.
Habits. — The Thick-billed Flowerpecker frequents the tops of trees in forest, searching about among leaves
and small boughs for insects, after the manner of Dictmm. It is generally, according to my experience, solitary ;
but Air. Parker shot one out of a troop of four or five in the Uswewa district. It feeds on spiders and minute
insects; in Uva I noticed it frequenting small umbrageous trees overhanging a rocky stream in a glen.
Jerdon remarks that it has a weak piping note and associates in small flocks ; but Capt. Beavan testifies to the
contrary, saying that he observed it alone, and says that its dull colours prevent its being seen. “ Its note,”
PIPEISOMA AGILE.
581
he writes, “I should term a 'shriir instead of a ‘weak" piping, which can he heard at some distance, long
before the bird itself is visible."’
Nidification . — The present species breeds in India from the middle of February till the end of May,
commencing, according to Mr. Hume, earlier in the plains than in the Himalayas. I imagine that in Ceylon
it lays during the first three or four months in the year ; but I have no certain data, beyond the fact of
Mr. Parker shooting an immature specimen in June, and my own observations as to the old birds moulting
in August. Its nest was beautifully figured in ‘ The Ibis " for 18G7, together with the young birds, by Mr. WolL
from specimens sent home by Captain Beavan. This naturalist writes (‘ Ibis," 1865) as follows “ The nest is
very peculiar — a pocket-like structure suspended from a small bough which forms the roof, the entrance being
from one side near the top. It is composed entirely of spiders" web and other silks, with which a pinkish-
brown fluff (probably from some tree in flower) is felted together, making the nest look entirely of that colour.
There is no lining ; only the material employed is denser at the bottom than at the top of the nest. The great
peculiarity is that the nest is as if woven in one piece, and, like a bit of cloth, can be shaken and compressed
without doing it any injury. The length is 3 inches, breadth 2 inches ; entrance-hole 1-5 inch long by 0-87
inch broad. The eggs are moderately elongated, of a light pink ground-colour, blotched indistinctly with
pink spots, more frequent and massed at the obtuse end ; they are large for the size of the bird, their length
being 0'62 inch, and their breadth a little over 0'37 inch.”
Mr. R. Thompson likewise wwites to Mr. Hume “ I obtained a nest of this bird at Ramnuggur, on the
borders of the sub-Himalayan range, on the 12th May, which contained two eggs of a fleshy-white colour,
thickly blotched with pinkish spots. The nest was a neat structure, pendent from a thin branch of a small
leafless tree ; it was entirely composed of the pubescent covering of the skins of a species of Loranthus, which
the birds had scraped off, and, mixing with spiders" webs, had woven into a thin felt. The shape of the nest is
that of a purse opening down the side."" While taking another nest, he remarks that the old birds hovered about,
and more than once perched close to his head. Writing from Modahpore, in March, he informs Mr. Hume
that he “ saw a couple fixing the foundation of their nest with cobwebs and the pubescent downy covering of
the young shoots of Bidea frondosa, which the birds bit off in small pieces and mixed with cobwebs, both birds
at work alternating the time of arrival and departure with material.”
From the above remarks it will be seen that this Flow'erpecker constructs one of the most wonderful little
nests known] indeed the editor of ‘The Ibis’ remarks that the one sent by Capt. Beavan was one of the most
beautiful structures he had ever seen. Mr. Hume says two or three eggs are laid each time, and that he is
inclined to believe that the birds have two broods at least in the year. The ground-colour varies from “ rosy
white to a decided pink, and the markings from brownish pink to claret-colour.” They average in size 0-63
by 0’41 inch.
Genus ZOSTEEOPS.
Bill somewhat curved, high and wide at the base, compressed towards the tip, which is
obsoletely notched and very acute. Nostrils linear; a few rictal bristles. Wings with the
3rd quill exceeding the 2nd, which is longer than the 1st. Tail shorter than the wings, even
at the tip. Tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw, and shielded with broad smooth scales;
outer and middle toes slightly syndactyle, claws much curved. Eyes beset with a velvety fringe
of white feathers.
ZOSTEEOPS PALPEBEOSA.
(THE COMMON WHITE-EYE.)
Sylvia pcilpebrosa, Temm. PI. Col. 293. fig. 2 (1824).
Zosterops nicoharicus, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1845, xiv. p. 563.
Zosterops palpebrosm, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1846, xv. p. 44 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 220
(1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 121 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1853, xii. p. 267 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 265 (1863) ; Legge, J. A. S, (Ceylon Branch)
1870-71, p. 52 ; Iloldsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 458, pi. xx. fig. 1 ; Adam, Str. Feath. 1873,
p. 384 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 397 (1874); Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 417 ; Legge,
Ibis, 1874, p. 22 ; Walden, t. c. p. 143 ; Morgan, Ibis, 1875, p. 322 ; Hume, Str. Feath.
1875, p. 143 ; Brooks, t. c. p. 252 ; Butler & Hume, t. c. p. 491 ; Hume, ibid. 1876,
p. 463 ; Fairbank, ibid. 1877, p. 407.
Zosterops nicobariensis, Hume, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 242, et 1876, p. 291.
The White-eyed Warbler, Latham ; The White-eyed Tit, Jerdon ; The Zosterops of some.
Adult male and female. Length 4-1 to 4-4 inches ; wing 2-05 to 2-1 ; tail 1-5 to 1-6 ; tarsus 0-6 to 0'65 ; middle toe
and claw 0-5 ; hill to gape 0’45 to 0’49.
Male. Iris (very variable) brownish olive or olive-grey, or grey mottled with brown, and often with a pale outer circle ;
bill blackish, bluish at base beneath ; legs and feet slate-blue.
Above unifoiTU yellowish green, slightly yellow'er on the upper tail-coverts and sides of neck, where it blends into the
primrose-yellow of the chin, fore neck, and upper part of chest ; wings and tail bi’own, edged with a slightly
greener hue than the back ; lores black, above which the feathers are yellowish ; a deep orbital fringe of white
feathers ; beneath albescent, shaded with greyish on the sides of the upper breast and on the flanks ; centre of
belly with a faint yellowish w'ash ; under tail-coverts and edge of wring yellow ; under wing-coverts white ; the
loral spot varies in intensity, being blacker in birds which are in new feather than in others.
Female. Iris often tinged with reddish. I have myself only noticed this peculiarity in this sex ; it may exist in
the other.
Ohs. Mr. Holdsworth remarks {loe. cit.) that specimens from the low country vary in size ; I have found this to be
the case as regards bulk, but not in the wing to any extent. Indian specimens have the grey of the flanks
spreading more over the under surface than Ceylonese ; they vary, however, iu this respect, and the exceptions to
the rule correspond too well writh our birds to admit of any separation of the latter. The coloration of the upper
surface and the throat are the same in both forms. As regards size, six examples in the national collection from
various parts of India vary in the wing from 2'0 to 2'1 inches ; one from NUghiris, wing 2‘05, tail 1'6 (this is
paler beneath than some of the above-mentioned, but darker above) ; one from Tenasserim, wing 2-1, slightly
darker than the Ceylonese examples ; one from Nepal, wring 2-0 ; one from Darjiling, wing 1-95 ; four from
ZOSTEEOPS PALPEBEOSA.
583
North-west Himalayas, wing 2'1 to 2'25. These data show that the species varies in size somewhat, the largest
specimens, as may be expected, inhabiting the Himalayas. A Nicobar-Islands example has the upper surface of a
darker green than most Indian ones, and possesses a well-defined pale superloral stripe, with the black of the lores
passing under the eye. There are several closely-allied species of this genus ; among them Zosterops simplex,
Swinhoe, from China, is not distantly related to Z. palpehrosa ; and Z. huxtoni, Nicholson (Ibis, 1879, p. 167), from
Java, is a miniature of our bird, the back greener, the tail darker, the black of the lores passing under the eye,
and the wings tinged with grey ; throat and under surface as in Z. palpehrosa-, wing 1‘9 to 1'95.
Distribution . — The Common Zosterops, or White-eye, is a very numerous bird in Ceylon, and is more or
less seattered over the whole of the low country, ascending likewise into the hilly regions to an altitude of
about 3500 feet. In the Western Province and south-west it is particularly numerous, both on the sea-
board and in the interior ; hut in the northern half of the island it appears to prefer the inland districts, for I
always found it less abundant along the north-east coast than in the central forests ; in these latter, however,
it is local, and, like most other birds, comes much more into notice in one part than in another. It is common
in the woods of the Eastern Province and in the jungles to the south of the Haputale ranges. In the moun-
tainous country formed by the Morowak and Kolonna Korales I noticed it chiefly at the borders of forests,
and in the Kandyan Province it is partial to the sparsely-timbered patnas in the wide valleys which are drained
by the affluents of the Mahawelliganga ; thus in the Pusselawa, Hewahette, Deltota, and other districts, as well
as in that of Badulla, it is fairly common.
On the mainland it has a wide range, being found in various localities throughout the whole of India to
the sub-IIimalayan regions, and extends thence into Assam, Burmah, and probably to Tenasserim, in which
province its presence is doubtfully recorded in ‘ Stray Feather's ’ by Mr. Hume. In the extreme south it is a
common bird, being found both at the base and the summit of the Palanis, and also on the tops of the Nilghiri
hills, where Jerdon remarks that it exists in great abundance. It therefore ascends to a greater altitude in
the peninsula than iir Ceylon. It likewise occurs in the Northern Ghfits, is common throughout the wooded
portions of the Deccan, sparingly distributed in Chota Nagpur, rare in the Sambhur-Lake district, w'here
Adam says he has only once seen it, and further west still is locally diffused, being common at Mount Aboo,
but not found in the plains adjacent to it. Mr. Hume writes, “ I have never seen it in or from Cutch or
Sindh, nor have I specimens from Kattiawar ; but Captain Hayes Lloyd reports it as common there, probably
as pertaining to the Girwar region.^’ It is found near Mussoori, and along the slopes of the Himalayas east-
ward ; in Pegu it is likewise well known. Its universal distribution throughout the Laccadives is singular.
Mr. Hume writes, “ The W^hite-eyed Tit is the one resident land-bird of the group ; it occurs in every inhabited
island that we touched at.’-" The Andaman and Nicobar islands also come within its range, the representatives
of the species there being somewhat different from continental Inrds, inasmuch as they appear, as a rule, to
have longer bills and to be of a somewhat greener shade on the upper surface (the peculiarities of one example
are noticed above) . They were originally separated by Blyth as Z. nicobarica ; but Mr. Hume considers
that though they might form a variety of the true Z. palpehrosa, they cannot well be separated entirely.
Habits . — This little bird is most sociable in its proclivities, frequenting the leafy boughs and tops of trees
in woods and forests, either in large flocks or smaller parties of a dozen or more. It searches about the leaves
and blossoms of trees in flower, and feeds on insects, seeds, and buds ; it is restless in its manners, the whole
flock moving about in consort and uttering perpetually a plaintive monosyllabic whistle. On windy days it
is more on the move than at other times, and its tiny note is heard above the roar of the storm in the forest
more plainly than the louder voice of other birds. It is partial to the jack, bread-fruit, “ tulip,'^ and other trees
growing about native villages j and in the afternoon, after its appetite has been appeased, little troops of four
or five may be seen sitting huddled together on dead branches of, or bare twigs in, those umbrageous trees.
At certain times of the year I have seen it in the Suriah-trees in the fort of Colombo, to which it is no doubt
attracted when they are in flower. Although this White-eye partakes of insects, its diet is, for the most part,
frugivorous, the consequence of which is that it is very destructive to gardens, picking off the buds of fruit-
trees, as well as attacking the fruit itself. I have known caged individuals in England feed with avidity on
dried figs.
584
ZOSTEEOPS PALPEBROSA.
Mr. Ball writes of the pluck which he observed these little birds display in the Satpura hills in attacking
the Rose-Einch, a vastly more powerful bird, and driving it away from the flowers of the Mhowa {Bassia lati-
folia), which, he remarks, forms a favourite hunting-ground of this “ Tit.” In the gardens on the Nilghiris,
Jerdon says it may be seen clinging to the flower-stalks and “ extracting the minute insects that infest flowers,
by the pollen of which its forehead is often powdered.”
Nidification . — The White-eye breeds in June, July, and August, attaching its neat little nest to the
horizontal fork of a small or moderately-sized tree, sometimes at a height of 20 feet from the ground, or
suspending it between the twigs or branches of a small bush at a few feet from the soil. It is a frail but
seemingly strong little work, made of flne tendrils of creepers, moss-roots, thin grass-stalks, and a little moss,
carefully interwoven, and at the upper edges worked round the supporting twigs ; the exterior is often mixed
with pieces of seed-down, cotton, cocoons, &c., some of which substances are generally used for the lining of
the interior as well ; this is about If inch in diameter and is rather shallow. Mr. Morgan writes that it
builds in the south of India a pretty little cup-shaped nest of golden-coloured moss and thistle-down lined with
silk-cotton ; he describes the eggs as being two or three in number and of an exceedingly pale blue colour,
measuring in length 0'71 inch and in breadth 0’51. Some that I have examined were pale greenish blue and
pointed at the small end.
In Mr. Hume’s ‘ Nests and Eggs ’ will be found much interesting matter concerning the nesting of this
White-eye in India, among which Captain Hutton tells us that the little oval cup is so slight and so frail
“ that it is astonishing the mere weight of the parent does not bring it to the ground ; and yet within it three
young ones will often safely outride a gale that will bring the weightier nests of Jays and Thrushes to the
ground.” The majority of the nests taken by him were composed of “ little bits of green moss, cotton, and
seed-down, and the silk of the wild mulberry-moth torn from the cocoons.”
ZOSTEEOPS CETLONENSIS.
(THE CETEONESE WHITE-EYE.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Zosterops annulosus, Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 121 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1853, xii. p. 267 ; Legge, J. A. S. (Ceylon Branch) 1870-71, p. 29.
Zosterops ceylonemis, Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 459, pi. xx. fig. 2 ; Swinhoe, Ibis, 1873,
p. 228 ; Layard, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 205 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 22 ; Holdsw. t. c. p. 123 ;
Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 410.
The Mountain Bush-creeper, Kelaart ; The Hill White-eye, Europeans in Ceylon.
Supra flaYucanti-viridis, loris et plumis supra- et infraocularibus saturate cinereis : annulo oputhaluiico albo : tectri-
cibus alarum dorso concoloribus : remigibus et rectricibus nigricauti-bruuneis, dorsi colore margiuatis ; gutture
toto et prscpectore lastc flavis : corpore reliquo subtiis albido, pectoro flavicauti-viridi lavato, lateribiis hypochou-
driisque delicate cinerasceiitibus : tibiis, crisso subcaudalibiisque Isete flavis : rostro nigricante, ad basin scbistaeeo :
pedibus plumbeis : iride brumiescenti-flava.
Adult male aiul female. Length 4‘5 to 4‘7 inches ; wing 2'1 to 2-3 ; tail 1'6 to 1'75 ; tarsus 0-7 ; middle toe and claw
0-5 to 0-55 ; bill to gape 0-57 to 0-63.
Iris yellowish brown, or reddish brown, or pale brownish yellow (as variable as the last species) ; bill blackish, with the
base beneath bluish or pale slaty ; legs and feet bluish or pale leaden.
Above dusky olive-green, somewhat infuscated on the forehead and pale on the rump ; wings and tail brown, edged
with the hue of the back; a close, white, orbital fringe, as in the last species ; lores, just beneath the eye, and from
the gape down the side of the throat blaekish ; this gular streak varies in size and intensity ; throat and fore neck
pale greenish yellow, shading off into the green of the side neck ; breast and lower parts albescent, shaded with
greyish on the sides, aud with a wash of yellowish down the centre of the breast ; thighs and under tail-coverts
greenish yellow ; under wing-coverts whitish.
Females have the yellow of the throat greener, as a rule, than males, and appear, as in the common species, to have the
eye reddish at times.
Ohs. Although this species has long been known as a Ceylonese bird, it is only lately that it has been discriminated as
new to science. Kelaart and Layard assigned to it the specific appellation of annulosus, which in reality was the name
given by Swainsoii to an African species figured in his ‘Zoological Illustrations.’ The former, in writing of it as
a Nuw'ara-Elliya bird, said (‘ Prodromus,’ p. 102), “ We fear that the Nuwara-Elliya Zosterops is wrongly identified ;
it is of a darker green than the common Zosterops palpehrosus ; ” he accordingly styled it, in his catalogue, by the
above-mentioned name, which was likewise used by La 3 fard*, who, however, doubted its distinctness from the
low-country bird. In 1869 Mr. Holdsworth and myself examined specimens in the Asiatic Society’s Museum,
which he had presented to that institution, and but little doubt remained in our minds that it was a good species ;
in November of the following year I read a note on it at a Meeting of the Ceylon Branch of the Asiatic bociety,
and had the intention of giving it a name in my paper to be published in the Journal, p. 29 (1870-71): in the
moan time, however, Mr. Holdsworth, who had taken up the subject more fully, informed me that he had worked
it out, and was about to call it Zosterops ceylonensis in his paper in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society, and
I aecordingl)'' expunged my description from the Asiatic Society’s Journal. It has been maintained by some that
there is a Zosterops inhabiting the Nilghiris, which might be identical with the present species. Mr. Stanford
called attention to this matter in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1869, p. 170, in which he says that
the Nilghiri race is “ a little larger and appears to be darker in colour” than Zosterops palpehrosa. Mr. Swinhoe
likewise w'rites, in ‘ The Ibis,’ 1873, that he had a specimen from Captain Bulger s collection, marked “ Madras,
* Layard writes me to correct a mistake which occurred in his note on this species (P. Z. 8. 1873, p. 205). The
last sentence should read : — “ I have not collected in Nuw'ara Elliya.”
4 F
-586
ZOSTEEOPS CEYLO^^EJSrSIS.
which he had shown to Dr. Jerdon, and pointed out the differences between it and palpebrosa, and further
remarks that it appeared close to Z, ceylonensis in size and colour, but had no more yellow on the neck than the
ordinary species. Nothing, however, seems to have been further noted of this supposed species; and whatever it
may be, I doubt not that it is different from our bird.
Distribution . — This White-eye is a very abundant species in the main range, especially on the Nuwara-
Elliva plateau j it is, however, numerous in all the circumjacent coffee-districts, down to about 3000 feet, and
likewise in the Ilaputale, Badulla, and Madulsima ranges ; beyond the valley of Dumbara it frequents the
upper parts of the Knuckles and the east and west Matale hills. In Maskelya it is common, and in the Peak
forests I met with it in great abundance down to an elevation of 2000 feet. On the south side of the great
valley of Saffragam it reappears and inhabits the coffee-districts of the Kolonna, Kukkul, and Morowak Korales,
and ranges thence into the subsidiary hill forests between the upper part of the Gindurah river and Galle.
Here I found it, as recorded in 'The Ibis,’’ 1874, on the summits of the Opate and Oodogamma hills, as low
down as 1500 feet, which is the least elevation at which I have observed it. It would be interesting to know
whether it inhabits the isolated Muneragala range, which stands out in the low country beyond the slopes
of the Passara and Lunugala hills, and is quite disconnected from them.
Habits.— The Hill White-eye frequents both the interior and the edges of forest, patna-jungle, underwood,
and low bushes in open places near woods and so forth, affecting the lateral branches of tall trees, the tops of
smaller ones, and the foliage of shrubs and undergrowth. It has no partiality for any situation in particular,
but consorting in very large flocks, where insect life abounds, the birds composing them may be found both
high up and low down in their leafy haunts, little parties clinging to the twigs of the smallest bushes, others
searching the branches of sapplings, while the foliage of the monarchs of the forest high overhead teems with
dozens more, the whole concourse moving on by twos and threes in quick succession as the leaves are cleared
of their insect-pests and all the tempting buds eagerly nipped off. It is seen much about the edges of paths in
the jungle ; and in such localities it exhibits an utter fearlessness of man, allowing so near an approach that I
have often stopped to watch the movements of a pair feeding close to me, and been able to admire the handsome
white eye-fringe as well as if I had had its tiny owner in my hand. Its principal note is a sparrow-like chirp,
which it is particularly energetic in uttering when in large flocks.
Mr. Holdsworth writes of it : — " As these birds are very common, and constantly flying in small parties
from bush to bush, uttering their lively chii-p, they attract attention ; and the little White-eye is familiar to
most Europeans who visit Nuwara Elliya. In the winter the males associate in flocks of fifteen or twenty ; and
it is then rare to find a female in their company. I believe the latter are for the time solitary, as, with one
exception, the numerous specimens I have shot from different flocks have proved to be males.” In the months
of December and January I have seen hundreds in a flock in the Nuwarar-Elliya jungles.
Nidification.—Thw, species breeds from March until May, judging from the young birds which are seen
abroad about the latter month. Mr. Bligh found the nest in March on Catton Estate. It was built in a
coflee-bush a few feet from the ground, and was a rather frail structure, suspended from the arms of a small
fork formed by one bare twig crossing another. In shape it was a shallow cup, well made of small roots and
bents, lined with hair-like tendrils of moss, and was adorned about the exterior with a few cobwebs and a little
moss. The eggs were three in number, pointed ovals, and of a pale bluish-green ground-colour. They
measured, on the average, 0-64 by 0-45 inch.
On the Plate accompanying my article on Pachyglossa vincens will be found a figure of the present species.
PASSEEES. *
Earn. HIRUNDINID^ *.
Bill short, very broad at the base, triangular when viewed from above ; flattened, straight,
the culmen gently curved at the tip, which is entire ; gape smooth and very wide. Wings long
and pointed, the first two quills longer than the third; the secondaries very short. Tail of 12
feathers, variable in shape and length. Legs and feet weak ; tarsus short, generally bare, and
covered with smooth scales, in some feathered.
Genus HIEUXDO.
Bill typical in shape, compressed near the tip. The nostrils basal, elongated and exposed,
placed in a depression near the culmen. Wings with the 1st quill equal to or longer than the
2nd. Tail long and deeply forked. Tarsus equal to the middle toe, and shielded in front with
smooth broad scutes. Middle toe much longer than the lateral ones, which are subequal ; bind
toe moderately large.
HIEUNDO EUSTICA.
(THE COMMON SWALLOW.)
llirundo rustica, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 343 (1766) ; Blyth, Cat. Mus. A. S. B. p. 197 (1849) ,
Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 157 (1862) ; Sharpe & Dresser, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 244 ; Holdsw.
P. Z. S. 1872, p. 418; Shelley, B. of Egypt, p. 120 (1872) ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i.
p. 72 (1873) ; id. Str. Feath. 1874, p. 154 (Andamans); Salvador!, Ucc. Born. p. 125 (1874);
Dresser, B. of Europe, pt. 39 (1875) ; Irby, B. of Gibraltar, p. 103 (1875) ; Legge, Ibis,
1875, p. 275.
Ilirundo 'panayana, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 1018 (1/88) ; Horsf. Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. 1.
Co. i. p. 91 (1864).
Hirimdo gutturalis, Scop. Delic. Flor. et Faun. Insubr. ii. p. 96 (1786); Kelaart, Prodromus,
Cat. p. 118 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1863, xii. p. 170 ; Swinhoe, P. Z. S.
1871, p. 346.
* The Swallows are classed by Jerdon and other naturalists (A^an der Hoeven, Kaup, &c.) with the Swifts ; and, on
account of their outward similarity to them, it is the popular belief that the two families are closely allied. No gi-eater
error, I think, could exist, although, as Mr. Wallace pithily remarks in a letter to me on the subject, “ they constitute the most
remarlcahle case known of outivard resemblance and real diversity!' The Swallow, in the formation of its sterninn, ^s, anc
foot and in the structure of its wing, as also in the number of the tail-feathers, is strictly a Passerine hn ■ le wi is
a Picariform bird in its sternum and foot, which latter is most remarkable, all the toes being either iiec e orn.wc , or
the hind toe being reversible to the front. The bill is unlike that of a Swallow, resembling those o t e i ig J >
Huxlev and others hold the Swallow to be Passerine in all respects ; the former, who took strong exception o w a e s y ec
Jerdon’s antiquated notion of associating the two families, remarks (Ibis, 18G6, _p. 230) The Hirundinidm illustrate
and exemnlifv even to the minutest detail, the special passerine type of conformation, which is merely modified ex-
ternally to confer extraordinary vigour of wing.” The hind toe, in some of the Sand-Martins, is said to have a tendency
to reverse ; this feature is not exemplified in the case of the two English species.
4f2
•588
HIRUNDO EUSTICA.
Hirundo jeimn, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 83.
The Panayan Swallow and Javan Swallow (Lath.) ; The Chimney-Swallow, popularly in
England ; Golondrina, Oroneta, Spain (Saunders) ; Andorinha, Portuguese ; Zwaluw,
Dutch ; Ababil, Hind. ; Talli illedi kuravi, lit. “ Bird without a head,” Tamul ; Wanna
Kovela, Telugu ; Paras pitta of the Mharis (Jerdon) ; Ui Karloghach, Yarkandis (Scully) ;
Khotaifa, Moorish (Irby); Tamm pddy, Tamil; Fiisti Fecske, Transylvania.
Wcelmlaniya, lit. “ Eain-fowl,” Sinhalese.
Adult ??iaZ6 (winter, Ceylon, 3 examples). Length 6‘8 to 7'0 j wing 4'5 to 4'7 ; tail 3'5 to 3'8 ; tarsus 0'4 ; middle toe
and claw 0-0 ; bill to gape 0-55 to 0'6 ; depth of tail-fork 2-0 to 3'0.
Iris brown ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Head and upper surface glossy blue-black ; wings and tail dull black, the quills with a bluish tinge on the inner webs ;
the longer tail-feathers with a greenish lustre, and the shorter with a bluish one ; alt but the central rectrices with
a large white spot, which, on the lateral pair, runs out to a point ; forehead, chin, throat, and upper part of chest
ferruginous chestnut, bounded beneath by a black interrupted pectoral band of variable width ; under surface,
under tail and under wing-coverts white, tinged on the sides of the breast and at the vent strongly with rufescent.
Female. Wing about 4‘5 inches ; lateral tail-feathers about 0’75 inch shorter than in the male.
Iris, bill, legs, and feet the same.
Differs from the male in having the under surface almost pnre white.
Young (Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, July). Head brown, glossed with metallic green ; front of the forehead sienna-red ;
back and rump blackish green, with a greyish hue ; wings dark greenish brown, coverts glossed with green ; chin
and throat pale sienna, beneath which is a broad brown pectoral band, well defined above, but washed in the centre
with sienna ; beneath white, suffused with delicate reddish buff, the centre of the breast less so than the sides ;
flanks dusky ; outer tail-feathers 0-9 longer than the central pair ; wing 4-9 inches.
On growing older the sienna colour of the forehead fades, and is encroached upon by the black, and also the reddish
hue of the under surface vanishes, while the red throat changes to buffy white. On arriving in Ceylon in October
the yearling bird has the edge of the forehead only rufescent greyish, the throat rufescent white (specimens often
exemplifying the change of colour in the feathers by patches of red and whitish), and the under surface whitish,
with the pectoral band brown ; the lateral feathers are still short and rounded at the tips. When leaving the
island during the spring moult, the forehead and throat become rufous, the pectoral band becomes black, and
the under surface in the males is suffused with buff. .
Obs. The above descriptions relate to the Asiatic race of the Common Swallow which visits Ceylon. Old birds arrive
in the island in much the same plumage in which they leave England in October, the under surface in the males
being only tinged here and there with buff. A Hampshire specimen in my collection corresponds in this respect
with one shot at GaOe in October. I do not know whether, as a rule, they arrive at their breeding-haunts, after
leaving Ceylon, with the under surface as much suffused with reddish as is the case with the males on their arrival
in England ; some Central-Asiatic summer examples I have seen exhibit this character, so that it is probable
that the spring plumage on both continents is the same.
As the Swallow ranges eastw'ard from Europe it has a tendency to become smaller, and to acquire a pectoral band
more or less interrupted at the middle by the rufous colour of the throat, thus approaching the American form,
H. Jiorreorwn (found, according to Mr. Dresser, beyond Lake Baikal), which is closely allied to the European
species, and has the band merely in the form of a black patch on the sides of the chest, and the underparts rufes-
ceut or yellowish brown.
This incomplete banded and usually small Asiatic form is the H. gutturalis of Scopoli ; and it is customary to class most
Indian specimens of the Common Swallow under that name. Chinese specimens, as a rule, are typical, and so are
those from Tenasserim (Hume, Str. Eeath. 1878, p. 41). Seven adults in the Swinhoe collection vary in the
wing from 4-4 to 4‘6, and have the pectoral band incomplete. Our Ceylon birds belong to this form, but they are
intermediate in size between it and the true rusliea. I state this with reserve, as I have only a small series ; but
one young female measures nearly 4‘5, and this is about the average size of Swinhoe’s adults.
On the other hand it must not be supposed that all Asiatic specimens can be strictly classed with this smaller race ;
they vary exceedingly, some being large, with the characteristic European black pectoral band, and some equally
HIEUNDO EFSTICA.
589
so, with the rufous-marked band ; and it is this fact which prevents my considering gutturalis a good species ; at
the same time it cannot be denied that birds from certain districts do run small. "Whether these are all bred in
the same locality it would not be possible to say. The results of my examination of a series of sldns are as
follows : — I find some Siberian skins, and one from Amoy, with the band quite as black as some from England ;
and, as regards size, a Hampshire specimen, one from Siberia, and one from as far east as Eormosa measure 4'85,
4‘8, and 4’75 respectively, and all have the same hlach pectoral band. Several examples from Central Asia
(Kardatehino, Sargaschiuo, &c.) are very large (wing 5‘0), and have the black band much interrupted by the rufous
colour of the throat. These latter have longer tails than any others which I have seen, the outer feathers in one
example being 3'5 inches longer than the centre pair. Finally, Sir. Hume finds that in Sindh and Western India
the Swallows are of the true rustica type, with a wing of 4-8 to 5-0 (many English specimens do not reach 4’8) and
the tail 4’7 to 5‘0. The inference, therefore, to be drawn fi-om these data is that in Asia the Common Swallow
varies in size and colouring in different districts of the continent, and that its several races either intermix or
contain here and there birds typical of each other in such a manner that the Asiatic form cannot be considered
a good species.
Ill Palestine and India there is a resident and closely allied species to the common Swallow, viz. Hirwido savvjnii,
Stephens. This bird (which is the H. cahirica, Licht., of Canon Tristram, and //. riocourii, Audouin, of Shelley,
‘ Birds of Egypt ’) differs from the present species in having the under surface from the band downwards chestnut-
red instead of whitish or buff as in the latter ; the spots on the tail are rusty white instead of pure white.
Canon Tristram I'emarks that this colour is constant, “ neither fading nor intensifying ” at any time of the year.
“Specimens shot at aU seasons arc precisely similar” (‘ Ibis,’ 1867, p. 361). This bird is reported to visit
Europe and to breed with If. rustica ; but Mr. Dresser is of opinion that brightly coloured examples of the latter
species in spring plumage have been mistaken for it. Canon Tristram, in the same article, says that the two never
interbreed in Palestine.
Hirundo tytleri (Jerdon, App. vol. iii. B. of India, p. 870) is an Indian member of this group of Swallows. It appears
to be scarcely distinguishable, as regards its plumage, from //. The original description is, “Glossy
black above, beneath dark ferruginous chestnut ; form and size of II. rustica.” It u'as discovered at Dacca, and
appears to migrate to Pegu and Tenasserim, affecting the first-named province from July till May.
From Messrs. 8harpe and Dresser's researches (P. Z. S. 1870, and ‘ Birds of Europe’) it would appear that the European
Swallows undergo, as immature birds, the same changes which I have described above ; they state that the sienna
frontlet entirely disappears when the bird is in its winter plumage in South Africa, and that there is a mere
indication of it by the presence of a few pale buff-coloured feathers. This is just as it is in Ceylon with
our birds.
Distribution. — The Swallow arrives usually in the north of the island about the second or third week in
September, the young birds coming in first. The period of its arrival is, however, somewhat irregular, and
perhaps depends upon the break up of the south-west monsoon to some extent. Its numbers are increased
considerably in about a fortnight after its first appearance, and it then begins to spread southward, but does
not do so always as regularly as might be expected. Mr. Parker has observed it at Puttalam as early as the
20th September one year, when my earliest date noted down at Colombo was not till after the 1st of October.
At other times I have seen it at Colombo in the middle of September, and I observed it at Galle in 1872
on the loth of that mouth. It inhabits the whole of the low country, and likewise ascends into the hill-
districts to a considerable elevation, but does not inhabit the higher regions in any abundance. It leaves the
island completely about the second week in April, quitting the southern districts a week or two prior to that
date. It is, I think, commoner on the west coast than on the east.
About the first week in August, according to Captain Butler, the Swallow arrives in the Mount-Aboo
district, and leaves again as early as February ; it soon spreads throughout India, but does not seem to visit
all districts at the same time, for Captain Beavan writes that they visit Maunbhoom in J anuary and leave
quite by the end of February. In the Andamans, according to Messrs. Hume and Davison, they do not
disappear until May, from which I gather that the birds inhabiting those islands (although Mr. Hume, when
writing of them in 1874, considered them identical with the English bird) must belong to the gutturalis type
which visits Tenasserim, and wdiich migrates in a different direction to those which inhabit "Western India.
Not a few breed along the Himalayas from 4000 to 7000 feet, while still more remain in Cashmere for that
purpose, and Captain Hutton found them nesting abundantly at Candahar.. On the plains of Eastern
Turkestan Dr. Scully says they arrive (from the south I conclude) about the middle of April, breeding there
590
HIEUIsDO EUSTICA.
in May and June. Thence northward it is found throughout the vast extent of Central Asia and Siberia from
west to east (except perhaps in the north-east of Siberia and Kamtchatka), and ranges above the 60th
parallel of latitude. It inhabits all China and Formosa in summer ; and Mr. Dresser says that there is a
specimen in the Cambridge Museum from the Philippines, thus extending its range very far to the eastward .
Dr. Meyer, in his “ Field- notes from Celebes,” records it from Menado, Tello (South Celebes), and likewise
from the Togian Islands. It also visits Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Batchian, and Morty Island.
Aligrating to the north from Africa it spreads in the spi-ing through the whole of Europe, passing through
Egypt, according to Captain Shelley, from the south in April. Further w'est, however, its advent in Europe
is much earlier ; for we find Col. Irby recording it as passing over from Tangier, where some remain to breed,
in January and February ■, and Mr. Howard Saunders was informed that it usually arrived at Malaga on the
25th of the former month. It must remain, however, in Spain for some time before venturing into more
northerly climes, as we seldom see it in England before the middle of April. The migratory stream from the
south of Africa, where the Swallow winters in great numbers, continues to flow for some months after these
Tangier birds commence to move. I saw it in considerable force at St. Vincent on the 15th of April, 1877 ;
and Governor Ussher (‘ Ibis,’ 1874, p. 62) obtained specimens in complete plumage in February and March
at Cape Coast, Western Africa, and noticed that it left the Gold Coast before the 1st of May. Mr. Godman
found it breeding abundantly in Madeira and the Canaries, but is unable to say whether it is stationary there;
other observers remark that it only occui’s on passage in the Canaries. In Teneriffe it arrives after the Swift.
In Sardinia, according to Mr. A. B. Brooke, “it arrives in small numbers about the end of Febi’uary or
early in March, from which time they keep gradually increasing in numbers. Young birds were hatched
about the 29th of May.” Not content with overspreading the temperate parts of Europe, it perseveres in its
onward journey to the very northern coasts, and thence further even to the shores of Nova Zembla, and even
to Spitzbergeii, it having been seen there by Mr. Arthur Campbell’s exploring party in 1874. It is a rare
straggler to Iceland, and has never yet been known to occur in Greenland.
Concerning its return to winter quarters in Africa, we find that some remain throughout the season in the
northern part. Mr. Tyrwhitt Drake says that it is seen all the year round in Tangier and Eastern Morocco,
so that it both breeds and winters there. Captain Shelley likewise considers that it may be resident in Egypt
to a small extent, as he obtained an immature specimen on the 28tb February ; but the fact that it was
abundant in Nubia in May is, I think, still more conclusive tliat it breeds in North-eastern Africa and
doubtless remains throughout the year. Some examples would appear to remain in South Africa during the
winter, or to return very early from breeding-grounds in the north of the continent ; for Layard saw one on
the 27th of July at Cape Town, and again another on the 30th August; this latter, he remarks, was
probably a new arrival from the north.
Habits . — Much might be written concerning the habits of the favourite harbinger of our English sj)ring ;
but they are well known to the most casual observer, and my space will not permit of any lengthened disser-
tation on the economy of this interesting bird. Of late years, since the climate of old England has under-
gone such changes, the saying that “ one Swallow docs not make a summer ” is disagreeably true ; but,
nevertheless, the first welcome sight of the sweet bird, its shining plumage illumined by the fitful sunbeams
of a chilly April day, conduces to the hope that soon the bitter east wind will have blown itself out, and that
Nature must speedily array herself in that joyous verdant attire which makes the warm English May-day so
inexpressibly lovely. To the resident in Ceylon the Swallow brings no such pleasant prospect ; it arrives in
the midst of the wind and rain with which the south-west monsoon dies out, and foretells nothing but the usual
dry Christmas weather of this part of the tropics. Yet its presence on the Galle Face at Colombo, as it skims
along just above the turf on a bright though windy morning, or sits in rows of a dozen or more twittering
its winter notes on the telegraph-wires at noon, is not without a charm, and reminds one of the home that
has been left behind far beyond the western horizon. The time and place, however, in which to see the Swallow
to perfection is when it is careering over a beautiful English lawn on a bright June morning, sweeping round
the handsome conifers and beneath the spreading oaks ; or wdien, glancing out of some rustic barn, it darts like a
polished arrow down the tiny brook or round the village green in search of a mouthful for the little brood so
snugly housed against yonder beam. In Ceylon we miss the pretty little chattering song of the male in the
HIEUJSTDO EF8TICA.
591
breeding- season, although it docs commence it before leaving in March. Scores of these birds may be seen
perched on the telegraph-wire crossing the “Lotus-pond” at Colombo, a spot which furnishes a never-failino-
supply of insects ; and they may frequently, as in other countries, be observed seated on roofs or on some little
eminence on the ground. As is the case in England, before leaving the island they collect in flocks, but of much
fewer numbers, as there are no young birds to congregate together. Few birds enjoy such an immunity from
persecution as the Swallow ; it is rarely shot except by those who are really in want of skins for scientific
purposes. Favicr has an interesting note with reference to the Moors and the Swallow ; he says “ the Moors
believe it offends God to kill these birds ; in the same way they believe it pleases or soothes the Evil One to
kill the Eaven. The stories on which this superstition is founded are too long to relate ; but I was informed
by one person that the Swallow and White Storks were inspired by Allah to protect the harvest and the
country from noxious insects and reptiles, and that the birds themselves (knowing the benefits they confer on
man) ask in return protection for their offspring by building their nests on the walls of towns and houses.”
Aidijication. In India and on its northern confines (the only region we have to do with, as regards its
nesting, in this work) the Swallow breeds during May and June. To the south of the Himalayas it breeds
along the whole chain, from Cabool to Assam, at from 4000 to 7000 feet j it has been known to nest at Simla,
Murree, Darjiling, Dhurumsalla, and at Asaloo on the Naga hills, in which latter place Col. Godwin-Austen
observed it. In Turkestan, according to Dr. Scully, it makes a mud nest on the roofs of houses, the number
of eggs laid being three or four.
The Swallow^s nest is familiar to every Englishman ; made of little pellets of mud brought by the birds
in their mouths from the neighbouring brooks, ponds, or muddy roads, and fixed to the side of a beam or
rafter, or against a wall, generally below the eaves, it is quite a work of art. It is very strong and durable ; the
very bottom foundation (as is only right and proper in architecture) is commenced first, the sides are then
proceeded with, and then the bowed out part commenced and carefully worked at till the semicircle is complete.
The interior is lined with a little grass and then with feathers, on which the eggs repose. The numl^r of
eggs is usually four, pure white, spotted all over with moderately sized specks, blotches, and spots of brownish
red. Mr. Hume describes some taken in the Himalayas, where the bird builds in the corners of verandahs,
as freckled and mottled all over with small specks of pale brownish red. The average size of seventeen eggs
taken in India was 0'76 by 0'53 inch.
The subjoined woodcuts of the bill, wing, and foot of the Swift and of the Swallow will, I hope, illustrate
to my non-scientific readers the distinguishing characters I have alluded to in this article. The wings are
reduced, but the heads and feet are of the natural size.
Swift {Cypselus affiais).
Swallow {Hirundo rustka).
HIEUNDO HTPEEYIHKA*.
(THE CEYLON SWALLOW.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Uirundo hyperythra (Layard), Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1849, xviii. p. 814 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 198 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 118 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1853, xii. p. 170; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 306 ; Gould, B. of Asia, pt. xx. (1868) ;
Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 419 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 13, et 1875, p. 280.
Cecroiyis hyperythra, Jerdon, Ibis, 1871, p. 352; Hume, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 266.
The Red-bellied Swallow, Kelaart ; The Red-breasted Swalloio.
Wcehcelaniya, Sinhalese.
d ad. supra purpurascenti-niger, iiiterscapulio paullo fulvo vaiio, x>lumis basaliter efc marginaliter I'ulvis : iiropygio
Iffitc castaueo : alis caudaque cum supracaudalibiis purpurascenti-nigris : loris pileo concoloribus, infra castaneo
variis : facie lateral! et regione parotica saturate castaneis, plumis obscur^ purpurascenti striatis : corpore subtus
castaneo, giitture et pectore angustissima nigro striolatis : subcaudalibus longioribus, purpurascenti-nigris : sub-
alaribus pectori concoloribus : rostro nigro ; pedibus vinascenti-brunneis : iride brunnea.
Adult mala and female. Length 6‘5 to 6-8 inches ; wing 4'G to 4‘9 ; tail 3'1 to 3'3, centre feathers 1'4 shorter than
the external; tarsus 0-5 to 0'6; middle toe and claw 0'6 ; bill to gape 0‘6.
Iris sepia-brown ; bill deep brown, in some blackish, base of lower mandible reddish ; legs and feet vinous brown.
ITead, hind neck, back, scapulars, wing-coverts, and longer upper tail-coverts glossy blue-black; the bases of the
feathers of the back bright buffi ; wings and tail dull black, glossy near the tips of the feathers ; the inner margins
of the primaries brown ; entire under surface, including the sides of the neck and a band from ^ to f inch wide
across the rump, light, glossy, chestnut-red, each feather, except on the belly, vent, and rump, with a plainly defimd
black shaft-streak ; the ear-coverts with a broader but less plainly defined blackish-brown shaft-stripe, and their
bases black ; lower portion of loral region obscure chestnut ; longer under tail-coverts blue-black ; under wing-
coverts paler chestnut than the breast, bases of the feathers along the edge of the wing black ; shafts of primaries
whitish beneath, brown above.
Youny. Immature birds have the hue of the under surface paler than adults, and the shaft-streaks not so clear.
Ohs. This Swallow', for years after its discovery in the island, w'as considered peculiar to it. The late Lord Tweeddale
received a red-bellied Sw'allow from Malacca, which he considered identical with ours ; and consequently H. liype-
rythra became a Malaccan bird, and, as such, appears in Mr. lloldsworth’s excellent catalogue. Mr. Hume has,
however, lately obtained Malaccan specimens, and finds that the peninsular bird is much larger, “ wdng 5’53
against 4-75 to 5-0 ” (my largest specimen measures 4‘9), has a proportionately smaller bill, the chestnut rump-
band much wider (1'2 against 0‘8), and the shafts of the earlier primaries black instead of brown ; the colouring of
the underparts and the rump-band is likewise deeper than in our bird. I have examined a specimen in the British
Museum, and it is clearly a good subspecies or local race of IT. kyperyihra. The upper surface is much more brilliant,
and the deep chestnut underparts, which are devoid of striao, are at once noticeable. Mr. Hume has named it
H. archetes (Str. Leath. 1877, p. 266), but it was previously named U. badia by Cassin (Gray, Hand-1. B. i. p. 69).
Distribution. — This fine Swallow was discovered by Layard, who met with it in 1849 near Ambepussa.
1 1 is widely distributed throughout all the low country, with the exception of the extreme north, where I have
* This Swallow is often placed under the subgenus Cecropis (Boie), which was established for the reception of
eeriain species which have the underparts streaked and often rufous, as Yvell as the head or rump, or both. I shall,
however, retain all the Sw'allow's under the one genus, and point out the characters upon which the different subyenera
have been founded. These have either reference to plumage or to shape of tail — the first not always, in my opinion, of
(jenerie worth ; and the latter a character of but little value in the Swallows, for it is unaccompanied by any corre-
sponding structural variation, such as shape of bill or wdng.
HIEUNDO HYPEEYTHEA.
593
not noticed it. In the forest-districts lying between Dambulla and the latitude of Manaar it is local, being
chiefly confined to small tracts of cultivation in the vicinity of tanks ; in the Eastern Province, which is equally
wild it is restricted to similar localities, and in the Western Province is found principaUy in the interior. So
plentiful is it, however, in the south-west of the island, that it is the common Swallow of the town of Galle,
and seems to affect the sea-coast quite as readily as the interior, except during the wet windy weather of the
south-west monsoon, when it retires for shelter to the secluded vales away from the sea-board. About Kandy,
and in the Central Province generaUy up to 3000 feet, it is common, and in Uva and Haputale is “und much
higher than that elevation, for I have known it to breed at 4000 feet in the latter district. Mr. Bligh has seen
it once at Nuwara Elliya ; but it is rare on that elevated plateau, although in many of the coffee- districts it
may be seen hawking at higher altitudes than that of the Sauatariiim. In the Morowak-Korale district it is
not uncommon.
Habits.— Owx Ceylon Swallow frequents towns and villages alike with the country. In the latter,
marshes and paddy-fields, open glades in secluded valleys, and lonely tanks in the wilds of the jungle are the
places to which it is partial. It is found in the Central Province a great deal about estate-stores and bungalow s,
and often consorts there with the little Bungalow-Swallow, breeding in cattle-sheds and outhouses and perma-
nently frequenting their vicinity. It is a characteristic bird of the wild village tanks in the Vanni, and its
cheerful chirrup is often one of the first bird-sounds which meets the car, on the sportsman suddenly emerging
from the forest and finding himself standing at the brink of one of those interesting places. Several have
perhaps been resting on a dead log, half covered with weeds and water, or sitting on the dried mud of the bed
of one of these small reservoirs, and finding the solitude of their retreat suddenly invaded, glide off on the
wing, uttering their curious guttural notes, at the same time that, from the same cause, halt a dozen lazy-
looking but watchful crocodiles rush, with a mighty splash, into the muddy pool. Such haunts as these
literally teem with insect-life; and I have seen scores of these Swallows hawking about a small water-hole of
about half an acre in extent, which was all that remained of what was, in the wet season, a fine sheet of water.
Its flio-ht is slower than that of most Swallows, and it often sails along on outstretched wings, now and then
making a sort of circle in its course. In the south it is fond of frequenting paddy-fields made in the narrow
glades lying between the low wooded hills characteristic of that part.
Nidification.—T\\e Red-bcUied Swallow breeds in the north, west, south, and centre of the island from
March until June, constructing a Martin-like nest in outhouses, open dwellings, or under culverts and bridges.
The nest is composed externally of mud and lined with feathers ; it is large, and the entrance is situated
usually at the end of a spout, running from 3 to 6 inches along the planks at the top of the nest ; some have
merely a circular orifice at the top. One which I frequently observed during the course of its construction
was built in a merchant’s office in Galle, the familiar little architects taking no notice whatever of the clerks
wdio wrote at their desks just beneath ; it was completed in about three weeks, the spout being added last,
and after this was finished, one of the pair took up its position inside the nest and received the feathers
brought by its mate to the entrance. The eggs are either two or three in number, and some brought to me
as belonging to this bird were pure white and pointed lengthy ovals in shape, much resembling those of
Cypselus affinis-, they measure 0'85 inch by 0'56 inch. I have not taken the eggs myself.
The figure of this species in the Plate accompanying my article on Munia kelaaTti is that of a male shot
at Pan-kulam tank, Trincomalie.
HIETJNDO EEYTHEOPTGIA*.
(THE LESSEE MOSaUE-SWALLQW.)
Hh'unclo erythropygia, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 83; Jerdon, Madr. Journ. 1840, xi. p. 237 ;
Adam, Str. Peath. 1873, p. 370; Aitken, ibid. 1875, p. 212 ;] Butler, t. c. p. 451;
Cripps, ibid, 1878, vol. vii. p. 257.
Hirundo daicrica, Blytb, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 198 (1849, in part) ; Layard and Kelaart,
Prodromus, Appendix, Cat. p. 58 (1853); Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co.
i. p. 92 (1854, in part); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 170; Jerdon,
B. of Ind. i. p. 160 (1862, in part) ; Holdsvv. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 419.
Cecropis erytliropygia^ Jerdon, Ibis, 1871, p. 352.
IMlia erythropygia, Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 76 (1873) ; id. Str. Feath. 1877, p. 255.
The Bed-rumped Swallow, Jerdon. Masjid abahil, lit. “ Mosque-Swallow,” Hind.
Adult male and female. (Specimens in. the British Musuem.) Wing 4'4 to 4-5 inches ; tail 3'0 to 3'3, centre
feathers I'l to 1’4 shorter ; tarsus 0‘5 ; middle toe without claw 0‘48 ; bill to gape 0'6 to 0'55. Females seem to
be shorter in the tail than males.
Mr. Hume, in his valuable mongraphic notice of the subgenus Lillia, gives the length at from 6’5 to 7'0, average
6’75 inches ; wing from 4'1 to 4-5. Weight 0'62 oz. {Cripps).
Iris brown ; bill, legs, and feet black.
Head, nape, hind neck, back, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, and longer under tail-coverts glossy blue-black ; greater
wing-coverts, primaries, secondaries, and tail-feathers brownish black, glossed chiefly on the outer webs with
greenish ; a superloral streak passing above the eye, spreading out over the ear-coverts, and running thence
beneath the nape dark ferruginous chestnut ; rump and shorter upper tail-coverts paler chestnut than the cheeks,
forming a band about | inch or more wide ; in some specimens there are a few black-shafted feathers among the
upper tail-coverts ; a black spot immediately in front of the eye, between which and the bill the lores ai’e whitish;
entire under surface, with the under wdng- and under tail-coverts, bulfy white, palest on the throat, and most
strongly washed with buff on the flanks, each feather, except on the belly, w ith a fine brown shaft-streak ;
terminal portion of the under tail-coverts black.
young. A specimen from Behar has the inner secondaries tipped with rufoscent, and is very strongly tinged with
buff on the flanks and under wing-coverts. Auother from the Godaveri liiver has the chestnut colour of the
cheeks and ear-coverts of less extent and very pale ; inner secondaries tipped with bulfy white ; stripes of the
under surface bolder than in the adult ; chestnut rump-band very pale, and with one or two darh stripes ; a pale
spot on the inner web of the outer tail-feathers.
The just-flown nestling, according to Mr. Hume, has hardly any trace of striations.
Ohs. This Swallow' was confounded by Layard with the larger northern form, H. daurica, Linn., =77. alpestris, Pallas,
a 2 nid Hume, or rather with some one or other of the Himalayan birds, w'hich were then considered identical with
the Central-Asian species. Specimens of 11. alpestns from Mongolia, Assam, and other parts of Central Asia,
w hich I have examined, have the wing 4-8 to 5’ 1 inches and the tail 4'1 to 4’6 ; the striations of the under surface
are bolder and the uropygial band wider than in H. erythropygia, and streaked in some specimens with dark
shaft-stripes ; a whitish spot on the inner w'eb of the outer tail-feathers is present in some skins.
H. nip>alensis belongs to this group, with the well-marked striations on the under surface. AViug 4-6 to 4-8 inches ;
no white on tail ; wings and tail brown ; rump-band O’S to 1-0 ; ears dingy yellowish white or pale dingy rufes-
cent, densely striated with dusky. Its larger size and bolder striations distinguish it, too, from the subject of the
present article.
* This species and its allies are placed by some in the subgenus Lillia, characterized by the rufous or pale underparts
either striated or unstriated, and by the rufous rump-band striated in most.
I-IIEUNDO EETTHEOPTGIA.
596
H. intemedia, Hume, is another and a new species from the hilly regions of INTorthern India. Mr. Hume has received
it from Assam ; it is a large bird ; wing 5-0 to 5'2 inches. It has no rufous nuchal collar, and the rump-band
is uniform.
H. striolatcc, Temm., inhabits the Indian archipelago. A specimen from Elores has the wing 4-1 inches ; outer tail-
feathers 3'6 ; stripes of under surface much bolder than in a Mongolian example of II. daurica ; the upper tail-
coverts have broad stripes. An alHed form, if really distinct, to the latter exists in Mr. Hume’s new species,
H. substriolata (Str. Eeath. 1877, p. 2G4_). It has the underparts more richly coloured, a less massive bill, and
longer tail.
Distribution. — This little Swallow only finds a place in the avifauna of Ceylon as a straggler, and but
two instances of its occurrence in the island have been brought to my notice. Layard, the first to get it in
Ceylon, writes thus concerning it : — “ I found one of these birds in the village of Pt. Pedro in December :
it had probably been driven over from the opposite coast by stress of weather : it was hawking about the
street. I fired at and wounded it, but it flew away. Next day it was again in the same place, and 1
succeeded in killing it.’^ At this season of the year the north wind, styled at Colombo the ^Mongshore wind,”
brings many Indian birds to our shores, and doubtless was the means of driving the present species southward
of its natural habitat ; but as it is an inhabitant of the Nilghiris and other parts of the south of India, it is
strange that it does not more frequently visit Ceylon. In the second instance it was procured by Mr. Bligh
on the Catton Estate in April 1877.
This Mosque-Swallow is found throughout India; it is recorded from the Nilghiris, Mysore, the Deccan,
Mount Aboo, Deesa, and Cashmere, as far up as Chungus on the Tawi river, where Mr. Brooks observed it.
Jerdon says that he has seen it in every part of India, from tlic extreme south to Darjiling, Avhich remark,
however, does not hold good as to its distribution in every respect, as the latter locality is inhabited by the
larger species, H. mjialensis, not then discriminated by Jerdon from the present. Captain Butler remarks that
a fcAV birds remain at Deesa the whole year round, but most return to the hills during the hot weather, or
between the 30th April and the 25th June. Mr. Adam writes that it is not very common at the Sambhur
Lake, but that it breeds there notwithstanding. In Purreedpore Mr. Cripps found it abundant. At the
eastern side of the Bay of Bengal it is replaced in Tenasserim by the Himalayan race, H. nipahnsis. From
some portion of the mainland it may perhaps stray across to the islands of the Bay, for Mr. Hume mentions
seeing one between Preparis Island and Calcutta xvhen out of sight of land.
It may not be out of place to mention here that the Swallow alluded to under the name of H. daurica
by Swinhoe as breeding in Northern China, and which Jerdon refers to in his article on this bird (‘ Birds ol
India’), really belonged to another allied species, H. striolata, Temm. & Schlegel, mentioned above.
Habits. — ^This little Swallow in India is fond of frequenting mosques and other buildings, as well as the
vicinity of walls or bridges, under which it hawks in search of the insects which affect the proximity of water.
Mr. Aitken writes of it as folloAvs : — “ This is one of those birds which seem highly to appreciate the advantages
of civilization, and to think, like Cow'per’s cat, that men take a great deal of trouble to please them !
In Berar they have almost discarded the mosques which gave them their name, and have betaken themselves
to the culverts of the roads which are now being constructed all over the country. Wherever a road is made
some of the culverts are sure to be taken possession of, as soon as the rains commence, by pairs of these
SAvallows, which may be seen darting in at one end and out at the other, or hawking about for flies over the
pools of water at the roadside. Their flight has, however, nothing of the extreme rapidity of that of the Swifts
or M^ire-tailcd Swallows. During the cold season the young often assemble in large flocks ; but these all
disperse or perhaps migrate as the weather gets warmer, and only a ferv pairs remain to breed during the
monsoon.” I conclude that the numbers of these birds seen by Col. Sykes were young ; he says “ it appeared
for two years in succession in countless numbers on the parade-ground at Poona ; they rested a day or two
only, and were never seen in the same numbers afterwards.”
Nidification. — The breeding-season of this species is said to last from April to August. The nest, Avrites
Mr. Hume, “ which is usually affixed to the under surface of a ledge of rock or the roof of some cave or
building and which is constructed of fine pellets of mud or clay, consists of a narrow tubular passage like a
4g2
596
HIRUNDO EETTHEOPYGIA.
■vvliite-ant gallery on a large scale, some 2 inches in diameter and from 4 to 10 inches in length, terminating
in a bulb-like chamber from 4| to 7 inches in diameter externally.” The interior is lined with feathers or grass.
These retort-shaped nests vary in the extent to which the tube is constructed, and some think that the larger
ones are intended as roosting-places or residences. The following account of Mr. Davison’s experience of one of
these nests seems to confirm the idea, borne out by the anecdote in the next article, that Swallows have a
peculiar instinct for immuring their enemies ! While examining some of these nests at Ootacamnnd he came
upon one which “ had the tubular entrance walled up and the mud perfectly hard and dry. On breaking away
a part of the nest 1 found a dead bird in it, which had come quite to the sealed end of the tubular neck and
had there died. The nest contained three old eggs, of which the contents had partially dried up. I can only
account for this walling up of the entrance to the nest by supposing that some of the other birds had coveted
and failed to obtain this site for their nest. It is only natural to suppose that more tlian one pair were
concerned in the business, as it would have taken at least one bird to keep the inmate from leaving the nest
and another to keep its mate away from it, and probably another or several other pairs to close the entrance.”
The eggs, which are pure white, are long ovals in shape and sometimes a little pyriform ; they have, says
Mr. Hume, little or no gloss, and average in size 0'78 by 0’55 inch.
HIEUNDO JAVANICA*.
(THE BUNGALOW-SWALLOW.)
Hinindo jamnica, Sparrm. Mus. Carls, fasc. iv. 1. 100, “Java ” (1789); Bourdillon, Str. Feath.
1876, p. 374; Fail-bank, ibid. 1877, p. 392; Tvveeddale, Ibis, 1877, p. 316.
Ilirimdo domicola, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1874, xiii. p. 173; Blyth, Cat. B.
Mus. A. S. B. p. 198 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 118 (1852); Layard, Ann.
& Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 170 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 384
(1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 158 (1862) ; Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 336 ; Gould, B. ot
Asia, pt. XX. pi. 13 (1868) ; Jerdon, Ibis, 1871, p. 351 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 418 ;
Morgan, Ibis, 1875, p. 313.
Hypurolepsis domicola, Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 73 (1873); id. Str. Featb. 1874, p. 155.
The Nilgherry House-Swallow, Jerdon, B. of India ; The Hill-Swallow in Ceylon.
Wcelicelaniya, Sinhalese.
Adult male and female. Length 4-9 to 5-0 inches ; wing 4-0 to 4-1 ; tail 1-8 ; tarsus 0-35 ; middle toe and claw 0-4 to
0-5; bill to gape 0-47 to 0'51 ; wings exceeding the tail b)' 0-5 when closed.
Tail short and slightly forked.
Iris deep bromi ; bill blackish, base of lower mandible reddish ; legs and feet brown, the edges of the tarsal scales
whitish ; claws black.
Head, upper surface, scapulars, and lesser wdng-coverts glossy greenish black ; mugs and tail black, with a slight
greenish gloss ; the upper tertials tipped white ; a bar-shaped white spot on the inner w-ebs of all the rectrices
but the middle pair ; lores and ear-coverts black ; forehead, chin, throat, and chest ferruginous, darker on the
forehead than beneath ; under surface cinereous brown, paling to whitish down the centre of the breast, the
adjacent feathers being tipped whitish ; under tail-coverts black, tipped white, the longer feathers glossed with
greenish.
Yountj. The nestling when fledged does not differ much from the adult, its chief characteristic being the nnglossed
upper surface. The forehead is edged with pale rufous, the tertials the same ; tail with the spots smaller than
in the adult, and the rufous of the throat not so dark, paling to rufescent white on the breast; under tail-coverts
tipped with rufescent.
06s. The Swallow of the Nilghiris, with which the Ceylonese bird is identical, w as described by Jerdon as H. domicola,
but it has of late years been found that the Malayan species, H.javanica, cannot be separated from it. Lord
Tweeddale (‘ Ibis,’ 1877, p. 316), in speaking of a Lampong (south-east Sumatra) specimen, says, “Heilgherry
examples (ff. domicola, Jerdon) cannot he separated.” Messrs. Hume and Davison likewise consider the
Tenasserim birds identical with South-Indian. Jerdon, in commenting on G-ould’s pilate (‘ Birds of Asia,’ pt. xx.)
of II. domicola, remarks that it appears to be very close to the true H. javanica, but that is said to be a good deal
larger bird. As regards this, I have compared the Ceylonese race with specimens from Sumatra, Sarawak, Bouru,
Lombok, Sula Islands, East Timor, West Java, Labuan, Penang, and find that the balance is slightly in favour
of the e.astern race. A Sarawak example measures 4'2 inches in the wing ; a Bouru 4-35 ; a West- Javan 4-2 :
but others do not exceed my specimens ; one from Timor has a wing of 4-0 only, two from Penang 4-15. ^ I observe,
how-ever, that all these examples, except those from Labuan and Lombok, are conspicuous for the bluer tinge of the
upper plumage, the two exceptions mentioned being green, like the Ceylonese, all of wliich present the same
character. The outer tail-feathers also are more pointed than those of my specimens, the under tail-coverts are
not so dark, and the rufous on the eai’-coverts is brighter. I have not had the advantage of comparing my birds
with a South-Indian series, and I therefore state these facts, as they may be of use to those who wish to investigate
the matter. In any case this could only be looked upon as an interesting local variation of no importance.
* This Swallow has been placed in the subgenus Hypurolepsis, as differing from true Ilirundo in its shorter and
subfurcate tail.
598
HIEUKDO JAVANICA.
Distribution , — The familiar little Hill-Swallow is a resident inhabitant of the mountains of Ceylon, and
is, as in the south of India, restricted to high elevations. Though common as low down as the valley of
Dumhara, it appears resolutely to decline any descent into the hot regions round the base of the mountains,
for I have never seen it, or heard of it being observed, in the low country. It is found in the open districts
formed by the great valleys in the Central Province, about estates, and on the plains of the upper regions,
being very common at Nnwara Elliya and in the neighbourhood. I observed it at Horton Plains, and in the
southern ranges met with it in the Morowak and Kukkul Korales ; and throughout the high tract formed by
these and the adjoining Korales it is found down to the same altitude as in the Kandy country.
This little Swallow is found in the south of India on the Nilghiris, Palanis, and Travancore hills. It
frequents the higher parts of these ranges, being recorded from the Palanis at 5500 feet elevation.
Mr. Bourdillon remarks that they persistently remain about the same ravines and do not travel much.
Jerdon writes that he saw some Swallows at Bangalore and observed their nests in the verandah of a house
there, and that in all probability they belonged to this species. I find no recent observation of it at that
place, but I have no doubt Jerdon was correct in his surmise. Its range extends eastwards from the south of
the peninsula into the Andamans, Tenasserim, Malacca, and thence south into Borneo and Java, and furnishes
an important instance of the affinity between the South- Indian, Ceylonese, and Malayan avifauna, which is
exemplified in more than one species dealt with in this work. To the Andamans it is a monsoon visitant,
being common there from the beginning of June to the end of September. In Tenasserim it is “rare and
probably confined to the more southern portions of the province ” [Hume ] ; in fact Mr. Davison only met with
it at Mergui in June. Judging from these dates it would appear that it migrates with the south-west monsoon
from South India or Ceylon across to the last-mentioned localities, not straying above 13° or 14° N. latitude.
It was procured in Borneo by Mr. Mottley and in Lampong by Mr. Buxton, and there are examples in the
national collection from Lombok and Bouru. Dr. Meyer records it from Celebes (Tello, near Makassar)'
Habits . — ^To the resident in the beautiful mountains of Ceylon this little bird has much the same interest
as that which the Common Swallow possesses for the occupants of the many English homes to which it is
so welcome a visitor; with this difference, however, that it is a constant attendant about the Ceylon bungalow
throughout the year, flitting in and out of the rose-covered and trellised verandah, gliding over the spacious
barbecues bestrewn with the rich produce of the estate, or settling on the roofs of the pulping-houses, from
the tops of which it utters its merry little twitter while it prunes its glossy plumage in the rays of the morning
sun. No wonder, then, that it is a general favourite with the planter, reminding him of scenes far away,
and bringing back to him recollections of those from whom he is so widely removed. In the mind of the
author this interesting bird is connected with pleasing memories, not easily forgotten, of much kindness
received, and, moreover, of the glorious mountain prospects viewed from the verandah of many a hospitable
bungalow, round which he has often seen it flying while resting after the e.xertions of a long toil up the zigzag
? COTTLE OBSOLETA.
(the pale crag-mabtih.)
CoUjle obsoleta, Cabanis, Mus. Hein. i. p. 50 (1850) ; Dresser, B. of Europe, pt. 37 (1875).
Ftyonojirogne pallida, Hume, Str. Eeath. i. p. 1 (1873).
“ Upper parts very pale greyish sandy brown, darkest on the head and palest on the rump ; lores blackish brown;
uuderparts creamy white ; on the chin and upper throat almost pure white ; flanks, lower abdomen, and under
tail-coverts washed with dull rufous brown wings and tail brown; tail-feathers with a large white spot on the
iuuer web of all but the central and outermost pair.
“Length 5-2 to 5-5 inches ; wing 4-5 ; tail 2-1.
“ Bill black, inside of mouth dirty yellow ; tarsus dark brown, soles whitish ; iris dark brown.” {Dresser.)
HIEUNDO JAVANICA.
599
paths of the estate. It is found about the villages of the Kandyans, and hawks for its food over patnas
and cleared hill-sides, as well as round the stores and buildings of the estates. On some bare spot or on a
pathway in the open it may sometimes be seen resting, and I have occasionally seen it perched on a dead
branch or stake ; but its favourite post is the eave of some building. Its flight is very buoyant but not at all
swift, and its twitter is not unlike that of the Common Swallow.
Nidification . — The breeding-time of the Ilill-Swallow is in April, May, and June ; it nests in the
verandahs of bungalows and outbuildings of estates, and-undcr the eaves of native houses, budding sometimes
beneath the ceilings of rooms without evincing any fear of the inmates. Such a nest I once observed in the
sitting-room of the old Banderawella Resthouse. It is usually placed against the side of a beam or projecting
baulk of timber, and resembles in its construction that of the last species, though somewhat smaller. It is
composed of mud and lined with feathers, threads, small pieces of rag, and such materials as it may pick up
about its adopted residence. The eggs are usually three in number, stumpy ovals in shape, and of a white
ground-colour, spotted pretty evenly with brownish red. In Southern India its nesting-habits are much the
same; and it appears from the following interesting anecdote which I subjoin, from the notes of Miss Cockburn,
that its domicile is sometimes invaded by the truculent Sparrow. Her remarks, as quoted by JMr. Hume
ill ' Nests and Eggs," are as follows “ They are fond of returning to the same places in which they build
every year, and appear to prefer erecting their little nests in verandahs and eaves of outhouses. Many years
ago I remember watching a battle between a Cock-Sparrow and a pair of House-Swallows. The latter had
finished their neat nest in our verandah when the Sparrow discovered it, and never left it except for the
purpose of satisfying his appetite. The poor Swallows saw they could do nothing, so they disappeared and
told their friends the sad tale in Swallow language, and (as in the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom)
some time after, to our surprise, we saw a number of House-Swallows each with a wee lump of clay in its
bill. They flew up to the nest and succeeded in building up the sides, the Sparrow inside doing his utmost
to stop the work, but they, being accomplished artisans in their own masonry, did not take a second to fix
each piece of clay. It became a most exciting scene, and we fully expected the Sparrow would have been
imprisoned for life ; but no, he was much too crafty to allow that ; with one effort he bxirst through the
very small hole that was left miclosed and escaped, being attacked by all the Swallows at the same instant ;
and this conflict ended by the rightful owners having possession of their nest."" This extraordinary feat is,
I think, an instance of the most wonderful instinct on the part of birds that it is possible to conceive.
Both in South India and Tenasserim it commences to build in April, continuing in the former place until
June. Mr. Morgan has found the nest on rocks and cliffs, and remarks thjit it is very firmly cemented to the
object against which it is placed. I once found a Swallow"s nest in a small cavern or recess in the face of a
cliff in Haputale, and it no doubt belonged to this species. In some eggs there is a tendency in the markings
to form a zone at the large end. They measure about O' 77 by 0'5 inch.
We have the authority of my friend and correspondent Mr. Bligh, Catton Estate, for the interesting occurrence of a
Marlin in Ceyloii. The birds have been seen by him on several occasions during the north-east monsoon in the
beautiful Kaudapolla valley in the Haputale range ; but he has been unable to procme a specimen so as to identify
the species satisfactorily. I accordingly suggest, in this footnote, the possibility of it being the Pale Crag-Martui,
and have given Dresser’s description for the guidance of any who may hereafter pi'ocure specimens in Cey on.
Possibly it may be tho Cashmere House-Martin, which is very like the English Martin, but has the flanks rownis i
and the axillaries dark brown ; but as hlr. Bligh mentions the dusky under surface of his bird, 1 have t oug it it
more likely to be the species here indicated.
Mr. Bligh, in writing to me in March 1870, speaks of his discovery and remarks : — “ I have seen several but cou d not
obtain a specimen ; it is not, I feel sure, the English bird, as it looks much darker underneath, or rather the
white is not so pure.” In the cool season of 1877-8 he again saw several, but had no gun with him at the time ;
and just as I am going to press with this I receive a letter in which he says : “ I saw' a Window-Martin as late
as April this year; it came within. five yards of me; it is a smaller species than C. urbica and duller in colour.”
This species is an inhabitant of Palestine and North-east Africa, and has been found in Beluchistan and in Sindh.
PASSERES.
Earn. ERINGILLID^.
Bill short, thick at the base, conic, tip acute and entire ; culmen more or less flattened.
Nostrils round, basal, placed near the culmen; gape smooth. Wings moderately long, the first
three quills nearly equal. Tail of 12 feathers, not longer than the wing, even or forked. Legs
and feet stout. Tarsus covered with transverse scutes ; hind toe of medium size.
Of small size.
Genus TASSEE.
Bill very short, compressed towards the tip, tumid at the base ; the culmen flattened.
Nostrils small, round, placed in a membrane, partly concealed by tufts. Wings with the first
.three quills subequal, the 1st either shorter than, or equal to, the 2nd. Tail shorter than the
wings, even at the tip. Tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw, protected by stout transverse
scales; lateral toes subequal and much shorter than the middle one ; hind claw moderately large.
PASSES DOMESTICES.
(THE COMMON HOUSE-SPARROW.)
Passer domesticus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 323 (1766); Shelley, B. of Egypt, p. 148 (1872) ;
Dresser, B. of Europe, pt. 48 (1876) ; Irby, B. of Gibraltar, p. 119 (1875) ; Seebohm,
Ibis, 1876, p. 114; Newton’s Ed. Yarr. B. Birds, vol. ii. p. 89 (1876).
Passer indicus, Jardine & Selby, 111. Orn. pi. 118 (1848) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 119 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 126 (1852); Layard, Ann. «& Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 258 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 499 (1856) ;
Jerdon, B. of lud. ii. p. 362 (1863) ; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 41 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872,
p. 464 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 457 (1874) ; id. Str. Feath. 1873, p. 209 ; Adam,
t. c. p. 387 ; Ball, ibid. 1874, p. 421 ; Tweeddale & Blyth, B. of Burm. p. 93 (1875);
Oates, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 156 ; Brooks, t. c. p. 254; Butler & Hume, t.c. p. 496 ;
Fairbank, ibid. 1877, p. 408 ; Hume <& Davison, B. of Tenass., Str. Feath. 1878, p. 406 ;
Ball, ibid. vii. p. 222 ; Cripps, t. c. p. 294.
Pyrgita domestica (Linn.), Hodgs. Zool. Miscel. 1844, p. 84.
Philip Sparrow, Old English; The Indian House- Sparrow. Gorrion, Spanish; Serial,
Moorish (Irby) ; Hamsperling, German ; Musch, Dutch ; Pardal, Portuguese ; Gouriya,
Hind, in North ; C7mn, .STAas (?/mn. Hind, in South ; Charia, Chatta,^exi^a\. •, TJri-pickike,
Telugu ; Adike lam kiirmi, Tam. (Jerdon) ; Pastro pardal or Pardan, Ceylon
Portuguese ; Addikalan, lit. “ Sheltering bird,” Tamils in Ceylon.
Gewal-kurulla, lit. “ House-bird,” Sinhalese ; also Geh-kurulla, Layard.
PASSEE DOMESTICrS.
601
AdMt male (Ceylon). Length 5-6 to 5-8 inches ; wing 2-95 to 3-1; tail 2-3 to 2-4; tarsus 0-65 to 0-7; middle toe
0-6, claw (straight) 0-19 ; bill to gape 0-52.
Female, Length 0'6 inches ; wing 2‘7 to 2’8 ; bill to gape 0'5 ; tail 2‘1 to 2'2.
Male. Iris olive-brown, greyish brown, or brown ; bill black ; legs and feet fleshy brown or reddish brown. Some
specimens have the culmen abnormally ridged, and the contour of the bill varies somewhat in different individuals.
Breeding-plumage. Centre of the forehead, crown, and nape ashy grey ; lores, upper part of cheeks and ear-coverts,
chin, down the centre of the throat, chest, and upper breast black ; this colour extends more or less over the eye
(in some specimens hardly traceable) and also past the gapo, uniting the black of the lores with that of the chin ;
cheeks, ear-coverts, and sides of throat just below the ears whitish, more or less faintly tinged with greyish, and
bounded beneath by the black of the chest, which spreads out ; a few white feathers occasionally above the eye,
above which, extending down the sides of the nape upon the neck and uniting across the back of it, is a long
patch of deep chestnut ; lesser wing-coverts and upper part of back the same, the latter region striped broadly
with black ; median coverts deeply tipped with white, which is surmounted by a black patch on the inner webs
of the feathers ; greater coverts and tcrtials black, at the centres of the feathers broad margins of chestnut-
brown ; primaries and secondaries dark brown ; primary-coverts blackish brown ; the whole narrowly edged with
fulvous, which encroaches on the w'eb just beyond the primary-coverts, and also near the centi'e of the longer
primaries, forming two patches on the closed wing; lower back and rump bi’ownish grey, marked generally on
the rump with fulvous ; tail greyish brown, the feathers finely margined with tawny grey ; beneath from the
breast to under tail-coverts impure white, darkened with greyish on the flanks ; shafts of the under tail-coverts
dark ; under wing whitish, the edge marked with black.
Winter phmiage. After the autumnal moult the black throat-feathers are tipped with white, deeply on the chest and
narrowly on the throat ; the upper-surface feathers are tipped with yellowdsh brown, giving a tawmy appearance
to the head, and almost obscuring the chestnut of the hind neck ; the greater wdng-coverts and tertials are much
more deeply edged wdth chestnut of a more fulvous hue than the breeding-colour. The chestnut patch just
behind the eye is less obscured than other parts, but even there the feathers are tipped with fulveus.
As the breeding-season approaches these margins w'ear off and leave the black and chestnut pure, but at the lower
part of the chest where they are deep they mostly do not quite disappear.
Female. Iris browmish olive ; bill olive-brown; margin and base of tarsus fleshy ; legs and feet fleshy.
Head, huid neck, and lower back greyish brown, with often a tawmy tinge ; back striped with black on one w’eb of
the feathers as in the male, the other w'ebs being dusky tawny ; wdngs brown, with the m.arkings distributed as
in the male, but of an obscure tawny colour, the white tips of the median coverts not so deep ; tail pale brown ;
a buff-wdiite stripe above and behind the ejm, between which and the ear-coverts there is a brown stripe ; ear-
coverts grey ; chin and throat sullied white ; under surface whitish, washed wdth grey on the chest and the
flanks ; feathers at the sides of the breast with dusky shafts, under tail-coverts with blackish ones.
Young. Iris dark olive-brown. Above greyish browm, obscurely banded on the head, hind neck, and rump with a
darker shade ; the interscapular feathers fulvous, the inner webs blackish ; wing-coverts and tertials tipped and
broadly margined wdth buff-W'hite, above which the web is blackish; secondaries very broadly edged with huffy ;
tail very pale browm ; eye-stripe and ear-coverts as in the adult female ; cheeks faintly barred wdth brow'uish ;
chin and throat pale isabelline grey ; under surface whitish, tinged wdth buff.
Ohs. The Ceylon llouse-Sparrow belongs to that normally somewLat smaller and, as regards the female, slightly
differently coloured race which inhabits India, and which has been separated by Jardine as P. indieus. Seeing,
however, that the Sparrow’ has evidently, from the region in which the species was first installed by a creative Pro-
vidence, followed the march of those classes of the human I’ace w’hich dwell in permanent habitations, it cannot
have been otherwise as regards India, if, indeed, it was not there that it was originally located. It has been found to
vary in size and coloration in certain districts which it has perhaps, at no very remote period, invaded. Mr.
Seebohm remarks on the extremely bright colouring of the males he procured on the Lower Petchora, in Northern
Eussia, as compared wdth any thing he has seen ; the Sparrow, therefore, in that region might be said to constitute
a local race. In Siberia (whither, according to Professor New’ton, it has wandered since the Eussiau conquest)
it occasionally attains a very large size : an example from Krasnoj’arsk measures 3-2o inches in the W’ing, showing
that the climate of that region is conducive to robustness. I contend, therefore, that the difference in size of
4h
602
PASSEE DOMESTICUS.
Indian birds, wliich is chiefly apparent in the females, and the slight alteration in colour, is owing entirely to
food and climatic influence.
Indian and Ceylonese examples are identical. A male from Madras in my collection measures in the wing 3-0o inches,
and has the wliite cheek-patch and the under surface as much tinged with grey as in European birds. Specimens
from Ceylon, and, as far as I have seen them, from India, have only a trace of the little white spot above and
behind the eye and of the white edging above the lores ; it is always more or less present, which, inasmuch as it
is such an obscure characteristic even in the European bird, more than any thing, I think, tends to prove the
identity of the two races. In England I find that the Sparrow varies in size, depending to a certain extent, as
it would appear to me, on conditions of food. The largest birds I have seen are from farmyards in the country,
where an abundant sustenance is afforded them. Eive males in my possession measure from 2'9 to 3'05 inches
in the wing, and females from 2'9 to 3'0.
Mr.'Dresser, in his great work on European birds, unites the two forms, and Messrs. Hume and Blanford are likewise
of opinion that the Indian bird cannot correctly be specifically separated.
Distribution . — As in other countries, the House-Sparrow is found about human habitations in almost
every town and village in Ceylon. It evidently was formerly only an inhabitant of the maritime and large
inland cities and villages of the natives, and probably affected the settlements in the valleys of the Kandyan
province ; thence it continued to follow the march of Europeans into the hills, during the opening up of the
mountain forests from one elevation to another, until it has now established itself at Nuwara Elliya and is
common there. Mr. Holdsworth remarks, in his catalogue, that old residents at the Sanatarium remember
the time when ^^the now common Sparrows and Musquitos wei’e unknown at that elevation. I have no
doubt that when the solitudes of the Horton Plains are invaded, and the many allotments now marked out are
studded with bungalows, the Sparrow will make itself as much at home there as he has done in the somewhat
lower plain of Nuwara Elliya. I have visited villages in the interior of the northern forest tract wEcre there
were no Sparrows ; but it is found at Anaradjapura, and I think all along the Northern road. Mr. Parker
tells me it inhabits the villages in the Uswewa district.
It is generally diffused all over India, from the extreme south to the Himalayas, where Mi . Erooks
found it above Mussouri, not differing at all from its companions of the plains. It is abundant in Sindh, and
throughout the Kattiawar, Kutch, Guzerat, and Sambhur-Lake districts. In the Deccan it is, of course, common,
and found everywhere around human habitations ; it occurs on the Nilghiris and in the villages in the Palanis
up to 5000 feet elevation {Fairbank ) . It is of course very numerous throughout Bengal, but gradually gets
more local in its distribution as we travel to the eastward. In Cachar Mr. Iiiglis did not notice it ; but it
is found throughout Pegu, according to Mr. Oates, and Mr. Blyth says it is not uncommon at Akyab in
Arracan. At Rangoon Mr. Hume says it is as common as Passer montanus (ivliich replaces it to the south) ,
and occasionally strays over to Moulmein in the Tenasserim province ; but south of this it has not been
procured or seen by Mr. Davison and others collecting in the province. Crawford is said to have procured
it in Siam.
At some distant period it has, if not originally indigenous to the country, perhaps invaded India from
Beluchistan and Persia, which it inhabits plentifully, although it is not universally distributed through Western
Asia to Europe; it is, however, says Professor Newton, the common species of the Levant. As regards
Palestine, Canon Tristram remarks, “ The Sparrow of the Syrian cities is our own P. domesticus, which in
his westward migrations has acquired neither additional impudence, assurance, nor voracity.” Severtzoff
records it from Yarkand, though Dr. Scully did not see it there or anywhere in Eastern Turkestan. In Siberia,
as I have observed already, it is found, but only in certain localities : on the river Ob, Dr. Pinsch observed it
only near cattle-stations ; in the town of Berezoff it occurred, but not in Obdorsk. Purther east, Mr. Seebohm
states that it abounds in all the towns and villages as far as Yenesaisk, and he met with it once at Kooray-i-ka,
within the arctic circle, although it had entirely disappeared about latitude 60°. Beyond the Yenesay it ranges
as far east, according to Dr. von Middeudorft’, as list Strelka, the confluence of the Chilka and Argun rivers,
which there join to form the Amour. Between this point and the Chinese Empire (the very place, above all
others, suited for it) the solitudes of Mongolia must present a bar to its advance. It is found near Lake
Baikal, straying thence to the island of Olchon [Dresser ) .
In Northern Africa it is resident in Egypt and Nubia, and is abundant there; Mr. E. C. Taylor found it
PASSEE DOMESTICUS.
603
swarming in Cairo, and says that it breeds in Upper Egypt in holes in the mud hanks of the Nile. Further
east it is locally distributed in Algeria and Morocco, Passer salidcola being, according to Mr. Taylor, the
Sparrow of the country. On both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar it is common, and is spread similarly
throughout Spain. In Italy it is partly replaced by an allied species, P. cisalpims-, but in Turkey it is
common, being the Sparrow of the district round Constantinople. It is spread commonly throughout Central
and Northern Europe, including Russia, in which empire it is found as far north as Archangel. To the west-
ward it is generally distributed throughout Finland. In Sweden we learn, from Professor Newton s edition of
Yarrell, that it follows the settlers into the forest wilds, and the most northern point recorded for it is
Karesuando ; in Norway it occurs in most of the settlements “along the coast to the Loffodens and Alten,
but further north it is only occasionally seen. From the same authority we learn that the only places in which
it does not exist are the Outer Hebrides and the hill-farms in Ayrshire, and that there is also a certain moor-
land village in Devon, called Shepstor, in which it is never seen. There are, likewise, places in the highlands
where it is very rare, but everywhere else in Great Britain it is to be found. As regards Ireland it is
apparently universally distributed throughout the country, although the information concerning it is not so
full as might be wished. It occurs in Madeira occasionally, according to Mr. Godman, but is not recorded
from any other of the Atlantic isles.
Habits . — In common with the Crow, which is an equally familiar feathered citizen in the East, the Sparrow
is possessed of an extraordinary amount of domesticity and utter disregard of the human dwellers in the
buildings which afford him shelter. His impudence and assurance are charming, and he by far excels his
European relations in this respect. If he is not making his nest in your verandah, littering the whole place
with straw, grass, rags, and a miscellaneous variety of building-materials, he is flying in and out of your
breakfast-room, where he feasts on the crumbs beneath the table ; and when he cannot supply himself from
that source, he thinks but little of flying up and levying contributions, after the manner of the Crow, on the
loaf the moment the Appoo’s back is turned. The Sparrow is seldom seen away from houses, except when
the corn near villages is in ear; and then he may be found in the paddy-fields, feasting on the grain in common
with Munias. In England, the hedgerows in early spring are resorted to, and it wanders away from its
accustomed haunts, returning, however, at nights to roost ; but in Ceylon it is not much found about isolated
houses in the country, and has not the same opportunity of ruralizing as at home. The males are just as
pugnacious as they are in colder climes; and during the breeding-season many a good sparrow-fight is carried
on in the bungalow verandah, several neglected suitors sometimes setting on a coveted female and administering
a most unmerciful chastisement ; and it is a question whether, in the exciteinent of the fiay, she does not
receive an equal punishment at the beak of her favoured lord.
Owing to the open nature of buildings in Ceylon, the Sparrow comes more under human observation than
he does in Europe, and is often voted a great nuisance ; even the sanctity of the church is not the means of
repelling his inroads, for he frequently disturbs a congregation by his loud chirpings underneath the tiled roof
and by flying about in the most casual manner, as if the building were empty and he had a perfect right to do
as he liked.
The general habits of the Sparrow are too well known to require recapitulation; and I have merely taken
up room to say what I have on the subject in order to give my European readers some idea of its behaviour
in the East. Its diet is both insectivorous and granivorous ; and I have no doubt that the quantity of insects
which it destroys counterbalances the evil which it is said to do in its attacks on grain.
Nidiftcation . — As in England so in Ceylon, the Sparrow breeds all the year round ; but the greater numbei of
nests are built between the months of May and October ; and during this period, in the M estein lovince at
any rate, August is, I think, the favourite month. The nest is placed anywhere in a building or in a roo
where there is sufficient cavity or space for its formation ; it sometimes is built in a thickly foliage ime-tree
near a house, and is then a large structure of grass and straw lined with feathers, the entrance being a ole at
the side. The natives, who are fond of the Sparrow, often fix an old chatty, pierced with a small hole, on
their walls for it to nest in ; and the offer thus made does not often seem to be refused, as these earthen
vessels are just suited for the reception of a large and untidy bundle of straw, such as “ Philip Sparrow ’ delights
4h2
604
PASSEE DOMESTICUS.
in making. The number of eggs varies from three to six or seven ; but I think four is the usual quantum.
They vary much in colour and marking ; and in the same nest I have found eggs totally differing from one
another, such as several of a dai’k grey grmmd, thickly speckled and blotched with dark brown, and one, or
perhaps two, of an almost pure white ground, openly marked with a few large spots of dark brown and inky
grey ; the usual type is a greenish-white ground, speckled throughout, but chiefly in a zone at the larger end,
with dark brown and greyish brown. They vary much in size, some measuring as small as 0'75 ineh in length
by 0’57 in breadth, but the usual dimensions are from 0‘8 to 0'85 by from 0'63 to 0'66.
Both sexes commonly share in building the nest ; but occasionally it appears to differ as to choice of site.
My correspondent, Mr. Parker, writes me, in March last, of an incident connected with this peculiarity which
occurred in the Kurunegala Ecsthouse : — “About three days ago a pair of Sparrows began to build a nest in
the roof of the verandah. I was surprised at the amount of straw and grass that they wasted, and, while
enjoying a pipe, determined to watch their proceedings. It was soon evident that the two birds were not of
one mind with regard to the site for the nest, and that each had selected a separate place. As soon as one bird
went away in search of straw, the other industriously employed the time in removing to its nest the unprotected
materials left by the other j and this went on without any intermission, though the birds appeared on the best
of terms whenever they met. The result is, that after three days the floor is littered with straw that has
fallen, but neither nest has made the slightest progress ! ”
Martins’ nests are sometimes taken possession of ; and doubt has been expressed as to whether the biiilding-
up of their enemy by the rightful owners in revenge for their eviction has ever really taken place ; but in a
former article I have given indisputable evidence in the matter from the pen of Miss Cockburn, one of the
most accurate observers of birds in India ; and though the species was not a Martin, yet the habits of these
birds and Swallows are so similar, that one cannot doubt that they would be capable of treating the intruder
after the same fashion.
Illustrative of its generally tame and literally domestie habits is the following racy account by Mr. Hume
of its nesting in India : — “ If domesticity consists in sitting upon the punkah-ropes all day, chit, chit, chit,
chittering ceaselessly when a fellow wants to work, banging down in angry conflict with another wretch on the
table, upsetting the ink and playing ‘ Old Harry ’ with every thing, strewing one’s drawing-room daily with
straw, feathers, rags, and every conceivable kind of rubbish, in insane attempts to build a nest where no nest
can be — if, I say, these and fifty similar atrocities constitute domesticity, heaven defend us from this greatly
lauded virtue, and let us cease to preach to our sons the merits of domestic wives !
“ Now everybody does, or ought to, know all about the nidification of Sparrows, that their nests are
shapeless bundles of straw, grass, rags, wool, or any thing else that they can lay their bills or feet on, thickly
lined with feathers stuffed into any holes or crevices about houses, huts, walls, old wells, &c. that they can
find, and even, though rarely, into the centre of some thick bush.”
The Sparrow, with all his faults (some more alleged than real), displays great attachment for its young.
An instance of this is given by Professor Bell (Zool. Journ. i. p. 10, 1824), his account being thus rendered
by Professor Newton in his edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’: — “A pair of Sparrows, which had built in a
thatched roof at Poole, were seen to continue their regular visits to the nest long after the time when the
young usually take flight. This w'cnt on for some months, till, in the winter, a gentleman, who had all along
observed them, determined on investigating the case. Mounting a ladder he found one of the young detained
a prisoner by a piece of string or worsted which formed part of the nest, having become accidentally twisted
round its leg. Being thus unable to procure its own sustenance, it had been fed by the continued exertions
of its parents.” The same author cites a parallel instance which “ had been recorded by Graves, who finding
a nestling Sparrow in like manner entangled by a thread, observed that the parents fed it during the whole
of the autumn and part of the winter ; but the weather becoming very severe soon after Christmas he disengaged
it lest its death might ensue. In a day or two it accompanied the old birds, and they continued to feed it
till the month of March, by which time it may be presumed to have learnt to get its own living.”
PASSES ELAVICOLLIS.
(THE YELLOW-THROATED SPARROW.)
Fringilla Jlavicollis, Frankl. P. Z. S. 1831, p. 120.
Gymnorisflavicollis, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1844, xiii. p. 948 ; Ilorsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus.^E.
I. Co. ii. p. 497 (1856) ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 461 (1874) ; id. Str. Feath. 1873,
p. 420; Ball, ibid. 1874, p. 421; Fairbank, ibid. 1877, p. 408 ; Davidson & Wender,
ibid. 1878, vii. p. 85 ; Ball, t. c. p. 223.
Floceus jlavicollis, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 94.
Petronia jlavicollis, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 120 (1849).
Passer jlavicollis, Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 368 (1863); Blyth, Ihis, 1867, p. 42; Brooks,
Str. Feath. 1875, p. 254 ; Butler & Hume, t. c. p. 497 ; Fairbank, ibid. 1876, p. 261.
The Yellow-necJced or Jmigle-Sjgarrow, Jerdon. Baji, Hind., or Jangli-churi ; Adavi-pichke,
also Konde ficliike, Telugu (Jerdon).
Adult male (Euttehgur). Length 5-5 inches ; wing 3‘25 ; tail 2-3 ; tarsus 0-6 ; middle toe 0-55, claw (straight) 0-19 ;
bill to gape 0-55.
Female (Euttehgur). Length (from skin) O-o ; wing 3-02 to 3-2 ; tail 2-2.
“ Iris brown ; bill black ; legs cinereous brown ” {Jerdon).
Above from the forehead to the upper tail-coverts, including the scapulars, pale sandy brown ; wings and tail plain
brown ; the least coverts cinnamon-red, forming a conspicuous shoulder-patch, the next row with deep wdiite tips,
and the greater series with pale e.xternal edges and tips ; the secondaries with less pale margins, and the primaries
and tail with fine light edges ; throat whitish, paling into sandy grey on the cheeks ; fore neck, chest, and flanks
very pale greyish brown, becoming albescent on the breast, belly, and under tail-coverts ; on the centre of the
fore neck a larye rich yellow spot.
Female. Slightly paler above, with the red shoulder-spot not so deep in colour as in the male ; yellow neck-spot
slightly smaller and of a somewhat less rich yellow.
Young female (Madampe, Ceylon, October). Length 5'2 inches: wing 2'8 ; tail 1'8 ; bill to gape 0'55.
Iris brown ; bill dark brown, lower mandible fleshy ; legs and feet dusky bluish.
Above darker brown than the male above described ; wing-patch brownish cinnamon ; the coverts wanting the white
tips ; quills, primary-coverts, and secondaries dark brown with pale edges ; beneath whitish, tinged with brow'uish
grey, except on the throat and lower parts j yellow throat-spot very pale. Another example in moult has the
yellow throat-spot almost imperceptible from abrasion ; the wing-spot is of the same dull coloim.
Female (Euttehgur, January). Chestnut wing-spot brighter than the above, the median coverts conspicuously tipped
with white ; the neck-spot sm.all, but pure yellow in colour ; this is the plumage after the first moult, the breeding-
season being in May, and my birds being in first autumn plumage.
Ols. This mteresting Sparrow belongs to a little group which was separated by Hodgson as Gynvwris -, ther(^re,
according to Jerdon, two other species — P. petronius, Linn., of Europe, and P. superciliaris, A. Hay,
They have the bill slightly longer and less robust, and the tail proportionately shorter than the other^k pariows,
and are characterized by the peculiar throat-spot. Blyth considers the Yellow-throated Sparrows are in °
the ordinary Sparrow by the African Passer simplex, Licht., which has an intermediate form o bi an wan s e
yellow pectoral spot and, to avoid a multiplicity of genera, I keep this bird in Passer, thoug it orms, pei aps,
a recognizable subgenus.
Distribution. — The Yellow-necked Sparrow is new to the avifauna of Ceylon, and has not yet been pub-
lished as occurring in the island. I intended to have included it among the few species on which I made remarks
606
PASSEE ELAVICOLLIS.
(Ibis, IS/S, p. 201), but omitted to do so. I met with it in October 1876, while on a trip to Cliilaw, close to
Madampe. A considerable flock were together, in company with a number of Weaver-birds, on some openly-
wooded grass-land near the sea. I only procured two specimens, as it was just sunset ; and on returning a
couple of days afterwards, 1 did not see the flock. One of the birds in question was in heavy moult, acquiring
new primaries, so that I am not of opinion that it had recently arrived from India, although the locality
favours the idea that it and its companions may have been visitors to the island.
Its occurrence in Ceylon is very interesting, as it ought by rights to be an indigenous bird there, being
found over most of India.
It is spread throughout the empire, from the Himalayas (in which it occurs to an elevation of 5000 feet)
to the extreme south, extending in a westerly direction as far as Sindh, where Messrs. James and Blanford
procured it, but not passing into Burmah. In the south, of late years, it has been noticed by the
Ecv. Dr. Fairbank, who obtained it at Periakulam near the base of the Palanis ; he likewise remarks that it
is found everywhere in the Khandala district, though in small numbers. Messrs. Davidson and Wender, too,
met with it in the Sholapoor districts of the Deccan, where it was rare, but breeding notwithstanding.
Mr. Ball records it from many localities between the Godaveri and the Ganges, and says that it is nowhere so
abundant in Chota Nagpur as in the Satpura hills, where he hardly passed a day without seeing numbers,
and in some places found it in the thickest jungles. About Mount Aboo it is common on the hills and in the
plains, according to Capt. Butler, breeding on the mount in April. Mr. Hume says that he believes it to be
only a seasonal visitant to Sindh and Kattiawar ; and Mr. J ames is of opinion that it breeds in the former
region. Mr. A. Anderson procured it at Futtehgur, and Mr. Adam at Oudh, and remarks that it is very
common all about the Sambhur Lake. Captain Marshall found it at Murree in July, and Mr. Brooks
procured it at Dhunda above Mussoori.
Habits . — Jerdon writes of this Sparrow as follows : — “ It frequents thin forest-jungle, also groves of trees,
avenues, and gardens in the better wooded parts of the country. It lives in small parties, occasionally,
diu’ing the cold weather, congregating in very large flocks ; feeds on various seeds, grains, and flower-buds,
and has much the same manners and habits as the common House-Sparrow. It has also a very similar
note.” On the occasion of my meeting it, it was associating in a flock in a characteristic spot of the north-
west coast — open country, dotted here and there with clumps of by no means luxuriant wood, about the
borders or in the middle of which stood ragged- looking trees with half-clad branches ; the troop was settling
on the tops of the trees and uttering such a Sf>arrow-like chirp as they flew from one to the other that I took
them for Common Sparrows, more particularly as they had the same style of flight. The food of the specimens
pi’ocured consisted of seeds of various herbs. Mr. James writes that it is common to see them in Sindh
feeding on the pollen of the flowers of the wild Caper.
Nidification . — This Sparrow breeds in the plains of India in April and May, but in the Himalayas nests
as late as July. It is said to breed throughout India, except in the extreme south, and in Orissa and Bengal
proper {Hume). Good-sized trees, such as mangos, are generally chosen; and the nest is invariably placed in
a hole, sometimes at a height of 30 feet from the ground. Mr. Hume writes : — “ On one oceasion I found
a nest in a hole in a stem of an old Heens-bush [Capparis aphylla), which stem was barely 5 inches in diameter.
The nest is generally only a little bundle of dry grass, thickly lined with feathers. If in a mango-grove much
frequented by the common Green Paroquets, the feathers of these latter are sure to be chiefly used. Some-
times, however, a more or less cup-shaped nest is formed of fine strips of bark and tow being added to the
grass ; and, again, at times it is a regular pad of hair, tow, and wool, with a few feathers, all closely interwoven,
and with only a little central hollow.” Four is the greatest number of eggs laid, three being often found.
They are described as dull, glossless, moderately elongated ovals, sometimes pointed towards the small end.
The ground-colour, of which little is visible, is “ greenish white, thickly streaked, some edged and blotched,
all over with dingy brown, usually more a mixture of sepia or chocolatc-brown than any other shade.^’ They
average in size 0'74 by 0'55 inch.
PASSEEES.
Earn. MOTACILLID^.
Bill lengthened, more or less slender, straight ; the culmen curved at the tip. Nostrils
placed nearer the margin than the culmen. Wings with the first three feathers nearly equal ;
the tertials greatly elongated, often exceeding the primaries. Legs and feet variable. The
tarsus more or less lengthened and covered with transverse scales ; hind claw variable, in some
much lengthened. Tail of 12 feathers, lengthened and narrow.
Of small size, elegant form, and mostly of terrestrial habit.
I
Genus MOTACILLA.
Bill lengthened, typically slender, compressed towards the tip ; the culmen sloping from
the base, curved at the tip. Wings with the first three quills nearly equal, and either the 1st,
2nd, or 3rd the longest ; tertials nearly equal to the primaries. Tail equal to, or longer than,
the wings ; narrow and rounded at the tip. Tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw, the
lateral toes subequal, the outer, if any thing, the shorter ; hind claw short and curved.
MOTACILLA M ADEEASPATENSIS.
(THE INDIAN PIED WAGTAIL.)
Motacilla mademsjpatana, Brisson, Orn. iii. p. 478 (1783) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 137 (1849); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 268; Jerdon, B. of Ind.
ii. p. 217 (1863); Hume, Nest and Eggs, ii. p. 377 (1874); Ball, Str. Feath. 1874,
p. 415 ; Brooks, ibid. 1875, p. 246 ; Butler & Hume, t. c. p. 489 ; Davidson & Wender,
ibid. 1878, p. 84; Ball, t. c. p. 219.
Motacilla maderaspatensis, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 961 (1788) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 458.
Motacilla picata, Frank!. P. Z. S. 1831, p. 119.
Black-and-Wldte Wagtail ; Bergeronnette de Madras, Bufibn ; The Great Pied Wagtail, Gould.
Mamula, sometimes Bhuin maniula, also Khanjan, Hind. ; Sakcda sarela gadu, Telugu
(Jerdon).
Adult male and female. Length 8'5 to 8'75 inches ; wing 3'7 to 4’0 ; tail 4'0 to 4T ; tarsus I'O ; middle toe anc
claw 0-8 ; bill to gape 0-8 to 0-82.
Iris dark brown ; bill black ; legs and feet brownish black.
Male, breeding-plumage. Upper surface, from the forehead to the upper tail-coverts, and also the entire neck
and throat glossy black ; wings and all but the two outer pairs of tail-feathers less intense black than the
foregoing parts ; a broad stripe passing from the nostril over the eyes and down as far as the nape, the tips and
outer webs of the median and greater secondary-coverts, a very broad outer margin to the secondaries, and the
two outer pairs of tail-feathers white ; the base of the primaries and secondaries, a narrow outer edging to
the former, and the under surface from the chest to the under tail-coverts also white, as are likewise the under
wing-coverts ; flanks greyish at the junction with the black of the upper surface.
608
MOTACILLA MADEEASPATEKSIS.
Female in breeding-plumage has the distribution of the colours the same, but the black of the upper surface less
pure.
Nonhreeding-plwmage. The chin and face just beneath the eye and the gorge are white ; upper surface not so intense
a black as the breeding-dress. An example shot by Mr. Adam at the Sambhur Lake in August is in this plumage ;
it must have bred early in the year and changed at once.
Obi. This Wagtail, which carries off the palm as regards size among all the pied group, resembles somewhat the
common Water- Wagtail of England, M. lugubris, in summer plumage, the latter differing in the large amount of
white which encompasses the forehead, whole face, and ear-coverts, and the less intense black of the upper surface,
with a proportionate paleness of the wing. It is a much smaller bird, the wings of those I have examined
varying from 3'3 to 3'6 inches.
In most species of this group the forehead is white. The black forehead in the Indian species has a parallel in the
fine African Wagtail, M. vidua, in which also the colour of the crown extends down in a point to the base of
the bill.
Distribution. — This, the largest of the four Indian Wagtails, appears to he only a straggler to Ceylon in
the cool season, there having been but one example recorded in the island. This is mentioned by Layard
{toe. cit.) , who remarks that he detected a single specimen in a collection of birds formed by Mr. Glisburne, C.C.S.,
in the Jaffna peninsula, the exact locality from which it came being supposed to be the island of Valenny.
It may perhaps be a regular visitant to the extreme north of the island ; but this is, I think, doubtful, as if
so it would have been otherwise recorded from districts south of the J affna Lake.
This Wagtail has a wide but local distribution throughout India. It is found in suitable localities in
various parts of the peninsula, and in both the east and west of continental India. It occurs in the south, for
Jerdon remarks : — “ It is found throughout the whole of India . . . but it does not appear to extend to the
east of the Lay of Bengal. It also occurs within the Himalayas, for I found it at Sikhim.’^ Messrs. Davison
and Carter record it from the Nilghiris and the Cauvery river. “ In the Deccan it is common and breeds ”
{Davidson ) ; and Dr. Fairbank writes that it affects the rivers in the Khandala and Mahableshwar districts,
ilr. Aitken writes of it at Poona, and the Eev. H. Bruce at Ahmednuggur. Mr. Ball, on the eastern side of
the peninsula, records it from “ Sambalpur, north of Mahanadi, Godaveri valley, Singhbhum, Loliardugga,
Maunbhum, and the Ilajmehal hills,” and he considers it, with regard to the whole division of Chota Nagpur,
to be one of the birds most commoidy met with on its rivers. Captain Beavan found it rare in Singhblmm,
only meeting wuth it on the Cossye river. Across the Central-Indian districts it is noted from various places,
such as Agra, Etawah, Futteghur, the great river-system of this well-watered portion of India affording it
abundant localities suitable to its tastes. From Sambhur Mr. Adam records it common about all the open
wells and tanks ; but at Mount Aboo it is, according to Capt. Butler, not very plentiful ; he observed it there
about the lake, and occasionally in the plains round the edges of tanks, river-beds, &c. It is a resident
species in the sub- Himalayan region. Mr. Brooks records it from Mussouri, and says that he also obtained it
in Cashmere, while beyond the great Himalayan range it w’as found breeding by Severtzoff in Turkestan.
Habits , — This fine species is essentially a water ATagtail, being rarely found away from water, and
frequents the banks of rivers, ponds, tanks, wells, brooks, &c. I observe that it is said, like other members
of its group, to have a partiality for that seemingly eccentric situation the roof of a house, on which it often
perches when opportunity offers ; and I have no doubt that, like its congeners, it wnuld also seat itself on a
telegraph-wire. Captain Butler, who noticed its habits at Mount Aboo, remarks that “ it delights in a large
rock standing out by itself in the water at some distance from the shore to settle and run about upon. In
the absence of a rock, an old stump suits its habits and answers the purpose equally wnll.” It is very active in
its motions and possesses all the grace of deportment w'hich so remarkably distinguishes the wdiole of this
interesting group of birds. It feeds on insects, at which it darts, adroitly seizing them, and has been observed
to catch as large prey as a dragonfly wuth which to feed its young. Jerdon states that it has a swnet song
in the breeding-season.
MOTACILLA MADEEASPATENSIS.
609
Nidification . — The breeding-season of the Indian Pied Wagtail, in most parts of India, is in March,
April, and May ; but, like many other birds which nest in the southern hills, it rears its young there during
the north-east monsoon at the end of the year. It is said always to nest in the vicinity of water, but with
this sole reservation, that it places its nest almost anywhere. These may be found in holes in banks, crevices
in rocks, under stones, under clods of earth, amongst the timbers of bridges, in drains, holes in walls, on
I’oofs, in fact anywhere except on shrubs or bushes ” (iTume). It appeal’s that when these birds, like the
Common Wagtail* of England, make up their mind to build in a particular spot no amount of adverse
circumstances will deter them from carrying out their plans. In Mr. Hume’s interesting article on the
nidification of this Wagtail ample testimony is given concerning the extraordinary spots chosen by it ; and
I append the following interesting particulars from the pen of this author : — “ In the middle of the river
Jumna, at Agra, there is an iron buoy attached to the pontoon-bridge which is surmounted by an iron ring,
which lies down nearly horizontal ; and in this ring, for several successive seasons, a pair of Pied Wagtails
nested, within five yards of the roadway, and in full view of the thousands of passengers who daily cross the
bridge. In the Chumbul, a little above its junction with the Jumna, a pair built in the old ferry-boat, which
was but seldom used; and when the female was sitting she allowed herself to be ferried backwards and forwards,
the male all the while sitting on the gunwale singing, making from time to time short jerky flights over the
water, and returning fearlessly to his post.
“ In this latter case the nest was nothing but one of those small cii’cular ring-pads, say 4 inches in
external diameter and 1 inch thick at the circumference, which the women place on their heads to enable
them to carry steadily their round-bottomed earthern water- vessels ; a dozen tiny soft blades of grass had
been laid across the central hole, and on these, of course blending them down to the surface of the massive
boat-knee on which the pad had been accidentally left lying, the eggs were laid.
“ The character and materials of the nest are quite as various as ai’e the situations in which it is placed.
As to character, it varies from nothing ujv to a neat, well-formed ‘ saucer ’ or shallow cup ; as to materials,
nothing soft seems to come amiss to them ; fine twigs, grass-roots, wool, feathers, horse-, cow-, and human
hair, string, coir, rags, and all kinds of vegetable fibres seem to be indifferently used.” My late friend
Mr. A. Anderson writes that favourite situation at Futtehgur was the bridge of boats, the nests being
usually placed inside a pigeon-hole either at the bow or stern of a boat.” The eggs are usually four in number,
sometimes three, and vary from a greenish or greenish-white to a pale earthy- white ground ; those of the
former type are marked with greenish-brown streaks, spots, clouds, and specks distributed sparingly over the
surface, or chiefly confluent round the large end; the latter have dingy wood-brown markings, and, as in the
former case, are divisible into two types — one in which the colouring takes the form of close speckling, and
the other close smudgy mottling {Hume). The average size of a number of eggs is 0’9 by 0’60 inch.
♦ It will, no doubt, be fresh in the minds of many of my readers who peruse the ‘ Times ’ newspaper that a pair of
Pied Wagtails last summer (1878) built a nest on a beam beneath a third-class carriage belonging to the train w’hich runs
backwards and forwards on the little loop-line connecting the Cosham and Havant stations near Portsmouth. The train
makes four or five trips a day ; and during the time the female was incubating her eggs she remained on them while the
train performed its journey, and her partner patiently sat on the telegraph-wires till she returned. I can vouch for the
truth of this story, as I am acquainted v^ ith the station-master from w’hom the particulars of the occurrence were gleaned.
4i
MOTACILLA MELANOPE.
(THE GREY WAGTAIL.)
Motacilla melanope, Pall. Eels. Euss.Eeichs, iii. p. 696(1776); Dresser, B. of Europe, pt.41, 42.
Motadlla boarula, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 997 (1788) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 137 (1849);
Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 121 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii.
p. 268.
Motacilla sulfhurea, Bechst. Gem. Naturg. Deutsclil. iii. p. 459 (1807); Newton, ed. Yarrells
Brit. B. p. 552 (1873); Shelley, B. of Egypt, p. 127 (1872); Irby, B. of Gibraltar,
p. 108 (1875).
Calohates * sulphurea (Bechst.), Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 33 (1829) ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B.
Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 349 (1854); Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 220 (1863) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S.
1872, p. 458 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 22 ; Butler & Hume, Str. Eeath. 1875, p. 489.
Calohates hoarula (Gm.), Hume, Str. Eeath. 1873, p. 201 ; id. Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 381 (1874) ;
id. Str. Eeath. 1874, p. 237.
Calohates melanope (Pall.), Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 364 ; Brooks, Str. Eeath. 1875, p. 250 ;
Hume, B. of Tenass., Str. Eeath. 1878, p. 362; Ball, Str. Eeath. 1878, vii. p. 219.
Bergeronnette jaune, French; Alvelda amarella, Portuguese; Jungle-Wagtail (Jerdon), The
Grey-and-Yellow Wagtail. Mudi tigjpudu jitta^Tehx^n (Jerdon); Alveola, va. Azores
(Godman); Kisekiri, Japan (Blakiston) ; Piepita, Spanish (Saunders).
Adult nude and female (Ceylon). Length 7-3 to 7-5 inches ; wing 3T to 3-2 ; tail 3-55 to 3-9 ; tarsus 0-8 ; middle toe
and claw 0‘65 ; hind toe 0-3, its claw (straight) 0-2.5 ; bill to gape 0-6 to 0-65.
Iris olive-brown ; bill blackish horn, pale at the base beneath ; legs and feet brown or reddish brown.
Winter plumage (Ceylon). Above ashy grey, slightly tinged with brown on the back, and the head somewhat pervaded
with olive-greenish ; least wing-coverts grey like the back ; secondary and primary coverts, primaries, and secon-
daries blackish brown, the greater coverts with paler edges than the rest of the feathers ; the tertials w-ith the
distal part of the outer web edged whitish ; bases of the secondaries and tertials and the basal part of the inner
web of aU but the 1st four primaries wdiite, running out towards the tip of the longest tertial feather ; rump
greenish yellow, blending with the grey of the lower back, and brightening into yellow on the upper tail-coverts ;
the 6 centre tail-feathers brownish black, with the margins near the base greenish yellow, the outer pair wholly
white, the next two white, with all but the tip of the outer webs black, and the innermost pair with a black inner
edge as well ; a yellowish superloral streak passing over the eye (where it widens and becomes white) to above
the ears ; lores blackish ; ear-coverts dark grey, with a yellowish patch just below the eye ; throat and chest
yellowish, deepening into bright yellow on the centre of the breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, the latter
being the brightest ; a few small brownish streaks on either side of the chin in some ; thighs dusky yellowish.
The above is the plumage of the majority of adult birds w-hile they are in Ceylon ; many have a trace of the black
summer throat in the dai-k markings just alluded to. The supercilium and cheek-patch vary in extent and in the
amount of yellow in their colouring, some being whiter than others. Some have the head more olivaceous than
others.
* This Wagtail has been generically separated as Calohates by Kaup from the Black-and-White Wagtails {Motacilla
restricted) on account of its different plumage. Its wings are said to be somewhat shorter, and its tertials less elongated ;
these distinctions will not hold good if it be compared with a series of species of Motacilla. The hind toe is perhaps a
little shorter ; but, on the whole, I prefer to follow Messrs. Dresser, Newton, and others, and keep the present species in
Motacilla.
MOTACILLA MEL AN OPE.
611
There is no constant appreciable difEerence in the plumage of the sexes in winter ; both have the back in some examples
more olive than in others.
Male, simmer j)lnmage (China, end of April). Lores, chin, and throat black, abruptly defined against the yellow of
the fore neclj ; above the lores a whitish streak, narrowing as it passes over the eye, and widening again above
the ear-coverts ; from beneath the eye a broader white streak passes beneath the cheeks to the ear-coverts ; chest,
breast, and underparts bright sulphur-yellow ; head, hind neck, scapulars, and back ashy grey, with the rump,
upper tail-coverts, wings, and tail as in winter. The supercilium is more developed in some birds than in others.
A March example, with the throat changing to black, shows the colour down the centre of the throat and along the
lower edge of what will eventually be the black gorget, which appears to be acquired by a change of feather.
Female, summer plumage. Some birds do not assume the black throat; and in those which do “ it is not so well defined
as in the males {Irhy). Ornithologists, as a rule, have not clearly described the plumage of the female, some
omitting to make any mention of the throat, others (Maegillivray) saying that the throat “ becomes dark grey,
mottled with yellovdsh gre}^ while others, again, describe the throat as white. Col. Irby, however, explains the
matter from personal observation. A female which I have this season watched breeding in Wales had a white
throat. A female from Lake Baikal, says Mr. Dresser, has the throat greyish white, with a few blackish feathers on
the chin. It is probable that birds in the second year do not change the colour of the throat, while older ones do.
Young. A nestling, just fledged, in the museum of Mr. Seebohm, is in the following plumage : — Head, neck, back,
and scapulars brownish slate-grey, with a slight rusty tinge on the hind neck and scapulars ; orbital fringe and a
postorbital stripe buff ; ear-coverts tinged with fulvous ; wing-coverts broadly edged with fulvous-grey ; secon-
daries externally margined with whitish ; rump dusky greenish, but with a greyish tinge not present in the adult :
longer upper tail-covert feathers yellowish ; the tail, which is only 1-7 inch long, has the three outer feathers all
white, except a streak on the base of the outer web of the third, the remainder blackish, edged with white ; throat
and fore neck greyish white, deepening on the chest and the upper part of the breast into rusty fulvous, washed
slightly with greyish ; lower part of breast and belly whitish ; vent and under tail-coverts reddish grey, with the
longer feathers of the latter part yellow.
Mr. Dresser describes a young bird shot by himself near Baden as follows : —
“ Upper parts grey with a slight greenish tinge, the rump greenish yellow, a yellowish-white streak passes over the
eye, and under the eye there is an indistinct white mark ; wings and tail as in the adult, but the secondary coverts
have greyish tips ; underparts greyish white with a primrose tinge ; lower tail-coverts pale yellow ; fore neck
marked with greyish ; breast washed with pale reddish grey ; bill dark brown ; legs pale fleshy grey ; claws dark
brown.”
Immature male (Ceylon, January). Iris olive or light brown ; bill dark brown, base beneath whitish. Legs and feet
fleshy brown.
Hind neck, back, and scapulars ashy grey, pervaded somewhat with olive-brown on the back ; the forehead and crown
greenish brown ; lores blackish ; superloral streak fulvous white, becoming whiter as it passes over the eye ; a
yellowish-white patch just beneath the eye, encompassing the orbital fringe just above it ; vdngs as in the adult,
as also the rump and upper tail-coverts ; ear-coverts dark grey ; chin and throat white, washed on the chin with
yellow ; chest whitish, with a just perce'ptiUe rusty hue on it, and gradually becoming yellowish on the breast and
flanks down to the abdomen and nnder tail-coverts, which are fine sulphur-vellow.
Young birds visiting Ceylon are in the above or nearly similar plumage. Some of them have the chest yellower than
others, but there is a tell-tale rusty appearance on it which stamps them with the signs of youth.
A female (Asia Minor, Eebruary) corresponds with an October Ceylon example ; the yellow of the throat is slightly
washed \vith fulvous, giving it a reddish appearance ; it is evidently a bird in the 2ud spring, shovdng that this
immature chest-character is not put off until the 2nd year.
Ohs. The "Westem or European form of Grey-and-Tellow Wagtail {M. sulphur ea of Bechstein) was formerly kept
distinct from the Eastern or Asiatic race, the M. melaiiope of Pallas, on account of its longer tail; they have,
however, of late years been united, and the species takes the older title of Pallas. The alleged difference consisted
in the length of the tail, the European bird being said to measure more than the Asiatic. A widely-collected
series has shown that the tail does decrease in length towards China and India ; but it likewise does so as we
travel westward to the Azores, so that this character was found to be unstable, and the two races have rightly been
made into one. The British examples which I have examined vary in the tail from 3’9 to 4'2 ; those from China
4i2
612
MOTACILLA MELANOPE.
(coll. Swiulioe) vary from 3-3 to 3'8 ; and Mr. Dresser gives one at 3-9 ; he states that the Azores birds have
shorter tails than any others, averaging 3-5.
Distribution . — The Grey-and-Yellow Wagtail arrives in Ceylon about the middle of September, taking up
its quarters along the whole of the northern and western sea-boards. Stray birds arrive at the beginning of the
month. Mr. Bligh has seen it as early as the Cth September in Hapntale. It remains on the coast for a few
days, and then moves into the forests of the northern half of the island, taking up its abode on the sandy beds
of all the partially dried rivers. The majority of the birds, however, betake themselves to the hills in the
centre and south of the island, resorting to the streams in the coffee -districts and following up the Maha-
welligaiiga and its affluents to their source. About Nuwara Elliya it is very common, frequenting the road-
side ditches, the borders of the lake, and every little stream on the plain. It is also found on the Horton
Plains about the banks of the Maha Elliya, which, even at that great altitude, is a stream of considerable
magnitude. Soon after its first arrival in the Western Province, it, for the most part, quits the low country
to the south of the Maha oya, and, with the e.vception of the northern forests, may be considered a hill-
visitant. It leaves again in March.
This \\''agtail has, when viewed as being identical with the European bird, a very wide ratige. I will first
consider its habitat in Asia, and then in Europe and Africa. It is a winter visitor to continental and peninsular
India, arriving in September and leaving in April. Captain Butler’s dates for its migration in the north-west
are Sept. 5th to 30th April. It spreads throughout the empire, ascending the hills and taking up its quarters
on mountain-streams, as in Ceylon. Mr. Bourdillon says that it is a common winter visitor in Travancore.
Many remain to breed in Cashmere and along the Himalayas, which is the only part of India in which it
can be said to be stationary. On the eastern side of the Bay it passes through Burmah to Tenasserim, in which
province it is sparingly distributed on the more open portions •, thence it finds its way across to the islands,
where Mr. Davison remarks of it, “Not common on the Andamans or Nicobarsj” he procured it on Pre-
paris as late as the 26th of March. Down the peninsula of Malacca it must also wander, as it is found in
Sumatra and still further east in Java. In the former island Mr. Buxton lately procured it. It is found
throughout China, probably breeding in the northern hilly parts, and is a winter visitor to the east coast,
Hainan, and Formosa [Swinhoe). Although it is doubtless resident in many regions beyond the Himalayas, yet
there is a northward migration to some of them ; for Col. Prjevalski, in Ids ‘ Birds of Mongolia,’ rcmai-ks that it
arrives at Muni-ul, South-east Mongolia, on the 22ud April. It passes through parts of Turkestan, and is
found rarely in the north-western portion in winter up to 4000 feet altitude. Further north it occurs all across
the southern parts of Siberia to Japan, where it must be resident, as Messrs. Blakiston and Fryer record it
breeding on Fujisan and Tokio. It is found in Trans-Baikal ; and Mr. Seebohm procured it, during his travels
on the Yenesay, within the Arctic circle. In Palestine it is, according to Canon Tristram, a winter visitor,
departing before it acquires its breeding-plumage. It occurs likewise in Arabia, but only on passage.
Tuning to Europe, we find Mr. Dresser stating that it is met with there “ as far north as the British
Isles and Northern Germany;” and in these parts it is mostly a resident, although it moves about, extending
its w'aiiderings, as it does in England, after the breeding-season. In Sardinia, Mr. A. B. Brooke says it is
common all the year, breeding in the mountains ; and Mr. C. A. Wright found it to be a winter visitor to Malta,
some few' remaining to breed. In Portugal it is said to be common ; and at Malaga Mr. Howard Saunders
often observed it in winter, and found it abundant in the Sierra Nevada and other ranges, w'hile Col. Irby
states that it is’abundant in Andalucia in winter and on passage. It is resident throughout the year in Turkey,
and visits Greece in the autumn, passing the winter in the Cyclades according to Professor Newton. It is
recorded by De Filippi from the Caucasus. It is found ou the Carpathian mountains'; and its range north
of that locality is thus described by Professor Newton: — “This Grey Wagtail does not visit Iceland, the
Faroes, or Norway. It has been observed in Heligoland, and a single example is said by Prof. Nilsson to have
been shot in the extreme south of Sweden ; its most northern occurrence in Germany, near Kiel, w'as recorded
by F. Boie, more than 40 years ago ; and in that country it is chiefly confined to the mountainous districts,
which only exist in the central and southern parts. It is, however, also said to have occurred once in Posen.”
It is found tlu'oughout the British Isles, but does not breed south or east of a line drawn from Start Point
through the Derbyshire hills to the Tees. It is a summer visitant to Orkney, and occurs at the end of the
MOTACILLA MELANOPB.
613
summer in Shetland, hut has not been met with in the Outer Hebrides, and is rare as a resident in Scotland
north of Inverness {Newton in Yarrell) . In the winter there appears to be a movement from the south of
Europe to North Africa. It is, according to Eavier, a winter visitor near Tangier, appearing in September
and October, and departing in February and March. Captain Shelley writes that it is probably a winter
visitor to Egypt, and observes that Dr. Adams met with it in Nubia. In the highlands of Abyssinia it also
winters ; and Brehm says that it is resident at Mensa. How far south it goes on the west coast of Africa is not
very clear; but Professor Newton has met with it in Madeira; and Mr. Godman (Ibis, 1866, p. 96) says that
it is resident in the Azores, being common wherever there is water thronghout all the islands, and elsewhere
(Ibis, 1873, p. 176) remarks that it is abundant in all three of the Atlantic archipelagos.
Habits . — In Ceylon this elegant little bird frequents the banks of rivers, both sandy and rocky streams in
the hills, the rivulets flowing through the “ Plains ” in the upper ranges, and even the roadside drains. It
perches on the roofs of houses in the Kandy country, on stumps of trees and on rhododendron and other
bushes, perpetually shaking or “ balancing ” its tail, and uttering its sweet little twittering note, which is
very distinct from the louder and coarser cry of the Field- Wagtail. It is very tame in its disposition, getting
up on being approached, and flying a little distance down the road or stream, and, if pursued, continues this for
a long distance, turning round at the last and returning to wdiere it was first disturbed. Its flight is very-
undulating, but it is, at the same time, swift, soon carrying the little bird out of sight when it is darting down
the steep rocky streams of the Kandyan hills.
To he seen to perfection it must be espied standing on its favourite haunt — an isolated rock amid some
foaming torrent in the deep glens of the coffee-districts ; here it will rest for an instant under observation, but
not long (for it is impatient Avhen watched), “ halaucing^^ its graceful form, which looks all the more tiny when
contrasted w-ith the huge rocks and dashing waters, and then uttering its cheerful whistle, will dart away; or,
if the rock be large enough, it will run to and fro, as if delighting in the wildness of the scene, meanwhile
snapping right and left at the insects which swarm around it, or picking up some minute mollusk from the
edge of the stream. In England it is equally aquatic in its mode of life, dw'clling on brooks, and especially
mountain-streams, in Wales or the northern counties. It is occasionally knowm to take up its quarters
near a farm-house; and I have seen it among outbuildings in company with its Pied congener. Jerdon
considers that “ it has the jerking motion of the tail more remarkably than any other of the group, for it
appears unable to keep it motionless for a moment.’’^
Nidification . — In the Himalayas this species breeds in May and June, laying four or five eggs. Mr. Brooks
has taken its nest in Cashmere on mountain-streams up to 6000 feet. He writes, “One nest that I found in
Cashmere, at Kagan, was placed in a small bush on an island in the Sindh river, about 5 feet above the ground.
The situation was that of a fincKs nest ! It was composed of moss, fibres, &c., and lined with hair, a neat
compact nest, and placed in the fork of the branches near the top of the bush. Another nest was placed
under a large boulder on the dry bed of the river, and was composed of the same materials.’^ The eggs from
these nests arc described as “ broad ovals at the larger end, and much compressed and pointed towards the
smaller end. Typically the ground-colour is yellowish or brownish white, closely mottled and clouded all over
with pale yelloAvish brown or browmish yellow-. These markings, always pale dull and smudgy, are somewhat
darker in some specimens and lighter in others ; almost all have a very fine black hair-like line near the
larger end.” They vary from 0-68 to 0-73 inch in length by 0-53 to 0'55 inch in breadth {Hume).
Near Gibraltar, according to Col. Irby, they breed in April and May, generally in holes of the brickAvork
of the water-mills, sometimes close to the wheel, or in holes of rocks overhanging streams. In England it
likewise builds, as a rule, near water. Professor Newton states that other sites are sometimes chosen, and
instances one case in which it Avas known to build on a shelf in a room, which the bird entered through a
broken window. He describes the eggs as “ French- white, closely mottled, suffused, or clouded Avith very pare
brown or olive, varying in depth of tint and also in the extent of the ground shewn betAveen the markings ;
they measure from O' 79 to O' 72 inch by from 0'57 to O' 53.”
Subgenus LIMONIDEOMUS*.
Differs structurally from Motacilla in its slightly stouter bill and shorter tail, as also in its
different style of coloration.
Of sylvan and partly arboreal habits, and with a different motion of the tail.
LIMONIDEOMTIS INDICES.
(THE WOOD-WAGTAIL.)
Motacilla indica, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 962 (1788) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 121
(1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 268.
'Nemoricola indica, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1844, xvi. p. 479 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 136
(1849); Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 353 (1856); Jerdon, B. of Ind.
ii. p. 226 (1863) ; Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 260.
Limonidromus indicus, Gould, B. of Asia, pt. xiv. (1862) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 458 ;
Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 365 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 239 ; Hume, ibid. 1875,
p. 142; Armstrong, ibid. 1876, p. 329; Bourdillon, t.c. p. 401; Hume & Davison,
ibid. 1878, B. of Tenass. p. 364 ; Ball, ibid. vii. p. 219.
The Black-hreasted Wagtail, Jerdon. Nget Bahat, Arrakan (Blyth) ; TJzhalla-jitta, Telugu
(Jerdon) ; Bode Bode, Malay (Blyth).
Gomarita, lit. “ Dung-spreader,” Sinhalese (Layard).
Adult male and, female. Length 6-5 to 6-7 inches ; wing 3-0 to 3-2 ; tail 2-9 to 3-1 ; tarsus 2-7 to 2-75 ; middle toe
and claw 0-72 ; hind toe and claw 0-55 ; bill to gape 0-7 to 0-75. The largest example in my series is a, female.
his olive-brown ; bill, upper mandible dark browm, lower fleshy ; legs fleshy, feet washed with brownish, claws brown.
Above brownish olive-green, slightly duskier on the forehead and above the supercilium, which, with the orbital fringe,
is whitish ; upper tail-coverts, tail, and wings blackish browm, deepening to black on the wring-coverts and part
of the secondaries ; tips of major and median wing-coverts yellowish white, forming two conspicuous bands across
the wing ; outer edge of primaries about the centre of the feather, a marginal patch near the tips of the secon-
daries, margins of some of the longer tertials, and a band at the base of the primaries the same ; outer tail-
feathers w’hite, except at the base of the inner webs, and the outer edge and terminal portion of the penultimate
the same ; beneath white, tinged with yellowish on the chest, across which there is a black baud succeeded by a
black-browm one, incomplete in the centre and generally joined there to the upper ; flanks shaded with smoky grey ;
primary under wing-coverts browmish with yellow tips ; long secondary under coverts whitish. The pale portion
of the face in some specimens is barred with brownish.
Young (?). I have not seen any very young examples ; but a specimen which appeared, on examination of the organs,
to be immature is whiter beneath, and has the flanks less dusky than other skins in my collection.
Ohs. Mr. Hume gives the following dimensions of specimens from Tenasserim : — “ Male. Length 6-7 to 6-75 inches ;
* This is an isolated form of W agtail, differing chiefly from Motacilla in its habits, and I therefore adopt Gould’s
term Limonidromus. The difference in bill and tail is barely appreciable, for true Motaeillce vary inter se in this respect ;
and as to the band across the chest, we have it in some of the Black-and-White Wagtails — for instance, in the African
Motacilla vidua, in the winter-plumage of M. alha, &c. The motion of its tail is a slow lateral one, and not a vertical
shaking as in all other Wagtails. This I consider to be its distinguishing characteristic. It was first named Nemoricola
by Blyth ; but this name was changed by Gould to the present, it having been adopted previously by Hodgson for another
genus of birds.
LIMONJDEOMUS DfDICUS.
615
expanse 9-5 to lO’O ; wing 2-95 to 3-15 j tail 2’8 to 3-0 ; tarsus 0-8 to 0-9 ; bill from gape 0-7 ; weight O-oo to
0’6 oz. Female. Length 6-5 to 6-75 inches ; expanse 9-4 to 9‘75 ; wing 3-05 ; tail from vent 2-7 to 2-8 ; tarsus
0-8 ; bill from gape 0‘75 ; weight 0‘G2 oz.
“ Legs, feet, and claws pinkislf flesh-colour ; upper mandible dark brown, lower mandible fleshy pink ; irides deep
brown.”
Distribution . — This charming little Wagtail, which is a denizen of the dry forests of the island, arrives in
Ceylon about the first week in October, and spreads through the region north of the central zone, its limit
on the western side being the Kurunegala district, in which part I have traced it as far south as the forests
lying between Madampe and the Maha oya. Thence it extends round the base of the hills to the eastern
forests ; but I do not know if it ranges higher than about the foot of the mountains. On the eastern side
I have never seen it further down than the country between Vendeloos and Dambool. It is principally located
in the central forests to the north of Dambool, and is numerous in the district between Trincomalie and
Anaradjapura, in the Seven Koralcs, and other places north of the mountain-zone.
At Trincomalie I have found it in wood close to the sea-shore. It disappears from the island about the
end of March. On the maiidaud it has a wide eastern distribution, extending from the south of India chiefly
up the east side of the peninsula to Arrakan and Pegu and across to China, down the province of Tenasserim
to Malacca, taking in the Andaman Islands, and thence to Sumatra, at the west of which island Mr. Davison
saw it in Acheeu. Mr. Buxton does not seem to have met with it in Lampong at the other extremity; but it
is doubtless found in most parts of this comparatively little-known island. Jerdon says it is found throughout
the whole peninsula of India, but is common nowhere ; he considered it rare in the south of India, and he only
procured it himself at Nellore and on the Malabar coast. Mr. Bourdillon records it as a winter visitor to the
Travancore hills ; Mr. Blauford procured it in the Godaveri valley ; Blyth states that he obtained it at all
seasons near Calcutta. In the Irrawaddy delta Dr. Armstrong obtained it in dense forest a few miles from
China Ba-keer ; and up the country Captain Fcilden got it at Thayetmyo, and Mr. Oates in the hills. In
Tenasserim, where it is generally distributed throughout the less elevated portions of the province, it wms
not procured later than April. From the evidence of observers in various parts of India, Mr. Hume affirms
that it leaves the country in May, returning in September ; but where it breeds is still a mystery, although we
may, from a glance at its distribution, surmise that it passes northward through Burmah, and thence perhaps
retires to the eastern confines of Thibet, or still further north to the southern part of Mongolia. Here,
however, once we pass to the northward of the line of the Himalayas, we are dealing with a region so vast
that there would be room in it for numbers of Indian birds to breed unknown to any who have yet explored it;
and any conclusions which one might arrive at with reference to our little Wagtail could only be the veriest
conjecture indeed. It is noteworthy that Mr. Swinhoe procured it as far north as Pekin, which would decidedly
suggest a very northerly breeding-place. Its distribution in India is perhaps as singular as its migration, for
it does not seem to be governed by a preference I'or the is-ombral tracts which Mr. Hume has so w^ell
delineated in the useful map he has lately published (Str. Feath. vii.), and in Ceylon it is essentially a dry-
district species.
Habits . — The Wood-Wagtail frequents the interior of the forest, being more often seen away from water
than near it. I have sometimes met wuth it on the sandy beds of dry rivers in heavy jungle, but most
frequently running about on the leafy ground among trees, or along the edges of paths and roads in the
depths of the woods. It is very arboreal in its habits, often flying high up and alighting on the gigantic limb
of some huge “ Koombook”- or “ Palu”-tree, about which it will run with as much confidence as on terra
firma ; it just as often, however, flies off and realights on the ground. Its actions are very graceful, and there
was always, to my mind, no little charm in watching its elegant form in the wild and solitary jungles of
Ceylon. It is, to a surprising degree, fearless and inquisitive in its manner, and will approach within a few
yards of man, quietly tripping over the fallen leaves of the forest, with its characteristic “ balancing ” and
swaying to and fro of its tiny frame, twisting its head awry, and giving out its tinkling cry of clink, clink,
resembling somewhat that of the Chaffinch ; for a moment it will then survey the intruder with quiet curiosity,
hopping perhaps on to a low adjacent branch, and after running along it for an instant will realight and
616
LIMONIDEOMUS INDICUS.
contiuue its busy chase after the teeming insects of the tropical jungle. He who can then deprive it of its
happy existence must have a hard heart indeed ! It runs with considerable speed, and darts at its prey as
other Wagtails. It sways its body from side to side, thus giving its tail a horizontal motion instead of a
vertical, as in other Wagtails.
It is said to be much like the Asiatic Tree-Pipits (Pipastes) in its habits ; these I have not had the pleasure
of seeing in their native haunts, and I cannot therefore venture on an opinion touching its affinities in that
direction. It would appear to approach these birds in habits about as much as Budytes does the Titlarks
[Anthus] . Its bill, feet, wings, and graceful form, and its gait and deportment are essentially those of a
Wagtail. It certainly displays an abnormal character in the black chest-bands ; but we see this developed
to a small extent in the young of Budytes, and its wings-markings are those of this genus exaggerated.
It may often be seen under tamarind- and banyan-ti’ees in the Sinhalese jungle hamlets; and here it
was, I conclude, that Layard noticed it scratching among cattle-ordure, for in its accustomed sylvan haunts
it has no opportunity of doing this. Mr. Davison thus writes of its habits in Tenasserim : — “ It is generally
met with in forest-covered ground in small parties, in pairs, or even singly, walking about imder the trees
and bushes and hunting for insects. Its habits are very similar to those of the Pipits, Pipastes maculatus, &c.
When disturbed they fly up into the surrounding trees, uttering a sharp Pipit-like note ; and there they sit,
walk along the branches, or fly from one to the other,, shaking their tails all the while. They soon redescend
again to the ground when every thing is quiet. This bird combines in its habits something both of the Pipits
and Wagtails. Like the former they are found in shady places, walking about in a demure way, uttering
now and then a sharp single note ; but, like the latter, they usually seize their prey with short sharp dashes,
and -when disturbed do not generally rise at once, but run on in front of one, taking short runs, stopping
every few feet, and shaking their tails violently the while ; but, again, when they do rise they. Pipit-like, fly
up into the trees.-*^
Subgenus BUDYTES.
Differs from Motacilla in its longer tarsus, larger feet, and long hind claw.
Mostly of non-aquatic habits.
BTJDYTES VIEIDIS.
(THE GEEY-HEADED EIELD-WAGTAIL.)
Motacilla viridis, Gm. Syst. Nat. p. 962, “ex Brown,” Ceylon (1788) ; Dresser, B. of Europe,
pt. 40 (1875); SevertzofF in Dresser’s Notes, Ibis, 1876, p. 178; Seebohm, Ibis, 1878,
p. 352.
Budytes cinereocapilla. Bp. Comp. List B. p. 19 (1838); Swinhoe, P, Z. S. 1871, p. 364;
Hume, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 237 ; Oates, ibid. 1876, p. 142; Davison & Hume, Birds
of Tenass., Str. Feath. 1878, p. 363; Ball, Str. Feath, 1878, vii, p. 219; Cripps, t. c. p. 286.
Budytes viridis (Gm.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 138 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat.
p. 121 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 268; Horsf. & Moore,
Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 360 (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 222 (1863) ; Blyth,
Ibis, 1865, p. 50 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 458 ; Shelley, B. of Egypt, p. 129 (1872) ;
Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 22, et 1875, p. 398 ; Tweeddale, Ibis, 1877, p. 228.
La Bergeronnette verte, or Qreen Wagtail, Brown, 111. Zool. pi. 39. fig. 2 ; Bergeronnette d tete
cendrde, French ; Wagtail Larh, Latham. Pilkya, Hind. ; Pastro marillo, Portuguese
in Ceylon.
Adult nude and female. Length 6-5 to 7-0 inches ; wing 3-1 to 3-3 ; tail 3-0 to 3-1 ; tarsus 0-9 ; middle toe and claw
0’8 ; hind toe 0-4, claw (straight) 0-45 ; bill to gape 0-65.
Iris dark brown ; bill blackish, base of lower mandible whitish or greenish grey ; legs and feet blackish ; soles yellow.
Male, summer plumage (Futtehgur, 28th April). Forehead, cro^-n, occiput, nape, and sides of the neck, just lower
down than the ear-coverts, uniform sombre bluish grey ; lores, cheeks, and ear-coverts black, over the left lore a
white streak, not extending to the eyebrows, above and behind the right eye another short white streak ; hind neck,
back, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts, rump, and ujiper tail-coverts brownish olive-green, sharply defined against the
blue neck ; the centres of the upper tail-covert feathers brownish : wings umber-brown ; the median and greater
secondary wing-coverts and the tertials broadly edged with pale yellowish ; the primary-coverts and the primaries
with fine pale edgings ; inner webs of the secondaries white at the base : tail brownish black, the outer feather all
white but the inner half of the inner web, which is brown to within j an inch of the tip ; the adjacent pair wth
their inner webs the same, and the outer brown to within ^ an inch of the tip; the dark central feathers edged
with olive-yellowish; entire under surface from the chin to the under tail-cover! s deep yellow, brightest on the
lower parts ; extreme point of chin white ; thighs bi’ownish yellow, under wing-coverts yellowish.
A female has the head not so blue, and a broader yellow eye-stripe.
Male, luinter plumage (Ceylon, 29th November). Above dusky olive, greenest on the rump and upper tail-coverts,
and pervaded with slate-colour on the hind neck, and slightly brownish on the back ; lores and cheeks dark brown ; a
moderately-defined narrow supercilium, longer over one eye than the other ; wing-coverts, secondaries, and tertials
edged with whitish, tinged on the tertial margins with yellowish ; tail as above ; chin and throat white, washed
with yellow on the fore neck ; the under surface pale yellow, not nearly so rich as in summer ; chest washed at
the sides with brownish.
Other examples have the head browner, and some the back more olive or the opposite (that is, browner) ; some want
the eye-stripe altogether ; in one it is present on one side and not on the other ; in fact scarcely any two
examp)les are perfectly alike.
A male in change (Colombo, 17th April) has the forehead dusky olive, and the head partly bluish slate, these new
feathers appearing among the old greener ones ; the back is dusky olive-green, being clothed still with the winter
feathers ; wing-coverts and secondaries margined with yellowish white ; cheeks and lores changing to blackish ;
a narrow supercilium, which is evidently disappearing from the moulting of the old feathers ; chin and throat
whitish ; under surface pure yellow, with a few whitish feathers down the centre of the breast, the remains of the
winter plumage.
4k
618
BUDYTES VIRIEIS.
Another male (27th Octobar) is in the following singular plumage : — Head and hind neck dusky bluish slate, blending
almost imperceptibly into the brownish olive of the back, the feathers on this part being brown at the centre and
olive at the margins, those which are abraded are mingled with a few olive-green ones ; wing-coverts margined
with greyish white ; rump pale olive ; lores, cheeks, and ear-coverts black ; beneath yellow, of medium brightness ,
chin and along the lower mandible whitish ; chest dashed with dark brown, like a young bird ; thighs slate-
coloured.
'I'his specimen has the appearance of a young bird, were it not for its partiaUy summer-coloured head and total absence
of eye-stripe. It is probably a bird which is in the 2nd year, and from some cause has not properly assumed the
breeding-plumage in the first season.
A Lapland specimen (20th June : wing 3-2) is not unlike the above (27th October), except that, being m summer
plumage, the head is bluer and the back greener, the face and ear-coverts are very black, and there is no super-
ciliiim ; the under surface not so yellow as in the summer male from Euttehgur.
Young (mus. Seebohm : Yenesay, 8th August, 1877). Scarcely full-grown. Above brownish, tinged with green ;
some of the feathers on the head and hind neck nearly all black; a whitish supercilium ; longer upper tail-coverts
blackish ; wings dark brown, the coverts very dark and broadly edged with dusky whitish ; tertials edged whitish,
the tail as in the adult ; chin, throat, and lower part of face yellowish white ; ear-coverts mixed with black ; a
blackish moustachial stripe ; most of the feathers across the breast black, edged with yellowish ; beneath yellowish
white; flanks dusky.
Another, shot on the same day, is greener above, wants the black head-feathers, is not so dark on the chest, and has
the under surface dusky whitish.
A third example, likewise killed on the same day, has a conspicuous supercilium and above it a black line, a white
patch behind the ears, a very bold moustachial streak ; chest patched with black ; under surface whitish. Wing 3-0.
A yearling (Colombo, 23rd October). In moult to first winter plumage. Wing 3-3 inches. Above olive-brown, mixed
on the back with a few olive feathers ; the head browner than the back, with imperfect yellowish-white supercilia ;
rump olive-green ; upper tail-coverts dark browm, edged with olive-green ; wing-coverts broadly margined as in
the nestling ; chin and throat white, with the new yellow feathers appearing ; fore neck and under surface yellow ;
chest tinged with fulvous, the feathers partially brown ; the sides of the chest almost entirely brown.
This example proves that before migrating the long wdug is acquired, together with most of the yellow under surface,
and that after arrival the new face- and throat-feathers are donned.
Tsearly all immature specimens possess, during winter, in Ceylon the eye-stripe ; but it is of varying size, and rarely
only present on one side. Many examples, which are apparently young, from the brown marks on the chest,
have the head dusky cinereous, and separated from the more olive-colour of the back by a perceptible margin on the
hind neck ; they have the cheeks, just beneath the centre of the eye, striped with white. In March, the summer
plumage is commenced to be acquired by moult. A female shot on the 17th is donning a narrow whitish super-
cilium and cluslcy bluish head ; the tpiills are those of winter, and there is no sign of them being shed, and the old
wing-covert feathers are acquiring a yellowish tinge. The male above described (17th April), which is in full
moult as regards the head and under surface, retains the old quills. I am therefore under the impression that
these are not moulted until arrival at the breeding-haunts, and perhaps not until the bird is going to return in
the autumn.
Examples may be obtained as late as June with the summer livery not complete ; such a one in Mr. Seebohm’s museum,
dated Yenesay, 4th June, has the head slaty, patched with greenish ; the green of the back is lighter than my
Euttehgur example. Another from Troinso, Norway, which is perhaps a yearling in change to breeding-plumage,
has the head pure bluish grey, and is brownish olive, like immature birds, on the back.
Ohs This species takes the name of viridis, which is imrch senior to eineroeapilla. Specimens from Europe are
inseparable from Asiatic ones, although, as a rule, they seem to have darker heads and more sombre-green backs :
and I have seen one from Transvaal which I cannot separate from an Indian specimen.
Clo.sely allied to B. viridis, and almost entirely resembling it in winter plumage, are two other species of Yellow ITeld-
Warfail found in India, viz. B.jkwa and B. mekmoeephala. The first-named is scattered over the whole of Europe
and most of Africa and Asia. In summer plumage the male has a pale hluish-grey head, a broad white supercilium,
the upper surface pale yellowish green, with the wing-coverts very broadly edged with yeUowish ; under surface very
rich yellow. The female has a brownish head, with broad white supercilium. Wing 3-1 in both sexes ; the bill is
slenderer and sharper than in either of the other species.
B. melanocephala in summer plumage has the head, nape, and face coal-black, without a supercilium, as a rule— though
BUDYTES VIEIDIS.
619
very rarely, Mr. Brooks says, a thin white line is present. The female has a browner head, wdth no siiperciliuni.
It has the bill stouter than B.flava, but not so deep at the base as in B. virklis. "When the three species are laid
side by side, the difference in the bill is at once perceptible. The Black-headed Wagtail is found in Eastern
Europe, India, and China.
Bistribution. — ^To the student of Ceylon ornithology it must be interesting to know that this widely-spread
species^ inhabiting the better part of Eui’ope and Asia, and also the north of Africa, was first described from
Ceylon, where it is only a winter visitant, from a specimen sent home by that indefatigable collector. Governor
Loten, to Brown, who figured it in his ‘Illustrations.^ From Brownes drawing Gmclin took his description.
It arrives in Ceylon about the 20th of September in small numbers in the young stage ; a week or two
later a large influx, many of which are old birds, takes place, and by the 10th or 15th October the species is
abundantly diffused through all the low country, hut is Avithal more numerous in the maritime portions than
far inland. It is less partial to the extremely dry and arid region of the south-east than to other portions of
the sea-hoard ; on the grass-lands surrounding the northern tanks of the interior it is plentiful. It does not
ascend the hills, either in the centre or the south of the island, not having been recorded in any part above
1000 feet. In the Western and Southern Provinces it commences to pass northwards about the 20th March,
migrating chiefly in the mornings, and its numbers decrease gradually through the month of April until the
last birds disappear about the 5th of May. This latter date is the very latest in the district of Colombo that
I have noted ; and long ere this, as will presently be seen, it has begun to pass through some parts of Asia to
northern regions.
This Wagtail is also a cold-wcather visitant to India, and is spread, more or less, over the whole empire,
extending into Burmah and southwards to Tenasserim. Thence it ranges as far as some of the Malay islands,
as I observe that Lord Tweeddalc includes it in Mr. Buxton^s Lampoug collection (S.E. Sumatra) . It doubtless
inhabits, during the season, the intermediate tract of country, the Malay peninsula, down which it must pass
to reach Sumatra. In the, Andaman Islands it also takes up its quarters; but it is not so numerous as the
allied and perhaps more widely-distributed species, B. flava. Mr. Hume only records (in his List, Str. Feath.
1874) the procuring of two examples. It extends eastward to China, where it is, according to Swinhoe, found
in pairs in the spring ; to this region it probably finds its way from Mongolia or from Trans-Baikal, if it ranges
so far eastwards. AVhen Jerdon wrote his work on the Birds of India, he included the present and the other
two species of Field -Wagtail [B. flava and B. melanocephala) under the title of B. viriclis, and said that it was
exceedingly abundant in every part of India. Since that time, however, Messrs. Anderson, Brooks, Hume,
and others have paid much attention to this group (which is somewhat puzzling in winter plumage) and have
demonstrated the fact that all three species inhabit India, so that they have been heretofore confounded with one
another. It transpires accordingly that B. flava is quite as common, if not commoner, in some parts of the
empire than our bird. There is no reason why it should not occur in Ceylon, although it does not seem to
have generally such a southerly range as the present. As regards various observers in India, we find that
Dr. Fairbank records it from Ahmednaggar, and that Mr. Davidson says it is common in the Deccan. In the
district of Furreedpore it is numerous during the cold weather. Captain Beavan writes that it is very “ abundant
at Barrackpore in the beginning of the cold weather;” he likewise found it numerous at Umballah. Further
south, on the east side of the peninsula, Mr. Hume records it from Sambalpur. In Central India, I under-
stand, it is common in localities. Mr. Anderson sent it to me from Futt chgur, where he also procured its
two allies above mentioned. In the north-west I observe that neither Captain Butler nor Mr. Hume record
it from the Guzerat district ; but here it has, no doubt, been overlooked, as it must diverge to that part in
migrating into India. In Sindh, it is, however, common, as also at the Sambhur Lake. In Pegu it is
abundant, according to Mr. Oates, and it is likewise common in Tenasserim, and has occurred as high as
3000 feet in Karennee. In Turkestan it occurs in passage, according to Severtzoff, but does not breed there.
Dr. Finscli met with it in the valley of the Irtisch in Western Siberia; and Mr. Seebohm found it on the
Yenesay, where it breeds as far north as 69|° N. lat., thus ranging into the Arctic circle; it arrived, he says, in
the valley in great numbers on the 5th of June. It passes through Palestine in April on its way north, perhaps
from Egypt or Arabia. Canon Tristram thus writes of it: — “When at Jericho, April 14th, I observed a
large flock of Budytes cinereocapilla, evidently on their migration ; they remained but one evening, and 1
secured several specimens, all of this form ; on the next morning the flock took its departure for the north.”
4k2
620
BUDTTES VIEIDIS.
In Egypt it remains, according to Captain Shelley, throughout the year, and is there the most abundant
of the Yellow Wagtails. It is found in North-western Africa, likewise inhabiting, says Col. Irby, both sides
of the Straits of Gibraltar in great abundanee. It arrives on the north side about the 20th of April, and leaves
again in August and September. Mr. Saunders procured it iu Southern Spain, and it is also found in Malta
and Corfu. It inhabits Germany, and is commoxr in Scandinavia, Lapland, and Finland ; according to
Suudevall it has been found as far north as Hammerfest. There has been no evidence, as yet, of its having
occurred in England, although its near ally {B. flava) has many times been procured there. This latter species
has been recorded from Transvaal and Damara Land, but the present bird has likewise occurred in South
Africa, for I have seen a specimen in Mr. Seebohm’s collection, procured by Mr. Andersson, which cannot be
separated from unmistakable Ceylon examples of B. viridis.
I omitted to remark above that it visits Borneo, where it has been obtained in several localities, and in
Sarawak has been shot as early as the 10th October. Horsfield records it from Java, Wallace from Moluccas,
and Lord Tweeddale from Celebes ; Gray notes it from Timor.
Habits . — This species frequents open lands covered with short grass, pasture-grounds, newly-ploughed
paddy-fields, bare pasture, and so forth, resorting, whenever it can, to the vicinity of cattle, round which it
congregates in little troops of three or four to catch the flies which torment oxen to such a degree in hot
climates. Hundreds of these Wagtails are always to be seen in the season on the Galle face, Colombo, running
to and fro, and darting along the ground in quest of food little flocks of them associate in scattered company,
and some are seen trooping across the road, or running along the curb-stone of the promenade, while others
take up an elevated position on fragments of cattle -ordure, and plume their sober attire, making up, together
with our Titlarks and Dotterels (which latter are generally to be found there after a heavy night^s rain), quite
an animated picture of bird-life. They are restless birds, constantly on the wing ; but their flight is not so
darting nor so undulating in character as that of the more graceful Motacilla melanope. They roost in long
grass, resorting from far and wide to some chosen ground just before sunset, and starting back to their haunts
in large flocks on the following morning. It was for years a matter of conjecture with me as to where all the
Wagtails and Pipits which frequent the “ Galle face ” went at night ; some time before sunset they became
restless, and I used to observe that one by one they would take a longer flight than usual, and then mounting
in the air, would fly off in the direction of the Pettah. About six, or a little before, the next morning they
were to be seen returning in twos and threes, flying over the fort and making direct for the Galle face. It was
not until shortly before I left Ceylon that I saw, on several occasions, great numbers of these birds coming from
the south and settling down in the Mutturajawella swamp just before sunset ; and I therefore conclude that
these birds came from the environs of Colombo, as well as from other grass-lands in the neighbourhood.
This Wagtail, to a great extent, catches its prey, consisting of small flies, while they are flying, darting at
them very quiekly from its terrestrial perch j it also picks up small terrestrial insects.
This species and its allies, in their non-aquatic habits, as well as in the structure of the leg and foot, show
their affinity to the Pipits. In Ceylon I have never seen it near water; large flocks may be observed in the
interior collected in newly-ploughed paddy-fields, where they procure a good supply of food from the upturned
soil. In their breeding-haunts they would appear to resort to moist or marshy places. At Gibraltar Col. Irby
says it keeps to marshes, nesting in the vicinity of water in grass and herbage and sometimes among sedges.
Nidification . — Our Indian birds, which breed in Siberia, would appear to nest in June or July; for
Mr. Seebohm^s nestlings, which he procured at the Yenesay on the 8th of August, were scarcely full-grown.
In Southern Spain, according to Col. Irby, it lays at the end of April ; but I am unable to give particulars
concerning its nest and eggs.
Genus COETDALLA*.
Bill straight, stouter and higher at the base than in Motacilla ; tip slightly decurvecl.
Nostrils as in the last genus ; rictal bristles well developed. Wings long, pointed, the 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd quills subequal and longest ; tertials not exceeding the primaries. Tail shorter than the
wings, even or emarginate ; the outer feathers shorter than the others. Tarsus long, smoothly
scutellate in front ; toes moderately long, with the hind claw lengthened, in some species to a
considerable degree.
Plumage pale-margined above, and more or less spotted or striated on the chest.
COEYDALLA EICHAEDI.
(RICHAED^S PIPIT.)
Anthus richardi, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. xxvi. p. 491 (1818) ; Gould, B. of Europe, pi. 135 ; Blyth,
Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 135 (1849); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii.
p. 268 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 355 (1854) ; Newton in Yarrell’s
Brit. B. p. 598 (1874); Dresser, B. of Europe, pt. 26 (1874); Irby, B. of Gibraltaiv
p. 110 (1875) ; Seebohm, Ibis, 1878, p. 343.
Corydalla richardi (Vieill.), Vigors, Zool. Journ. i. p. 411 (1825) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat.
p. 121 (1852); Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 331 (1863); Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 366;
Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 458; Brooks, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 358 ; Hume, ibid. 1874,
p. 239 ; Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 398 ; Scully, Str. F. 1876, p. 152 ; Armstrong, t. c. p. 330 ;
Prjevalski, B. of Mongolia, Eowley’s Orn. Miscell. ii. p. 195(1877) ; Hume & Davison,
B. of Tenass., Str. Feath. 1878, p. 365 ; Ball, ibid. vol. vii.p. 220; Cripps, t. c. p. 288.
Corydalla chinensis (Bp.), Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 366.
Slender Lark, Latham ; Large Titlark, Europeans ; Marsh-Pipit of some writers. Sairam,
lit. “ Singing-bird,” Turkestan, Scully ; Pastro marello, Portuguese in Ceylon ; Pulla
puraki, lit. “ Worm picker,” Tamils; also Meta kdlie, lit. “Long Legs.”
Gomarita, Sinhalese.
/
Adult male and female. Length 7-5 to 7-9 inches; wing 3-6 to 4-0; tail 2-9 to 3-2; tarsus 1-2 to 1-3; middle toe
and claw 1-07 to 1-18 ; hind toe 0-6, its claw 0-65 to 0-82 ; bill to gape 0-75 to 0-85.
These dimensions are taken, as is the invariable rule in this work unless otherwise stated, from Ceylon birds.
There is, as m ill be seen, much variation in the length of the hind claw ; but it has always the same straujht
character, differing in that from G. striolata.
Iris pale brown or light hazel ; bill, upper mandible dark brown, lower fleshy with dusky tip, inside of mout ye ow ,
legs and feet fleshy, the toes browndsh and the soles yellow, claws brown.
* Structurally this genus is but little different from true Anthus. It was adopted by Vigors for the species firat to
be noticed and has been adopted generally for the allied hair-brown fnlvous-margined Pipits, C. iiehardt, . striolata,
O. ruMa ’and C. malayensis of the Indo-Malayan region. I retain the generic term here because these birds appear to
differ from true Anthus in not having a marked bneeding-plumage. Blyth says that they only moult once ; but this is
erroneous, for I have detected examples of both the commoner Ceylon species acquiring new feathers in spring, although
they do not shed the quills and rectrices at that season.
622
COEYDALLA EICHAEDI.
Winter (Ceylon). Above sepia-brown ; head and back more or less deeply margined with ochreous gi’ey or brownish
buff, the edgings on the back of the neck generally paler than elsewhere ; wings and tail deeper brown than the
back ; the tertials, major wing-coverts, and centre tail-feathers boldly margined with brownish buff ; outer
primary with a white edge ; lateral tail-feathers white, except at the base of inner web ; the next pair with more
brown on the inner web, and the next with a white outer edge ; above the eye a broad streak of buff ; lores and
face mingled ochreous and brown, with a dark streak on the lower part of the cheek ; beneath buff-white, the
chin paler than the fore neck ; a dark stripe on each side of the throat ; chest and flanks washed with fulvous,
the former with dark centres to the feathers ; under wing buff, the longer feathers rufescent at the tips.
Ol>s. This species is said to have a summer plumage which is darker and more distinctly edged than that of the winter
bird. I have not been able to detect much difference myself. An example shot in May at Glalle, just on the
point of leaving for northern parts, is no darker than winter specimens, although the edgings of the upper-
surface feathers are more ochraceous ; new feathers are being acquired on the chest, which are more fulvous than
the old ones. One autumn Heligoland example is someivlicU darker than my winter series from Cejdon ; but this
may be a local peculiarity.
Young (nestling : Yenesay, mus. Seebohm). Centres of head-feathers very dark brown, the margins rufescent ; back-
feathers narrowly edged with whitish ; wing-coverts very broadly margined with whitish and rufous ; outer tail-
feathers, with the base of the inner web blackish, sloping to a point at an inch from the tip, the adjacent pair
blackish, the tip of the inner web white, running up the web ; ear-coierts fulvous ; a hroad, darlc, complete stripe
down each side of the throat; the chest and fore neck wdth broad, blackish, central, drop-shaped markings.
Tmmatvre birds in Ceylon have the legs duskier than the adults ; lores not so dark ; the edgings of the upper surface
paler, the centre of the back not presenting that uniform appearance which old birds have ; the throat less
fidvescent, the stripes on each side conspicuous, aud the striae of the chest more pronounced.
Ohs. Examples of this Pipit vary somewhat according to locality. Some specimens from China are particularly dark;
and the hind claws and bills of these Eastern birds seem to bo shorter than those from Europe and India. In five
specimens the claw varies from 0’4 to 0'7 inch ; the wings from 3'7 to 3-8 ; tail from 3'3 to 3'4 ; bill from gape
to tip 0-75 to 0-8. Two adults from Heligoland, with shorter wings (3-5 to 3'6 inches), measure each in the bill
0-8, and in the hind claw 0-62 and 0-7 respectively. The chests in the China birds have the same fulvous wash on
the chest and the same softened brown stripes that our winter birds in Ceylon have. A specimen from Siam
corresponds exactly with these Chinese birds.
Dr. Armstrong gives the dimensions of examples shot in the Irrawaddy delta as — wings 3-4S to 3-7 inches, bill
from gape 0'8 to 0-85 ; Mr. Cripps of Eurreedpore specimens — length 7’75 to 8'16 inches, wings 3-5 to 3-75, bill
from gape 0-76 to 0'8f3, hind claw 0-7 to 0-83. A Yarkand bird shot by Dr. Scidly measures — length 8-0 inches,
wing 3-95, tail 3-3, bill from gape 0'85. The majority of these Indian birds appear to exceed slightly those I
have examined from Europe; but I have not seen a large series of the latter. Mr. Bi-ooks, in his table of
measurements of this and 0. striolata (Sir. Eeath. i. p. 3G0), gives the hind claw at 0'65 to 0'7.
Distribution. — This large Pipit is migratory to Ceylon, arriving at the beginning of October and departing
as late as the middle of May, about which time I have procured examples in the Galle district. It is widely
diffused through the low country, affecting chiefly the maritime regions. It is particularly numerous on
the pastui’es lying on both banks of the Virgel, and likewise on the open lands and grass-cheenas to the
south of Batticaloa. In the west it is abundant at Puttalam, Negomho, Colombo, and other places on the coast.
In the south it is frequently met with about Galle and Matara, hut becomes scarcer tow’ards the east. It is
probable that the large species of Pipit I ohserv^ed in the Hambantota district belonged to this species and not to
C. striolata. In the Central Province it inhabits some of the lower highlands and patnas ; but I do not know
that it ranges to any altitude. It is common all through the Jaffna peninsula and in the islands adjacent.
We may safely assume that this Pipit is only a cold-weather visitant to the whole of India, as Mr. Hume
states ; though it breeds at Ladak it does not do so at Simla, nor, I conclude, at any station on the southern
slopes of the range. Jerdon sketches out its distribution in India as follows: — “It is found from Nepal
aud the Himalayas to the extreme south ; more rare in Southern India, especially in the Carnatic, but
tolerably common, indeed abundant, in Lower Bengal. It is also found in Burmah and other countries to
the eastward.^’ As regards the various localities here referred to, we find that of late years Mr. Ball records
COETDALLA EICHAEDI.
623
it from Bardwan, Nowargarli, and Karial, and that Mr. Cripps says that it is common in Furreedpore. At
Assensole, on the borders of the province of Chota Nagpur^ it is, according to Mr. Brooks, not so common as
its two congeners next referred to here. We do not find it recorded from the hill-districts in Southern India;
but this is only natural, as it is essentially a bird of the low country. In the dry north-west of India it does
not seem to locate itself at all, as it is not found in Sindh or Eajpootana ; in fact, as regards this part of
Asia, it has more of an easterly than a westerly distribution. On the opposite side of the Bay it evidently
locates itself near the eoast, as Mr. Oates did not find it up country in Pegu, whereas Dr. Armstrong says that
it is extremely abundant in the paddy-fields near Elephant Point in the Irrawaddy delta ; it likewise oceurs in
the maritime province of Tenasserim, in all cultivated and open lands throughout it. In the Andamans it was
procured at Pt. Blair in April, but was not met with so far south as the Nicobars. It has been met with in
Siam, and is found throughout China in the winter, also in Hainan, and rarely in Formosa.
Turning northwards now, in order to trace out its summer quarters, I observe that Dr. Scully states
that it is a seasonal visitant to the plains of Eastern Turkestan, where it breeds ; he observed it there in June
and July, but not in winter. Further east, in the little-known regions which he explored, Col. Prjevalski
states that it breeds in limited numbers at Kan-su in Mongolia, and that it is tolerably abundant at Lake
Hanka from the end of April until the beginning of September. It breeds on the steppes, avoiding the tall
thick grass of the marshes. Mr. Seebohm found it breeding in great numbers on the Yenesay, and
Dr. Dybowski met with it in Dauria. Severtzoff did not meet with it in Western Turkestan, nor does it
appear to inhabit Palestine, although it is said to visit Smyrna by Dr. Kriiper. As regards North-eastern
Africa, Shelley says nothing of it in Egypt, nor does Mr. T. Drake mention it as having been seen by him
in Morocco. On the European side of the straits, however, we have Col. Irby’s evidence as to its occurrence
at Gibraltar in passing in April, from which we infer that it must also be found on the African side
too. Its distribution in Europe is somewhat noteworthy, for it seems to confine itself to the countries just on
the north of the Mediterranean, on the east of which it inhabits South-eastern Eussia and on the west France,
straying into England and up to Heligoland, and thence into Sweden and Norway (where it has very rarely
occurred) ; whereas in the intervening region of Central Europe it is almost unknown, it having only once
been met with there, and that near Vienna. Mr. Saunders obtained it at Malaga; and one of the first few'
examples ever procured eame from the Pyrenees. In France and Lombardy it is well known ; in fact it was
described by A^ieillot from specimens procured in Lorraine in 1815 by M. Richard; while in Lombardy it is said
by Signor Bettoui to be a characteristic species. To England it is of course a visitor, arriving in autumn and
departing in spring; and since the first specimen made known to science was obtained near London in 1812,
about sixty have been recorded. It has chiefly, according to Professor Newton in his edition of Yarrell,
occurred in the southern counties from Kent round to Cornwall, even having occasionally found its way to
the Seilly Islands. Mr. John Hancock records three examples in his interesting catalogue as having occurred
in Northumberland, and it has also been procured in Shropshire and Staffordshire.
Habits (Ceylon) . — This Pipit is usually found consorting in scattered company with the common Titlark,
C. nfula. It frequents pastures, particularly those covered with short grass or on which cattle are much
fed, bare ground in the Jaffna peninsula, cheenas in the forest, and marsh-land. To the latter sort of locality,
however, in Ceylon it is certainly not so partial as to the barest ground, although it has been named
the Marsh-Pipit.” I have generally found it in long grass on wet marshes, either just after its arrival or
before leaving the island for northern climes. It is a handsome bird in its carriage, holding itself erect,
running swiftly, and frequently mounting on to some little eminence, where it stands pluming itself, and in
this attitude is very apt to deceive the eye as to its size. It has a soft-sounding yet louder note than C. rufula,
and constantly utters it, both on the ground and when flying with its rapid uudulatmg flight from one spot
to another. It is as fond of dusting itself on roads as the next species, and on the Galle face, Colombo,
where it is common, becomes discoloured with the red Kabook soil. It feeds on worms and grasshoppers, and
often seizes a passing butterfly or insect on the wing.
Mr. Brooks, who has devoted much attention to this species and C. striolata, has some interesting notes
on his observations of it at Assensole in Bengal. He remarks that there it is particularly shy and difficult
to shoot, and that its note is a soft double chirp, reminding one strongly of the note of a Bunting. The
624
COKYDALLA EICHAEDI,
places it “ frequented were low grounds oceurring below jheels or talaos the water eoiistantly percolating
through the reservoir-hank kept the low grounds adjaeent rather damp, and in many plaees quite wet. Over
a greater part of this low ground, the rice-crop having been gathered, there now grew a small vetch with blue
flower, and in these vetch-fields the large Pipit of which I am speaking delighted. Before retiring among
the vetches to feed they sat for some time, as a rule, upon the little bunds which divide the fields ; and when
they did this I found the best plan was to wait till the lookout was over and the birds had retired among the
crops to feed. It was then possible to creep up within shot.” In Ceylon the Marsh-Pipit exhibits none of
tliis shyness when inhabiting public resorts, but is, on the contrary, very tame. In wet weather in the Eastern
Province I have, however, found it somewhat wary in marshes. Mr. Seebohm observed that it hovered like
a Kestrel at its great breeding-grounds on the Yeuesay. In Furreedpore it is said to frequent fields of peas,
linseed, &c. ; and, according to Jerdon, it is always found “in swampy or wet ground, grassy beds of rivers,
edges of tanks, and especially wet rice-fields, cither singly or in small parties.”
Nidificaiion . — There is not much known about the nesting-habits of this fine Pipit. It is probable that
our birds all breed in Thibet and Turkestan. Col. Prjevalski,the celebrated Russian traveller and ornithologist,
found it breeding in Kan-su, where it arrives in Alay ; and Dr. Scully considers that it hatches its young
about the beginning of July in Eastern Turkestan. In Northern Asia Mr. Seebohm shot the young in
August on the Yenesay, so that its breeding-season throughout Central Asia must be June and July. Con-
cerning its breeding in Dauria, Mr. Dresser writes as follows ; — “ Dr. Dybowski writes ( J. f. 0. 1868, p. 334)
that it is common in Dauria, and remains there to breed; but lie gives no information as to its habits or
nidification, excepting that he found its nest, and that it deposits five or six eggs ... It is curious that, although
this bird has been so frequently met with in various parts of Europe, and must breed there (for I have before
me European-killed specimens in young plumage), there does not appear to be any reliable instance on record
of its nest having ever been taken in Europe ; and, in fact, next to nothing is known respecting its nidi-
fication. I have a clutch of five eggs collected by Dr. Dybowski in Dauria ; but they were sent to me
without the nest, which I am therefore unable to describe.^’ These eggs are described as being greyish
white, closely spotted with gi-eyish olive, and as measuring 0-9 to 0'78 by from 0-67 to 0-62 inch.
CORYDALLA EUFULA.
(THE COMMON PIPIT.)
Anthus riifulm, Vieill. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. xxvi. p. 494 (1818) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S.
B. p. 135 (1849) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 268 ; Horsf. & Moore,
Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 356 (1854).
Corydalla rufuJa, Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 121 (1852); Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 232
(1863); Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 458; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 384 (1874); Ball,
Str. Feath. 1874, p. 416; Hume, ibid. 1875, p. 142; Brooks, t. c. p. 252; Butler &
Hume, t. c. p. 490; Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 260; Armstrong, t. c. p. 330;
Bourdillon & Hume, t. c. p. 401; Hume, t. c. p, 458; Fairbank, ibid, 1877, p. 407 ;
Hume & Davison, B. of Tenass., ibid. 1878, p, 366 ; Ball, ibid. vii. p. 220 ; Cripps,
t. c. p. 288.
The Indian Titlark, Jerdon. Bugel, Hind.; Chachari, Hind, at Monghyr; Gurapa-^nadi
pitta, Telugu ; Pastro marello, Portuguese ; Meta kdlie, lit. “ Long Legs,” Tamils.
Adult male and female. Length 6‘2 to 6-75 inches; wing 3'0 to 3‘3 ; tail 2-5 ; tarsus IT ; middle toe and claw 0'8 ;
hind toe 0‘4, claw 0-45 to 0-52 ; bill to gape 0'75 to 0-8. This species varies much in size. The claw is straight?
like that of 0. richardi.
Iris dark brown, olive-brown, or earth-brown ; bill, upper mandible dark brown, gape fleshy, lower mandible fleshy,
■ndth dark tip ; legs and feet fleshy grey, joints darkish, claws brown.
In general character this bird is very similar to Eichard’s Pipit, of which it is a miniature, differing structurally also in
^ its shorter hind claws. The margins of the upper plumage are perhaps, as a rule, more clearly defined than in
the larger bird, and the broad edgings of the wing-coverts and tertials more lawny in hue ; but, at the same time,
the character of these markings is subject to variation ; the penultimate has the brown portion of the inner web,
as a rule, more extensive than in the large bird ; the buff supercilium, ear-coverts, and cheeks are similar, but the
streak at the side of the throat is, in low-country birds, less clearly defined ; chest and flanks washed with ful-
vescent, the former streaked, and the under tail-coverts tinged, with buff, as in G. richardi.
Some individuals from the patnas in the upper hills are very tawny in general hue, and have the tail darker than ui
low-country birds ; the stripe mimin g down from the bill on each side of the throat is also bolder, and the bill
very large in some,— in a Horton-Plains specimen it is 0-8 inch, quite as large as any Eichard’s Pipit; the wing
measures only 3-3, and the hind claw 0-5 ; the anterior claws are very long, the middle one 0-26. In fact, had I
large series exhibiting throughout the same character, it would, I think, be justifiable to separate the hiU-race as
distinct. An example from Lindula patnas measures — ndng 3'2, hind claw 0’52.
The edgings of the feathers above are very ochraceous, as is also the entire colour of the under surface.
Young. Immature birds of the year scarcely differ from adults ; the feathers are perhaps rounder on the head, as in
the Larks, and the centre tail-feathers rather conspicuously edged with buff.
This species moults completely in September and October, but only the clothing-feathers before breeding. It has a
strong propensity towards albinism : examples may occasionally be seen with two or three w'hite feathers in the
tail ; and I possess one in which the terminal portions of all the clothing-feathers above, most of the central tail-
feathers and tertials, and the entire occiput are pure white.
Obs. The same variation in size appears to exist in continental members of this species ; and this fact exposes a
propensity in its nature which makes it unsafe to try any expedient of dividing it into races. Many such uncer-
tain birds exist, and they are, perhaps, better left alone, to enjoy an undisturbed and intimate relationship with
one another. Mr. Hume, in dealing with Mr. Bourdillon’s specimens from the Travaneore hiUs, says that local
races differ as much as those of Alauda gxdgula, the Indian Sky-Lark. In the southern examples, be remarks, the
bills are longer and slenderer, the hind claw shorter, and the markings of the upper surface better defined and more
pronounced. As regards size from various localities. Dr. Armstrong records the wing of an Irrawaddy specimen
4l
626
COETDALLA EEFFLA.
as 3'27, and Mr. Cripps that of a Furreedpore example 3'08 inches, both being males. Jerdon, generalizing from
India, fixes the wing dimension at 3‘0 to 3'25.
C. malayemis, the Malay Pipit, is the representative of this species in that peninsula. It is closely allied, diSering,
according to Mr. Hume, in the darker upper surface, more strongly marked spotting of the breast, stouter bill
and feet ; I have not seen any examples ; but it must be remarkably close to our hill-bird, and can at best be only
looked upon as a suhsjjecins. Male, wing 3'5 ; female, wing 3'1 to 3’15.
Distribution . — The Common Pipit, or Indian Titlark, is one of our most familiar birds, being distributed
over the whole island, and almost as abundant on the lofty lying patnas and “ plains ” of the Nuwara Eliya
plateau and other elevated regions of the bill-zone as on the plains of the north. It is, however, searcer at the
Horton Plains than at the Sanatarinm, Elephant Plains, or the Agra patnas, that upland region being probably
too cold for it. It moves about in districts exposed to the force of the monsoons, seeking shelter at that time
in more secluded localities than its favourite open lands on the sea-coast. There is a marked increase in its
numbers on open places near the sea-coast during the N.E. monsoon, owing to its retiring in the breeding-
season to grassy places in the interior. This may be plainly observed by noticing it throughout the year at
the Galle face.
It is abundant in most parts of India, except, perhaps, in the north and north-west portion of the empire.
Jerdon remarks that it is numerous from “^'the Himalayas and Nepal to the extreme south, more rare in
Southern India, especially in the Carnatic, but tolerably common and abundant in Lower Bengal.’^
As regards the south, however, it is found in Ramisserum Island, in the hills of Travancore, and in the
Palaiii ranges. Further north, in the Deccan, it is common, and also on the hills, according to the same
authority. The same is true in the open parts of Chota Nagpur; and Mr. Ball likewise records it from various
places between the Godaveri and the Ganges, from Calcutta and the Satpura hills; in Central India it is
found, and, in fact, it breeds, says Mr. Hume, all over the plains. In the north-west its distribution is
local. Mr. Adams records it as common at the Sambhur Lake; and Captain Butler says it is likewise so in the
plains round Mount Aboo in the cold weather, though it does not ascend the hills ; it, how'ever, sparingly
remains in that district throughout the year, as subsequently he found it breeding at Deesa. Mr. Hume says
it is common at Ajmere, but not found at Jhodpoor, or in Sindh, Cutch, and Kattiawar. In the Himalayas
Mr. Brooks procured it in the narrow part of the Bhagirati river above Mussoori ; and Mr. Hume says that it
builds up to 6000 feet elevation. It is abundant in parts of the Irrawaddy delta according to Dr. Armstrong,
but is rare in Pegu, where Sir Arthur Phayre procured it in the Tongoo district. In Tenasserim it is “ a
permanent resident in the more open and cultivated tracts throughout the province,^’ not ascending the higher
hills. Mr. Davison remarks that “ there is not a bit of open land anywhere about Moulmein, Tavoy, or
Mergui where numbers may not be seen.” It has not been found in the Andamans, if the Marquis of
IVeeddale-’s identification of C. striolata in Lieut. Wardlaw Ramsay’s collection was correct, which I have no
doubt was the case. It is replaced to the south of Tenasserim by the Malaccan form, C. malayensis.
Habits . — This tame bird frequents fields, esplanades in towns, pastures and open ground of all sorts,
ploughed paddy-land, and bare patnas in the hill-districts. It is fearless in its disposition, taking no notice of
man, but merely moving out of his way or running leisurely before him. It rises with a two-syllable note,
and is capable of taking long-sustained flights, which are noticeable in its evening passage from the Galle face
over Mutwal to the Mutturajawella swamp, where it roosts in great numbers in sociable company. It
associates in flocks at some seasons of the year, notably before pairing in June, and is then very restless in its
habits. Both this and the last species, adapted by nature to open and bare localities, arc capable of sustaining
the powerful midday rays of a tropical sun without any apparent inconvenience ; and when all other insessorial
birds are seeking the cool shade of green foliage, or panting with heat, these salamander-like little birds may
he noticed running on the burning soil, or quietly feathering themselves on some half-baked clod ! It feeds
on worms and various terrestrial insects, and hkewise partakes of small grass-seeds. It is in a constant state of
moult in the autumn.
Mr. Davison remarks concerning this species ; — “ It is a very familiar and tame bird, running about the
gardens and along the paths and roads, and even coming to within a foot or two of one’s door. Though
COEYDALLA EUFULA.
627
numbers are seen within a very small circumferenee, yet they all seem to act quite independently of one
another ; their flight is undulating, and they utter as they rise and during flight a short sharp note. I have seen
them often rise into the air, however, for a few moments, sing a sort of song, and then descend.” They do
not all sing thus as a constancy when breeding, like the Bush-Larks ; but I have on one or two occasions
seen them rise and make a poor attempt at a Pipit-like warble. Jerdon likens it to a '^mere repetition of one
note, during its descent from a short flight of a few feet from the ground.”
Nidification . — This species breeds in the west and south of Ceylon during May, June, and July, placing
its nest in a depi’ession in the ground, under the shelter of a tussock or small tuft of herbage. It is generally
well concealed or artfully situated, so as to escape observation, for it is seldom found. In shape it is a shallow
cup, the bottom being thick and tolerably compact, while the edges are flned off to correspond with the grass
at the surface or edge of the hollow in which it is placed ; it is made of roots, dry grass, stalks of plants, &c.,
and lined with fine grass, hair, or very small roots, the egg-cavity being about 2^ inches in diameter. The
eggs are usually two or three in number, of a whitish or greenish- white ground-colour, speckled and spotted
all over, but chiefly at the large end (where the markings unite to form an irregular zone), with greenish
brown, light brown, or purplish bi’own, over which, in some, are more sparingly distributed blots of dark or
inky brown. Some eggs are openly marked all over with dark brown without the lighter wider spottings. In
size they vary from 0‘76 to 0'89 inch in length by from 0'56 to 0'64 inch in breadth. The female sits closely
to preserve her eggs from the attacks of vermin and lizards ; and incubation lasts from 12 to 14 days.
In India the breeding-season lasts from March until July, April being the favourite month. The nests
are made of grass and roots, and lined scantily with finer roots. Some nests are almost entirely composed of
roots, and they are usually placed under the shelter of a tuft of grass.
The eggs are said to be three in number, and are described as “ typically of a brownish or greenish stone-
colour, thickly streaked, clouded, and streakily spotted with dull brownish and purplish red, and sometimes
with brown of different shades, or brown intermingled with pale purplish grey j ” the markings have a tendency
to become confluent at the large end. In size the eggs vary from 0-75 to 0'86 inch in length, by 0-57 to 0-63
inch in breadth {Hume) .
4 L 2
COEYDALLA STEIOLATA.
(THE LARGE MEADOW-PIPIT.)
Cichlops thermopMlus, Hodgs., Gray’s Zool. Miscell. 1844, p. 83 (without description).
Antlius striolatiis, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1847, xvi. p. 435; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 136
(1849) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 268.
Corydalla striolata (BL), Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 121 (1852) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii.
p. 233 (1863) ; Holdsw. P, Z. S. 1872, p. 458 ; Brooks, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 359 ; Ball,
ibid. 1874, p. 417 ; Fairbank, ibid. 1876, p. 260 ; Hume & Davison, B. of Tenass., Str.
Feath. 1878, p. 366 ; Ball, ibid. vii. p. 220.
Antlius tliermophilus (Hodgs.), Horsf. «fe Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 356 (1854).
The Mountain-Pipit, Kelaart.
Adult vmle and female. Length PI inches ; wing 3-6 ; tail 2-8 ; tarsus 1-05 ; middle toe and claw 0-8 ; hind toe
0-43, claiu 0-5 ; bill to gape 0-75 to 0-8. The tarsus and toes are short, and the hind claw much curved in this
species. The bill is also small for the bird.
Iris brown ; bill, upper mandible dark brown, lower fleshy yellow, tip dusky ; legs and feet fleshy yellow, claws dusky.
Ceylon (October). Above sepia-brown, the feathers more narrowly margined with a paler hue than G, richardi, giving
the edgings a more conspicuous appearance than in that species ; the penultimate rectrice has more white, and its
shaft is also white near the tip ; median and greater wing-coverts broadly edged with whitish, forming two bars
across the wing ; tertials and secondaries edged with tawny ; primaries pale-edged, the outer edge of the 1st
white ; from the nostril to the ear-coverts, the upper feathers of which are brown, a buff streak ; beneath
fulvescent whitish ; throat and abdomen the palest ; a series of spots forming a line down the sides of the throat
and spreading over the chest, which is lightly washed with greyish buff ; the flanks are paler than in the other
two species.
Ohs. The above is a description of the only Ceylonese example in my collection, about the identification of which I have
no doubt. I am therefore unable positively to say whether it is a fully adult bird. It, however, corresponds well
with specimens collected by Mr. Brooks at Dinapore, and with a skin in the late Mr. A. Anderson’s collection ;
and therefore if due regard be paid to the peculiarities in the plumage of this specimen, taken in conjunction with
the w'ell-marked character exemplified in the short and curved hind claw, the species ought to be correctly identified
by my readers in Ceylon. The hind claw varies in length in the last species, but it is always remarkably straight,
or, more correctly speaking, very gently curved ; whereas in the present species it is fairly curved, slightly more so
than in the Common Pipit next to be considered. Mr. Brooks’s specimens are all characterized by the same
slender small beak ; the chests are marked with clearly-defined, small, rather pointed stripes, which have a
different appearance altogether from the softened down striffi in the last ; the centres of the back-feathers are
darker brown. Four examples from Dinapore measure respectively as follows : — wings 3‘o, 3-6, 3'G, 3'6 inches ;
tails 3-5, 3-5, 3-5, 3-7 ; hind claws 0-5, 0-66, 0-4, 0-52. Mr. Anderson’s specimen measures — wing 3-6 inches,
hind claw O’o. The claw, therefore, varies but little. In my specimen the terminal portion of the shaft of the
penultimate feather is white, whereas in G. richardi it is black to the tip. In one of Mr. Brooks’s skins it is the
same, but in all four the amount of white on the webs of this feather is somewhat less than in mine. Mr. Ball
states that in the Satpura hills specimens have very faint or no spotting on the breast.
Distribution. — This species, which, like Richard’s Pipit, is migratory to Ceylon, arrives in October, and,
according to some writers, is widely distributed. I have no doubt that it is so ; but it cannot be so numerous
as Richard’s Pipit, which is probably taken for it by those who are not well acquainted with its distinguishing
characters. Kelaart speaks of it as being common at Nuwara Elliya ; but here he is evidently speaking of the
Common Titlark, which, on the hills, is a more robust bird than in the low country. Mr. Holdsworth says it is
not uncommon at Colombo in the north-east monsoon. I was unfortunate in not procuring it at the Galle face ;
many large Pipits which were shot by me on the Galle face during successive seasons all proved to be the
COETDALLA STEIOLATA.
629
larger long-clawed species. My specimen was obtained in the flooded pasture-lands near the Yirgel. I was
struck by the peculiar appearance o£ the head and bill of certain Pipits I met with during a forced march to
Trincomalie, and shot one (the only individual I had time to get), which proved to be the desired species.
I have no doubt it is commoner on the extensive pastures and grassy plains in the great delta of the Maha-
welliganga than anywhere else in Ceylon.
Concerning its distribution in Iridia, Jerdon says, “ Hodgson sent it from Nepal; Blyth first procured it
from Darjiling, where I found it tolerably common about the station and in stubble-fields. I also procured it
in the Nellore district, in the south of India, generally near low bushy hills, not approaching houses like the
last {C. rufula ) ; it is not rare at Saugor, in Central India, in similar localities It does not breed,
that I am aware of, in India, even at Darjiling, coming in towards the end of September.” It is possible that
the species noted from Kangra, North-west Himalayas, as C. rufula by Herr von Pelzeln may have been the
present. It is recorded from the Deccan by the Rev. Dr. Pairbank, and Mr. Ball notes it from the Rajmehal
hills, Bardwan, Singhbhum, Nowargah, and Karial. He likewise obtained it in the Satpura hills and in all
the districts of Chota Nagpur. Mr. Brooks met with it at Assensole, and says that it is more abundant in
that part of Bengal than the “ Marsh-Pipit.” I do not find any record of its occurrence on the eastern side
of the bay north of Tenasserim, to the southernmost district of which province Mr. Hume says it is a rare
visitant : it was there procured at Mergui and Bankasoon. The Marquis of Tweeddale identified this species in
Capt. Wardlaw Ramsay’s collection from the South Andamans ; but Mr. Davison does not appear to have
met with it there. Where it retires to during the breeding-season is still a mystery ; but its haunts must be
beyond the snowy ranges, if it does not nest anywhere in India.
Habits . — This fine Titlark frequents pasture-lands and plains covered with short herbage, moist fields, and,
according to Indian writers, stubble-land. Mr. Davison found it in turfy and rice-land, and Mr. Brooks met
with it in vetches and paddy-fields in Bengal. It appeared to me to be solitary in its habits, and it ran
quickly about, stopping suddenly and holding itself veiy erect. Jerdon remarks that it has a stronger flight
than the Common Titlark, and takes shelter under trees and shrubs. Mr. Brooks says that it rises with a
loud discordant note, very different from that of any other Titlark ; and by this it may be readily distinguished
from Richard’s Pipit, which it so much resembles at a distance. It feeds on worms and insects, which it takes
from the ground or from the cattle-ordure on the pastures which it frequents.
PASSEEES.
Series C. Stuenoid Passeees.
Wing with primaries, the first of which is rudimentary. (Wallace, Ibis, 1874, p. 412.)
Earn. ALAUDID^.
Bill variable, more or less conical and slender in some, stout and slightly curved in others ;
tip entire. Wings pointed, with the 1st quill normally present, but absent in one or two recog-
nized genera of the family*; the tertials elongated. Legs more or less slender. The tarsus
scutate both before and behind', claws straight; the hind claw generally elongated. Head in
most crested.
Genus ALAUDA.
Bill rather conical, but slender, the culmen slightly curved. Nostrils concealed hy a tuft
of hair-like feathers. Wings moderate, pointed ; the 1st quill minute, less than the primary-
coverts ; the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quills suhequal, the 3rd usually the longest. Tail moderately
long, emarginate at the tip, the centre feathers shorter than the lateral ones. Tarsus moderate,
equal to the middle toe and its claw, covered in front and behind with broad transverse scales,
those behind being smoother than those in front ; inner anterior claw longer than the outer ;
hind claw very long and straight.
ALAUDA GULGULA.
(THE INDIAN SKY-LAEK.)
Alauda gulyula, Franklin, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 119 ; Jerdon, Cat. B. South India, Madr. Journ.
1840, xi. p. 30 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 132 (1849); Kelaart, Prodroraus, Cat.
p. 126 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 259; Jerdon, B. of Ind.
ii. p. 434 (1863); Brooks, Ibis, 1869, p. 60; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 465; Hume,
Str. Feath. 1873, p. 487, note; id. Lahore to Yarkand, p. 269, pi. 29 (1873); id. Nests
* The variation in the wing in this family is very remarkable, and precludes the satisfactory classification of the
Larks as a group according to a given wing-formula. They appear to me, notwithstanding, to be better located in this
series next the Pipits (the last family of the preceding group), than actually with them, because the 1st quill is normally
present as an abortive or rudimentary feather, and the wing is consequently of Sturnoid formation. In the character of
their plumage, as a rule, and in the structure of the foot, the Larks are allied to the Pipits through the genus Corydalla ;
and some genera, such as Otocoris (the horned Larks), might perhaps be placed in the latter family. The peculiar structure
of the tarsus, in haGng scales behind as w'ell as before, is, however, common to Otocoris, as well as to other genera ; but
the scales are scarcely perceptible with the naked eye. Were it not for its conical bill and short tertials, Otocoris would
have quite the aspect of a Pipit, and may, I think, be considered as a connecting link between the Motacillidae and the
Alaudida).
ALATJDA &ULGULA.
631
and Eggs, ii. p. 486 (1874) ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 25, etl875, p. 399 ; Oates, Str. Feath.
1876, p. 342 ; Hume & Butler, ibid. 1876, p. 2 ; Armstrong, t. c. p. 337; Davison &
Hume, B. of Tenass., Str. Feath. 1878, p. 409 ; Davidson & Wender, ibid. vii. p. 86 ;
Ball, t.c, p. 223.
Alauda leiopus v. orientalis, Hodgs. Gray’s Zool. Miscell. 1844, p. 84. ,
Alauda malaharica (Scop.), Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. 1. Co. ii. p. 467 (1856, in pt.);
Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 41.
Alauda australis. Brooks, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 486.
The Common Indian Lark, Horsf. & Moore. Buruta pitta, Telugu, also Mala pichike, lit.
“Ground-Sparrow;” Manam hadi, lit. “Sky-bird,” Tamil; Bhurut, Hind. (Jerdon) ;
Pullu, lit. “ Wormpicker,” Ceylonese Tamils.
Gomarita, Sinhalese.
Adult male. Length G-2 to 6-3 inches ; wing 3-35 to 3-7 ; tail 2-0 to 2-15 ; tarsus 0-95 to 1-0 ; middle toe and claw
0-85 to 0-95 ; hind toe 0-45, claw 0-55 to 0'7 ; bill to gape 0-68 to 0-72.
Individuals vary much into- se both as to wing and robustness of bill even when shot in the same locality.
Adult female. Length 6’0 inches ; wing 3-1 to 3*5.
Iris hazel-brown or chocolate-brown ; bill, upper mandible brown, paling towards the margin, lower mandible fleshy,
tip dusky ; legs and feet brownish fleshy, togs dusky towards the tip, claws brown.
Above rich sepiarbrown, the feathers broadly edged on the hmd neck, back, scapulars, and rump with fiilvescent
yellowish, passing with a rusty hue into the brown next the shaft, and more narrowly margined with the same
on the head ; the margins of the feathers on the back generally pale to whitish at the tips, and on the hind neck
they are broader than elsewhere ; wing-coverts broadly edged with rufescent grey, and the secondaries and inner
primaries deeply with brownish rufous, the margins of the outer primaries being narrower, and the outer web of
the 1st long quill wholly pale ; tail with the lateral rectrice whitish buS, except at the base of the inner web, and
the next with the outer web and tip the same ; lores dusky, surmounted by a whitish supercilium ; beneath the
eye and on the ear-coverts the feathers are edged and tipped with brown, and the lower part of cheeks more or
less spotted with the same ; chin, throat, and under surface fiilvescent white, the lower part of fore neck and
chest sepia-brown, centres and the basal portion of the upper breast-feathers rufescent ; lower flanks striated with
brown.
Examples vary in the depth of rufous coloration. Jaffna specimens are palest.
Young. Birds of the year have the feathers of the upper surface rounded at the tips, especially on the head, where
the tips are whitish ; the back-feathers are likewise tipped with white, and have one web mostly rufous, the other
being margined with the same ; greater wing-coverts boldly margined with rufous-buff ; tertials tipped and edged
with fulvescent rufous ; the rufous margins of the quills very bright ; supercilium and under surface more
rufescent than in the adult.
Immature birds are at once recognizable by the white-tipped rounded upper-surface feathers, and by their more rufous
coloration.
Ohs. The Ceylonese Sky-Lark belongs to the rufous type of Alauda gulgula, the typical form of which was described
from the North-west Provinces by Franklin. Typical examples of this bird from the northern parts of India are
much paler than those from the south of the peninsula and from Ceylon ; but the species has been found (by
accumulating a large series from all parts of India) to divide itself into so many local races, running, as Mr. Hume
says, into one another in such a manner, that it is not possible to consider them worthy of specific ranli.
The Nilghiri race (A. australis, Brooks) appears, from this gentleman’s description, to be a larger and more rufous
bird than ours, lie gives the wing-measurement as 3-84, and the upper surface would appear to correspond in
tint w’ith that of a yearling A. gulgula from Ceylon. A North-Indian examjfie in the British Museum from Behar
is quite as rufous as any Ceylon skin in my collection ; it measures — wing 3'6 inches, tarsus 0'8, bill to gape
0-68. Another from Mogul Serai (wing 3-6) is not very much paler than specimens I have shot at Jaffna, although
the margins of the back and wing-feathers are not so rufous. One or tw’o Futtehgur specimens collected by
632
ALAUDA GULGrLA.
Mr. A. Anderson are paler above and beneath than mj birds, and the hind claws are longer than in most Ceylonese
specimens. I notice particularly the absence of nifous tinting on the breast-feathers. The wings in two skins
measure 3‘6 and 3'7.
Messrs. Sharpe and Dresser, in their article on the European Sky-Lark (A. arvensis), look upon the Indian form as a
diminutive of that bii-d, having the tail-feathers more pointed and the outer pair more tinged wdth isabelline
rufous. In addition to this it must be noted that A. arvemis is not so rufous on the under wing, and the 4th
primary is considerably shorter than the 3rd, w'hereas in the Indian bird it is only slightly so.
Distribution . — The Indian Sky-Lark is a resident in the northern half, east, and south-east of the island,
as well as in the eastern parts of the Kandyan Province, and a north-east monsoon visitant to the western and
south-western portion of the country between Colombo and Hambantota. It is found throughout the year as
far down the west coast as Chilaw; and from that district to the Jaffna peninsula it is very common, inhabiting
the islands of Karativoe, Manaar, and all those in PalFs Straits. As regards the east of the island, it is most
numerous round the south-east coast. At Colombo it makes its appearance after the rains in October, and
does not quit the district until May, on the 5th of which month I have even seen it at Galle. It is not
unfrequent on most of the patnas of Uva throughout the year, the highest point at which I have seen it being
Carey’s Gap, 5200 feet.
On the mainland this Lark is diffused throughout India from the extreme south to the Himalayas,
extending on the one side westwards into Sindh and on the other into the countries eastward of the Bay of
Bengal as far south as Moulmein, being confined to the neighbourhood of that town and" the tract between
the Sittang and Salween rivers. In the south it is found abundantly on the Nilghiris, and from Ootacamund
came the type of Mr. Brooks’s A. australis. Miss Cockburn found it breeding on this range of hills, and
Mr. Wait likewise at Conoor. It has not been recorded from the Travancore hills or from the Palanis by
either of the oft-quoted writers in ' Stray Feathers ;’ but it may possibly occur in them, particularly on the
grassy slopes of the latter. It is not mentioned either from the Deccan by Dr. Fairbank ; but Messrs. Davidson
and Wender say that it is not uncommon in Satara. In the Mount-Aboo district Captain Butler says it is
not very plentiful, and he does not note it from the mount itself. It occurs in all the surrounding region,
though it is not common in Sindh. It was procured in that province by Messrs. James and Blanford. It
extends from this section of country up into Cashmere and along the Himalayas, in many of the tracts at
the foot of which monntains, such as Kumaoii, it is common. In the North-west Provinces and in Bengal it
is as much at home as anywLere else in India; but in Chota Nagpur does not seem to be well distributed,
as I find that Mr. Brooks only procured it at Assensole. Mr. Ball notes it in his list of birds from the
Godaveri and Ganges region, from Bardwau, Sirguja, Jashpur, Udaipur, and Bilaspur. Eastwards
Dr. Armstrong found it evenly distributed in the Irrawaddy delta ; and in Burmah Mr. Oates notes it as a
visitant; further south it extends, as above remarked, as far as Moulmein.
Habits . — This songster frequents the same situations as its European congener — pasture-land, stubble-
fields, bare commons, and so forth. It is, however, with us particularly noticeable on the rich pastures
surrounding the great inland tanks of the northern half of the island. No meadows in old England in the
merry month of May sound more pleasantly with the sweet song of Larks than do these lovely spots in
Ceylon, surrounding the lasting monuments of the might of its ancient kings ! These verdant lands remind
the sojourner in tropical Ceylon of home ; the long meadow-like grass, the browsing hundreds of cattle
driven down by the Kandyans to fatten, and the air filled with the song of the Sky-Lark recall pleasant
memories ; but let the wanderer awake from his reverie and only cast his eye around on the boundless circle
of dark forest, and the broad, wooded lake, its surface broken here by the head of a stealthy crocodile and
there by the stately form of a huge Pelican slowly floating along its glassy waters, and the vision of green
English meadows is quickly dispelled. A more peaceful existence obtains for the Sky-Lark in Ceylon than
in India ; in the latter country, when “ flocked ” in the cold season, it is caught in great numbers for the
table, and is sold in Calcutta, in common with various Pipits, as “ Ortolan.” Its home in Ceylon, however,
is in the woods and plains far away from the epicurean wants of large towns ; and were it ever found in
abundance near Colombo, the Buddhists of Ceylon are so averse to bird killing, that I do not think the Lark
would have many enemies to fear.
ALAUDA GULGULA.
633
Its European relative fares worse still, for it is captured, as nearly every one knows, in fabulous numbers
for the table (we read, in Professor Newton’s edition of Yarrcll, of 1,255,500 having been taken into the
town of Dieppe during the winter of 1867-8) ; but in addition to this danger it is forced to migrate in vast
flocks to southern districts when deprived, by a heavy snowstorm, of its sustenance, great numbers never
again returning j and it is therefore a wonder that this species remains so numerous as it is.
But to return to the habits of our bird. It sings, I think, quite as sweetly as the European Lark, but
not so loudly, and its song is not so long sustained, neither does it mount so high in the air. At times this
Lark maintains its position on the wing by a continued fluttering of its pinions; but it may be more often
seen making several powerful strokes and then suddenly closing its wings, which movement causes it to dip
in the air, from which it rises again by the same vigorous strokes, continuing this alternate rising and falling
until it descends to earth.
The flesh of the Indian Sky-Lark is excellent eating. It feeds on small insects and various kinds of
grass-seeds, and during the cool season congregates in flocks, which lie close in the long grass and get up in
the same manner as the European species, flying off wdth a low straight flight and suddenly dropping again to
earth.
Mr. Brooks styles it a most delightful songster and quite equal to the Sky-Lark, with even a sweeter song.
Jerdon noticed that it frequented, as a favourite resort, the grassy sides of tanks and also the bunds of ri(«-
flelds, on which, he says, it often breeds. In the islands off the Jaffna peninsula I have observed it in long
grass among bushes, the usual haunt of the Bush-Lark.
Nidification . — The breeding-season of this Lark in Ceylon is from May until July or August. The nest
is placed in a depression in the ground and sheltered generally by a tuft of grass ; sometimes a rut protected
by a corresponding inequality in the surface is chosen, and at others the liollow would seem to have been
partly prepared by the bird herself. The nest is rather neatly made of fine grass and roots of the same, lined
sometimes with a little cattle-hair; the egg-cavity is a broad cup in shape, about 3 inches in diameter and
2i in depth. The eggs are three or four in number, of a whitish or greyish- white ground-colour, spotted or
freckled all over with light-brown or greyish-brown ill-defined marking.s. The brown is of various shades,
and the character of the markings varies somewhat, some eggs being more closely freckled than others.
Much information concerning its nesting is given in Mr. Hume’s work. Miss Cockburn, as usual, supplying
many interesting details. She is of opinion that the birds scratch the hole for themselves, and says : — “ I have
noticed a bare, smooth, round hole from which a pair of Larks had flown away, and some days after as neat
a Lark’s nest as possible occupied the same spot. The material they use is entirely fine grass twisted round
and round the hole nearly half an inch thick ; this fine grass is also placed a little over the edge on the side
at which they enter . . . Sky-Larks never lay twice in the same nest, but always build a new one for every
brood.”
As to the eggs of the Indian bird, Mr. Hume says that all the different races lay precisely similar eggs,
those he has received from the Nilghiris, Central Provinces, Sharunpooi’, Almorah, and Cashmere being
undistinguishable. They are of two types — the one a cream-coloured ground, freckled /we/y with small spots
of purplish grey aud brownish yellow ; the other a nearly pure white ground, with larger and less densely
set markings of the same hue. The average size is 0’8 by 0'61 inch.
[N.B. — A further species will be treated of in an extra article in the Appendix.]
Genus MIEAFEA*.
Bill stout and curved, deep at the base; the culmen keeled. Nostrils elongated and exposed.
Wings moderate, rounded ; the 1st quill unusually long., the 2nd shorter than the 3rd, which is
the longest, 4th and 5th longer than the 2nd. Tail short, emarginate, the lateral feathers longer
than the central pair. Tarsus long, covered in front with transverse scales and behind with
obsolete plates ; middle toe and claw shorter than the tarsus ; hind claw long and curved.
MIKAFEA AFPINIS.
(THE MADRAS BUSH-LARK.)
Mirafra ajfftnis, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. xiii. pt. 2, p. 136 (1844) ; id. 111.
Ind. Orn. pi. 38 (1847) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 133 (1849) ; Layard «& Kelaart,
Cat. Ceylon B. Prodromus, App. p. 59 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854,
xiii. p. 259 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 475 (1856); Jerdon, B. of
Ind. ii. p. 417 (1863) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 465 ; Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 422 ;
Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 474 (1874); Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 399; Fairbank,
Str. Feath. 1877, p. 408; Ball, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 223.
The Lark, Europeans in Ceylon. Leli-jitta, Telugu ; Leepee, in Central India ; Chirchira,
Hind. (Jerdon).
Gomarita, Sinhalese.
Adult male and female. Length 5‘8 to 6-4 inches; wing 3‘0 to 3‘35; tail 1'6; tarsus I’O to 1'15; middle toe and
claw 0’9 to I'O ; hind toe 0'4, claw 0'6. Females average smaller than males.
Iris varying from reddish to yellowish brown ; eyelid brownish fleshy ; bill, upper mandible dark brown, margin and
the lower mandible, with the exception of the dusky tip, fleshy ; gape fleshy ; legs and feet fleshy, edges of scales
brownish.
Above sepia-brown, margined on the head with fulvous-buff, on the back and rump with fulvescent greyish, and on
the hind neck and wing-coverts with buff-white, imparting a whitish appearance to the former part ; quills and
tail sepia-brown ; secondaries and all but the outer primaries, which have pale edges, margined with rufous, and
with the margin and the basal portion of the inner webs the same; outer and most of the inner web of the lateral
rectrice buff, and the margins of the next two the same ; superciliuin buff ; lores dusky ; ear-coverts and cheeks
tipped with brown : beneath fulvous-white, the feathers of the lower part of the throat and chest with broad sepia-
brown centres ; flanks shaded with rufescent; under wing-coverts shining pale rufous.
Young. In nest-plumage the bill is paler than in the adult, the under mandible being mostly fleshy. The feathers
of the head and back rounded at the tips, and the margins rufous on the head and buff on the back ; tertials with
bright but narrow margins, and not blending into the brown, as in the adult ; upper tail-coverts margined with
rufous ; beneath whiter than in the adult ; the chest ndth numerous dark “drops,” and the feathers on the centre
of the throat tipped with blackish ; thighs rufescent ; outer tail-feathers with conspicuous rufous margins, the
inner web entirely brown, which colour gradually decreases with age.
Obs. Four examples in my possession from the Madras Presidency measure from 3-1 to 3’3 inches in the wing ; they
* The Bush-Larks in the possession of an abnormally long 1st primary seem to have affinities with some of the
round-winged Turdoid series, and are just as awkward members of this puzzling family to deal with as the nine-primary
Crested and Sand-Larks, which appear to grade towards the Pipits.
MIEAFEA AFriNlS.
635
vary as is the case in Ceylon, in size of bill ; the tints of the under surface coi-respond with those of our birds,
and the striations on the chest are similar ; they are somewhat darker on the back ; the amount and distribution
of the rufous on the primaries and secondaries are the same. The tarsus averages shorter* in these examples,
ranging from 0-9 to I'O inch. A Travancore specimen has the bill very robust, and is more richly coloured than
most Ceylon birds. In the India Museum is a skin from the Deccan, wliich has the wing 3-0 inches and the
tarsus I'Oo ; it is somewhat slender in the bill, but not more so than females from Ceylon.
M. erythroptera, Jerdon, is closely allied to the present species, diSering, as its name denotes, in the redder wing. The
primaries and the secondaries, except the first of the former and the innermost of the latter (exclusive o t e
“ tertials ”), are rufous right across both webs to near the tips ; the primary-coverts are rufous, and the greater
secondary-coverts rufous on the outer webs and brown near the shafts. A specimen in the national collection
measures — wing 3'0, tail 2-0 inches. ^ ir « •
Mr. Hume has described the Burmese Bush-Lark under the name of M. miaroptera. It is smaller than M. ciffims,
measuiing 2'6 to 2-8 inches in the wing, and it has no rufous on the outer webs of the primaries.
3/. assamiea and M. caniillans are two other Indian Bush-Larks. The former, the Bengal Bush-Lark, differs from its
congeners in the grey plumage and very thick bill ; the latter, the Singing Bush-Lark, is distinguished, says Jerdon,
from other species by its slender bill and less amount of rufous on the wing ; a specimen before me (in the
national collection) has the wing 2-9 inches.
Distribution . — This interesting bird is widely distributed throughout the low country of Ceylon, the onh^
part of the low-lying districts in which it is not numerous being the damp south-western coast-region between
Kalatura and Matara. In the east and throughout the whole northern half of the island it is very common,
both in the interior and on the sea-hoard. In the North-west Province and in the drier parts of the Western
Province it is likewise numerous, being one of the commonest birds to he seen even in the cinnamon-gardens
of Colombo and Morotuwa; thence rmmd to Tangalla, beyond which it is again abundant, it is found
in less numbers, and is chiefly confined, and that sparingly, to the sea-coast. Throughout the flat jungles
between Haputale and the sea it is tolerably common. I am not aware that it is found in the Kandyan
districts ; hut it may perhaps occur, as a rare straggler, in the lower parts of Dumhara. It is found near the
base of the hills in the Kuruuegala neighbourhood.
On the mainland, this Bush-Lark is chiefly confined to the southern portion of the peninsula. Jerdon
remarks that it is “ found on the Malabar coast, in the Carnatic, in Mysore, and the southern part of the table-
land, extending north to Groomsoor and Midnapore. Col. Tytler states that it occurs at Barrackpore, but it is
certainly very rare in Bengal.” Mr. Ball asserts it to be tolerably abundant in Singhbhum, and records it
from Midnapiu’, Manbhum, and Gumsur. It seems therefore to stretch from the Carnatic northwards in an
easterly direction, avoiding all divergence towards Central India. I notice that the Eev. Dr. Pairbank does
not record it from the Deccan, nor do Messrs. Davidson and Wendcr, although M. erythroptera is noticed by
these gentlemen as very common there. It is abundant about Madras, and also inhabits B amisserum Island
and the adjacent coast. Dr. Pairbank found it at the base of the Palanis.
Habits . — This Lark loves grassy wastes, studded with trees and bushes, openly timbered plains, scrubby
* Since this article was printed, I have received a letter from Mr. Hume containing a remark on this species, which,
according to ornithological custom, I quote here;— “Have I ever pointed out to you that your Mirafra, which I call
M. ceylonensis, is distinct from the Madras bird, Jf. affinis‘t It is a much larger, richer-coloured, longer-billed bird,
with markedly larger logs and feet. I have just compared five examples from Colombo with a large senes of Madras
specimens.” Now this bird varies in Ceylon. The five examples alluded to are all from Colombo ; and as regards size
see my comparisons above. I do not find that South-Indian specimens are more richly coloured ; one from Travancore,
which I obtained from Mr. Whitely, Woolwich, differs considerably in brightness of coloration from St. Thomas s Mount
examples. Brightness of coloration in the Lark family is often dependent on age. The tarsus in Ceylonese birds is, as
a rule longer, as I have above noticed, but short-legged insular birds equal long-legged continental ones. A male from
St. Thomas’s Mount (wing 3-21) measures, tarsus 1-05 ; a good-sized female (wing 3'16) from Irincomalie measures.
If on the whole, it be hereafter decided by general consent that the Ceylon species should stand distinct, it must be as
a very close subspecies indeed; but I would hero remark that, above all birds. Larks are the most unsafe to tamper with.
If we once begin to divide them up, there will be no end to subspecies.
4m2
636
illEAFEA AFFINIS.
euclosures, and dry pasture-land surrounded by trees. It is also found in open spots in the heart of the jungle
and round the borders of tanks and salt-water estuaries and lagoons. It is to some extent arboreal, especially
in the breeding- season, when the male constantly mounts to the topmost branch of some dead or scraggy tree,
and pours out his little love-song, launching himself out into the air, and descending rapidly, with increasing
fervour of note, to the vicinity of the nest, where his partner is patiently performing the duties of incubation.
It is not gregarious, but usually lives in pairs, several of which, however, occupy contentedly the same locality,
passing their time in catching insects, and feeding likewise on grass-seeds, varying the monotony of the
noonday heat by now and then flying up into the air, or alighting on trees and bushes, from which they
givc out their long-drawn sibilant whistle, tseee-tseTe-tseTe. These Larks do not mount to any height, nor do
they remain any time in the air j their actions are Pipit-like, for after reaching the altitude to which they wish
to ascend, they quickly sail down again with upturned wings, continuing the note they commenced with on
leaving the ground until they realight, when it is suddenly hushed. They often descend to a low tree or bush,
and sometimes continue their notes for a few seconds. Mr. Ball remarks that it is a very early bird some-
times singing before dawn. ’
Nidification.—la. the Western Province, the Bush-Lark breeds in May and June, and in the north some-
what earlier, commencing about March. It nests in a little depression in the ground, generally beneath the
shelter of a toft of grass or tussock of rushes. It sometimes, however, in sandy soil excavates a hollow itself
and therein it constructs its nest. It is a loosely-made cup of dry grass and fine roots of herbs, measurin'^
about three inches wide by two in depth ; the top is flush with the surface of the soil, and over the nest the
adjacent blades of grass are bent, or arranged so as to conceal it. The eggs are nearly always two in number,
stumpy ovals in shape, and of a greenish-white ground-colour, boldly marked almost equally throughout with
light umber-brown and blackish-brown spots, the latter being small in some and large in other eggs.
The young become fledged very rapidly, flying in about a fortnight from the time they are hatched. The
old birds are very zealous in their attempts to draw off intruders from their young, running along the ground
with trailing wings, or feigning lameness or incapacity to fly !
Genus PYEEHULAUDA.
Bill short, Stout, conical, the culraen much curved; gape angulated ; margin of under
mandible slightly concave. Nostrils basal, round, and concealed by tufts. Wings long, the
tertials elongated; 1st quill equal to the primary-coverts, the 2nd and 3rd equal and longest.
Tail moderate, emarginate at the tip. Tarsus short, covered in front and behind with broad but
smooth scales. Feet small, with the lateral toes equal and the claws straight ; the hind claw
stout and considerably longer than the anterior ones.
The hindermost tarsal scales are very plainly developed in this genus.
PYEEHULAUDA GEISEA.
(THE BLACK-BELLIED FINCH-LARK.)
Alauda grisea, Scopoli, Faunae Insubr. ii. p. 95 (1786).
Alauda gingica, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 795 (1788).
Fnngilla cmcigera, Temm. PL Col. 269. fig. 1 (1838).
Pyrrhulauda crucigera (Temm.), Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. xi. p. 35 (1840).
Pyrrliulauda grisea, G. R. Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 381 (1841) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 134 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 126 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 259; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 479 (1856);
Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 424 (1863); Holdsvv. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 465 ; Hume, Str. Featb.
1873, p. 212; Adam, t. c. p. 388; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 478 (1874); Ball,
Str. Featb. 1874, p. 422; Legge, ibid. 1875, p. 371 ; id. Ibis, 1875, p. 399 ; Butler &
Hume, Str. Featb. 1875, p. 499; Fairbank, ibid. 1876, p. 261; Hume, t. c. p. 459;
Fairbank, ibid. 1877, p. 409 ; Ball, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 223; Cripps, t. c. p. 295.
Alouette grise de Qingi, Scopoli, Sonn. AMy. Ind. ii. p. 203 (1782).
Gingi Lm'k, Puree Finch (Latbam) ; Squat Fmch, Ortolan, Europeans in India. Piyora,
Puri, and (most commonly) PahhaJc-churi, lit. “ Squat Sparrow,” Hind. ; Chat Bharai,
Phula-chata, in Bengal ; Poti-pichiJce, lit. “ Short or Ground- Sparrow.”
Adult male. Length 4’8 to 5-0 inches ; wing 3‘0 to 3-1 ; tail 1-6 ; tarsus 0-6 ; middle toe and claw 0‘55 ; bill to
gape 0-5.
Iris brown or yellowish brown ; bill whitish ; legs and feet reddish grey, claws dusky ; eyelids brown.
Above greyish brown, with a rufescent tinge on the back, the bases of the feathers brown, and the head paling gradually
into the albescent of the forehead ; wdngs and tail brown, the coverts, tertials, and secondaries very broadly edged
and tipped with whitish ; the major coverts and tertials slightly tinged with rufous ; tail pale edged, with the
outer feathers almost entirely rufescent whitish ; cheeks and ear-coverts white ; a broad baud from the gape over
the eyes to the occiput, chin, throat, sides of fore neck, centre of chest, breast, belly, and under tail-coverts
dull black ; under wing-coverts the same ; sides of chest greyish w-hite.
In abraded plumage the fulvous-lromi margins of the chtldng-feathers disappear and the “ribs” of the webs become
bleached, giving the plumage a grey appearance ; the pale tips of the tertial feathers and the margins of the
rectrices likewise disappear.
Female. Length 5-8 inches ; wing 2-7o to 2-95.
Bill not so white as in the male.
Head and upper surface earthy brown ; the upper tail-coverts margined with whitish ; the wings not so conspicuously
margined ; the white cheeks and all the black markings are wanting, the under surface being albescent, w^asbed
with fulvous-brown on the chest, the feathers being centred darker than the edges ; flanks dusky ; bases of the
greater under wiug-covei’ts darlc brown ; supercilium and space just beneath the eye bully white ; ear-coverts
brownish. In birds in old plumage the upper tail-coverts are dark from abrasion.
Young. The nestling is at first covered with fulvous-coloured down.
A young female (St. Thomas Mount, Madras) has the feathers of the head and occiput tipped with ochraeeous and
marked with a subterminal blackish band; the feathers of the back and rump have tlie same blackish markings,
but not so dark, and their tips and lateral margins are buff ; ear-coverts and sides of neck brownish tawny ; wing-
coverts and tertials broadly margined with fulvous tawny ; upper tail-coverts pale fulvous ; central tail-feathers
sandy bufii, and the whole edged with buify white : beneath tawny yellowish ; the chest and breast with dark
centres to the feathers.
The tarsal scales are very pronounced in this immature specimen.
638
PYEEHFLATJDA GEISEA.
Males of the year are no doubt browner on the upper surface than adults, and the forehead is not albescent ; but the
peculiarly grey appearance of the latter arises from abrasion. The moulting-time is in March and April.
Obs. Examples kindly sent me by the Director of the Madras Museum from the neighbourhood of that place are very
similar to our birds. A male in abraded plumage is not quite so grey as some of my specimens, and the black
superciliary sti-oak is broader. A female is slightly darker. <S , wing 2-95 inches ; $ , wing 3'0. Another male
measures 3‘1 in the wing.
A female in Mr. Anderson’s collection from Euttobgim is paler above than any Ceylonese examples ; the edges of the
feathers are grey, and the centres not so brown ; wing 3-0 inches. Two examples from “ Bengal ” in the national
collection, male and female, measure 3*0 and 2'8 inches in the wing respectively ; the latter is very dark and the
former of a decidedly pale type. Specimens from Northern India, and especially from Sindh, are probably, as
a rule, paler than Southern birds.
Allied to the present species is P. melanauchen, Cabanis,=P. affinis, Blyth, from Sindh, &c., the males of which have
the crown and occiput black or concolorous with the eye-streak, and a broad wEite forehead. In the type mention
is made of a blackish spot on the nape ; but it does not, according to Mr. Hume’s remarks (Str. Death. 1873,
p. 212), always appear to be present. This species is larger in the bill and wing than P. grisea.
Distribution. — This curiously j)lumaged and pretty little Lark was believed by Layard to be migratory ;
this is, however, not the case, although from his remark, “ I have seen floeks careering from the direction of
the continent when out dredging,” there seems to be a movement of the species from the continent to the
north of the island, probably during the cool season. It is a resident in all the dry and arid portions of the
maritime provinces of Ceylon, scarcely ever, to my knowledge, except as a straggler, extending more than about
tw^enty miles inland. In the north of the island, and in all the islands between Jaffna and Manaar, down the
west coast as far as the Chilaw district, and entirely round the east side to the borders of the wet region on
the Girawa Pattu, it is a common bird ; but south of Negombo and round the south-west coast to Tangalla it is
not found. On one occasion as I was riding up the Pass from Eambodde to Nuwara Elliya, in November 1870,
when near the top I was astonished to see feeding quietly by the roadside a male Finch-Lark. This, I believe,
is the only instance of its being seen at any great elevation, and the only occasion which I know of its being
found in the interior of Ceylon ; and its occurrence at that great altitude is so remarkable that I am unable to
come to any other conclusion than that it was driven south by the high north-east winds and stormy weather
which were at that time prevailing. Were there diy plains in the interior of Ceylon, it would, of course, be
found on them.
This Finch-Lark is found all over the plains of India, from the extreme south to the foot of the Himalayas,
except, says Jerdon, on the Malabar coast. It is particularly abundant, according to the same author, in
Western India, Sindh, and the Punjaub; and in the North-west Provinces Mr. A. Anderson recorded it as
common. It is found in Ramisserum Island and on the adjoining mainland. About Madras it is common;
and the Rev. Dr. Fairbank procured it at Peria Kulam near the base of the Palanis, and which place has an
altitude of more than 900 feet. In the Deccan it is, according to the same observer, very abundant. Mr. Ball
found it very common in all the open parts of the CLota Nagpur, and he records it from many jjlaccs and
districts between the Godaveri and the Ganges, including the Rajmehal hills. In Furreedpore it is “ pretty
common but Mr. Cripps has not observed it there between the months of November and February. It does
not extend into the countries to the eastward of the Bay of Bengal, but has, on the contrary, a westerly rano-e.
On the plains of Sindh, Kattiawar, Guzerat, and in the Sambhur district it is found in abundance. Captain
Butler obtained it close to Kurrachee, but did not observe it on Mount Aboo. Its extending into Arabia as
mentioned by Jerdon, doubtless refers to the allied species P . melanauchen, which has a western distribution.
Habits. — This sociable little Lark is fond of the barest plains and the driest ground that it can find.
It especially frequents, therefore, the arid land surrounding the great salt-water lagoons and ‘‘ leeways ” and
the wide estuaries and river-mouths which indent the whole of the north and east coasts of the island. I have
often seen it on the dried-up fore-shores of the Ilambantota “ leeways,^’ or the vast sand tracts which are
left bare in the dry season at the head of the J afiha and other lakes in the north, sitting motionless in those
PTEliHULAUDA G-EISEA.
639
dreary wastes without another living creature near save a few Stints or Shore-Plovers, wliich were running
along the edge of the tepid water, having nothing in common with the lonely little “ Squat Sparrow.” It is
also generally found on the uncultivated paddy-fields (converted by want of irrigation and a burning sun
into the barest possible pasture) which are so marked a feature of the poverty-stricken districts of the north
and south-east ; here it displays a sociable nature, feeding in closely associated little troops, and tripping
along the ground like a party of Munias. It is excessively tame, and, as Jerdon truly remai’ks, squats
stupidly on the ground, and will almost allow itself to be ridden over. From its squatting habits it has
obtained its numerous native Indian sobriquets. Its ordinary note is a cheerful little chirrup ; but it has a
sweet song which it warbles out when rising in the air, like a true Lark, though it does not mount so high,
nor does it remain poised on expanded wing more than a minute or two. It has a habit of suddenly rising
off the ground and quickly dropping again ; but when moving about it is capable of considerable powers of
flight. True to the nature of its family, it is one of the first birds abroad in the morning ; but it is also one of
the last to go to roost at night, the song of the male being often heard a/ier the short tropical twilight has
sunk into the shades of night. It feeds on small grass-seeds ; but I have often found insects in its stomach,
and have seen it dart up and catch a passing fly. The males congregate together out of the breeding-season,
and seem to leave their quondam mates to their own devices.
Jerdon writes concerning it; — “It is remarkable for the sudden ascents and descents of its flight,
mounting up some height by a few flappings of its wings and then descending almost perpendicularly till it
nearly reaches the ground, when it again rises as before, and repeats this several times. In general it takes
but a short flight, and on alighting squats close to the ground, and will allow itself to be ridden over
before it rises. It occasionally may be seen seated on the housetop ; but I never saw it perch on a tree,
except on one occasion when I observed about twelve or fifteen of them perched on a low tree close to
Cantonment in the hot weather.”
Sundevall speaks of it singing in the air with expanded wings, as I have noticed above; but I have
nevertheless only seen it do this in the dusk of the evening and at daybreak.
Nidification . — The Finch-Lark breeds in the north and east of Ceylon from April until August, placing
its nest in exposed places and bare spots away from all shelter. It sometimes scoops a hole in the ground
for its domicile, while at others it chooses a small rut or natural hollow. I have found its nest on esplanades
and public commons close to the paths frequented by liuisdreds of natives during the day. They are, as
a rule, loosely put together, made of dry grass, roots, stalks, bits of rag or cotton, and without any
particular lining; but some are more neatly constructed of fine grass like a Lark^s. Round the edge of
two or three nests, on the Trincomalie esplanade, were little circles of small pieces of brick and tile, which
must have been carried some distance, as there were none close by. Were these efforts of instinct as
regards protection, or were they the result of a desire for ornamentation ? Tw'o is the normal number of
eggs : they vary somewhat in shape, some being stumpy ovals and others slightly pointed at the small
end ; the ground-colour is greenish white or whitish, freckled all over with minute spots of yellowish
brown, olive-brown, and slaty grey, with some larger markings of the same, forming a zone at the obtuse
end, or they are sparingly spotted w’ith larger markings of yellowish brown and bluish grey over minute specks
of brown. They measure from 0'71 to 0'8 inch in length, and from 0'52 to 0’55 in breadth.
Mr. Adam writes of a nest which he found built in the low retaining wall of a salt-pan in the Sambhur
Lake being encircled by “ a belt, about 5 inches broad, of small flakes of a saline incrustation about
one-tenth of an inch in thickness ; the pieces varied much in size, but the largest were about an inch long by
half an inch broad.” This nest was composed of coarse pieces of grass worked cax'elessly together, and here
and there Avere pieces of cloth. Mr. Cripps remarks : — “ I once found its nest in the dry bed of a river in front
of my house ; it was on the 26th April, 1878. The nest was a tiny cup-shajxed affair of fine grass-roots,
which were firmly held together by damp sand, so much so that on taking it up it appeared like a ball cut
in tAVO ; it contained tw'o fresh eggs. There was not even a small tuft of grass anywhere Avhere the nest was,
only some tamarisk-shoots above and shading it.”
Mr. Anderson once found the nest in the centre of a lump of coAA'dung, all over which white ants had
left their marks, so that detection Avas almost impossible. But singular as are the situations so frequently
640
PYREHULAUDA GEISEA.
clios-cu by this curious little bird to build in, the following instance related by Mr. Hume is the most extra-
ordinary that has come under my notice. He writes (' Nests and Eggs ’) : — “ I may note that at Etawah we
found a nest of this species also amongst the ballast between the rails, so that here too ” (in reference pro-
bably to the nest of another speeies) “ the trains must have passed a dozen times a day and night over the
sitting bird. When we think of the terrible heat glowing from the bottom of the engine and the perpetual
dusting-out of hot cinders, it seems marvellous how the bird could have maintained her position.”
I would suggest that in this case the bird allowed the heat of the sun to incubate the eggs by day, and
that she only sat at night, and being asleep was not disturbed by the trains. The average of thirty eggs is
0'73 by 0'55 inch.
PASSERES.
Earn. PLOCEIDJE.
Bill conic, as in Fringillidse, but stouter ; the culmen widened and flattened at the base, and
the sides perpendicular; tip entire. Nostrils basal, small, round, and exposed. WHngs with the
1st primary minute. Tail of 12 feathers, rather short, rounded or pointed in some. Legs and
feet stouter than in the Fringillidee ; tarsus covered in front with broad scales.
Genus PLOCEGS.
Bill large ; the culmen curved from the base and flattened, the sides tumid and overhanging
the margin of the under mandible. Nostrils circular and basal, gonys straight. Wings moderate,
the 1st quill exceeding the primary-coverts ; the 3rd and 4th the longest, and the 2nd shorter
than the 5th. Tail moderately short, rounded at the tip. Legs and feet stout ; tarsus scaled,
longer than the middle toe, outer toe slightly exceeding the inner ; claws rather long ; hallux
stout.
PLOCEFS PHILIPPINUS.
(THE COMMON WEAVEE-BIRE.)
Loxia ])Mlip'pina, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 305. no. 36 (1760), ex Brisson.
Ploceus pUlipinnus (L.), Sykes, P. Z, S. 1832, p. 105 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 115
(1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 125 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1854, xiii. p. 257 ; Walden, Trans. Zool. Soc. 1877, ix. p. 210 ; Hume, B. of Tenass.,
Str. Feath. 1878, p. 399; Ball, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 222.
Ploceus haya, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1844, xiii. p. 945; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 343 (1863) ,
Holdsw. P.Z. S. 1872, p. 463; Adam, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 387; Legge, Proc. R. S.
Tasmania, p. 30 (1873); Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 437 (1874); Ball, Str. Feath.
1874, p. 420; Hume & Butler, ibid. 1875, p. 495; Hume, ibid. 1877, p. 32o ;
Davidson & Wender, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 85.
Le Toucnam-courvi, Buffon, Nat. Hist. Ois. iii. p. 465 ; Baya, Hind. ; Chindora, Bengal. ;
Bawi or Talbali, Bengal. ; Parsupu-pitta, Telugu ; Manja-kuruvi, Tamil (Jerdon) ;
Pastro carpenteiro, Portuguese in Ceylon ; Tliuclcenam kuruvi, lit. “ Basket-maker
bird,” Ceylonese Tamils.
Tatta kurulla and Wada kurulla^ Sinhalese.
Adult male. Length 5‘7 to 6-0 inches; wing 2-6 to 2-8 ; tall 1‘8 to 2-0 ; tarsus 0-8; middle toe and claw 0-9 to 0-95;
bill to gape O'Go to 0-7.
Iris hazel-brown ; bill blackish brown, lightish at gape and base of lower mandible ; legs and feet dusky or reddisli
fleshy, claws brownish.
Breediwj-plumarje. Forehead, head above, chest, and sides of upper breast glistening saffron-yellow, blending into the
brown of the nape and hind neck, the feathers of the interscapular region edged likewise with yellow ; back,
wings, and tail sepia-brown, paling on the upper tail-coverts, which are generally tipped with yellowish ; the
coverts, tertials, and most of the secondaries with broad fulvous-grey edgings ; primaries and rectrices with pale
margins ; lores, orbits, face, ear-coverts, and throat blackish brown, paling on the chin, breast, and lower parts
into whitish, with a pale brownish wash on the flanks and thighs ; shafts of the flank-feathers dark.
In nonbreedintj-plumage the iris is paler, the bill brownish above, fleshy at base beneath ; the yellow parts are wanting,
the head being brown as the neck, with a brownish-white supereilium ; the ear-coverts and face brown, and the
chin and throat wFitish, the chest being washed with fulvous. The change to the nuptial dress takes place by
an alteration in the feathers, the tips first assuming the yellow and black colours respectively.
Adult female. Length 5-3 to 5-6 inches ; wing 2-4 to 2-6 ; tarsus 0-75. Soft parts as in the winter male, and the
plumage similar. There is frequently a yellowish hue on the eye-stripe and about the chest and throat.
Young. On leaving the nest the bill is brownish fleshy, with the margins yellowish.
Upper surface dark brown, edged with fulvous-grey, most broadly on the w4ng-eoverts and tertials ; supereilium buff ;
chin and lower parts whitish ; the breast fulvous ; lower parts whitish.
A young female (10th October) has the head- and back-feathers edged with tawny, the rump fulvous-brown ; tail pale
brown, the bases of the feathers with yellowish edges ; primaries margined with yellowish-grey margins ; a broad
fulvous supercilinm ; ear-coverts brown ; cheeks fulvous, spotted with brownish ; chin and throat white ; chest
and flanks tawny fulvous, with dark narrow shaft-stripes at the sides of the chest and on portions of the flanks ;
lower parts whitish; under tail- and under wdng-coverts buff. This example is in moult, but not losing the quill-
or tail-feathers.
In the following July immature females want the dark shaft-stripes on the chest, a few being only visible on the sides;
the throat and chest are delicate tawmy yellowish ; the lesser wing-coverts conspicuously tipped with w'hitish, and
the greater margined and tipped with the same ; primaries and tail-feathers narrowly edged with yellow. An
4n
642
PLOCEUS PHILIPPINUS.
immature male of the same month, probably bred late in the preceding autumn and not about to breed, has the
upper-surface feathers margined with a less tawny hue than the above, and the centre of the fore neck and sides
of chest with conspicuous, though very fine, dark shaft-stripes, and has no trace of a yellow tinge on the lower
surface. This specimen has some resemblance to the Striated Weaver-bird ; but I have compared it with skins of
the latter, and the strise are not of the same character at all, but resemble those on the flanks of adult indivdduals
of the present species.
Ohs. A Malabar skin of this bird in breeding-plumage has the yellow of the head and chest of a deeper hue than
almost any I have seen from Ceylon ; but another from “ Madras ” is identical with a male in my own collection.
The specific name which I here employ and which appears to be the correct one, is not aptly applied to
our Indian species, and is, in fact, an inappropriate name altogether, as the bird is not foimd in the Philippine
archipelago. The Indian-peninsular form has of late years been usually styled P. baya ; but Mr. Hume now
considers that Blyth applied this name to a large race with a differently coloured chest, which occurs in Nepal,
Sikhim, Eastern Bengal, Burmah, and the Malay peninsula. The late Marquis of Tweeddale and Mr. Hume are
of opinion that Linmeus’s name applies to the common Indian Weaver-bird ; and after perusing the remarks of the
former, written in his admirable paper on the birds of the Philippine archipelago, I think that there is little
doubt that the species so named by Linnaeus was no other than the present. The Marquis first of all points out that
there is no Weaver-bird in the Philippines, and then remarks that, according to Bulfon, D’Aubenton’s figure was
taken from a male example of Brisson’s Ooccoihraustes philippinensis, on which Linnaeus founded Loxia philipyina ;
Brisson’s description completely agrees with P. haya, Blyth, and cannot, as some think, apply to P. hypoxanthus
of Indian authors. Eurthermore, Brisson describes and figures the nest of his Weaver-bird, which is unmis-
takably that of P. haya.
Mr. Hume writes that the larger form, his presumed P. haya of Blyth, differs from the true phUipphms in the much
more rufeseent character of its lower plumage ; and he is also of opinion that the males do not assume the yellow
breast in the breeding-season. He recognizes a third form in his P. megarliymlms (Ibis, 1869, p. 356), which
has an immense bill for its size, measuring 0-84 to gape, and in the wing 2-95 inches, and differs from P, pliilippinus
“ in the darker and more rufeseent tone of the entire plumage, and in the almost entire absence of striations on
the crown, the much broader and sparser striations of the back, with entire absence of any rufous or rufeseent
supercilium, and in the cheeks and ear-coverts being unicolorous with the rest of the sides of the head and nape.”
Distribution . — The Baya is common throughout all the low country, but I have always found it more
numerous in the maritime provinces than in the interior. It is very local, keeping in large flocks to certain
spots for some time, breeding in them, and then disappearing for months at a time, during which it occupies
other localities suited to its habits •, and this wandering disposition has caused some to think that it is
migratory. It is, I think, more frequently met with in the south and west than in the north of the island,
although I seldom failed to find flocks of it at all seasons frequenting the open country surrounding the salt
lagoons and estuaries in the Trincomalie district ; and I have likewise met with it in similar spots in the
neighbourhood of Hambantota and Battiealoa, so that it cannot be said to be very much more partial to the
west than the east side of the island. In the Anaradjapura district Mr. Parker has met with it not unfrequently,
and at Uswewa he says it is not uncommon. I have seen it in the Kuruuegala district, and at Chilaw I found
it in large flocks. About Colombo I have met with it as near to the town as Cotta, where it breeds, as it
likewise does occasionally at Borelesgamuwa. I am not aware that it has been found in the hills.
This Weaver-bird is found throughout peninsular and continental India, and would appear, from
Mr. Hume^s first writings on the subject, to extend to Burmah and Tenasserim, although from later
disquisitions in ‘ Stray Feathers ’ it w'ould appear that he identifies the bird inhabiting those regions with
what he considers Blyth’s true P. baya from Nepal, Sikhim, and Eastern Bengal. In the first list of
Tenasserim birds ('Stray Feathers,^ 1874) we find that the Ploceus baya of the province is “identical with
continental Indian specimens,” by which I understand the smaller race with the pure yellow breast. Again,
in the “Birds of Pegu,” t. c. 1875, it is written : — “ Specimens from Thayetmyo agree well with others from
all parts of India.” But in the “Birds of Tenasserim ” (Str. Feath. 1878) we find all the specimens of this
type entered as true baya, Blyth, apud Hume, which is stated to inhabit Nepal and Sikhim, Eastern Bengal
and Burmah, and not continental India. This matter apparently requires elucidation. At any rate our
Ceylonese bird is found in suitable places in Southern India, and is common in the Deccan, from which the
Rev. Dr. Fairbank records it; in the north-west it is common at the Sambhur Lake and in the plains
PLOCEUS PHILIPPINUS.
643
round Mount Aboo in the cold season^ and also in the surrounding districts^ according to Mr. Hume. It has
lately been added to the avifauna of Sindh on the evidence of a single specimen procured in the Kurrachee
coUectorate. Crossing the empire to the eastward, we find it in the North-west Provinces and Central Bengal,
and throughout Chota Nagpur, where Mr. Ball found it abundant. In the region lying along the cast coast
between the Ganges and the Godaveri, the same writer records it from many places, such as Bardwan,
Manbhum, Lohardugga, Singhbhum, Orissa, south of Mahanadi, Nowagarh, and Karial ; and Mr. Hume
notes it from Raipur and Sambalpur in the same district. Prom Furreedpore, Eastern Bengal, Mr. Cripps
records a Ploceus in abundance, but, not having kept specimens of it, he is unable to say whether it was the
continental Indian or the Nepal bird.
Habits . — This Weaver-bird is found about the borders of open land or scrubby wastes in the vicinity of
water more frequently than away from it. It affects low trees, palms, strips of jungle between paddy-fields
and the like, and congregates in large flocks, which keep up an incessant chattering and a repetition of long-
drawn sibilant whistles on the part of the males, which appear to be uttered as an encouragement to the females
during the process of building their laboriously constructed nests. The energy displayed, particularly on the
part of the male, in the construction of these wonderful structures, and the extraordinary aptitude which they
show for learning the tricks so well known in India, entitle the Weaver-bird to a high place among the
intelligent members of the feathered creation. A young pair which I endeavoured to I’ear at Galle, but which
fell a prey to rats, displayed signs of unusual intelligence at a very early age. As soon as they were fledged
they recognized me, and knew well when to expect their food, fluttering along the floor when let out of their
cage, and scrambling up my legs into my lap to get fed.
The account by Blytli of the performances of the Baya in India, which is quoted in J erdon, is so interesting
that I cannot do better than transcribe it here for my readers. After stating that exhibitors carry them about
to all parts of the country, he says “ The usual procedure is, when ladies are present, for the bird, on a sign
from its master, to take a sweatmeat in its bill and deposit it between a lady^s lips, and repeat this offering to
every lady present, the bird following the look and gesture of its master. A miniature cannon is then brought,
which the bird loads with coarse grains of powder one by one, or more commonly with small balls of powder
made up for the purpose ; it next seizes and skilfully uses a small ramrod, and then takes a lighted match from
its master, which it applies to the touch-hole.^' He further remarks, “ We have seen the little bird apply the
match five or six times successively before the powder ignited, which it finally did, with a report loud enough
to alarm all the crows in the neighbourhood, while the little Baya remained perched on the gun, apparently
quite elated with its performance."
The Baya has a strong rapid flight; it roosts in flocks, and not unfrequently resorts to large reed-beds, in
common with the next species, and there takes up its quarters for the night in company with flocks of Munias.
It is very destructive in paddy-fields, establishing itself in the vicinity of these in large colonies, and feeding
greedily on the grain. Its movements about the country are no doubt regulated, to a certain extent, by the time
of harvest in different districts ; and when it takes up its quarters in the vicinity of large paddy-fields before
they are cut, it usually takes advantage of the abundance of material and commences to breed, constructing
its nest of the blades of corn.
Nidification.—ln the south-west and south of Ceylon the Common Weaver-bird breeds from May and
June until August, and in the north from October until January. It chooses trees standing in open places or
on the borders of fields, cheenas, lakes, &c., and nearly always associates in a large flock, which make their
nests in adjacent trees, suspending from one to a dozen or so to the branches of each, the whole number
accommodating a very large and noisy colony of these busy little architects. At times they will choose a river-
bank or a hanging wood on a hill-side overlooking some extensive or perhaps secluded paddy-field, and then
the sight of the many pendent nests swaying perchance to and fro with the wind, as one looks up at them from
the open beneath, is very interesting. Much has been written about the nidification of the Weaver-bird, and there
must be few inhabitants in Ceylon who are not familiar with its wonderful nest, the most striking part of
whieh is the long entrance-tube, which attains occasionally a length of 4 feet ! The nest is composed of those
materials which are abundant on the spot chosen by the colony. I have seen a whole batch of nests constructed
4n2
644
PLOCEUS PHILIPPINUS.
of fine strips of date-palm leaves^ another of cocoanut fronds similarly treated^ and others of strips of bamboo
when they were suspended from that tree overhanging water. Again^ blades of green paddy are as often used
as any thing else^ for the borders of the fields are frequently chosen for the breeding settlement. In the southern
province I think the date-palm leaf is as frequently chosen as any thing else, as it abounds in that district and
forms a very dui’able material.
I have seen a structure containing two completely formed nests connected by a tube of about 18 inches
in length, the whole measuring nearly 6 feet.
On referring to my account of the nesting of this species in Ceylon, communicated to the Eoyal
Society of Tasmania, I find the details which I here subjoin : — “ The strips of which these wonderful
structures are composed are about -nr inch broad, and are torn off the palm-frond in the most dexterous
manner by the hard-working little 'Weavers.’ The bird alights near the base, and with a bite and twist of
its bill quickly detaches the end of the desired piece, launches itself out into the air, and after a momentary
flutter succeeds in tearing it off, and wings its way back to the nest. The neck, or part which connects
the egg-compartment with the branch or leaf (as the case may be), varies from 6 inches to more tlian a
foot in length, and is, in general, about 1 inch in diameter j at the bottom it suddenly expands into the
peculiar flattened 'goblet’ or retort-shaped mass which contains the nest itself and the origin of the
entrance to it. It is during the formation of this part that the extraordinary ingenuity and highly-
developed constructive powers of the male bird in particular are exemplified. Carrying a long strip of
material in its bill, it alights on the nest, and quickly weaves in one end ; then taking a little hop forwards
it stretches itself out to the utmost, and, seizing the blade as far out as it can, runs its bill along it till it
catches the end, which it underlaces in like manner, the whole operation occupying a few seconds only.
It then frequently hops to another part, and clinging on with its claws, reaches itself out and carefully
inspects its work, tucking in any projecting ends that it may observe. The body of the nest takes from
four to five days to construct ; and when the widest part has been reached, a strong loop is thrown across
the bottom a little at one side of the centre, giving the nest, as Jerdou remarks ('Birds of India’), the
appearance, when taken from the tree and inverted, of a basket with a handle. It is emfious how many people
liave erred in noting the use of this loop, some being of opinion that it is meant for the male bird to sit upon
in what has been equally erroneously described as the male nest ! It is the keystone to the whole structm-e,
and, of course, exists in all nests, the constmctiOTi of it heintj the 'princvple on which the e^y-compartment is
separated from the entrance or ' spout,’ and if examined will be found attached to the interior walls by strong
buttresses running up for a couple of inches. On one side of this loop, therefore, the egg-receptacle is formed
by bringing down the exterior of the nest and then working it up to the loop again, while the opposite side is
built down into the form of a tube or spout, the loop then constituting merely the edge, over which the bird
has to mount to enter the egg-chamber This ' spout,’ or tubular entrance, varies in length according
as Wxe passion for building, if I may so describe its instinct, exists to a greater or less degree in the male bird,
as it is nearly always continued by him after the female bird has commenced to lay, and in some cases after
she has commenced to sit. It is generally about 18 inches or 2 feet long, but occasionally only about 6, and
rarely attains the great length above mentioned.” During the time the egg-compartment is being built, the
pieces of clay are attached, about which there are so many different theories. Layard suggests that it might
be for sharpening the bird’s bill on; the natives of India have an idea (Jerdon, loc. cit.) that they are intended
to stick flies on in order to light up the compartment at night ! Jeidon himself was of opinion that they are
used for the purpose of steadying the nest, and preventing its being knocked about by the wind. From my
own observation I find that these lumps of clay are but seldom used in Ceylon, perhaps because they do not
build during the windiest months in the year ; and I have noticed that in a whole colony of nests built in a
sheltered hill-side no clay was used. It is probable, therefore, that Jerdon’s theory is the correct one. Durino-
the time the Weaver-birds are building, the whole flock keep up an incessant chirping, varied now and then
by the long grating w'histle uttered by the male as he clings to the nest he is making. Many nests are
deserted when the body is being constructed, both before and after the loop has been formed; and this is,
according to some writers, to furnish the male wnth a roosting-place. This is, I think, an erroneous idea; the
proportion of such nests is sometimes only three or four to a large colony ; and it seems to me probable that
they are rejected by the birds on account of some fault in their construction — the egg-chamber too small, the
PLOCEFS PHILIPPINFS.
045
neck not strong enough, or some such weak point. I am strengthened in this view from having observed, as
above stated how partieular the male bird is at times in examining and inspecting his work; and under these
circumstances it is only natural that badly-made nests would be deserted. Again, as Jerdon remarks (/. c.),
these nests may be “ simply the efforts, if built late in the season, of that constructive faculty which appears to
have such a powerful effect on this little bird, and which causes some of them to go on huildmg the long
tubular entrance long after the hen is seated on her eggs/’
I have generally found the number of eggs laid by the Baya to be three or four ; they are long ova s in
shape, and of a pure but glossless white colour, quite unspotted. They average m size about 0-9 by OFo me i.
On entering the nest the old birds fly to the bottom of the tube, and, closing their wings, run up to he
egg-chamber with surprising rapidity. I have several times witnessed this performance and carefully noted it,
particularly as it has been said that the bird flies up the tube. Jerdon, in his admirahle account of this bird s
nesting, writes that, “ when the loop is completed, the female takes up her seat on it, leaving the cock bird to
fetch more fibre and work from the outside of the nest while she works on the inside, drawing in the fibres
pushed through by the male, and reinserting them in their proper place, and smoothing all carefully.”
PLOCETIS MANYAE.
(THE STEIATED WEAVEE-BIRD.)
Fringilla manyar, Horsf. Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 160 (1820).
Ploceus manyar (Horsf.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 115 (1849) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag.
Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 257 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 514 (1856) ;
Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 348 (1863); Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 208; Hume, Nests
and Eggs, ii. p. 440 (1874); Oates & Hume, ibid. 1875, p. 154 ; Butler & Hume, t. c.
p. 495 ; Butler, ibid. 1877, p. 221 ; Davison & Hume, ibid. 1878 (B. of Tenass.),
p. 401 ; Ball, ibid. vii. p. 222 ; Cripps, t. c. p. 292.
'iPloceus hengalensis, Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat, p. 125.
Ploceus striatus, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1842, xi. p. 873 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 463.
The Black-throated Weaver-hird ; Black-hreasted Weaver-bird of some. Bamani Baya,
Hind., Deccan; Telia Baya, Bengal.; Bawoyi, in Kungpore; Manyar, Java.
AfMt male and female. (BriOsh Museum, “India”) Wing 2-7 to 2-81 inches; tail 1-9 to 2-0; tarsus 0-7 to 0-8;
/T f ; bill to gape 0-65, height at nostril 0-38. Length 5-8 inches (Jerdon')
(Java) Wmg 2-7 to 2-8 inches ; tail 2-0 ; tarsus 0-8.
Iris brown; bill “black” {Jerdon)-, legs and feet fleshy.
Breediwj-plumage. Head and crown rich gUstening yellow, forming a point on the nape ; cheeks, ear-coverts, chin,
and throat brownish black; hind neck, interscapular region, and scapulars blackish brown, the feathers margined
^nth tawny ; back, rump, and upper_ tail-coverts lighter brown than the hind neck, with paler margins to the
feathers; wings and tail brown; the inner secondaries broadly edged with fulvous; the primaries and tail-feathers
PADDA OETZIVOEA.
(the java sparkow.)
Loxia oryzwm-a, Lmn. Syst. Ant. i. p. 302 (1766).
Amadina orizivora (L.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. 8. B. p. 118 (1849).
Munia orizivora (L.), Bonap. Consp. Gen. Ay. p. 451 (1850).
Padda orizivora (L.), Hume, A'ests and Eggs, ii. p. 454 (1874).
Fringilla orizivora, Bligh, J. A. S. (Ceylon Branch), 1874, p. 67.
Tlie Java Grosheah, Latham. Glate, Java; GelatiJc, Sumatra (Horsf.) ; Ram Gira, in Bengal (Blyth).
Adult male. (Ceylon, December 1870) Length 5-8 inches; wing 2-7; tail 1-8; tarsus 0-75; middle toe and claw 0-8-
bill at front 0*6. >
(Java, Lombok, Tenasserim) Wing 2-6 to 2-8 Inches; tafl 1-9 ; tarsus 0-65 to 0-75; middle toe 0-6; bill to gape 0-5
Iris red ; bill fleshy red at base, paling to fleshy towards the tip ; legs and feet fleshy. ’ & P ■
Entire head and gape black, encompassing a large white patch which covers the cheeks and ear-coverts • upper surface
wings, entire neck, and chest delicate dove-grey; primaries tinged with brown; upper tail-coverts’ and tail black’,
the tail less intense than the coverts ; breast, belly, and flanks isabelline red, blending into the grey of the chest
vent and under tail-coverts white.
A Lombok example has the breast and abdomen darker red than one from Java ; a specimen from Tenasserim is albes-
cent on the abdomen.
Obs. A handsome species allied to this one is P. fuscata-, it has the head and throat black, enclosing a similar white
PL0CEU8 MANYAE.
647
narrowly margined with dull yellowish ; chest and flanks tawny, with clee;p brown central stripes, rather broad on
the chest, and narrowing gradually on the flanks ; the centre of the breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts albes-
cent. Examples appear to vary in the intensity of the colouring of the throat and in the amount of striation on
the chest.
Nonbreeding-plumage (Burmah). Head and upper parts blackish brown, the feathers edged with tawmy ; a light
stripe over the eyes ; lower part of the cheeks and the throat w'hitish, tinged with yellow ; breast and flanks
striated darkly, as in breeding-plumage.
An example beginning to change to breeding-dress has the eye-stripe and a patch above the ear-coverts light yellow,
and the throat-feathers changing to black along the shafts.
Female. Length 5-4 inches ; wing 2-65 ; tail from vent 1-85 ; tarsus 0-91 ; bill from gape 0'63 (Oates).
“ Iris brow’u ; eyelids grey ; bill yellowish horny, darker on the upper mandible ; legs fleshy ; claws pinkish.”
Similar to the male in winter plumage.
Obs. I see no difference in Javan and Indian examples of this bird, and I conclude it was with the latter that Blytli
compared Layard’s skins sent from Ceylon. Horsfield’s description is very meagre, and was perhaps taken from
a young bird breeding, or it may be simply a case of the incomplete style of description in vogue at the beginning
of the present century.
Other species of Floceus inhabiting the Indo-Malaccan region are P. bengalensis, from Bengal, Assam, and Burmah,
and P. javanensis. Lesson, = H. hypoxanthus, Daudin. The former differs in breeding-plumage from our bird in
having the chin, throat, and face white, with a broad black pectoral band reaching upon the sides of the neck ;
the head and occiput are pale but brilliant yellow' ; the wing-coverts, scapulars, and back brow'uish black, margined
with greyish ; wings and tail brown ; under surface from the chest huffy white ; flanks brownish, with dark shafts
to the feathers. The female has the head and hind neck uniform brown j a pale supercflium ; throat yellowish ;
a blackish pectoral band, with the feathers in the centre terminated wdth whitish, giving it a broken appearance.
P. javanensis is a very handsome species, with the head, the sides of the neck, and the entire under surface brilliant
chrome-yellow ; throat and cheeks black, aird the yellow of the chest just beneath the black tinged w'ith taw'ny ;
the rump, upper tail-coverts, and edges of the back, scapulars, and wing-covert feathers paler yellow than the
head ; wings and tail brown.
cheek-patch, and the parts which are slate-grey in this species are ruddy brown in it ; breast and lower parts
w'hite, divided from the brown chest by a blackish border; wing 2-4 to 2-5 inches.
Distribution . — This well-knowm bird, which is largely imported into Ceylon as a cage-pet, has been successfully
acclimatized in Ceylon.
It is now no uncommon occurrence to meet with a small flock on the compounds surrounding the Colombo Lake. I
saw one in the pretty grounds of the bungalow belonging to the Messrs. Green, of Colombo, in April 1870 ; and my friend
Mr. J. P. Green informs me that he saw a few near the house last year. They are, however, frequently seen in other
places in the neighbourhood of Colombo, and have even been introduced into some of the coffee-districts, where they are,
it appears, thriving as well as in Colombo. Mr. Bligh writes, from Kotmalie, in the Ceylon As. Journal for 1874 “I
have frequently seen them in the jungle, where they are so wild, and keep to the tops of the highest jungle-trees in in-
accessible places, that I have not yet been able to obtain a specimen; they seem to be quite at home in this wild district.”
Jerdon states that it has been turned out so much near Madras that it may be seen wild there. It occurs in Tenas-
serim, whence I have seen examples in the British Museum ; and Blyth states that Major Berdmore procured it in the
Mergui province. In Malacca it is common. It is found abundantly in Java, and also in Sumatra, in the Lampong
district of which latter island Mr. Buxton lately procured it. Purther east thau Java it has been obtained in the island
of Lombok ; and no doubt it occurs in other islands of the great chain which terminates with Timor. It has been intro-
duced into St. Helena, and, according to Mr. Melliss, is numerous there.
Habits . — This bird appears to affect trees as much as the nearly allied Munias resort to the ground. It flies swiftlv,
and is restless and shy. In confinement it is as docile as all birds of its kind, and it is consequently a favourite cage-pet.
It feeds on the ground, tripping quickly on the grass, and it clings, with the agility of its family, to stalks of grain, to
which it is no doubt very destructive during harvest-time.
648
PLOCEUS MANYAE.
Distribution, — According to my observations the Striated Weaver-bird is not a common bird in Ceylon-
Layard, who discovered it in the island, remarks, “ I found it replacing P. philijjjnnus in the neighbourhood
of Tangalla and, alluding to the possibility of Kelaart having seen it at Trincomalie, suggests the probability
of the species extending round the east coast to that place. I think I met with a flock once at a tank in the
Trincomalie district; but, as I was unable to procure a specimen, I am unable to record it with certainty. I
likewise saw what may have been this species near the Wallaway river; but unfortunately it did not occur to
me at the time, although they were frequenting a reed-bed, that they were not the Common Weaver-bird, and
I allowed them to pass unmolested ! In both these localities, particularly at Trincomalie, the latter species is
found not unfrequently, so that no dependence can be placed on my surmise. There is, if I mistake not, a
specimen in the Colombo Museum, shot near Borelesgamuwa. I have never seen it in any collections, nor
heard of it having been procured in any part of the island other than the localities above mentioned.
On the mainland of India this species has, it would appear, quite as extensive a range as the last, for, in
addition to being diffused throughout the peninsula, it extends on the one side as far north as Sindh, and on
the other into Burmah, and thence as far south as Tenasserim, where it is found between the Sittang river and
Salween. Mr. Davison obtained it on the Thatone plain, where, from his remarks, it was not plentiful. In
the south of India Mr. Bourdillon met with it near Trevandrum, in southern Travancore. Jerdou remarks
that it is rare in the Deccan, and 1 observe that it has not been recorded from there by recent observers ; in
addition to which Mr. Hume states that it is not common in Southern India. In the north-west Captain
Butler met with it at Milana, near Deesa ; but it does not seem to be common in that district. In Sindh
according to INIr. Hume, it is plentiful; he writes, “Everywhere in the giant flowering-grasses, so common in
the neighbourhood of Shikarpore and other similar localities in Upper Sindh, this Weaver-bird is seen in large
parties ” in that province. It breeds only where there are large sheets of water, as is the case in other districts
of Northern India. It is found at Etawah, breeding there, as also in the Aligurh, Mynpoorie, and Cawnpore
districts. Further east and to the south Mr. Ball records it from Orissa, north of the Mahanadi ; and in the
Furreedpore district Mr. Cripps says that it is very common. As regards Pegu, Mr. Oates says “ this species is
scarcely less common about Thayetmyo than Baya-,’' but in the Irrawaddy delta Mr. Armstrong did not meet
with it. It is found in Java, having been described from there by Horsfield ; but in Borneo it has not been
as yet observed; in fact the genus F looms does not find a iflace in Salvadori^s ' Uccelli di Borneo’; neither
can I find any mention of it in Sumatra ; but in the district of Lampong the Malayan race of the Indian Baya,
entitled P. maculatus, P. L. S. Muller, by Lord Tweeddale, occurs.
Habits. — This handsome Weaver-bird has a partiality for long grass in open country and reeds near water
in one or other of which it is usually met with. But little has been written concerning its habits except as
regards its nidification, which is almost as interesting as that of the last species. The birds which I hesita-
tingly identify as the Black-throated lYeaver-bird w^ere congregated in a large flock about reeds and rushes,
and w'ere as noisy as the common species, flying up and settling down again continually. Mr. Hume found
its food to consist of insects as well as grass-seeds, and writes as follows concerning its habits in Sindh :
“ Flalf a dozen may be seen perched close side by side upon the topmost sprays of the largest grass-stems,
which, curved slightly beneath their weight, sway backwards and forwards at every passing breath, apparently
much to their satisfaction. No sooner, however, are half a dozen comfortably placed than a dozen others
insist on sharing the perch; great is the commotion that ensues, down bends the grass-stem and off they all
fly, to resume the same game on some other stem ; and so they will go on continuously for half an hour.”
Nidification. — The Striated Weaver-bird breeds in Upper India in August and September, building a nest
of the same character as the last species, suspended from high reeds or bulrushes. Great numbers are often
placed close together ; Mr. Hume writes of having found nearly a hundred in a small bulrush island not
20 yards in diameter. He thus describes the nests : — “ They are formed of the same materials ” (as those
of P. philippinus) “and woven in the same manner; but the upper or body portions are more massive and
clumsier, and the tubes are shorter. The points of some forty or fifty narrow bulrush-leaves are commonly
gathered together and incorporated into the upper portion of the nest to form a point of suspension. The
true nest, exclusive of the tubular entrance-passage, averages about 7^ inches in length externally, with a
PLOCEUS MANTAE.
649
diameter of 5 incEes one way by 4 the other. The tube is from 3 to 5 inches in length, and about 2^ inches
in external diameter j the upper portion of the nest may he about Ij inch thick, hut the sides average about
half an inch, and the entrance-passage is scarcely a quarter of an inch thick. What gives the nest a clumsy
appearance is that its upper end terminates squarely, instead of tapering more or less to a point, as is the case
with those of P. philippinus ; hut then the nests of these latter are hung from a point of support.” The eggs
are usually two or three in number, and are slightly smaller than those of the last species. They are “ mode-
rately broad ovals, a good deal pointed towards one end, and of a perfectly pure glossless white. The average
size of the eggs is 0’8 by 0'58 inch.
The colony I met with near the Wallaway river, and which, I presume, was one of this species, were
nesting in the reeds j the nests corresponded to the above description, and many of them had pieces of clay
attached to them. What could this have been for, except to add weight, and thus prevent the swinging to and
fro of the nests ?
Genus MUNIA*.
Bill much as in Ploceus, but more inflated between the nostrils and the margin, which is
festooned ; gape much angulated ; culmen running hack on the forehead in a point. Wings with
the 1st quill very minute, the next three nearly equal in length, but variable, the 2nd of them
usually the longest. Tail rather short, cuneate. Tarsus stout, scarcely exceeding the middle
toe without its claw ; middle toe much longer than the lateral ones, which are subequal, the
outer being slightly the longer.
Of small size and gregarious habit ; often building in company like the Weaver-birds.
* It will seem strange to many of my Ceylon readers to remove these little birds from among the Finches, with
which one is always inclined to associate them ; but, in addition to their possessing a minute or rudimentaiy first primary,
they are, in other respects, more hke the “ Weavers” than the true Finches, to the former of which they assimilate m
outline and structure of bill, and in the short tail and legs ; and, furthermore, they are highly gregarious and often nest
in company : to the latter they merely bear a superficial resemblance in the matter of their conical bill and small size.
MUNIA KELAAETI.
(THE HILL-MUNIA*.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Amadina pectoralis, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1851, xx. p. 178; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 126
(1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 258.
Munia kelaarti, Blyth, MS.; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 356 (1863); Blyth, Ibis, 1867,
p. 299 (orig. descrip.); Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 464.
The Nwwara-Elliija Finch, Kelaart; Ortolan, Hill Paddy-hird, Europeans in Ceylon.
We-kurulla, lit. “ Paddy-bird,” Sinhalese ; Tinna kuruvi, Tamil (Layard) ; Pastro de Neli,
Portuguese in Ceylon.
Ad. supra chocolatino-brunneus, pile! dorsique plumis angustissimi medialiter albido Hueatis : alls nigricantibus
tectncibus mtenonbus secundariisque brunneis : uropygio ot supracaudalibus nigris, scapis albis, et subtermina-
liter macula alba ornatis, supracaudalibus longioribus aureo-fulvo temiinatis : caudn saturate brunnea : loris facie
laterali et gula mgris : redone parotica postica et colli lateribus pallid^ cerwno-brimneis angustissime medialiter
albolmeatis; corpore reliquo subtiis albo nigroque maculatim marmoratis, plumis albis nigro late fasciatis et
margmatis : subeaudalibus mgns late albo medialiter lineatis ; rostro nigro, mandibula basaUter cyanescente ;
pedibus fuscescenti-plumbeis ; iride brunneft.
Adult male and female. Length 4-6.5 to 4-8 inches ; wing 2-1 to 2-25 ; tad 1-6 to 1-8 ; tarsus 0-5 to 0-6 ; middle toe
and claw 0-75 ; bill at front 0-5, to gape 0-45 to 0-48.
In this species the bill is somewhat flatter above and the culmen less arched than in the other Ceylonese members
of the genus.
Iris sepia-brown ; bill blackish leaden, bluish at the base of lower mandible ; legs and feet plumbeous, in some with a
greenish tinge.
Forehead, cheeks, throat, and fore neck glossy broAvnish black, paling on the head, and changing on the hind neck,
back, and scapulars into a woody or fulvous brown; the feathers on these parts with whitish or fulvous strife
(according to the hue of the back), those of the sides of the neck and under surface likewise with white strife ;
wings, upper taU-coverts, and tail brownish black, the tail-coverts with central arrow-headed white spots, the
longer feathers glistening ochre-yeUow at the tips ; below the ear-coverts the sides of the neck are pale fawn
continued down to the sides of the breast ; breast and lower parts white with black edges, and two more or less
oval black spots on each side of the shaft, imparting a curious chequered appearance ; the black is of greater
e.vtent on the flanks ; under tail-coverts black, with broad white centres, which in some specimens take the form
of bars. In specimens in abraded plumage the under surface is much lighter.
Young. Fpper surface uniform dark brown, wanting both the strife of the back and the white barring of the upper
tail-coverts ; iipper tail-coverts plain brown ; throat black, barred with white ; fore neck and under surface tawny
fulvous, with indistinct black lunulations ; under tail-coverts buff, barred with black.
Ohs. This species was at flrst confounded by Blyth with M.pectoralis from the hills of Southern India, inasmuch as
he was under the impression that jt was the adult of that Finch, to the young of which Jerdon had given this
title. He afterwards gave it a MS. name, and in his paper on Ceylonese birds (‘ Ibis’ 1867) fully described a
specimen of it. It is, m fact, the Ceylonese representative of M. pector alls. This latter, which is found in the
♦ I have chosen the term Munia for the English name of these little “ Amaduvads.” It is employed by Jerdon, in
his ‘ Birds of India,’ as being, I conclude, shorter than Amaduvad, the term generally applied to the genus by Europeans in
India. Hodgson flrst gave the name as a generic one, and remarks in the ‘ Asiatic Eesearches ’ concerning it : “ Munia,
the name we have assigned to these birds, is well known to the Tarai and to the Hills as the generic appellation of
several species of tiny gross bills, distinguished for their familiarity with man, their gregarious habits, their depredations
upon the rice-crops, and their ingenious nests.”
4
HIRUNDO HYPERYTHRA
MUNIA KELAART I .
MUNIA KELAAETI.
651
Wynaad, Coorg, Travancore, and other hills, has the throat and chest deep brownish black, and the undernarts
from the breast downwards, a salmon or reddish-fawn colour, without any dark markings ; the unner narts are
dark brown, the feathers with pale yellowish shafts. ^
Distribution.~Th.{% handsome little Finch, the only species of the family peculiar to the island, was
is^vere y ^ r. Kelaart at Nuwara Elliya, where it is very common, and by him specimens were forwarded
to Ulyth. It IS essentially an alpine bird, not being found below an altitude of about 2000 feet, and is not
very numerous at that height. Its principal habitat is the Nuwara-Elliya plateau and the western coffee-districts
extending from the Peak forest (in clearings in which it is common), through Maskeliya, Dickoya, Dimhnlla,
and Pusselawa, to parts of the Kandy district, and thence to the Knuckles, in the upper parts of which it is
found, hut not according to my observation, as commonly as on the south side of the Dumbara valley. In
m Madulsima I found it less numerous than M. malacca, which is the common patna
In tfc n fb Matiirata and Hewahette it is tolerably frequent, but not more so than M. striata.
In the southern ranges ( he Rakwana, Morowak, and Kukkiil-Korale district) it is found above the altitude
rfd"™ of thfS “ •'"= “ •'■e
The Hill-Munia, in its habits, differs considerably from all the sncceedinj species. It is
Ireqnently found m the .utenor of the gloomiest forests; it is unsociable, living for the mL part in pairs
likewise a bud of more rapid flight than other Munias, Nature having afforded it the power of spanning the
deeprav nes and gorges, among which it p.ssri its life, with ease and rapidity. I, d.«. swiftly Lross open
coffee-estates and patnas ftom one piece of jungle to another with an undulating flight, uttering a long-drawn
sibilant note, which is andible at some distance, and is often heard without the swiftly flying little -.Fincli ”
being Itself perceived. It feeds on small seeds, frequenting the tall patna-grass when it is in flower and
rMorting to the Itnrriito clearings in the Peak forest and Knkliul Korale, where it gorges itself with the
grain of that plant. I have noticed it in the early morning about the outhouses at Nuwara Elliya picking
Ike Sparrow, on dunghills and rnbbish-h.aps ; and Mr. Holdsworth likewise observed it feeding on the roiuS
there like Sparrows on whatever ;« could find. When not feeding it is both shy and restli. Durin”.
sojourn in the Peak forest I observed that its appetite was satisfied at an early ho Jin the evening, and fct
It then commenced to roam about and settle on dead trees, coming home from its feeding-gronnd, L by one
and appearing to take some pains to find a good roosting-place. ^ '
AMif.V«lio»._The ''Nuwara-Elliya Pinch” breeds from May until September, nesting often in the
upper branches of lofty, umbrageous trees, and at other times in coffee- and other low bushes as well as in
the creepers trained up the veraiidal., of bungalows on the estates. Mr. Bligit informs me that he has know
a pair take possession of a Bu bul's nest, from which the rightful owners had been driven, and constrTc
therein a nest of their own. I noticed, with regaril to a pair breeding in that gentleman's verandah m
Catton, that the female was a very close sitter, and returned to her nest shortly after being disturbed.
Ibis was in May; and in July following Mr. Rligh writes me : — “On the 16th I snw ATrin' n
out of the old nest in the verandah, and when I put my finger in the nest I fouml tlVe^ n it
bird was then sitting on them. I think it worth recording that they lay so soon after Imving rea'red their
fiist brood. I noticed that occasionally the young and old returned to the nest to sleep; they did not
make a practice of 5 it seems to be only when they take it into their heads to do so; or it may be that
the ol birds are tbmking of another brood and begin to visit the nest for that purpose, and tolerate the
presence ot the first brood while they are still young.^’
The nest is made of grass, and usually globular in shape; it is compact, and has a rather neatly rounded
entrance. The egg-cavity is deep and round, and lined with fine grass. The eggs are pointed ovals, pure white
and glossy in texture. They measure from 0-65 to 0'68 inch in length, and O'dl to 0'46 ineh in breadth ^
The figure in the Plate is that of a specimen shot in the Peak forest.
4o 2
MFNIA MALACCA.
(THE BLACK-BELLIED MDNIA.)
Coccothraustes javanensis, Brisson, Orn. iii. p. 237 (1770).
Loocia malacca, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 302 (1766).
Spermestes malacca, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. Ind., Madr. Journ. 1839, xi. p. 27.
Amadina malacca, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1846, xv. p. 285 ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 125
(1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 258.
Mania malacca, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 116 (1849) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 352
(1863); Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 464; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 443; Legge, Ibis,
1874, p. 25, et 1875, p. 398. -
White-breasted Indian Sparrow, Edwards, Gleanings, p. 301, pi. 355.
Malacca Grosbeak, Latham ; Malacca Finch, Kelaart ; Black-headed Mania, Jerdon ; The
Chestnut-backed Mania of some; Paddy-bird, Ortolan in Ceylon. Nakal-nor, Hind.;
Nalla jinuwayi, Telugu (Jerdon).
Wk-kandla, Sinhalese ; Tinna kuriivi, Tamils ; Pastro de Heli, Portuguese in Ceylon.
Adult male. Length 4‘6 to 4*8 inches ; wing 2'1 to 2'3 ; tail 1‘5 to 1'6 ; tarsus 0’7 ; middle toe and olaw 0'65 to
0-8 ; bill to gape 0-45, at front 0-5, height at nostril 0-34 ; hind toe 0-35, claw (straight) 0-3. Birds from the
hills appear to average larger than low-country individuals.
MUNIA EUBEONI&RA.
(the CHESTXUT-BELLIED MUNIA.)
Munia ruhronigra, Hodgson, As. Ees. xix. p. 153 (1836); Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 116 (1849); Holdsw.
P. Z. S. 1872, p. 464 ; Layard, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 205 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 25.
Amadina ruhronigra, Layard, Ann. & Mag. ISTat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 258.
Munia atrkapilla (Vieill.), Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 444 (1874); Salvadori, Ucc. d. Born. p. 265 (1874).
Pora Munia ; NuTc roul at Mussouri (Blyth).
Adult male and female. Length “ 4-o inches ” (J«rdo«) ; wing 2-1 to 2-2; tail 1-6; tarsus 0-65; middle toe 0-6, claw
(straight) 0-2 ; bill to gape 0-42, height at nostril 0'3.
“Iris brown; bill and feet plumbeous” (Jerdon).
Entn-e head, neck, and upper chest jet-black ; rest of body and wings dark chestnut, changing abruptly into dull black
on the centre of the lower breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, and blending into the dark maroon of the upper
tail-coverts ; tail chestnut-brown, the feathers margined near the tips with paler maroon than the coverts.
This species differs from M. malacca merely in the chestnut colouring of the under surface, having the head, neck, and
black lower-surface patch the same.
Young (N.W. Himalayas : Pinwell). Above brown, tinged with rufous on the back and rump ; the throat white ;
chest and flanks rufescent fulvous, paling on the centre of the breast ; thighs brownish rufous.
■ Ohs. Doubts exist whether Vieillot’s name atricapilla (Ois. Chant. 84, pi. 53) applies to this bird or not. I retain
Hodgson’s name, however, as the species only takes a doubtful place among the ornis of Ceylon.
Distribution . — Layard remarks (loc. cit.) that he found this Munia about Halle ; but as it has never since been seen
in Ceylon, and is a bird which does not strictly belong to the south of India, its presence in the Galle district must have
MUNIA MALACCA.
653
Female. Somewhat less than male ; wing 2-1. , , , ^ v.
Iris brown, in some slightly reddish; bill light leaden or milky blue ; legs and feet sombre blue, or dark slate-blue, or
Entire head and neck, chest, lower breast, abdomen, thighs, and under tail-coverts glossy black ; chest, upper part of
breast, and flanks white, its junction with the black of the throat and of the belly being convex in shape; back,
scapulars, and wing-coverts chestnut-brown; quills brown, edged with chestnut; upper tail-coverts glistening
deep maroon, central rectiices rich glistening chestnut ; the remaining feathers, which are darker brown than the
wings, edged with the same. In abraded plumage the colours of the upper surface fade much.
Ymng, Iris deep brown ; bill brownish horn or dusky iilumbeous ; legs bluish brown, in nestlings lilac-grey.
Uniform pale rufescent brown above, darker somewhat on the head, some specimens having the forehead and lores
darker still ; quills dark browm, edged with the hue of the back ; under surface pale fulvous-white, lightest on
the breast. During the change to the adult dress, which takes place by a moult in the first year, individuals in
every variety of plumage may be seen. The nape and hind neck change first to black, and then the lower parts ;
the maroon rump is last acquired, as I have obtained specimens in almost complete black and chestnut plumage
with the grey rump still unchanged.
Ohs. Indian specimens correspond very well w’ith ours ; two examples in the national collection are somewhat pale on
the back, in spite of being in good plumage. They measure 2-18 inches in the wing; another is larger wing
2-2 inches, tail 1-7, height of bill at nostril 0-34, these measurements being precisely those of Ceylonese birds.
It is considered by some that Linnams’s name does not safely apply to the present species, owing partly to his some-
what meagre description, and also to the distribution assigned by him to the species. As regards his descrption,
he leaves out all mention of the wdiite underparts : “ ferruginea, capite abdomineque nigris, rostro cmruleo ” is all
that we have. He refers to Edwards’s plate, ‘ Gleanings,’ 355, which gives -a representation of a bird which
cannot be any other species, and which is called by Edwards “ the White-breasted Indian Sparrow. It was figured
from a specimen kept in confinement in St. Clement’s. Eeference is likewise made to Brisson’s description of the
“ Chinese Sparrow^” in which mention is made of the white underparts and black belly ; but the distribution
been owing to a flock having been let loose from a ship calUng at the port. By such means, or by pairs escaping from
conflnement, the little Amaduvad became not uncommon during several years of my residence at Colombo : I am not
sure that it bred there ; but it would appear that the present species, if rightly identified, did not propagate itself m the
south of Ceylon, or else it would have been met with subsequently.
It replaces the White-bellied Munia in the north of India, being, according to Jerdon, “found throughout Low^er
Bengal, and all along the foot of the Himalayas, as far as the Dehra Doon, and also in some of the wooded adjacent
districts ; but it would appear to be rare in the open country of the N.W. Prowces. I have,” he remarks, “ seen speci-
mens from the eastern coast north of Madras but it is certainly rare in Southern India. It is much more common
in the countries to the eastward, Assam and Burmali, as far as the Tenasserim provinces. I do not find any other record
of its occurrence in the south, or, in fact, anv lower down the peninsula than Sambalpiir. Mr. Cripps says it is nowhere
common in Eui-reedpore; in North-eastern India it is, according to Mr. Inglis, common during the rains, breeding there
in June, July, and August; in Upper Pegu Mr. Oates records it as likewise common; but to Tenasserim it is only a
summer visitant, Mr. Davison having observed it there from March until August. If identical with TieiUot’s bird, it is
found at Singapore and at Saraw-ak and Labuan (Salvadori). „ ^ i
In its habits and voice, Mr. Davison remarks, “they resemble other Muuias, going about in larger or smaller flocks,
and feedmg on the gi-ound, chiefly on grass-seeds.” Mr. Oates says it affects elephant-grass and swampy places m pre-
ference to others.
Nidijimtion . — The breeding-season of this handsome Munia in Bengal, Burmah, and Cachar is from
September ; but in Tenasserim, further south, Mr. Davison speaks of their laying in April and May. n ^ ®®
says it breeds in elephant-grass, attaching its nest to two or three stems at a height of four or five eet rom e groun .
It is “ a loose mass of grass, spherical, cylindrical, or heart-shaped ; the inside is lined with finer grass, t ® ® owing ends
being brought forw'ard to the entrance, w'hich is small and dilflcult to find.’’ In 1874 Mr. C. Parker found it nesting
in long o'rass near the top, the nest being a very conspicuous object ; but in the follow'iug year, owmg to the grass
having been cut down, they selected prickly date-palms and small pines to build in. The eggs vary from two to five in
number, and are elongated glossless ovals, from 0-58 to 0-68 inch in length, by 0'4 to 0-47 inch in breadth.
654
MUjVIA MALACCA.
"Ti f his distribution, as
and tra^^ellers in thn'*'^ f * ® Erisson took his idea from information received from sailors
brs^nhoi or P W B 7' reliable source. We find no mention of this species in China made either
ii n Baffles merely gives the name in his Catalogue of Sumatran birds (Trans. Linn. Soc.
77; any note whatever, so that his identification might have been incorrect. Blyth stated that
the true Munu. maZarra from Borneo (in Mr. Wallace’s collection) is distinct from the Indian race” (Ibis, 1867,
and I tMfflr It iX,? o f 7' ^r. Sharpe, and I find no such skin of Wallace’s ;
and I think it is best to rely on the evidence given by Edwards’s plate, and leave the long-adopted nomenclature
of the species undisturbed. Salvador! includes it in his Bornean list of birds on the autLrily S oTh™ bu
himself under the impression that M. atrieapilla has been mistaken for it. ^ ^ *
i)»^M6«^io«^-This fine Munia is common in the south of the island, particularly in the district lyino-
between the Bentota river, round the snnfb i-i, nr n • ^ uismci, lying
Korale forests it is found in wild d^T^T * ? * river. Between Galle and the Kukkul
is fai less common. It does not seem to he common in the Western Province, except in certain loealiflp^
such aa the sylvan paddy-fields in the lower part of the Pasdun Korale ; there I found it plentS Zt ^ f
nood; but further north it appears to be rare. iici^^nuour
mainland it has a restricted range, being chiefly confined to the south of the peninsula ^^a few
tha??"'’ occurring in Central India, and even in Bengal occasionally. » He remarks
that it IS veiy abundant m some parts of Southern India, especially on the Malabar coast I do notTnd I
r^rded by Mr Bouriilte .be T.avancore hills, „or L™ fhe Palaeis by Dr.Tlaab Ms A G
heobald found It in the Coimbatore district. Mr. Hume includes it in Mr. Ball’s list of birds inhabitino-'the
gion between the Ganges and the Godaveri, noting it as having been procured at Raipur. In the Bhundara
district It was found nesting by Mr. Blewitt. ^ me mundara
The “Chestnut-backed Finch” affects paddy- and grass-fields, situated among the woods and
forests, and is also found in marshy land about tanks and water-holes. In the hills it is pm-tTal to th
maana-grass patnas, and those covered with tangled bushes and rank venetation Tf ; T l ^
the paddy-fields of the Kandyaos, neeessitating the copstaot preseoce of call-boys and ttaerSiro? I
:“s::d long^irsita
very large flocks.” ^ gram-lields, and very commonly sugar-cane fields ; it often associates in
Nidification. This Munia breeds often gregariously. The season of l+o no, +• i
August. In the former month I found many nests among the gigantic “maana” nrls™^ ^
which cover the Uva patnas ; and in the laLr I foundl amonM
baiitota, m company with the Baya {Ploceus manyar‘^). The nest is soraetimfs nia' 1 '
is more frequently built in grass and “brackens.” It is a large stll mr f f T
of the material nearest to hand, either blades of grass and roots, or strfps of r7df with aT”^^ TTf
looking opening at the side. The interior is roomy, and in some ca es very large unfinished-
grass-stalks or fine nrass itself TPe r r x ■ ^ ^ P’ l^’aed with flowering
line grass itself. The eggs vary from four to six in number, but most commonly do not exceed
MUNIA MALACCA.
655
the former figure ; they are pure white, rather stumpy ovals, and larger than those of its congeners. I have
found them to vary from 0’73 to 0‘63 inch in length, and from 0‘45 to 0‘5 inch in breadth.
In India it breeds from July till October.
Mr. Theobald writes of its nesting as follows : — " I found the nests near Pothanore, in the Coimbatore
district, during the latter half of October. They were placed amongst reeds growing in a small pond ; they
were round, with a round hole on one side for an entrance, and were composed of dry seeds and leaves of some
flag-leaved grass very like the Cholium {Sorghum vulgare ) . The lining was composed of the hair-like filaments
from the broom-grass of this country. Seven, I think, is the full complement of eggs.” Mr. Hume gives
the average size as 0‘64 by 0'47 inch.
MUNIA PUNCTULATA.
(THE SPOTTED MUNIA.)
Loxia punctulata, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 302 (1766).
Loxia undulata. Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 387 (1790).
Mimia undulata (Lath.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 117 (1849) ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat.
B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 506 (1854) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 354 (1863) ; Holdsworth,
P. Z. S. 1872, p. 464; Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 275.
Amadina undulata (Lath.), Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. B. p. 125 (1852); Layard, Ann. &
Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 258.
Lonchura punctulata (L.), Adam, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 387 ; Ball, ibid. 1874, p. 420; Butler
& Hume, ibid. 1875, p. 495.
Munia punctulata, Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 444 (1874) ; Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1876,
p. 260, et 1877, p. 408 ; Davidson & Wender, ibid. 1878, vol. vii. p. 85 ; Ball, t.c.
p. 222 ; Cripps, t. c. p. 293.
Cowry Grosbeak, Edwards, Birds, pi. 40 ; The Reddish Indian Finch, Kelaart ; The Barred
Munia of some. Telia Munia, Hind, in North ; Sing-bay, Hind., Deccan and Mussoori ;
Shubz Munia, Bengal. ; Kakkara jinuwayi, Telugu (Jerdon).
We-kurulla, Sinhalese ; Tinna kuruvi, Tamils ; P astro de Ffeli, Portuguese in Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 5-1 inches ; wing 2T to 2-25 ; tail 1-75 ; tarsus 0-6 ; middle toe and claw 075 ; bill
at front O' 45.
Individuals vary in size, and I think females generally average smaller than males.
Iris light red; bill variable according to age, slate-colour or blackish leaden, in some brownish, the lower mandible
paler at the base ; legs and feet bluish or plumbeous.
Head, upper surface, sides of neck, and lower part of throat chestnut-brown, blending into the rich deep chestnut of
the throat and face.
Above the feathers have narrow light strise, which extend to the upper tertials ; wings brown, edged with chestnut ;
upper tail-coverts, margins of tail-feathers, and tips of those on the rump ochre-yellow, more or less glistening ;
some of the feathers of the latter have indistinct brownish bars and whitish strim ; beneath from the chest white,
with wavy edges and cross bars of blackish brown on the upper breast and sides, darkest and most conspicuous on
the flanks ; under tail-eoverts unspotted white.
Young. Above pale earthy brown, darker on the head ; secondaries edged with fulvous ; upper tail-coverts tinged
with obscure yellowish ; beneath pale sullied buff, albescent on the lower parts.
Birds acquiring the adult plumage have the upper part of the breast without the cross bars, the feathers being merely
subedged with brown ; the tertials tipped with white with a dark edge.
The young of this species, of M. malacca, and M. rubronigra are very similai* ; the dark thighs in the latter lead to a
speedy recognition, while the yellowish upper tail-coverts in the present species distinguish it from M. malacca, in
which these parts are rufescent.
Ohe. Five examples from the Himalayan district (Darjiling to North-west Himalayas) measure in length of wing
from 2-1 to 2-2 inches ; one from the peninsula and another from Mysore both 2-15 ; all agree in character of
coloration and size of bill with Ceylonese examples.
The Spotted Muma of Tenasserim differs slightly from the present species, and has been separated by Mr. Hume as
M. superstriata ; it has “ the feathers of the head, neck, mantle, and rump with conspicuous pale shafts ; the
rump is greyer and the tad-feathers and upper tail-coverts are fringed with an olive-yellow and not the
golden-yellow ” of continental specimens.
MUNIA PUNCTULATA.
657
A closely allied race exists in M . ^unctiilana from Malacca and the Malayan archipelago, which merely differs in
having the upper tail-coverts greyish brown, the longer feathers being tinged with obseui-e yellowish ; and the
tail dicker bromi, with the central feathers tinged with greyish. It is slightly shorter in the wing — specimens
from Bali, Timor, Makassar, and Malacca varying from 2-0 to 2'1 inches ; the lunulations of the under surface
ave a reddish tinge as distinguished from the almost pure black in the generality of specimens of M. punctulaia.
u example from Kepal and another from Behar have the under-surface markings on the breast quite rufous.
Distribution. The Spotted “ Finch is the most numerous of the family of Munias inhabiting Ceylon.
It is abundant both in the north and south of the island and on the east and west coasts, frequenting the
sea-board as much as the interior. In the Kandyan country it is common up to elevations of 2500 feet in
open localities and m Uva, where patna-land is so widespread, it is found nearly up to 4000 feet. I have
met with It at this altitude in the Badulla and Madulsima districts, and I doubt not that it possibly ranges
sti iig er etween tlm former place and Hakgala, in which neighbourhood not a few low-countiy birds are
found during the N.E. monsoon. In the west and south of the island it far outnumbers its congeners
wherever the country is open or cultivated, but is not so plentiful in jungle.districts as the next species.
t IS well known to the inhabitants of Colombo, who have frequent occasion of observing it in their
afternoon drives round the ornamental » circular » in the cinnamon-gardens.
In India it is very abundant, inhabiting the peninsula throughout in suitable localities, and ranging
more towards the east of the continental portion of the empire than the west. Jerdon says that it is rare in the
ex reme south; and I notice that Dr. Fairbank only observed it twice in thin jungle on the lower Palani
They are migratory to the Nilghiris, appearing there, according to Miss Cockburn, from June till
October. It is singular that this species should be so common in Ceylon when it is not abundant on the
adjoining mainland. Mr. Hume, generalizing, says that it only breeds, as a rule, in well-wooded and well-
watered tracts ; but, notwithstanding, Jerdon affirms that it does not occur on the Malabar coast, although he
found it in various parts of the Carnatic and Central India. In the Ahmednugur district it is rare according
to Dr. Fairbank, but in parts of the Deccan it is common and breeds {Davidson and Wender ) . From the
extended eastern region lying betw'een the Mahanadi and Ganges rivers Mr. Ball records it as occurring on the
Rajmehal hills, and in the Manbhum, Lowardugga, and Singhbhum districts of Chota Nagpur ; also in
Sambalpur, Raipur, and the Godaveri valley. Mr. Cripps states that in Furreedpore, Eastern Bengal, it is
nowhere common; but during the rainy season a few pairs are seen about hedgerows and cultivated fields, and
they breed in the district from June to August. Further to the north-east it beeomes scarce. Captain Beavan
observed it at Barraekpore ; but beyond this I cannot find any certain evidence of the existence of true
punctulata Mr. Inglis did not meet with it in North-eastern Cachar, and beyond this another allied species
exists m the A£. subundulata of Godwin-Austen. Mr. Hume, in commenting on Mr. Oateses notes on this
species m Pegu, which was said by lum to be by far the commonest Munia there, says that the specimens
were destroyed; and we have not since been informed whether the species inliabiting that province reallv is
the same as the continental Indian bird or identical with the Tenasserim allied race, M. superstriata, Hume.
Returning towards the w^cst w'e find that at Mount Aboo it is, according to Captain Butler, eommon asso-
ciating in large flocks in the hot weather and breeding in September ; but Mr. Hume adds that it occurs in
no other part of the whole region (Sindh, Cutch, Kattiawar, and Jodhpoor), although Mr. Adam saw it once
ill the rainy season at the Sambhur Lake.
From Lower Bengal it extends to the sub-Himalayan district, and appears to be found throughout it from
uarjiling to the North-west Himalayas, whence there are specimens in the British Museum.
Habits. This sociable little Munia chiefly frequents open land, grass- and pasture-fields, gardens and
coinpoun s aroun native villages, paddy-fields, and patna-hills in the Central Province. It consorts in large
oc s an IS a most entirely terrestrial in its habits, feeding in close contact on the ground, and tripiiino-
nim y a ou among t e grass. It is very destructive to the paddy, alighting on the stalk and picking out
the grain, m spite of the shouts of watch-boys, the outstretched arms of the many uncouth scarecrows and
loud knockings of the ingenious bamboo “ clappers,” devised by the natives for the protection of their crons
It is at all times veiy tame, showing no fear of man, and when raised from the ground by his approach flies
for a short distance and settles down again. Its ordinary note is a plaintive whistle, and this is often
4 P
658
MTJiSriA PUjSTCTULATA.
accompanied by a little dissyllable chirp. It roosts in companies among the branches of shrubs and low trees,
the lime and orange being favourite resorts. The males are pugnacious in the breeding-season, and may often
be found with the face and forehead denuded of part of the feathers from the pecking of antagonistic bills.
Layard, in his notes on Ceylon birds (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii.), says that the natives fatten these
Finches, to be used as medicine in pulmonary complaints. They are caught by them, in common with other
birds, by the much-adopted horsehair noose.
Nidification . — These birds breed pretty well all the year round, but the favourite season is perhaps from
ikpril to July. The nest is built in any umbrageous shrub or tree, at a height varying from 5 to 30 feet from
the ground, but for the most part at about 10 feet, and is a massive untidy structure of any shape that its
situation may require to give it due support ; some are globular, others oval, with the longer axis horizontal
or vertical, as the case may be, while many are without any shape whatever ; the materials used are grass-
stalks and blades, straw, or strips of cane or palm-leaves j the egg-cavity is very large and sometimes
lined with feathers, but oftener with fine grass. Several nests are often placed in the same tree, and
frequently there are two compartments in the same structure j but, to my knowledge, they are never both
occupied, the second being merely the new nest added to an old one, instead of the latter being repaired,
which is very often the case.
Some large nests frequently measure more than a foot in diameter, the diligent little architects con-
structing them in a few days, working without cessation, and flying about with immense sti’aws or grass-stalks
in their bills streaming after them in the air. The eggs are from four to six in number, ovals in shape,
and pure white, with a considerable gloss on the shell. They measure on the average about 0-66 by
0'46 inch.
Layard speaks of thirty or forty nests being placed in one tree. I have never seen more than half a
dozen at the most.
From perusing Mr. Hume's Nests and Eggs’ we gather that in most parts of India the Spotted Munia
breeds in July and August, but in the Nilghiris from February to September. The nests are built, as in Ceylon,
from 5 to 12 feet from the ground, and seven is the normal number of eggs. A notice of this bird’s nesting
would be incomplete without my subjoining the following charming account, written by Miss Cockburn,from the
Nilghiris. She remarks ; — " I have watched with great interest the punctual return year after year of these
pretty friendly little birds, and have very carefully noted their behaviour and habits. In selecting a place to build
on they sit on a twig, and raising themselves as high as possible flap their wings over their backs to ascertain that
no small branches are likely to obstruct the progress of their building, thus appearing to be fully aware that
their nest will oecupy a good deal of space. When perfectly satisfied as to the convenience of the spot, the
female remains there while the male flies to a short distance, alights on the ground, and breaking ofE a piece of
fine long grass, flies back with it to the female and continues to bring her at least one piece every minute,
while she carries on the building process alone. They begin early and build for an hour or so, then leave off
till evening and work late, keeping up an incessant cry of " kitty, kitty, kitty.’
“ The nest is composed entirely of grass ; the entrance is at one side, a small round hole, so small that
two fingers can hardly be inserted. They build in July and August, and lay from six to ten white eggs, so
beautifully translucent that the yolk is clearly seen through the shell. When the young are fully fledged they
accompany their parents to the grass-fields, but continue to return to their nests every evening for a long
time after they have left them during the day. How they all manage to get in is wonderful. The nest appears
perfectly full, and they seem to be restless and uncomfortable for some minutes after entering. In the morning
they fly out one by one ; those that go first wait for the others on some bush close by. When all are out
away they fly in a flock, and are not visible near their nest during the rest of the day. At one time I counted
no less than fourteen nests of these birds in the trellis of our ‘ verandah ’ and windows I have known
instances of the House- Sparrow taking possession of the Spotted Munia’s nest. They wait till the latter have
finished building and then (being much bolder birds) drive the poor Munia away, and adding to the warmth
of the nest by a number of feathers, appropriate it to their own use. On one occasion a pair of these Munias
had taken a fancy to the trellis at my ^vindow. When their nest was completed an impertinent cock Sparrow
seemed determined to take possession of it ; but I was equally determined he should not. After a good deal
MUNIA PUNCTULATA.
659
of trouble the poor owners were again the proprietors of their lawful abode. They appeared to be quite aware
that I was taking their part in the arbitration business, and would sit patiently on a Puehsia-bush elose by
till the case was decided. Sometimes one of their own species would approach their building j but at these
times I considered them quite able to fight their own battles, and merely looked on. They required no
assistance, but would sit close to their nest cracking their mandibles to show how decidedly displeased they
M^ere. This proceeding used often to have the effect of inducing their unwelcome visitor to take his departure ;
but if he did not think of going soon they would fly at him and use their bills to such purpose as to make
him glad to be off.
“ Yet notwithstanding that these little birds are so tenacious of their rights when invaded by one of their
own species, they are easily intimidated by any strange and unexpected object. A few articles of furniture
being placed under the trellis, Avhich contained several of their nests, so completely frightened the parents away
at one time that they left their helpless brood without food, and would not return even when the objects of
offence were removed. Of course the young receiving no nourishment all day became fainter and fainter in
their cries for food, and at last died.^'
4 p 2
MTJxNIA STEIATA.
(THE WHITE-BACKED MUNIA.)
Loxia striata, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 306 ; Walden, Ibis, 1874, p. 144.
Amadina striata, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1844, xiii. p. 349 ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 126 (1852) ;
Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 258.
Munia striata, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 117 (1849) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 356 (1863) ;
Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 464; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 448 (1874); Fairbank,
Str. Feath. 1876, p. 260 ; Ball, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 222.
Striated Grosbealc, Latham ; The Striated Munia, Striated Finch of some ; Striped Paddy-
bird, Europeans in Ceylon, also Ortolan. ShaJcari munia, Bengal. (Blyth).
W6-Tcurulla, Sinhalese ; Tvnna Jcumvi, Ceylonese Tamils; Pastro de Neli, Portuguese in Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 4-5 to 4-7 inches ; wing 2-06 to 2T5 ; tail 1-6 to 1'8, centre feathers 0-4 longer than
the lateral pair ; tarsus 0-5 ; middle toe and claw 0-6 to 0-63 ; bill to gape 0-4 to 0-45, height at nostril 0'33.
Eemales are tlie smaller of the sexes.
Iris brown or reddish brown in some ; bill and upper mandible blackish leaden, lower mandible bluish, with dark tip ;
legs and feet bluish or dusky leaden.
Poi’ehead, face, fore neck, and chest dull black, paling gradually at the crown into the sepia-browm of the hind neck,
back, and scapulars ; upper tail-corerts darker brown than the back ; feathers of the crown, hind neck, back,
scapulars, secondary wing-coverts, and upper tail-coverts with whitish shafts ; wings blackish brown, the quills
with inner basal edges of rufesceut fawn ; lower back and rump forming a band of less than ^ an inch in width,
white, some of the feathers generally with brownish tippings or cross marks; tail brownish black; under surface
with the flanks, from the chest to the vent, unmarked white ; lower flank-feathers covering the thighs sepia-
brown, with whitish shafts ; under tail-coverts brownish black, with rusty tips ; thighs dark brown ; under wing-
coverts pale fawn-colour.
Some examples have not the black chest clearly defined against the white breast, the feathers at the top of the latter
being patched with blackish : again, others are much paler brown above ; these are probably birds in the first stage
of the adult dress.
Young‘! An example shot in July (Galle) has the wing 2-0 ; bill blackish ; legs and feet lilac-grey.
Head and occiput dark brown, changing into brownish rufous on the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts; wings and tail
brown, edged with rufous-brown ; beneath rufesceut white, strongly tinged with rufous on the chest.
A.B. This is only the presumed young of this species. I shot the sijecimen out of a flock of three ; from its smaller
size and more diminutive bill than those of the last species I take it to be M. striata. I am not sure of it, as
subsequently I omitted to place the matter beyond doubt, and I have not met with a description of the young in
any Indian work. I bring this subject especially to the notice of my readers, as young birds must be common
enough.
Obs. A “ Malabar ” specimen in my collection corresponds well with dark examples from Ceylon. Wing 2-05 inches ;
tail I‘8.
There are several remarkably closely allied Asiatic species to the present, which form a “ well-defined subgroup
of the genus Munia” (Walden). Lord Tweeddale, in his valuable paper on an Andaman collection (Ibis, 1874,
p. 144), gives the following useful diagnosis of these Munias : —
“ Uropygium ivhite. — M. striata. Dorsal plumage pale-shafted ; abdominal region and Hanks pure white.
“ M. acuticauda, Hodgson. Abdominal plumage white, faintly marked with pale brown ; middle rectrices elongated.
“ M. fmnigata, Walden (Andamans). Dorsal plumage unstriated.”
(To these may be added M. semistriata, Hume, Str. Death. 1874, p. 257 (JSTicobars) : smaller than the last, with propor-
tionately longer tail, a faint trace of strim on the back, feathers of the breast narrowly margined with pale rufous-
brown.)
"'Uropygium uniform with tlie hack. — M. leucogastra, Blyth (Malacca). Dorsal plumage pale-shafted; flanks dark
brown ; middle rectrices lustrous yellow.
MUNIA STEIATA.
661
“ M. leucogastroides, Moore (Java). Dorsal plumage unstriated ; all the rectrices black ; flanks white.”
M. amticauda, which ranges from the mountains of Korthem India, through Burmah, Malacca, to China and Eormosa,
has also the brown of the chest paler than in striata and with pale shaft-stripes. The upper plumage is likewise
rather pale compared with that of the latter. The examples I have inspected vary in the wing from 1-95 to
2'Q inches. A specimen of M. leucogastra measures 1'9 inch in the wing.
Distribution. — The White-backed or Striated “ Paddy-bird is, next to M. punctulata, the commonest of
the genus in the Western and Southern provinces, and in those parts frequents the interior more than the
sea-hoard. It is, however, scattered more or less over all the low country, being found throughout most of the
north of the island, where it is ehiefly numerous on the sea-coast. It is found in the Central Province, in all
the western parts, including the Kandy country, up to about 2500 feet, and in Uva is common up to 4000 feet,
being, in company with M. malacca, more frequent on the patnas round Badulla than the Ilill-Munia.
On the mainland, as far as India proper is concerned, it seems to be restricted to the peninsula and lower
Bengal, but it is said likewise to be found in Arrakan [Jerdon, Hume) . It is evidently a locally-stationed
species. In the ‘Birds of India,’ Jerdon writes that it is most abundant on the Malabar coast, and occurs
sparingly in other parts of India, in the Northern Circars, and in Lower Bengal, The Eev. Dr. Fairbank
records it from “ Khandala to Goa, along the Ghat hills j” but Messrs. Davidson and Wonder do not include it
in their avifauna of the Deccan. Mr. Aitken met with it in Bombay. On the eastern side of the peninsula we
find Mr. Ball noting it from Maubhum, Singhbhum, and Eaipur ; and Mr. Hume from Sambalpur, north and
south of the Alahanadi river. It is said to visit, but not to be resident on, the Nilghiris.
Habits. — This “ Finch ” does not associate in such flocks as the spotted species, but is met with chiefly in
small parties of less than a dozen, frequenting waste, scrubby land, clearings in the jungle overgrown with
bushes, long grass, and very often w’ild jungle and forest, in the very heart of wEich I have seen it; in its
nature, therefore, it assimilates to the Ceylon Hill-Munia. When the “paddy” is in ear it resorts to the
fields and devours the ripening grain after the manner of its congeners, and when driven off by the watch-
boys, alights on the tops of adjacent bushes, and waits its opportunity to return to the attack. It is fond of the
Kurrukan {Eleusine indica), which, being grown in clearings in the jungle, is never free from its foragings ; it
likewise feeds on the berry of the Lantana and other plants. Its flight is feeble and straight, being performed
with regular beatings of the wing, and is accompanied by its plaintive chirrup note.
I glean but little concerning its economy from Indian writings. Jerdon remarks that it is a familiar bird
in Malabar, “ being constantly seen on the road-side, about houses, and in stable-yards, and it builds in gardens
and orchards.” Miss Cockburn’s experience of it in the Nilghiris is contrary to this. She writes, “ The
White-backed Munia is not a resident on the Nilghiris, but accompanies the Amaduvads and Spotted Munias
in their migrations, and is generally met with in their society, except in the breeding-season, when they are
seen alone and in pairs. They are not numerous, and are very shy, never approaching any house. In this
respect they are quite unlike the Spotted Munia, whose unceremoniousness endears him to us.”
Nidification. — The breeding-season in the north and south is, for the most part, from May until August ;
but, like all these birds, it appears to be constantly nesting, most probably rearing two broods in the year. The
nest is built in the fork of a shrub or among the small branches of low trees, from 3 to 10 feet from the
ground generally ; it is a loosely-made untidy structure of grass, in the form of a large hall, with the entrance
at the side ; the egg-cavity is large and destitute of any lining, save that furnished by the materials of the body
of the nest. In shape the eggs are ovate, pure white and tolerably glossy, smaller than those of M. punctidatu,
some measuring as little as 0'5 inch in length by 0’4 in breadth; they vary, however, uji to 0'65 by 0'45.
As regards India, Mr. Hume remarks that the breeding-season varies according to locality ; “ in the
Nilghiris they appear,” he says, “ to lay in July and August. From Yercand a nest was sent to me, taken on
the 28th of September, containing six eggs Near Eaipoor nests were taken in January, and in
Manbhoom in April.” The nest is described by various observers as large, and loosely constructed of fine and
coarse grasses, which, in one that Mr. Blewitt writes about, was intermixed with dry bamboo-leaves. The
average size of ten Indian eggs is 0'61 by 0-44 inch.
MUNIA MALABAEICA.
(THE PLAIN BLOWN MUNIA.)
Loxia malaharica, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 305 (1766).
Munia malaharica, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 117 (1849) ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii.
p. 357 (1863); Holdsw. P.Z.S. 1872, p. 464; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 209; Adam,
t. c. p. 387; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 25; Butler & Hume, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 496;
Fairbank, ibid. 1876, p. 261; Ball, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 222; Cripps, t. c. p. 293.
Amadina malaharica, Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 125 (1854); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 258.
Malabar Grosbeak, Latham ; Malabar Finch, Kelaart ; Pin-tailed Munia, The Pin-tailed
Finch of some in India. Charchara, Hind., N.W. Prov. ; Chorga, Hind, in North ;
Piddari, Hind, in South and Central India ; Sar-munia, Bengal. ; Jinuwayi, Telugu.
Adult male. Length 4-9 inches ; wing 2-1 to 2-2 ; tail 2-0 ; tarsus 0-55 ; middle toe and claw 0-6 ; bill at front 0-37 ;
central rectrices in fine specimens 0'25 inch longer than the next pair.
Female. Somewhat smaller ; wing 2-05 inches ; tail 1-7.
Iris brown ; bill, upper mandible dusky leaden, lower bluish : legs and feet lilac or mauve in some.
Above pale earth-brown, darkest on the head ; wings and tail deep brown, the dark colour on the wdng confined to the
Genus BSTLELDA.
Bill smaller, more compressed towards the point, and more flattened at the base than in Munia ; tarsus slenderer
and proportionately longer ; hind claw long. Of smaller size than Munia ; bill red. The male acquiring a breeding-
plumage in some species.
ESTEELDA AMANDAVA.
(the EEH WAXBILL.)
Frimjilla anutndava, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 319 (1766).
Estrelda amandava, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ, 1839, xi. p. 26 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 118
(1849); Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 369 (1863); Legge, J. A. S. (Ceylon Branch), 1870-71, p. 53 (first record
from Ceylon); Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 464; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 454 (1874) ; Legge Ibis 1874
p. 25 ; Butler & Hume, Str. Eeath. 1875, p. 496.
Anuiduvad Finch, Edwards, Birds, pi. 355. fig. 1.
Amaduvad, Europeans in India. Lai (male), Munia (female), but umaWj Lal-munia, Hind.; Terra jinuwaxji, Telugu.
Adult male (Colombo, June). Length 4-1 inches ; wing 1-6; tail 1-7; tarsus 0-5 ; middle toe and claw 0-62 • biU at
front 0-4. ’
Iris vermilion, blackish at the base of upper mandible ; legs and feet fleshy reddish grey.
Breeding-plumage. Head, upper tail-coverts, throat, chest, and breast crimson, changing on the hind neck and back
into brownish crimson, the bases of the feathers very brown and the tips crimson ; upper tail-coverts with terminal
white spots, preceded by a dark edge ; wing-coverts and tertials with a round terminal spot of white on each
feather; lores black; orbital fringe white; breast and flanks white-spotted, with the wing-coverts, lower breast,
MUMA MALABAEICA.
663
outer web ; rump and upper tail-coverts white, the bases of the feathers brown, and the outer webs of the longer
coverts blacHsh brown ; a narrow supercilium, face, ear-coverts, and all beneath white, shaded on the flanks with
brownish grey or fawn-colour.
In some examples the lower flanks are very faintly barred with pale fawn-colour; some are darker than others above.
Ohs. Some Indian examples show a greater tendency to barring on the flanks ; notably one from Behar. As regards size :
a skin from Madras measures 2-15 inches ; another from N.W. Himalayas 2’2 ; one from Behar 2-1, tail 1-9 (this
example is darker on the head than my birds ; the two others are very pale on the back). Mr. Cripps, in his paper
on the avifauna of I’urreedpore, gives the following measurements : — S , length 4' 83 inches; expanse 6‘8; wing 2-1 ;
tail from vent 1'92 ; tarsus 0'66 ; bill from gape 0-42 ; weight 0'66 oz. The specimen from X.W. Himalayas,
collected by Capt. Pmwell, has the fulvous of the lower flanks quite unmarked.
Distribution. This is essentially a bird of the dry climate of Ceylon ; wherever the little Finch-Lark
{Pyrrhulauda grisea) is to be found the Plain Brown Munia is likely to be met with. Its distribution is there-
fore local, and it is chiefly confined to open districts in the maritime regions of the north, east, and south-
east. It is found around the west coast as far as the Chilaw district ; but south of this place, where the
heavier rainfall line is passed, its range does not extend ; and I have never seen it anywhere between that
point and Tangalla : here the dry coast-region is again entered upon, and it becomes tolerably common. I
have met with it in various parts of the eastern side, and at Trincomalie it is not uncommon. It is numerous,
according to Mr. Holdsworth, at Aripu ; and I have seen it there and at Manaar and further up the coast,
while at Jaffna and the islands it is common. In the interior of the northern forest tract it may be met with
in suitable localities ; but I do not know that it extends into the hills at all.
In India it is a bird of wide distribution both in the peninsula and in the northern parts, being abundant in
the hot dry regions of the west, but not extending to the eastward of the Bay of Bengal. According to Jerdon,
flanks, and under tail-coverts black, washed, except on the latter, with crimson ; tail black, the two outer feathers
on each side tipped white.
After the breeding-season the male assumes the plumage of the female.
An example shot in January at Colombo has the forehead and supercilia red, and the feathers of the hind neck and
back tipped with crimson ; upper tail-coverts crimson, some of the feathers with small white spots ; chest and
throat crimson, mingled with partially white feathers, and the breast blackish, washed with crimson, and barred
and otherwise marked with white ; the flanks and sides of breast spotted with white.
Another, probably a bird of the year, has the supereilia and upper tail-coverts as the above, but the lower back and
hind neck uniform olive-brown ; the under surface chiefly white ; the feathers of the fore neck in various stages
of change to red, those of the breast turning black ; the under tail-covert feathers changing from white to black.
Both these examples are assuming the breedmg-dress by a change of feather, and not hy a moult. Jerdon remarks
that this species moults twice a year.
Female. Similar in size to the male.
Brown above, the orbital fringe white, as in the male, and the lores black ; the rump and upper tail-coverts washed
with crimson ; beneath brownish, tinged with fulvous yellow on the lower parts.
Young. “ Brovm above, paler beneath, whitish on the throat and belly ; tail blackish, and a few small white spots on
the wings ” {Jerdon).
Distribution . — In 1870, when I detected this little bird in the vicinity of Colombo, I was under the impression, as it
had not been before noticed in Ceylon, that it owed its visit to the island to the agency of man — in short, that it had been
liberated from ships calling at the port. I have since become aware that it wanders about a good deal in India, appearing
■ suddenly in districts, remaining for some time, and then departing ; and as it occurs in the south of the peninsula it is
possible that it may have been driven down to Ceylon by the north-west wind which had been blowing before I first
discovered it in January 1870. I have no evidence in support of either theory, and therefore I adopt that which appears
664
MUJSriA MALABAEICA.
it does not ascend the hills ; and I have not observed that it has been found recently in any of the alpine
regions treated of in ‘ Stray Feathers/ In the Deccan, Alessrs. Davidson and Wender record it as common; and
Dr. Fairbank says it is especially abundant in the Ahmednugur district. It is found throughout the open
country in the Carnatic, and I have no doubt it is an inhabitant of the island of Ramisserum. Jerdon remarks
that it is rare in Malabar and other wooded districts, and generally so in forest districts. Mr. Ball notes it
from the Godaveri valley, Nowagarh, and Karial, Orissa north of Mahanadi, Sambalpur, Bilaspur, Sirguja,
Singhbhum, Lohardugga, Hazaribagh, Manbhum, and Bardwan, which localities compose the immense tract,
from the Godaveri river to the Ganges, which this gentleman has worked; but in a former paper he remarks that
it is not common anywhere in the division of Chota Nagpur. In Furreedpore Mr. Cripps informs us that it
is a permanent resident, and common, which, indeed, it appears to be throughout Bengal. Mr. Hume records
it from Etawah, Captain Marshall from Allahabad, and Mr. Brooks from the Delhi, Jhansi, and Saugor districts.
It must likewise extend to the sub-Himalayan region, as Capt. PinwelFs specimens were procured, as I under-
stand, beneath the N.W. Himalayas. Travelling westward we find that it is common in Sindh, Cutch,
to me the most tenable, viz., that it had escaped from confinement ; and I accordingly do not give it a place in the
Ceylonese avifauna as an ordinary straggler to the island. The spot where I met with it was in the Guinea-errass field
attached to my quarters on the GaUo face ; there were about a dozen birds in the flock, and they came daily to the field
for about a fortnight ; they appeared again the following month (February), and after staying a short time again disap-
peared. ^ In June following this a male appeared alone; and after I had procured it I saw no more until September, when
a pair visited the field agaiir for a day or two. In 1872 I observed one or two close to the Galle Fort, feeding on the
esplanade just outside the rampai’ts.
No other instances of its occurrence are known to me ; but it is possible that it may have bred in the island and thus
become naturalized, provided that it did not take its own place in our lists. Jerdon thus sketches out its distribution :
“ The Amaduvad is found throughout all India, more rare in the south, abundant in the north. In the south of India I
have seen it tolerably frequent on the lower hills of the Nilghiris in Mysore, here and there throughout the Carnatic, but
rare in the Deccan and the lower tableland generally. It is more common in Central India, and abimdant in Oudh
and Lower Bengal, e.xtenditig into the lower ranges of the Himalayas as well as to Assam and Burmah.”
It ascends the Nilghiris to an elevation of COOO feet to breed ; near Mahabaleshwar it is rare according to Dr. Fair-
bank; further north it occurs, as an instance of local distribution, at Mount Aboo, but is not found, writes Mr. Hume, in
any part of Cutch, Kattiawar, or Jodhpoor, although it is common in Sindh during tho inundation. “In the bare portions of
the N.W . Provinces and liajpootana,” he says, “ I have never known it as more than a passing visitor ; but wherever the
country is well watered and either well wooded or abounding in high grass, — in Meerut and the districts of the Doab
northwards, in many places in Oudh and Eohilkund, Saugor, Chanda, Eaipoor, in the Centi-al Provinces, in the more
fertile portions of Sindh, in all our Dhoous and Terais — I Imow of it nesting.” Jlr. Cripps once observed it in Furreed-
poi e ; and Mi . Ball found it at Manbhum, Sirguja, and Lohardugga. It is a visitor to N.E. Cachar, arriving in October
and departing in March {Inglis).
Eahits. I noticed that the little flock of Amaduvads which frequented my field were constantly on the move, the
restless little birds flying up and settling down continually ; they clung actively to the stalks, and reached out their heads,
plucking out the seeds of the grass with groat avidity. In June the male bird uttered a low sweet little song when
perched on the top of a grass-stalk, w'hich scarcely bent its head beneath tho tiny weight. They are caught in great
numbers in Bengal, and sent abroad to Europe and various parts in the East. Blyth says that the popular name of
Amaduvad “ took its origin from the city of Ahmedabad, whence it used to be imported into Europe in numbers ”
{Jerdon). In India it is said to affect bushy ground, gardens, and sugar-cane fields, as well as grass ; and the male,
according to Jerdon, fights with much spirit, being kept for that purpose by the natives.
Nidification.—This little bird has two broods in the year, and breeds in the plains from November tiU February and
from June till August ; but in the Nilghiris, writes Mr. Hume, the breeding-season lasts from Mav till December. The
nest is described as an oblate spheroid mass, loosely but not untidily built of fine grass, and lined with fine seed-dowm ;
the entrance circular and at one side. Miss Cockbum observes that they are fond of placing their nests at the roots of
bushes. The eggs are pointed ovals in shape, pure white, and of course very small, averaging in size only “ 0-55 to 0-43
MUNIA MALABAEICA.
C65
Kattiawar, Guzerat, and Jodhpoor, although it is one of those birds which we miss from Mr. Hume’s
interesting paper on the birds of the latter region (Str. Feath. 1878^ p. 52), it having been evidently driven
out of it by the drought of fifteen months which the writer refers to. At the Sambhur Lake it is^ according
to Mr. Adam^ very common.
Habits . — This little Finch frequents bare open commons, barren land surrounding the salt-lagoons and
estuaries of the north and east coasts, as also dry pastm'e-fields and such-like localities in the inteidor, &c. It
feeds entirely on the ground, rarely alighting on trees ; and congregating in large flocks, often in company with
the Finch-Lark, trips about in closely packed little troops. I have seen it during the harvest-time in paddy-
fields with M. punctulata and M. striata attacking the ripe grain ; but its usual food consists of various small
grass-seeds. Its note is a strong chirrup and the usual plaintive pipe common to these “ Finches.’’ Vv^heii
paired, the sexes demonstrate much affection for each other, as on one occasion after shooting a female example
I noticed that its mate flew round and round it in great distress, alighting close to it on the ground and
piping out a mournful little whistle. During the rainy weather at Christmas I used often to observe flocks of
these Munias on the esplanade at Trincomalie, where also numbers of Pipits, Finch-Larks, and small Shore-
Plovers collected to feed. When disturbed the Munias would rise in a dense little pack and fly round and
round very swiftly until they realighted not far from w'here they were put up, when they would move along all
in the same direction, picking out the seeds from the short turf-grass.
Jerdon says that this species frequents hedgerows, thickets near cultivation, and groves of trees, often
entering gardens, and is met with in the south and in Central India near every village. Mr. Cripps found
them in Furreedpore in small parties of live to fifteen in number, frequenting hedgerows and cultivated fields.
Col. Sykes likens its cry to cheet, cheet, cheet.
Nidification . — This Munia breeds in the north of Ceylon during the cool season from December until
March, and builds the usual loose large nest of grass, which appears to vary considerably in size, either having
a rather protuberant opening at the top, one in the side of the egg-chamber, or two with a dividing dome or
roof between them. It is generally placed in a bush about four or five feet from the ground, and often lined
with flowering-stems of grasses.
From Mr. Hume’s article on its nesting, contained in his useful work, we glean that this little Finch
builds sometimes in various situations, such as a haycock, in the eaves of a verandah, or even in the nest of an
Eagle; and Col. Sykes has frequently found them in possession of the deserted nests of the Common AVeaver-
bird. Mr. Blewitt writes to Mr. Hume concerning a pair which built in the body of a large Buzzard’s nest,
which w'as at the time occupied by a Tawny Eagle {Aquila fulvescens) , and thus describes the circumstanee: —
''As my man ascended the tree to fetch the Eagle’s eggs I saw a pair of the small M. hopping about
from branch to branch near the nest in great anxiety, chirping loudly all the while. Taking the binoculars to
look at the birds and their, as it seemed to me, strange movements more closely, I saw one of them suddenly
enter and disappear in a small hole in the underpart of the large nest .... Not knowing what the hole
could be for, I directed the man to inspect it, when to my astonishment it turned out to be a nest in a nest.
The Munias evidently selected that of the Eagle to make their own in, to receive warmth from their mighty
companion. From the position of the under nest, the Munias at any time when in it could not have been more
than two inches separated from the sitting Eagle.”
Captain Marshall mentions an instance in which he took some eggs of this bird and four of the Common
Sparrow from a nest in his verandah, and suggests that the nest had been probably built by the Sparrow.
The eggs vary in number from six to twelve; but sometimes more than one pair lay in the same nest.
Theobald, as quoted by Jerdon, found once as many as twenty-five together in different stages of incubation.
They are white, like those of other Munias, spotless of course, and smaller than those of any of the foregoing
species, as the bird is much smaller in body than they are. The average size is OB by 0'47 inch.
PASSEEES.
Earn. ARTAMIDAi*.
Bill wide at the base, somewhat conic in shape, the culmen and margin both curved, the
gape slightly angulated, the tips of both mandibles notched in some species. Wings long and
pointed, the 1st quill minute, not exceeding the primary-coverts. Tail short, of 12 feathers.
Legs short.
Sternum posteriorly wide, with a deep notch in each half of the hinder margin.
Grenus AE.TAMTJS.
Bill with the characters of the family, very stout at the base ; the nostrils lateral, circular,
and pierced in the horny substance of the mandible ; gape curved ; rictal bristles moderate.
Wings very pointed, exceeding the tail ; the 3rd quill slightly shorter than the 2nd, which is the
longest ; the secondaries falling short of the primaries by nearly the length of the tail. Tail
even at the tip. Tarsus not exceeding the middle toe and claw, covered in front with stout
transverse scales. Toes short, strongly scaled ; outer toe slightly syndactyle, and longer than
the inner ; claws stout and well curved.
AETAML^S FUSCUS.
(THE ASHY WOOD-SWALLOW.)
Artamus fuscus, Vieill. N. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. xvii. p. 297 (1817) ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S.
B. p. 199 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 128 ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 161 (1854) ;
Jerdon, B. of Ind. i. p. 441 (1862) ; Beavan, Ibis, 1866, p, 420 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1866,
p. 369 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 440 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, i. p. 194 (1873) ; Ball,
Str. Feath. 1874, p. 403; Hume & Oates, ibid. 1875, p. 102; Ball, t.c. p. 291;
Blyth & Walden, B. of Burmah, p. 126 (1875); Armstrong, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 321 ;
Inglis, ibid. 1877, p. 30 ; Fairbank, t. c. p. 401 ; Davison & Hume, B. of Teuass., ibid.
1878, p. 223 ; Ball, ibid. vii. p. 211 ; Cripps, t. c. p. 273.
Artamus leucorhynclms (Linn.), M‘Clell. P. Z. S. 1839, p. 158.
Ocyptems leucorliynchus (Linn.), Jerd. Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1839, x. p. 237.
* The Swallow-Shrikes are among the most singular of Old-World birds, and are so isolated that they might be
considered to rairk as a distinct family. Mr. Wallace, who was the first to place them near the Starlings, ably desig-
nates them as a “ short-legged Ilirundine modification of the Sturiioid type ” of bird. They have been placed by some
naturalists (Swainson and others) among the Shrikes, their notched bills and mode of feeding probably fostering this
classification. By others, their long wings and aerial habits have been considered to indicate an affinity to the Swallows.
The wing-structure, however, is that of a Starling and not a Swallow ; and in the contour of the bill, the sligMly angulato
gape, and also in the structure of the sternum they resemble the former type.
AETAMUS EUSCUS.
667
Murasing Chatterer, Brown-coloured Swallow, Latham ; Ash-coloured Stv allow- Shrike, The
Ashy Swallow-Shrike, Jerdon. Murasing, Mussulmen in Bengal; Tari ahabil. Hind, in
South, lit. “Palmyra-Swallow;” Talchatak, Bengal., and Tati pitta, Telugu, likew'ise
“ Palmyra-Swallow' ; Silliangchi pho, Lepchas.
Madam Porn, Tamils in Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 7'1 to 7’4 mches ; wing 5-1 to 5-3, expanse 15'0 ; tail 2-2 to 2-3 ; tarsus 0-65 to 0-75 ;
middle toe and claw 0-75 ; bill to gape I’O.
Iris dark brown (paler or reddish brown in the female) ; bill milky blue, with the tips of both mandibles blackish ; legs
and feet dusky bluish, claws dark plumbeous.
Females have, as far as my observations go, the base of the mouth yeUow, while the male has the inside entirely black.
Head and hind neck soft slate-grey, changing into reddish cinereous on the back, scapulars, and rump, and passing
round to the throat and fore neck, which are slightly dusky ; lores and round the base of both mandibles blackish ;
upper tail-coverts whitish, the terminal portion only showing beneath the rump-feathers ; wings and tail dark cine-
reous bhre, the secondaries and shorter primaries with a fine terminal light edging ; tail broadly tipped with whitish,
the central rectrices with pale tips only ; beneath, from the chest, dove-grey, tinged with rufescent, and paling to
white on the under tail-coverts, which are crossed with narrow, wavy, grey bars.
The moulting-season commences about July in the southern districts, and birds in new feather are in the plumage
above described. When the tips of the feathers wear off, the upper surface has a reddish-brown or rusty
appearance, and the under surface becomes a sullied creamy white ; the tail-feathers almost entirely lose their
white tips, as do also the upper taU-coverts.
Young. In yearling plumage the young are dull earthy brown on the head and back, the feathers faintly margined
with a paler colour. Secondaries and inner primaries hroadly tipped with white ; throat duskier than in the adult,
blending gradually into the hue of the breast, which is ruddier than in the adult.
Ois. Examples in the national collection from Nepal and Behar measure 5-2 and 5-3 inches in the wing; two from
Madras 6-15 and 4-95 ; several others, locality not indicated, 5-0, 5-2, and 5-3 — showing that, on the whole, they
average about the size of our birds. As a rule, these examples are slightly redder beneath than the Ceylon race,
and there does not seem to exist in them that faint trace of obsolete barring which is observable in some Ceylonese
specimens ; in a larger aeries, however, this unimportant character might be revealed. Artamws leucorhynchus,
Linn., now united to tho Australian A. leucopygialis, Gould, was, it appears, formerly confounded with this species,
and appears in Kelaart’s ‘ Catalogue of Ceylon Birds,’ on what authority wm know not. It inhabits the Andaman
Islands, the Philippines, Java, Borneo, Sumatra, and other islands of the Malay Archipelago, as w^ell as Australia,
and is a very distinct species from the present ; the head and neck are bluish slate, and the back and wings
chocolate-brown ; the under surface from the throat downwards, together with a broad band across the rump, pure
white ; tail blackish. A Labuan example measures in the wing 5-5 inches, tail 2-6, bill to gape I'l ; Andaman
specimens, according to Mr. Hume, average smaller than others ; but the Marquis of Tw'eeddale did not consider
them specifically separable. The size of w'ing given in ‘ Stray Feathers,’ 1874, p. 214, for Andaman birds, is 5-0
to 6-25 inches.
The Indian bird is more closely allied to A.personatus, Gould, from Australia. This latter has the ear-coverts, as well
as the lores, black; the chin and upper part of the throat blackish slate, not coming down so far on the fore neck
as the dark hues in A. fuseus ; breast and flank reddish ashy, paling into white on the vent and under tail-
coverts ; back greyer than in our bird, with no white bar across the tail-coverts ; tail grey, tipped with white.
It differs in many more particulars, but has a general resemblance to our bird.
This interesting genus is mainly developed in Australia, eight sjiecies being represented in Mr. Eamsay s recent list of
Australian birds (Proc. Linn. 8oc. N. S. Wales), and thirteen inhabiting the entire Australian region.
Distribution. — The Wood-“ Swallow” is widely distributed throughout all the low country, inhabiting
most numerously open lands and the borders of lagoons in the maritime districts, especially along the east
coast, and down the west side as far as Negombo. Further south, where these open tracts disappear (except
at Panadure, where it is again numerous), it is chiefly found in the interior, being very common even in the
wooded districts of Saffragam. In the northern forest tract it chiefly frequents the open lands round the
4q2
668
ARTAMUS FUSCFS.
great inland tanks. From the Eastern Province it ranges into Uva and Haputale, in both of which parts it
has been observed on patnas and bare hills up to 5000 feet ; but in the Kandy district it is not so common.
It is found in the northern islands, as well as iu the Erinativoe group. Mr. Holdsworth found that it quitted
the Manaar district in the south-west monsoon; it is, however, resident close to Colombo all the year round.
Jerdon writes that this Swallow-Shrike is spread throughout the whole of India, but locally distributed ;
" for you may pass,” he says, “ over large tracts of country, apparently well suited for them, and not see one.”
He found it most abundant in the Carnatic, the Malabar coast, the northern circars, and Bengal, very rare in
the Deecan and Central India ; he also met with it on the sides of the hills at Darjiling . Captain Beavan
observed it at Barrackpore in the month of January, and likewise at Darjiling, at an elevation of about
5000 feet. The Rev. Dr. Fairbank procured it also at 4500 feet on the Palani hills, but he does not record it
from the Deccan. Mr. Ball met with large flocks of it at Singhbhum, and records it from the Godaveri
valley, Sambalpur, and other places northwards to the Rajraehal hills. From Bengal it extends into Burmah
and as far as Assam in a northerly direction. Dr. Armstrong remarks that he found it very abundant
throughout the entire Irrawaddy delta from China Ba-keer to Rangoon, and that it was especially numerous
near villages. Southwards it seems to diminish, as it is only noticed by Mr. Hume as a rare straggler in
Tenasserim proper. It seems to avoid the western side of the peninsula altogether, as I do not find it recorded
by any observers from Sindh or any of the surrounding districts ; and, in the sub-Himalayan region, Nynee Tal
seems to be its most westerly point.
Habits . — The favourite localities with this bird in Ceylon are open hill-sides or clearings in the low
country studded with dead trees, the paddy-fields surrounding the brackish lagoons in the Western Province,
open tracts bordering estuaries on the east coast, palmyra-groves and the borders of plains in the north, while
in some districts in the Western Province it frequents open places in the midst of heavy forest ; in the Kandyan
Province it affects bare hill-sides and patnas dotted with trees. It is exceedingly fond of scattered groves of
palmyras close to the sea-shore^ resting on the fronds of these trees when not hawking for insects, and roosting
on them at night. It associates in small flocks, perching together in closely packed rows, and sallying out in
twos and threes after its food, Avhich it catches on the wing, circling round, and sometimes mounting, with a
buoyant flight, high in the air, where it will occasionally soar for a considerable time with outstretched wings.
It is always of a most sociable nature ; and when a flock is scattered by the shooting of one of their number,
they speedily reunite on a neighbouring tree. It is partial to the vicinity of water, as in hawking above the
surface of tanks and lakes it finds an abundance of food. In its mode of feeding it resembles the Drongo-
Slirikes, beating its prey (which consists largely of beetles) to death on its perch before it swallows it. Its
ordinary note resembles somewhat that of the Red-breasted Swallow, and is mostly uttered while the bird is
on the wing; Jerdon likens it to the cry of the Shikru, but more subdued of course. He writes of it, “At
times I have seen an immense flock in the air, all together, hunting for insects, and remaining on the wing
for a much longer period. A small party may occasionally be seen skimming over the surface of a tank,
picking up an insect now and then, and returning to a high bough of a tree overhanging the Avater.”
I may mention here that one species in Australia {Artamus sordidus) has the singular habit of clustering
in numbers like bees to the dead branches of trees.
Nidification . — The breeding-season of the Wood-Swallow is in February and March, both in the north
and central districts. It builds in the former region, to a great extent, in the palmyra-palm, placing its nest
between the bases of the fronds. A nest Avhich I found so situated in Erinativoe Island was composed of grass
and roots, massive in exterior and rather slovenly put together ; the interior was a shallow cup about 2^ inches
in diameter, and contained three nestlings, Mr. Bligh informs me that he has found the nest in the hole of a
tree situated in a coffee-plantation.
Layard writes that they “ build a cup-nest, composed of fibres and grasses, in the heads of cocoauut-trees,
on the base of the large fronds When the nestlings have left their cradle,” he says, “ they may be seen
sitting side by side on a branch, whilst the old birds fly off for insects and return to feed their offspring by turns.
Even after the young birds can shift for themselves they keep up their gregarious habits, and return to their
bough after each hunting-excursion.”
AETAMUS FUSCUS.
669
Jerdon found the nest in a palmyra- tree ; and I am of opinion that this tree is probably resorted to, in
districts where it grows, more than any other. He describes the nest as cup-shaped and deep, made of grass,
leaves, and numerous feathers. It contained two eggs, white, with a greenish tinge, and with light brown
spots, chiefly at the larger end. Mr. Gammie found a nest, however, in a hole in a dead tree near Darjiling,
about 40 feet from the ground ; it was made of coarse roots, devoid of lining. The eggs were three in number,
narrow ovals, pointed towards one end ; “ the ground-colour was creamy white, and the markings almost
entirely confined to a broad ring round the large end, and the space within it consisted of spots and clouds of
very pale yellowish brown, intermingled with clouds and specks of excessively pale, nearly washed-out lilac.”
Dimensions 0’93 to 0‘97 in length by 0'7 to 0'73 inch in breadth.
Mr. Cripps, in his recent paper, writes of some nests taken in date-trees {Phceniie sylvestris) ; they were
built at the junction of the leaf-stem and trunk, though in two instances they were placed on a ledge from
which all the leaves had been removed to enable the tree to be tapped for its juice. In every instance the nest
was exposed, and if any bird, even a Hawk, came near, the courageous little fellows, says Mr. Cripps, would
drive it off. “ The nests were shallow saucers, made of fine twigs and grasses, with a lining of the same, and
contained two to four eggs each.”
PASSEEES.
Earn. STURNIDrE.
Bill straight or slightly curved ; very stout in some, moderate in others ; the tip notched,
the gape receding and angulated in most genera ; the base of the bill feathered down to the nostril
on each side of the culmen*; gape smooth. Wings with the 1st quill less than or equal to the
primary-coverts ; the 2nd and 3rd the longest. Tail of 12 feathers, shorter than the wing.
Legs and feet stout. Tarsus shielded with broad, stout, transverse scutes ; lateral toes subequal ;
hind toe and claw large.
* Saraghssa, Hodgson, appears to be an exception as regards Asiatic genera, the base of the bill not dividing the
frontal plumes.
Genus ACRIDOTHEEES.
Bill stout, rather straight, the tip notched and the gape strongly angulated ; nostrils placed
in a depression, the frontal feathers concealing them. Wings long and pointed ; the 1st quill
less than the primary-coverts, the 3rd the longest, and the 2nd longer than the 5th. Legs and
feet very strong. The tarsus longer than the middle toe and its claw, covered in front with four
stout scales ; toes strongly scaled, the outer syndactyle and longer than the inner, and both
considerably shorter than the middle ; hind toe and claw very large.
Orbital region nude ; head crested, the feathers narrow and much attenuated.
ACEIDOTHEEES MEL ANOSTEEAUS.
(THE CEYLONESE MYNA.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Acridotheres tristis, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 108, spec. E, F, ex Ceylon (1849) ;
Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 125 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Flist. 1854, xiii.
p. 218; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 532 (1856) (in part); Jerdon,
B. of Ind. ii. p. 325 (1863) (in part); Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 462; Hume, Str.
Feath. 1873, p. 440 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 23.
Acridotheres melanosternus, Legge, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1879, iii. p. 168.
The Paradise GracTde (Kelaart) ; Martintro, Portuguese in Ceylon ; Field-Myna of
Europeans. Na-canam patchy, Tamils, apud Layard.
Gon Tcawada, Gon Tcowdichya, Sinhalese.
Ad. similis A. tristi, seel ubique saturatior, et gutturis nigredine magis extensa et per pectus medium deducta.
Adult male and female. Length 9'2 to 10-75 inches ; wing 5-4 to 5-8 ; tail 3-2 to 3-4 ; tarsus 1-5 to 1-7 ; middle toe
and claw 1-45 ; bill to gape 1-3 to 1-38.
Iris variable, pink-brown and pinkish grey in some, in others whitish mottled with line specks of dark colour ; bill
yellow, blackish at the sides near base of lower mandible ; legs and feet sickly yellow ; orbital skin yeUow, this
extends round the eye, but, being very narrow above, is hidden by the superciliary feathers.
Head, nape, upper part of hind neck, chin, and throat black, the feathers of the head and nape long, narrow, and
lanceolate, forming a crest ; hind neck, back, scapulars, tertials, wing-coverts, sides of the chest, and the flanks
buff-brown, with the black of the chest descending in a stripe down the centre of the h'east, blending into the
adjacent colour and passing round above the abdomen, which, with the vent and under tail-coverts, are white ;
quills, the primary-coverts partially, and the tail brow-n-blaok ; the bases of the pi-imaries, the outer webs of some
of the primary-coverts and the inner webs of others, the edge of the wing, and the under wing-coverts white, as
are also the tips of all but the centre tail-feathers, decreasing towards the centre; thigh-coverts blackish brown.
The tail in this species becomes remarkably abraded, the wiiite tips sometimes entirely disappearing.
Young. Eufous above, deepening into blackish brown on the occiput and head, with wiiich the face, chin, and throat
are eoncolorous ; feathers of the head not elongated ; wings and tail paler browm than in the adult ; sides of the
chest and breast light russet-browm ; dowm the centre of the breast the feathers are blackish slate (that is, not so
dark as in the adult), and the white of the abdomen advances further up and is not bordered with blackish ; the
feathers of the neck and back have faint tippings of rufous-grey, more pronounced in some than in others.
ACEIDOTHEEBS MELANOSTEENUS.
C71
Ohs. The Ceylonese Myna forms a closely allied race or subspecies of the Indian bird (A. tristis), difPering from the
latter in its darker plumage, both as regards the back and flauks, and likewise in the Uaclc coloration of the centre
of the breast and upper border of the white abdomen, on the strength of which latter character I have established its
rank as an island race. Blyth first pointed out that it was darker than tho Indian form, but does not seem to
have noticed the black breast, which is entirely different from this part in any continental specimen that I have
seen. Jerdon likewise remarks that it appeared to be darker. I have before me eighteen examples belonging to
the national collection from all parts of India, as well as from Burtnah, and from Eeunion and Mauritius, in
which islands they were acclimatized from India ; and they all have the centre of the breast somewhat paler than
the surrounding plumage, which varies from a pale, though sullied, isabelline to a fine russet colour. The centre
of the lower part of the breast is slightly pervaded with the pallid hue of the abdomen, the converse of which is
the case in the island bird. The oidy approach made to this character in any Indian specimens I have seen
exists in the case of two specimens from M.a]abar, which have the inner tvebs of the feathers at the centre of the
upper part of the breast blackish brown; but this presents a totally different appearance to the black band
down the whole sternal region of the Ceylonese race. The wings of Indian examples of A. tristis vary from
5-3 to 6-0 inches — 5-5 inches being the usual dimension, judging from the series I have measured.
Mr. Hume observes (loc. cit.) that he does not find the Indian birds any paler than Ceylonese ; he, however, does not
comment upon the dark breasts of the latter. It is possible that he m.ay have noticed the same character in some
continental birds ; but as none of the specimens in the tolerably large series I have examined exhibit any further
tendency to it than that above noticed in the Malabar examples, the Ceylonese race, in my opinion, is a good one.
Distribution . — This well-known bird is exceedingly abundant in the cultivated portions of Ceylon,
frequenting both sides of the island alike, and being as numerous in the hot districts of the north as in the
more humid region comprised in the south-west corner. In districts w'here large tracts of pasture-land or of
paddy cultivation prevail the Myna shows up in great numbers. About the Panadure and Bolgodde Lakes,
between Matale and Galle, in the Batticaloa rice-fields, in the green pastures on each side of the Virgel, and
in the open fields of the Jaffna peninsula it is to be seen in hundreds. But it is not always in such places
that it throngs, for I found it numerous in the hill-begirt lands of the western part of the Pasdun Korale
and in similar localities in the Galle district. It ranges into the Central Province to a considerable altitude,
I’eaching its highest limit, I believe, in the dry cool season. Mr. Porbes Laurie has seen it in Maturatta at
3500 feet, and in Kalebokka at 3000 feet, and I have seen it at Uva higher than either of these elevations.
Its near ally in India is a very abundant bird and is scattered over all the low country of the empire,
extending into Burmah and Tenasserim. It ranges into the mountains to a considerable altitude, breeding at
Mussoori, and occurring in the Palanis up to 4000 feet.
It may not be out of place to mention here that it has been successfully acclimatized in Victoria, where
it may be seen in Melbourne frequenting the villas in the suburbs and everywhere making itself at home upon
the housetops. It has also been introduced, with the same result, into the Mauritius.
Habits . — ^This Myna takes the place in Ceylon of the English Starling. It is one of the most familiar
species in the island, taking up its abode in the native husbaudman'’s paddy-field and assiduously attending
on his cattle and buffaloes, about which it obtains an abundance of food, in the way of flies attracted by the
animals, ticks living on them, and other insects to be found about oxen. Each field has its little party of
half a dozen or more, which pass their time between the pastures aud the surrounding cocoanut-trees, and at
evening fly away towards the common roosting-place, where the Mynas, for many miles around, resort
with common consent to pass the night. Such a colony as this I once discovered on the shores of the
Bolgodde Lake ; here a large reed-bed was the nightly rendezvous, and from all points of the compass were to
be seen little flocks flying low and swiftly across the broad expanse of water, and settling down with much
chattering, fighting, and squabbling in the tall and sheltering reeds. On my firing a gun the w'hole rose
en masse, like a dark cloud, and filled the air for the moment with a booming sound. Another but a smaller
colony I found taking up its quarters in an isolated knoll in a paddy-field in the Pasdun Korale. In the
Central Province it frequents open patnas, where the cattle of the Singhalese villagers are to be found grazing,
and roosts in the areca- and sugar-palms near the villages. It feeds on caterpillars and worms as much as
any thing else, and scratches in the ordure of cattle for grubs; it may often be seen perched on the
backs of cattle and scrutinizing their skins with as much audacity as the Crow ! Its walk is erect, and its
672
ACEIDOTHEEES MELANOSTEENES.
general deportment rather stately. Its flight is steady and straightj being performed with regular beatings
of the wings. It lives well in confinement, and is a favourite caged bird with the natives, who teach it to
speak ; hut it is not so proficient a talker as the Grackles, nor are its ordinary notes and ivhistles to be
compared, in point of clearness or power, with those of the Glossy Mynas. It is noteworthy that in Ceylon
it has not the same familiar habits in dwelling about houses and in towns as its Indian ally, whose domestic
propensities are particularly noticeable in Australia, w'here it has been acclimatized. Blyth remarks that
this latter species mingles in Calcutta frequently with the Crows, and that a pair not unfrequently entered his
sitting-room and treated him to a loud screeching song. Another writer says that it is “ a brisk, lively bird,
apt to learn words and to whistle, and becomes very attached to its master — so much so that instances are
known in which it has been allowed to range abroad during the day with a confidence of its return at night.”
Concerning the Ceylon race Layard writes : — “ They frequent meadows in search of worms and grubs of
insects, not refusing perfect Coleoptera when they come in their way ; they scratch among the ordure of cattle
(whence their native appellation), and scatter it far and wide over the fields, thus assisting the lazy native
husbandman.
Nidification . — ^This species breeds in Ceylon from February until May, nesting perhaps more in
the month of March than in any other. It builds in holes in trees, often choosing a cocoanut-palm
which has been hollowed out by a Woodpecker, and in the cavity thus formed makes a nest of grass, fibres,
and roots. I once found a nest in the end of a hollow areca-palm which was the cross beam of a swing used
by the children of the Orphan School, Bonavista, and the noise of wdiose play and mirth seemed to be viewed
by the birds with the utmost unconcern. The eggs are from three to five in number • they are broad ovals,
somewhat pointed towards the small end, and are uniform, unspotted, pale bluish or ethereal green. They
vary in length from 1-07 to I'S inch, and in breadth from 0-85 to 0-93 inch.
Layard styles the eggs “light blue, much resembling those of the European Starling in shape, but
rather darker in colour.”
The figure in the Plate accompanying, my article on Eulabes ptilogenys is from a specimen shot in the
Pasdun Korale.
Genus PASTOE.
Bill not so stout as in Acridotheres, compressed, slightly curved at the tip. Wings very
pointed ; the 1st quill small, the 2nd the longest, the 3rd and 4th slightly shorter. Tail moderate
and even. Legs and feet stout, but not so much so as in the last genus.
Head furnished with a long crest. Highly gregarious in habit.
PASTOE EOSEUS.
(THE ROSE-COLOURED STARLING.)
Tunlus roseus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 294 (1766).
Pastor roseus (Linn.), Temm. Man. d’Orn. p. 83 (1815) ; Gould, B. of Europe, vol. iii. pi. 212
(1837); Jerdon, Cat. B.S. India, Madr. Journ. 1840, xi. p. 23; Blyth, Cat.B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. Ill (1849); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 217 (1854); Horsf. &
Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 539 (1856); Jerdon, B. of India, ii. p. 333 (1863) ;
Gould, B. of Gt. Britain, vol. iii. pi. 55 (1863) ; Shelley, B. of Egypt, p. 157 (1872) ;
Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 462 ; Dresser, B. of Europe, pt. 21 (1873); Ball, Str. Eeath.
1874, p. 419; Hancock, Cat. B. of Northumb. p. 43 (1874); Ball, Str. Eeath. 1875,
p. 208 ; Butler & Hume, t. c. p. 498 ; Scully, ibid. 1876, p. 164 ; Newton, ed. Yarrell’s
Brit. B. pt. xii. p. 243 (1878); Davidson & Wender, Str. Eeath. 1878, p. 85; Ball,
t. c. p. 221.
The Rose-coloured Pastor, The Pastor of some writers ; Cholwn-hird, Europeans in Madras ;
Jiiari bird in Bombay. Golabi maina. Hind., also Tillyer in the south ; PariM intta,
Telugu ; Sura kuravi, Tamil ; Bya, Sindh ; 8dch in Turkestan.
Adult male and female (from a series of European and Indian examples). Length 8-0 to 9-5 inches ; wing 5-0 to 5-4 ;
tail 3-0 to 3-3; tarsus 1-05 to 1-1; middle toe 1-0; hind toe 0-55, its claw (straight) 0-3 to 0-4 ; bill to gape
1-05 to 1-2.
Iris brown ; “ bill orange-yellow at the base, then pinkish, and brown at the tip ” {Jerdon) ; legs and feet dusky
fleshy red.
Autumn flumage. After the annual moult the head, crest, neck, and throat are black, the feathers tipped with
greyish white, almost covering the plumage on the chin, face, and below the ear-coverts ; on the back and breast
the bases of the feathers are roseate, and the tips brownish or snuS-colour ; wings and tail black, the feathers
margined with greyish. This plumage is retained throughout the winter, at the latter end of which the grey
margins of the feathers wear off, and the plumage assumes the pure and brilliant colours characteristic of the
species, and which I shall describe as the hreeding-jdumage : —
Head with long occipital crest, entire neck down to the intorscapular region above and the centre of the chest beneath
glossy purple-black ; back and rump with the scapulars, breast, abdomen, flanks, and lower part of the sides of
the neck pale delicate rose-colour; wing-coverts, iruiermost secondaries, and upper tail-coverts deep glossy
gi-eenish black; quills blackish, the outer margins glossed with greenish, most conspicuously on the secondaries ;
inner webs pale brownish ; tail black, glossed with a less bluish green than the wing-coverts ; under tail-coverts,
thighs, and superlying flank-plumes green-black, the longer covert-feathers tipped with white; under wing
blackish bro^^m, the feathers tipped with white, the under secondary-coverts broadly edged with roseate.
The above description is taken from a beautiful specimen shot in June at Genoa, and in the national collection. All
examples killed at the same time, however, are not in such perfect nuptial attire : some have the dark head and
throat and the roseate plumage perfect ; but the bases of the body-feathers are more or less black, and there is a
black stripe dowm the inner edge of the scapulars ; the feathers at the edge of the wing above the metacarpus,
and those beneath it, as well as the under tail-coverts and lower flank-plumes, are broadly edged with white.
Specimens collected in Northern India by Mr. Hodgson are in this plumage ; and I conclude that these must have
been procured just before the birds left the country, and wliile they were acquiring the breeding-attire.
The female in autumn plumage is duller in colour than the male, but otherwise resembles it ; the crest is said to be
smaller.
Young (Colombo: November 1876). Iris brown; bill above browmish; gape and base of upper mandible yellowish,
tip of the lower dusky ; legs and feet fleshy.
4r
674
PASTOE EOSEUS.
Head and hind neck sandy brown, paling to albescent on the throat ; the crest absent ; across the throat and round the
lower part of the hind neck a black zone or baud defining what would be the edge of the black throat in the adult ;
back, scapulars, rump, breast, and abdomen impure roseate, mixed on the back with darldsh feathers and washed
with a sandy hue ; some of the quills and the wing-covert feathers, as well as some of the tail-feathers and the
under tail-coverts, black, the latter broadly edged with white ; the remaining feathers in these parts dun-brown,
which is the colour assumed in the nest-plumage.
Obs. Few species exhibit, in so plain a manner, the change that can be brought about in a bird’s plumage by abrasion
as the Eose-coloured Starling. We have only to lift up the feathers in the grey-tipped autumn attire, and we
at once discover the brilliant rosy tint of the chief portion of the feather. Mr. John Hancock, one of the most
accurate ornithological observers living, in a long article on this species contained in his interesting catalogue of
the birds of Northumberland, remarks that the young, after the first moult, when they are in the plumage above
described as “ Autumn,” could, in a short time, “ with the .aid of a pair of scissors, be made to assume the rosy
tint and fine glossy black of the breeding birds.” He is of opinion that many of the bii'ds said by Jerdon to be in
immature plumage on their arrival in India are in reality in the adult autumn dress just after their moult. This
may be the case ; but, on the other hand, it must be remarked that young birds of a wandering species do migrate,
as a rule, more than adults ; and I suspect that the majority of the “ Eosy Pastors ” which visit the south of India
are young. All the specimens which were procured out of the flock which visited Ceylon in the autumn of 1876
were immature, some of them being in the act of acquiring their first autumn plumage, which certainly was not that
of the adult, for the back -feathers were not rosy enough at the bases and there was no crest.
Distribution . — The Rose-coloured Starling, in the same mysterious way in which it appears in other
countries, has from time to time visited the island in large flocks, consisting of young birds, the time of its
arrival, on one or two occasions, having been, singularly enough, during the season that it is said to breed in
Western Asia. Layard notices in his catalogue that large flocks appeared at Pt. Pedro during July, when, as
Jerdon remarks in the ‘ Birds of India,’ p. 335, the young wonld only just have been fledged. This circum-
stance favours the opinion that the species breeds, as has been stated, in the south of India ; but this fact
requires confirmation. Subsequent to the above occurrence, as is also noticed by the same author, flocks
appeared at Puttalam ; and Mr. Holdsworth is of opinion that he saw a flock at Aripu in 1856. In November
and December (1876) a flock visited the Cinnamon-gardens, Colombo, frequenting the bushes and trees in the
“ Circular;” and several specimens were shot, some of which are mounted in the Colonial Museum. As in
other instances, the birds remained about for a few days, and then disappeared as suddenly as they came. On
inquiry I learnt that a Singhalese, who had shot some of these birds, was acquainted with them, having once
or twice seen them in the west of Ceylon prior to that occasion. Captain Wade, 57th Regt., met wdth a flock
at W'ackwella, near Galle, about the same time, and informs me that the natives there said they had never
seen the bird before.
It is difficult to assign any particular region as the home of this singular bird. Its head-quarters
may, perhaps, be said to be parts of Western Asia, from Turkestan to the Caspian. To the north-west of this
region it migrates in vast hordes into Europe, visiting South-eastern Russia, Turkey, and other districts on the
^Mediterranean in great numbers, and wandering thence in more or less extensive tribes into Hungary, South-
eastern Germany, France, and Spain, into which country it is, as also to Great Britain, a rare visitant;
isolated examples have likewise reached Finland, Lapland, and Sweden, but not Norway. Its visits, however, to
Europe are uncertain ; it is not looked for as an annual arrival, but surprises people by making a sudden appear-
ance in myriads, and after breeding departs as mysteriously as it came. It was first observed in England at
Norwood, where an example was killed in 1742, and noticed by Edwards. It has not unfrequently, according
to Mr. Hancock, been procured in Northumberland and Durham ; and its occurrence in Cornwall, the Scilly
Isles, Whales, and all parts of Scotland is, in accordance with the testimony of nunmrous observers, recorded
in the new edition of Yarrell by Professor Newton. It makes its appearance in Rnssia and Turkey in the
month of April, which is about the time when it leaves India, after its visit to that country dm-ing the cool
season, for Western Asia. It breeds, according to Severtzoff, in Turkestan ; and the birds which rear their
young in that country may be those w'hich have wintered in India. Dr. Scully remarks that it is said to he
common in Khokand and Badakhshan, but that the Yarkandi bird-catchers say it only occurs as a mere straggler
m Kasgharia, a few birds being occasionally seen in the summer, after the prevalence of strong north-west or
PASTOE EOSEUS.
675
westerly winds. It appears to avoid tlie districts immediately to the west of the Indus, not being found
anywhere in that direction, save in the north-east of Persia. It is a visitor to Palestine, breeding there. It
arrives in India about August (indeed Mr. Ball saw them in the Suliman hills at the end of July), and during
the interval between that and the following month, myriads, says Mr. Hume, pass through the plains of India.
They make their appearance in the Carnatic and the Deccan about November, and they quit the south of India
in March, passing through Sindh in April on their way back. The Rev. Dr. Fairbank writes tliat it visits tbe
Deccan in vast flocks, and remains until April. In Chota Nagpur it is, according to Mr. Ball, a regular visitor
in February, remaining as late as April. In that district he records it from Manbhum, Sirguja, and Gangpur,
and also from Sambalpur and other places north of the Godaveri river, so that it would appear not to visit the
eastern portions of the empire until near its time for leaving India. I And no recoi’d of its occurience to the
eastward of the Bay of Bengal; but Col. fl’ytler mentions its having visited the Andamans in January;
since this, however, the bird has not been seen by any subsequent observer. Finally, as regards its wanderings
to the south, Siiiidevall records two young individuals coming on board the ship he was sailing in while
ci’ossing the Indian Ocean, one of which alighted on the vessel “halfway between Ceylon and the north
point of Sumatra, at least 100 geographical miles from each, and 80 or 90 miles from the Andaman Islands.”
The strangest feature in its distribution is its avoiding the African continent while it visits the opposite
shores of the Mediterranean in such numbers. But one instance of its capture on the soil of Africa is recorded,
and this is by Von Heuglin, who mentions a young bird being killed at Cairo in 1864.
Habits . — This handsome bird frequents open land, interspersed with bushes and low jungle, grain-flelds,
and cultivated country, in which it commits devastations at crop-time. It feeds on seeds of grass and plants,
fruit, grain, and also, according to Jerdon, on insects. Concerning its habits in South India, a writer
(Mr. Elliot) quoted by J erdon remarks that it “ is very voracious and injurious to the crops of white
‘ Jowaree ■’ {Andropogon sorghus), in the flelds of which the farmer is obliged to station numerous watchers,
who, with slings and a long rope or thong, which they crack dexterously, making a loud report, endeavmur to
drive the depredators away. The moment the sun appears above the horizon they are on the wing ; and at
the same instant shouts, cries, and the cracking of the long whips resound from every side. The ' Tillyers,^
however, are so active, that, if they are able to alight on the stalks for an instant, they can pick out several
grains. About 9 or 10 o’clock a.m. the exertions of the w'atchmen cease; and the Tillyers do not renew their
plundering until evening. After sunset they are seen in flocks of many thousands retiring to the trees and
jungles for the night.” Layard found the young birds at Pt. Pedro very wary; but those which appeared in
the cinnamon-gardens in 1876 were far from shy ; they settled on the tops of low trees and were easy of
approach. It is very omnivorous in diet, feeding much on insects, fruit, and even flowers, as well as on grain.
“According to Chesney,” says Dr. Jerdon, “they are called locust-eaters in Persia;” and they have been
said by other writers to devour large quantities of these pests. In the north of India they devour large
quantities of mulberries, being there called the “ Mulberry- bird ” in consequence. Hutton relates the same
of it at Candahar. Both Mr. Blyth and later writers in ^ Stray Feathers ’ observe that they are much in
the habit of frequenting the cotton-tree when it is in flower, feeding, no doubt, upon its flowers. Sundevall
relates that the two captured on the ship above mentioned fed on cockroaches.
The Rose-coloured Starling has a steady straight-on-end flight, and proceeds in closely-packed flocks
from place to place. The note of the male bird is described by Sig. de Betta as being a continuous babble,
mixed with harsh and disagreeable notes ; and the cry of the female is equally stridulous and peevish.
Nidijication. — April, May, and June are the months during which the “Pastor” has been found to breed
in Europe. It nests in company, vast flocks laying their eggs on the ground in nests made of sticks, straw,
wool, and whatever other miscellaneous material the locality besieged by the invading horde can afford.
Von Nordmann says the nest is a largish, round, bowl-shaped structure, neither firm nor very neat, the
materials being gathered assiduously by both cock and hen. In writing of a vast breeding-colony which
he visited in 1844 near Odessa, he says that the birds “ took possession of every wall or heap of stones
that offered a chink for the nest,” and that stone-quarries were equally inhabited throughout the whole
neighbourhood. The eggs were from six to nine in number, but generally there were six or seven in
4e2
676
PASTOB EOSEUS.
each nest ... So soon as the broods were flown, they repaired to the nearest gardens, where they clustered on
the trees hy thousands, while their parents fed them with locusts brought from the neighbouring steppes ■,
and these assemblages were scenes of the greatest noise and confusion imaginable/^ The Marquis 0.
Antinori gives an interesting account in ‘ Naumannia,’ 1856, p. 407, of a wonderful breeding- assemblage at
Smyrna, where the nests were by thousands in the neighbouring hills, " some quite open and uncovered,
others so hidden under blocks of stone that these needed turning to examine them ; some were at the depth
of about a foot, others could not be reached by the arm/' In this case the nests were built without
any skill, “ the bird being content with a cavity scraped in the soil, in which were to be found sundry
straws or leaves of the agnocasto, and very seldom a border of grass-stalks/' Wonderful as must have
been these colonies of the Eose-coloured Starling, they must have been outdone by another established
so late as June 1875 at Villafranca, and concerning which Signor de Betta has written in the ‘ Atti del E.
Istituto Veneto,’ ser. 5. I append the following extract of his account, taken from Professor Newton's
edition of Yarrell's 'British Birds': — “In the afternoon of June 3rd, 1875, a flock of about twenty birds
alighted on the high ruins of the castle at that place, and was presently followed by another of about a
hundred, which by their cries attracted the notice of the inhabitants. Later in the evening there arrived
many thousands more, which joined the first comers, and at dusk all dispersed in numerous troops over the
country. Before daybreak the next morning, however, the people were awakened by the cries of some 12,000
to 14,000 Starlings, which met at the castle and completely took possession of it, ejecting, after a sharp
struggle, the other birds which were its ordinary occupants, and, since its walls did not then even afford
sufficient accommodation, overflowed to the neighbouring housetops. The new arrivals at once set to work
clearing out the rubbish from the holes and fissures they had thus gained, and, that done, on the morning of
the 5th they began to build their own nests of twigs, straw, hay, and other dry jflants, leaving a hollow, lined
with roots, leaves, moss, and feathers, in the middle for the eggs. The next few days were occupied by
constant strife for sites and fierce contests between the males, who showed, however, the most ardent attach-
ment for their partners ; and it was not until the 17th that Sig. de Betta (who made several visits to
Villafranca at this interesting period) was able to ascertain that eggs, five or six in number, were laid ; yet
by July 10th the young, having been most assiduously fed with locusts by their parents, were able to take
flight with them on the 12th. On the 14th all the remainder were seen to depart, and Villafranca, to the
great regret of its inhabitants, was absolutely deserted by its unusual visitors."
The eggs are like those of the Common Starling, but more glossy and of a paler blue ; they are described
in Yarrell's ' British Birds ' as being of a glossy french white, with a very faint tinge of bluish green or greenish
blue, measuring from 1T2 to 1'08 by 0'85 to 0'81 inch.
Genus STUENIA.
Bill rather small, compressed, moderately straight; nostrils exposed; gonys-angle imper-
ceptible. Wings with the 1st quill very minute, the 2nd and 3rd subequal and longest, the 4th
scarcely shorter. Tail short, the tips of the feathers pointed; under tail-coverts lengthened.
Legs and feet not so stout as in the last genus ; tarsus covered with stout scutes, and equal to
the middle toe with its claw.
Of light form ; head usually highly crested. Of mostly arboreal habit.
STUENIA PAGODAETJM.
(THE BUAHMINY MYNA.)
Turdus pagodarimi, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 816 (1788).
Te'tnenuchus pagodarum (Gmel.), Cabanis, Cat. B. Mus. Hein. i. p. 204 (1851) ; Jerdon, B. of
Ind. ii. p. 329 (1863) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 462 ; Adam, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 386 ;
Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 432 (1874) ; Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 419 ; Legge, Ibis,
1875, p. 398.
Pastor pagodarum (Gmel.), Wagler, Syst. Av. Pastor, sp. 8 (1827) ; Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 95.
Sturnia pagodarum (Gmel.), Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1844, xiii. p. 363 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 110 (1849) ; Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 407 ; Ball, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 221.
Hetcerornis pagodarum (Gmel.), Gray, Gen. Birds, ii. p. 335 (1846); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat.
p. 125 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 217.
The BlacJc-headed Myna, Jerdon, B. of India; The Pagoda Starling, Pagoda Myna (Ke-
laart). Popoya Maina, Hind. (Jerdon); Monghyr Paioi, Bengal.; Puhaia, Upper
Provinces of India (Blyth) ; Martintro, Portuguese in Ceylon.
Adult male and female. Length 8-0 to 8-3 inches; wing 4‘1 to 4-3; tail 2-3 to 2-7 ; tarsus 1-05 to 1-2; middle toe
and claw 1-1 ; bill to gape 1-05.
Iris white or greenish white ; bill with the basal half blue, which extends to the inside of the mouth, terminal half
gamboge-yellow ; legs and feet pale or sickly yellow ; claws yellow.
Lores, head above, round the gape, and point of chin shining black, the feathers of the occiput and nape much attenuated
and very long, forming a crest I'o inch long in fine examples, and which reaches down to the back; neck, throat,
and all beneath, except the abdomen, red-buff, the centres of the feathers on the thi'oat, chest, and hind neck,
where they are attenuated as in the crest, paler; back, wing-coverts, tertials, the greater part of outer secondary
webs, lower flanks, thighs, and central tail-feathers dove-grey, the latter with a shade of brown; primaries,
winglet, inner part of secondaries, and remaining tail-feathers brown-black, the primaries washed with greyish at
their tips; under wing-coverts and tips of tail-feathers white, which extends half up the lateral pair; abdomen
and imder tail-coverts white, washed with buff.
In abraded plumage the centres of the throat aud chest-feathers become very light, giving a striated appearance to
these parts.
Young. Birds of the year in nestling plumage have the iris bluish white, slightly mottled, aud with a dark inner rim ;
the bill coloured as in the adult, but with the colours duller ; feet uot so yellow.
The head is brown and crestless and dusky ashy grey in colour ; the wing-coverts and tertials pervaded with brownish
aud the quills not so black as in the adult; beneath, the throat and breast are fawn-grey, paling to albescent on
the belly and under tail-coverts. Before acquiring the adult dress the grey plumage appears to become paler ; and
during the change examples may be obtained in a curious-looking attire, some having the whole of the lower parts
(both on the breast and back) in adolescent plumage, sharply defined against the duller lines of the head and neck
in the dress of the nesthng.
Ohs. Indian specimens from the Himalayas southwards are identical with Ceylonese ; they vary inter se in the length
of the crest (probably due to age), intensity of the red under-surface coloration, distinctness of the chest- and
neck-strise, and the amount of white at the tips of the tail-feathers. Mr. Ball gives the dimensions of a Chota-
Nagpur example (Sirguja) as — wing 4'2 inches, tail 2’8, tarsus I'l ; two males in the national collection from the
H.'Wr. Provinces have the wings 4-1 and 4-3 inches, and the bills to gape 0-95 and 0-96 inch respectively ; one from
Kamptee — wing 4’2 inches, bill 0'98 inch ; two from the N.W. Himalayas wings 4'1 and 4-2 inches, bills 0‘92 and
0‘96 : the latter has an unusually long crest (1-9 inch), and the coloration of the underparts very rich, with
the strisB scarcely indicated.
678
STUENIA PAGODAEUM.
-S urma rmlaharim, Gmelm (the Grey-headed Myna), inhabits the peninsula o£ India from the north to the southern
portion and might perhaps some day occur in Ceylon. It may be well, therefore, to note, for the information
f lavender-grey on the back, with the head grey and the feathers
ot that part and the hind neck attenuated ; primaries blackish, tipped with grey ; lower parts in the male chestnut,
Md the terminal portions of the four outer tail-feathers deeper in hue than the belly; wing 3-9o to 4-1 inches
The female is paler beneath. jo
SturHiammorieola Jerdon, from Burmah and Tenasserim, is allied to the last-named species; the under surface in the
male is as pale as that of the female in S. malaharica, and the winglet and primary-coverts are more or loss white.
Distribution .— pretty bird is not very well known in Ceylon, being confined to the dry parts of the
island, in which it is somewhat local. Layard found it at Point Pedro, and remarks that it is not uncommon in
the north ; from that part southwards as far as Chilaw it occurs at various localities ; on the east coast it is not
uncommon. Kelaart mentions it as being found at Trincomalie, and in that district I have met with consi-
derable flocks in localities between Tirai and the port; to the south of the Bay of Kottiar it occurs about the
Virgel, and in the Batticaloa district is not uncommon, frequenting the lowlands around the Kalmuni Lake.
1 hence southwards I have no doubt it is found where the sca-board tract of country is favourable to its habits •
and in the Ilambantota district I can speak from experience as to its being numerous, although even there it
appears to restrict Eself to particular places. I found large flocks of it between Kirinde and Yala. I am not
aware that it inhabits the interior, as I have never met with it many miles from the sea-shore.
On the mainland it is by no means restricted to maritime districts, occurring throughout the Indian
peninsula, particularly where there are temples and other large buildings. It is, however, found in Kamis-
serum Island and on the coast of the Carnatic, in parts of which territory it is abundant; but Jerdon remarks
that it is rare on the Malabar sea-board. The Eev. Dr. Fairhank records it from the base and well up the
sides'^ of the Palanis, and remarks that it is everywhere found in the Khandala district; Messrs. Dandsonand
Wender likewise record it from the Deccan, and say that it breeds at Satara. Its range extends far towards
the north-west, for it m found in the Mount Aboo, Guzerat, and Sambhur-Lake districts, and has lately been
procured at Trainhee in Sindh ; in Kattiawar and about Kutch it is scarce. Turning, however, towards the east
we find that, according to Mr. Ball, it is sparingly though universally distributed throughout Chota Nagpur
eing more plentiful in Sirguja than elsewhere. In his list of the birds found between the Ganges and Godaveri
rivers he cites the Eajmehal hills, Manbhum, Lohardugga, Sambalpur, Orissa north and south of the
Mahanatli river, Nowagarh, and Karial as places in which he found it; to which Mr. Hume adds Eaipur. In
the N.W. ProGnees it is a common resident, and to Lower Bengal it is a casual visitor at the end of the hot
season, being, as Blyth says, often procurable from Calcutta bird-catchers. In the lower regions of Nepal
and Cashmere, and also in the lesser ranges of the latter province, it is likewise, according to Jerdon found
In Burmah it is replaced by S. burmamca and S. nemoricola-, but Jerdon states that it is found in AsLm and
Arrakan, whether correctly or not I am unable to say, as the above-mentioned species, together with
S. malabarica, are the only members of the genus recorded in ^ Stray Feathers^ from that side of the bay.
— The Brahminy Myna frequents open bushy plains, bare fields, low scrubs, clearings in the iungle
&c. It feeds on the ground, associating in moderately sized flocks, which alight on the tops of bushes or small
rees when disturbed. They are wary birds and difficult to approach, flying on before their pumuers from
bush to bush In Ceylon I never saw it in company with the Acridotheres about cattle ; but in India it is
m* frequents the dry arid portions of the countrv, where the Common
Reld-Myna IS not very common. I have found its food to consist chiefly of insects and Coleoptera of various
unds; but it also feeds on seeds, buds, and small fruits. Its ordinary note is a rather mellow whistlino- call
wEich It utters both on the wing and when feeding in company. It has a strong straight flight and flies in
closely packed little flocks, which, when going home to roost, settle on the tops of trees, rest awhile and then
take wing again. It roosts in the foliage of low shady trees, retiring early. ^
In Lower Bengal Blyth says that at the end of the cold season it frequents the arboreal cotton-trees,
ceding on the insects which arc attracted to their flowers; in Cashmere it is said by Adams to eat the seeds
buds of pines; while in Madras, as above noticed, it has the habit of feeding on the ground among cattle
STUENIA PAGODAEUM.
679
in company with the Common Mynaj picking up grasshoppers and other insects. Jerdon remarks that it has
a variety of calls and a rather pleasing song, and that it is frequently caged and domesticated, imitating any
other bird placed near it.
Nidification . — In the northern parts of Ceylon this Myna breeds in July and August, and nests, I am
informed, in holes of trees ; the same is the case in Northern India ; but in Madras it is said by J erdon to
build about large buildings, pagodas, houses, &c., although some correspondents of Mr. Hume testify to its
preferring trees to these latter situations. Mr. Blewitt, an experienced Indian oologist, has found the nest in
mango-, tamarind-, and jamun-trees from May until July, and says that feathers, grass, and sometimes an odd
piece of rag are loosely placed on the bottom of the hole for the eggs to repose on. The eggs are smaller than
those of the Common Myna and very pale in colour, varying from “ bluish white to pale blue or greenish
blue;” they average in size, according to Mr. Hume, 0'97 inch in length by 0-75 inch in breadth.
Subgenus STFENOENIS.
Bill larger, longer, and less compressed than in Sturnia ; the culmen straighter ; under
mandible stout. Tail longer in proportion to the wings, with the under tail-coverts less
lengthened than in Sturnia ; 2nd quill considerably shorter than the 3rd, which is the longest.
STUENOENIS SENEX.
(THE WHITE-HEADED STARLING.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Pastor senex, Bonap. Consp. Av. p. 419 (1850) {ex Temm. Mas. Lugd.).
Hetwrornis aZJo/rowteto, Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 217.
Temenuchus alhofrontatus (Lay.), Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 299.
Temenuclms senex (Temm.), Gray, Hand-1. B. ii. p. 20. n. 6296 (1870) ; Holdsworth, P. Z. S.
1872, p. 462 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 23.
Ad. supra schistascenti-griseus, vix metallice virescenti nitens : colli postici plumis conspicue albo medialiter lineatis :
alis caudaque nigris metallice viridi nitentibus : fronte et vertice ut et facie laterali tota gulaque pure albi s : pileo
postico dorso concolori, plumis ad basin albo mixtis : eorpore reliquo subtus ciuerascente, scapis plumarum linea-
liter albis subcaudalibus cinerascenti-albis : subalaribus et axillaribus nigricantibus, illarum scapis albidis : remi-
gibus subtus nigricantibus, intus brunneseentioribus : rostro caerulescenti-corneo, ad basin et ad rietum ceerules-
centioribus : pedibus plumbescenti-cseruleis : palpebra cferulescente : iride alba.
AdvM male. Length 8-3 to 8-.5 inches ; wing 4-25 to 4-4, expanse 13-1 ; tail 3-0 to 3-1 ; tarsus I'O to IT ; middle
toe and claw 1-0 ; hind toe and claw 0-7 ; bill to gape 1-05 to 1T5.
Adult female. Length 8'2 inches ; wing 4‘25.
Iris dull whitish, with a narrow brown inner circle ; orbital skin and eyelid dull bluish ; bill, gape, and base plumbeous
blue, the apical half pale bluish brown ; legs and feet bluish plumbeous, claws bluish.
Forehead, front of croum, face, chin, throat, and under tail-coverts white, dullest on the latter part ; centre of crown,
nape, hind neck, back, wings, and tail black, with a greenish lustre ; the edges of the back-feathers in some
perceptibly a.shy, and those of the hind neck with whitish shafts more or less conspicuous according to the
amount of white on the head ; fore neck, chest, breast, and flanks dusky lavender-grey, paling on the lower part
of the breast, and blending into the w'hite of the throat, each with a white mesial stripe ; under wing-coverts
dull blackish ; under surface of quills brown.
Young. Iris brown, with a faint grey outer edge ; this increases, and in birds evidently still in the first year the
proportions of white and brown in the iris are about equal, the former gradually increasing until it leaves the
narrow brown inner circle ; bill, legs, and feet as in the adult.
Ill nest-plumage the forehead, head, and hind neck are concolorous and of a dull brown hue ; a whitish superciliary
stripe passes from the nostrils over the eye ; the ear-coverts are sullied white,, but the white of the throat seems
to extend lower down, and to change abruptly into the dark grey of the chest ; the lower parts, however, are not
always equally dark ; some examples have them pervaded with whitish ; but the chief character of the under surface
in the immature bird is the absence of the white mesial stripes, contrasting strongly with the grey of the rest of
the feathers. The white of the forehead appears during the first year and increases with subsequent moults,
which take place in August.
Ohs. This species has of late been placed in the genus Sturnia {Temenuchus) ; but inasmuch as it differs markedly in
the points above indicated, I have placed it in a new subgenus ; the feathers of the head and occiput are likewise
not so attenuated as in typical Sturnia.
The under surface in adults is subject to variation. In some examples the mesial lines are narrow and very clearly
defined ; in others they blend into the siu-rounding dark colour. These latter are probably not fully adidt.
I have never seen a specimen with the frontal white extending further back than the centre of the crown. In my notes
in ‘ The Ibis,’ 1874, I erroneously stated that the female had more white on the head than the male. At that
time I had not procured males as old as the specimens of the other sox which had fallen to my gun ; afterw^ards
I obtained both sexes in precisely the same plumage. A Ceylon specimen of this species in the Museum of Leyden
was named P . senex by Temminck ; but its habitat was erroneously given by Bonaparte, who first published the title
STURNORNIS SENEX,ad
i
f
5 =
r
1
I
I
gs
STUENOENIS SENEX.
681
in the ‘ Conspectus Avium,’ p. 419, as Bengal — the consequence of which was thatLayard, when he obtained it, was
not sure that it was referable to Temminck’s species, and described it as new, writing as follows “ It may be
Pasior senex, Teinm., as it agrees tolerably well with the short description given in Prince Bonaparte’s Consp. Av.
p. 419 ; but that description is so concise that I cannot be sure of it ; I therefore name it provisionally
IT. albofrontata,”
Distribution.— This arboreal Starling, which is one of the most interesting of the species peculiar to
Ceylon, is very scarce in collections, and has always been looked upon as one of our rarest birds. The fact is,
that the portions of the island which it inhabits are wild hill-forests seldom trodden by Europeans, and hence
its scarcity in the cabinets of collectors ; but nevertheless in these primeval solitudes it is numerous. It is
a bird of local distribution, being chiefly conflned to the great forests on the Peak range which stretch from
the Kuruwite Korale round to Belihul-oya and the upper forests of the southern ranges, including the
Singha-Eajah, and other extensive jungles stretching through the northern and lower part of the Kukul
Korale into the Pasdnn Korale. As regards the latter locality, which is the lowest at which it has yet been
observed, I found it in some of the valleys through which the southern affluents of the Kaluganga find their
way to the main stream, and not far from the remote village of Moropitiya, at an altitude of a few hundred
feet above the sea-level. There appears to be a continuous stretch of hilly forest extending northward of
this place for twenty miles to the Kaluganga ; and the White-fronted Starling will probably occur throughout
this region. Above Gillymally I found it very abundant in forest of about 1200 feet elevation, and equally so
2000 feet higher up. It appears to cross over into some of the western coffee-districts from the Maskeliya
jungles, for Mr. Bligh procured it in 1872 in Kotmalie. Layard does not seem to have procured specimens of
this bird himself, as he only speaks of it as existing in Mr. Thwaites's collection ; and in what part of the hill-
zone this latter gentleman procured it I am unable to say. There is a specimen in the British Museum
procured by Mr. Boate and labelled Nuwara Eliya. Mr. Bligh tells me he has never seen it in Haputalej
but I do not see why it should not extend along the entire southern base of the Kandyan mountains. It will
assuredly be found on the eastern slopes of the Kolonna and Morowak Korales.
Habits. The White-headed Starling frequents fruit-bearing trees in high forest, cheena- and patna-
woods. It is frequently found, too, about the edges of jungle or by the sides of sylvan paths. It is entirely
arboreal, never descending to the ground, but feeding sociably in parties in the topmost branches of thickly
foliao-ed trees. It is passionately fond of the wild cinnamon and of the luscious fruit of the Kanda-etta
tree.° In the Singha-Eajah forest I found it feeding on the berries of a small tree, Macaranga tomentosa,
which grew in the gorges of the mountains, and likewise searching about Jack-trees near some of the
forest hamlets for insects, in the pursuit of which I have also seen it in company with a troop of Layarda
rufescens. Its powers of voice seem to be somewhat limited, as I never heard it utter any note but a quick
Starling-like chirp, which it is particularly given to when assembled in flocks. While feeding it is not at all,
shy ; and so intent is it on devouring the berries and fruits of its choice that a number may be shot one after the
other in the same tree. Mr. Bligh noticed that it was fond of mulberries, coming into the garden attached
to his bungalow in Kotmalie in search of them. W' hen encamped in the Peak forest during the month of
Auo-ust I noticed that this bird roamed about the patnas towards evening, flying in small parties of half a
dozen or more; it was then very shy, settling on the tops of dead trees and keeping up a quick chirping until
it took wing on my approach.
I regret to say that nothing is knowm of the nidification of this bird.
The figures of this bird in the Plate accompanying the present article are those of an adult female shot in
the Singha-Eajah forest, and a young bird procured in the Gillymally jungles.
4s
Genus ETJLABES*.
Bill veiy stout, deep at the base, the gape without the rictal curve of the members of the
preceding genera; the culmen well curved, the under mandible slightly broader than the upper
at the base ; nostrils basal, rather small and round, placed in a depression. Wings long, the 3rd
and 4th quills the longest. Tail short and even. Legs and feet very stout, and covered with
strong transverse scutes ; tarsus longer than the middle toe. Claws much curved.
Head adorned with naked skin and wattles of a yellow colour.
EULABES BELIGIOSA.
(THE SOUTHERN BLACK MYNA.)
Gracula religiosa, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 164 (1766) ; Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ.
1840, xi. p. 24; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 108 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat.
p. 125 (1852); Layard, Ann. Sc Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiii. p. 216; Horsf. & Moore,
Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 522 (1856).
Eulabes religiosa, Jerdon, B. of Ind. ii. p. 337 (1863); Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 40; Holdsw.
P. Z. S. 1872, p. 463; Hume, Nests and Eggs, ii. p. 435 (1874); Legge, Ibis, 1874,
p. 23; Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1877, p. 407; Ball, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 221.^
Gracula minor, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1844, xiii. p. 134.
The Minor, Edwards, Birds, pi. 17 ; The Jungle-GracJcle, The Jungle-Myna, The Southern
Hill-Myna (Jerdon) ; The Black Myna, or Glossy Myna, in the south of India. Kokni-
mama. Hind. ; Honda gorinka, Telugu (Jerdon).
Selalaheniya, Southern Province; Ilalalaheniya, Northern Province, Sinhalese.
Adult male and female. Length 9-5 to 10-25 inches ; wing 5-7 to 5-8 ; tail 2-7 to 3-0 ; tarsus 1-2 to 1-25 ; middle toe
and claw 1-4.; hind toe from base 0-7 ; bill to gape 1-4.
Ins brown, the outer edge white, darkly mottled; bill orange-yellow; legs and feet citron-yellow; lappets and cheek-
spot rich yellow, the latter tinged with blue at the upper edge.
The wattles or ornainentation of the head consist of a naked yellow patch on the cheek, a similar stripe running from
the eye to the side of the nape, where it expands into a broad lappet, running forward again at each side of the
occiput to the top of the head in a narrow “plaited” stripe.
Entire plumage glossy black, with strong meiallie reflections of rich purple on the head, cheeks and hind neck, and on the
rest of the upper surface and throat with green; wing-coverts and lower parts margined with green; chest and
sides of breast margined with bronze and purple; primaries with a white bar across the middle, commencing on
the inner web of the 2nd, and ending on the outer web of the 8th,
Young. These have the flaps slightly developed ; they are very short, and with the rest of the lappet are of a dull yellow ;
The Grackles or Glossy Mynas, together with some allied genera, differ in their stout curved bOls, unangulated gape
aiid metallic plumage from the true Mynas and Starlings, and are grouped by most systematists in a distinct subfamily’
They constitute the Lamprotornime of Jerdon. Ornithologists, however, do not agree as to the various Asiatic and
- trican genera which fall within the limits of the subfamily, and it is not necessary in this work to adopt it. The
.amprotormnoe appear, as Jerdon remarks, to grade into the Starlings through the genus Caloniis; and the aberrant
C^a>oglossa sinlo^tera (the Spotled-wiuged Starling), which has been placed in this subfamily, does not appear to belong to it
EULi\BES EELIGIOSA.
683
the coronal stripes are not fluted, as in the adult, and the cheek-patch is very small. The reflections of the plumage
are duller than those of mature birds, and the belly is edged with greyish.
Ohs. The dimensions given of a pair of Southern Indiau examples (Str. Eeath. 1877, p. 407) are: — ^ , length 10-0 inches,
expanse 18'0, wing 5-8, tail S-O, tarsus 1-2, bill from gape 1-4; $, length lO’O, wing 5-6, expanse 17‘6,
tail 3'0, tarsus 1'2, bill from gape 1'4. The iris of the male is recorded as brown, fading out into grey. The
wing of a male from Travancore is given at 6'66 inches. Specimens which I have examined from Malabar vary
in the wing from 5-3 to 5-5 inches.
This species is closely allied to the Central-Indian Myna, E. intermedia, and its allies E. javanensis and E. andama-
nensis. These three races are in themselves so closely allied that Mr. Hume states he is scarcely able to draw
the line between them when a large series is taken into consideration, and, indeed, as regards the last-named, he
recently remarks (Str. Eeath. 1878, p. 398, B. of Tenass.) that he would not separate it from E. javanensis. E.
intermedia .and its allies, however, differ materially from the present species in having no naked cheek-patch, and
in not possessing the narrow loose fold running forward on the head on each side of the occiput. It has like-
wise a larger bill. It replaces the Ceylon and South-Iiidian bird in Ohota Nagpur, Sambalpur, and Eaipur. The
Malaccan bird, E. javanensis, has a larger bill than E. intermedia, and the Andaman race a slenderer one than the
Mahaccan. Examples of E. javaneims in the national collection measure in the bill, from tip to gape 1‘4 to 1‘55
inch, and in height at the nostril Q‘55 to 0'6; in E. aiulamanensis the height of the bill is barely 0-5 inch.
Distribution . — The Southern Hill-Myna is a bird of local distribution in Ceylon, being confined to
particular forests, the hanks of certain rivers, and the neighbourhood of tanks in the Eastern Province. It is
numerous on the hilly banks of the Gindurah, and in the forests of the south-western hill-district between that
river and Matara ; likewise in the Pasdun Korale and on the banks of the Kaluganga ; also in various
parts of the Western Province, such as Panadure,the forests of the Hewagam Korale (particularly the Ikadde-
Barawe jungle) , those of the Eayigam Korale, and the wooded ranges between Avisawella and Kurunegala. In
the Eastern Province I found it plentiful in the Nilgalla district and in the forests on the Friars-Hood group
of hills. Layard speaks of it as being common at Puttalam, and says that it extends sparingly into the
Kandyan province. Mr. Parker writes me that it is found in forest near Uswewa. Its distribution is some-
what affected by the presence of open country adjoining heavy jungle, which latter it avoids when it is unbroken;
this character is exemplified in its haunting the vicinity of tanks, and was particularly noticeable to me on the
occasion of a trip from Ratnapura to Kalatura : in the heavy forest in the centre of the Pasdun Korale it was
not seen ; but directly the partly open country between the villages of Moropitiya and Baduleriya was reached
the Black Myna made its appearance.
I have not observed it above an altitude of 1500 feet, up to which I have found it ranging in the Bala-
cadua and Lunugalla passes, and likewise in the Peak forests near Gillymally.
In Southern India, where this species is common, it appears to be more essentially a hill-bird, ranging
into the hills to a much higher elevation than in Ceylon. The Rev. Dr. Fairbank, for instance, records it as
being obtained by him between 1000 and 5000 feet in the Palani hills ; and in the Travancore hills Mr. Bour-
dillon says it is one of the commonest of birds, being found in equal numbers at all elevations. It is not
recorded from the Deecan or from the Khandala district; but Jerdon says it is found in the forests of
the northern circara as far as Gumsur, extending west into the wooded portion of the Nagpore territories.
Mr. Ball likewise notes it from Gumsur and the northern circars. It is, according to Jerdon, most abundant in
the Ghats, the Wynaad, Coorg, and other elevated districts up to 3000 feet or so.
Habits . — This showy bird frequents high jungle and forest, being especially fond of the vicinity of rivers,
and likewise of open clearings in the woods which are studded with tall dead trees. In the Pasdun Korale,
between the Maguni ganga and Kalatura, where it is common, it is found about native villages situated in
wooded knolls, and affects the kitool-palms there more than other trees. Like the next species, it has a habit
of launching itself out into the air with a shrill whistle and returning to its perch. Its note is higher than
that of the Hill-Myna and more metallic-sounding. It is caught and kept as a caged bird by the natives in
parts of the western and southern provinces, and is said by them to talk well. It usually associates in pairs,
except when feeding on the fruit of some favourite tree, when I have found it in small parties. It is not a
4s 2
684
EULABES EELIGIOSA.
sliy bird, baving very little fear of a gun-shot ; indeed I have shot several out of the same tree without any
member of the little party taking flight. It feeds on various berries and fruits, which it swallows whole.
Jerdon testifies to the same local propensity which I have observed to obtain with it in Ceylon ; he says ; — “ It
seems partially distributed, as you may pass through miles of forest without seeing a single specimen. It is
generally found in small parties of five or sis, frequenting the tops of the loftiest trees, and feeding on fruit
and berries of various kinds. I never found that insects had formed any portion of its food. The song of
this bird is very rich, varied, and pleasing .... it is not often seen in cages in India ; but it is very highly
prized both for its powers of song and speecsh, which are said to surpass those of all other birds in distinctness.
It has probably been from erroneous information that this species was named ‘ religiosa ’ by Linnaeus, as I am
not aware of its being considered sacred by the Hindoos.” Elsewhere (' Birds of India’) he suggests that the
great Swedish naturalist probably confounded it with Acridotheres trisiis, a bird attired in “ sad-coloured ”
plumage, and was thus led to apply to it its inappropriate title.
Nidification . — The Black Myna was breeding on the Pasdun Korale on the occasion of a visit I made to
that part in August; but I did not procure its eggs. It builds in holes made by Barbets and Woodpeckers in
soft-wood trees, and is said not to lay its eggs on the bare wood, but to line the bottom of the cavity with
grasses, roots, feathers, &c. Mr. Bourdillon writes that in Southern India it makes its nest of straw and
feathers in a hole a considerable height from the ground. The eggs are described as “ very gracefully elon-
gated ovals ; ” the shell is smooth and fine, with a rather faint gloss ; ground-colour greenish blue, more or
less profusely spotted or “splashed” with piu’plish, chocolate-brown, and very pale purple. Dimensions 1'35
to 1‘37 inch in length by 0'87 to 0'9 inch in breadth.
i
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I
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I
<1
EULABES PTILOGENYS.
ACRIDOTHERES MELANOSTERNUS,
i
EFLABES PTILOGENYS.
(THE CEYLON MYNA.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
Gracula ptilogenys, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1846, xv. p. 285; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S, B. p. 108
(1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 125 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. ISat. Hist.
1854, xiii. p. 216.
Eulahes ptilogenys, Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 299; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 18^2, p. 40o , Legge, Ibis,
1874, p. 25.
Er. Temj>leton's Myna, Kelaart ; The Blaclc Myna in the planting districts.
Mal-Jcaivada, Sinhalese, SafFragam ; Selalaheniya of the Kandyans.
Ad. supra viridescenti-niger, purpureo varius ; pileo et facie kterali velutinis nigris : corpore subtis toto virideseentb
niero pectore magis purpurascente : alis caudaque nigns vmdi vel purpureo extus lavatis, primanis ^ -/
albo notatis fasciam alarem couspicuam formantibus, primario seeundo intiis tantum notato : rostro aurantiaeo,
acl busiu. nigro : pcdibus pallido ilavis : irid© albii : cfl>ruiiculis fiavis.
Adult male and female. Length 10-75 to ll'l inches ; wing 5-9 to 6-2^ ; tail 2-5 to 3-0 ; tarsus 1-3 to 1-4; middle
toe 1-1, its daw (straight) 0-4 ; bill to gape 1-6. Lappets 0-9 inch in length, 0-7 in breadth, springing from each
side of the nape, and meeting at the base in old birds.
Iris (male) greyish white, dappled with brown, (female) white or yellowish white ; bill orange-red, with the upper
mandible black from gape to nostril, and the lower for nearly half its length ; legs and feet gamboge-yellow ;
claws blackish ; lappets rich yellow. i . j'
Entire plumage glossy black, with strong metallic reflections of purple on the head, hmd neck, upper back, breast, and
thighs, and of greenish bronze on the back, wings, and belly ; across the wing a white bar, extending from the inner
web of the 2nd to the outer web of the 7th quill, and in some specimens only to the 6th.
Young. Birds of the year have the iris quite brown ; bill with more black about the base, and not so long as in the
adult ; lappets smaller and ividely separate at the base ; lower parts faintly edged with greyish. In this stage
they breed.
Ohs. I record the colour of the iris in the adult female as ivUte because I have found it so in all specimens I have
shot ; I believe Mr. Bligh has obseri'ed the same to be the ease. AVhether the eye of the male becomes white with
ao-e I am unable to say ; I have always found greyish or brown tints in it, and they are usually in the form of
dots or stipplings. The fact of the eye in the young bird being browm augurs strongly in favour of a change
eventually to the same colour in both sexes ; and it may be that I have not succeeded in getting a fully-aged male.
The subject is worthy of consideration at the hands of my readers.
Distribution. The Ceylon Myna is chiefly confined to the mountains of the Kandyan Province, the
southern ran^-es, and the subsidiary high forests on the south bank of the Giiidurah and the northern'portions
of the Kukul Korale which are continuous with the Singha-Kajah or “Lion- King” forest. On the eastern
and southern slopes of the central zone I have never found it below 1500 feet; hut this is by no means the
case as regards the western slopes lying between Maskeliya and Pelmadulla, through the eontiuuous forests
of whieh it descends into the low country, and spreads over the Three Korales, as well as the Kuruwite and
perhaps the adjoining borders of the Rayigam Korales, wherever there is tall forest. It is tolerably common
about Avisawella, which is nearly on the level of the sea; and in that neighbourhood I have procured it as fai
seawards as the twenty -eighth mile-post from Colombo. Mr. C. Byrde, of the Ceylon Civil Service, infoi-ms
me that it breeds yearly at Avisawella; and I found it nesting myself in the timber-forests of Mr. Charles
de Soyza’s estate, Kuruwite. In the main range and on the Nuwara-Eliya plateau it is more abundant in
the cool season than at other times ; but it does not appear ever to cross the Totapella range to the upland
of Horton Plains, as T nowhere observed it in the mossy forests of that region.
1
686 EULABES PTILOGENTS. *
This Myna, which has always been considered one of the finest of the Passerine forms peculiar to Ceylon, '
was discovered by Dr. Templeton, and the specimens he obtained were transmitted to Blyth for examination - k
and description. Like the Ceylon Jay, its numbers in the hills have decreased since the districts now planted
in coffee have been denuded of their primeval clotliing, its chief stronghold at present being the large forests in
the main and Peak ranges ; and should these he invaded to a great extent by the woodman’s axe, the Myna will ' ‘
no doubt betake itself much more to the low country than it has done up to the present time. It is not unlikely
that its presenee in the low-lying forests at the foot of the Ambegamoa district may be due to the felling of
its native forests on those hills. The Blackbird is much oftener seen in open coffee-estates noAv than a few
years back ; and it is evident that so great an alteration in the face of nature in the Central Province must
needs produce a corresponding change in the habits of many of the birds which frequent it. ^
Habits . — This handsome bird frequents for the most part the tops of tall trees ; it associates in small I
parties, and is very partial to the sides of deep ravines, lofty precipices, and overhanging woods. It is fond |
of launching itself out into mid-air from these dizzy heights, uttering its shrill metallic-sounding whistle and loud
calls ; and circling round, it returns to its lofty perch on the top of some, huge Doon-tree, and there continues
the exercise of its vocal powers. Its w’ell-knowu voice consists of a piercing and not unharmonious whistle
repeated several times and then followed by a series of loud guttural calls, some of which resemble the syllables
choooke, chi-ooope ; these are, however, only uttered as call-notes while it is perched. The Myna talks well,
and is eagerly sought after as a caged bird, and much prized by the Kandyans as a pet, as it is extremely
difficult to procure from the nest. It is a restless bird, particularly towards roosting- time ; and in forests where
it is abundant I have often seen it roaming about in small parties, dashing down the gloomy gullies, and
sw-eeping backwards and forwards with frequent rapid descents, which cause a loud rustling sound. After
alighting on the tallest tree to be found, these restless parties indulge in sundry piercing whistles, and then
start off again on their peregrinations until a suitable spot for their night’s quarters, in the foliage of some
vast tree, is found. ^
In its habits it is, like the rest of the Grackles, entirely arboreal, and its diet is frugivorous. Among the
many fruits to be found in the forests of Ceylon there are none of which it is so fond as the wdld cinnamon
and the nutmeg. The latter they swallow w'hole, digesting the mace from the exterior of the nut, which they
afterwards reject. The habit ascribed by Layard to this species of frequenting pastures and perching on the
backs of cattle probably appertains to the Common Myna [Acridotheres melanosternus) , for it is essentially an
arboreal bird and does not descend to the ground at all.
Nidification . — This species breeds in June, July, and August, laying its eggs in a hole in a rotten tree, or
in one wdiich has been previously excavated by the Yellow-fronted Barbet or Eed Woodpecker. It often
nests in the sugar- or kitool-palm, and in one of these trees in the Peak forest I took its eggs in the month
of August. There was an absence of all nest or lining at the bottom of the hole, the eggs, which were tw'O in
number, being deposited on the bare wood. The female w'as sitting at the time, and was being brought fruit
and berries by the male bird. While the eggs were being taken the birds fiew round repeatedly, and settled
on an adjacent tree, keeping up a loud whistling. The eggs are obtuse-ended ovals, of a pale greenish-blue
ground-colour (one being much paler than the other), sparingly spotted with lai’ge and small spots of lilac-
grey, and blotched over this with a few neutral brown and sepia blots. They measure from 1'3 to 1'32 inch
in length by 0-96 to 0’99 in breadth.
The figure in the Plate accompanying this article is that of a low'-country female bird shot in the
Kuruwite Korale.
V
PASSEEES.
Series D. Fokmicaeioid Passeees.
Wing ivith W primaries, the first well developed and typically long.
{Cf. Wallace, Ibis, 1874, p. 413.)
Fam. PITTID^.
Bill moderately stout and straight, notched at the tip ; gape smooth. Wings very ample,
proportionately long, with the secondaries lengthened. Tail of 12 feathers, very short, scarcely
exceeding the tarsus ; under tail-coverts lengthened. Tarsus long.
Of terrestrial habit.
Genus PITTA.
With the characters of the family. Bill scarcely compressed ; gonys somewhat deep ;
nostrils oval and oblique, exposed ; culmen keeled and greatly curved to the tip. Wings with
the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quills nearly equal ; the 3rd usually the longest; the 1st shorter than the
5th. Tail rounded. Tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw, shielded in front with wide,
smooth, transverse scales ; toes short, middle toe considerably exceeding the lateral ones, ol
which the outer is the longer ; hind toe rather long, its claw curved.
PITTA CORONATA.
(THE INDIAN PITTA.)
Turdus coronatus, P. L. S. Muller, Natursyst. Anhang, p. 144 (1766).
Corvus hracliyurus, var. hengalensis, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 376 (1788).
Turdus triostegus, Sparrm. Mus. Carls, fasc. iv. pi. 84 (1788).
Pitta hrachyura, Gould, Cent. Him. Birds, pi. 23 (1832) ; Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr.
Joum. 1839, X. p. 251; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 122 (1852); Layard, Ann. &
Mag. Nat. Hist. 1853, xii. p. 269 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 445 ; Ball, Str. Feath.
1878, vii. p. 213.
Pitta triostegus (S])avvm.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 157 (1849).
Pitta hengalensis (Gm.), Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. i. p. 184 (1854) ; Jerdon,
B. of Ind. i. p. 503 (1862) ; id. Ibis, 1872, p. 133.
Brachyurus hengalensis (Gm.), Elliot, Mon. Pittidm, pi. iv. (1863).
Brachyurus coronatus (Muller), Elliot, Ibis, 1870, p. 414.
Pitta coronata, Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 224 (1873); Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 406;
688
PITTA COEONATA.
Butler & Hume, ibid. 1875, p. 470; Fairbank, ibid. 1876, p. 257; Ball, ibid. 1877,
p. 416.
Madras Jay, Ray ; Bengal Qmil, Albin ; Short-tailed Bye, Edwards, Birds, pi. 324 ; Ant-
Thrush, Painted Thrush of Europeans ; The Indian Ground-Thrush, Yellow-hreasted
Ground-Thrush of Indian writers. Uourang, lit. “ Nine-coloured bird,” Hind. ;
Shumcha, Beng. ; Pona inki, Telugu ; Tota-collan, lit. “ Garden Thief,” Tamil, apud
Layard ; Ara Mani Icuruvi, Coolies on coffee-estates (lit. “ Six o’clock bird ”).
Avitchia, Sinhalese (from its cry) ; Ayittd, N.W. Province.
Adult male and female. Length 6'5 to 7'0 inches ; wing 4'1 to 4'2 ; tail I'o to 1’7 ; tarsus 1'35 to 1'45 ; middle toe
and claw I’l; hind toe and claw 0’7 ; bill to gape 1’05 to I'l.
Iris brown, variable in depth ; bill orange-reddish along the ridge and on basal half of lower mandible, vi ith the sides
of both mandibles towards the tip dusky brown ; legs and feet flesh-colour or pale reddish grey ; toes in some
specimens brownish at the joints.
Lores, cheeks, hind neck, back of head, and a broad stripe running forward to the forehead and skirting the nostril,
primaries, secondaries, the inner w'ebs of tertials, primary and under wing-coverts, under surface of wings and
tail black ; chin, throat, a patch below the eye, and a superciliary stripe white, the latter is surmounted by a
broad band of yellowish brown commencing at the nostril and running back with it to the back of the neck, wLere
they both overlie the black feathers ; a white band across the quills commencing on the inner web of 1st primary
and ending on the outer web of the 7th ; tips of the primaries smoky grey, those of the secondaries white, the
outer portion of the latter feathers and the terminal parts of the greater wing-coverts greenish blue ; median wing-
coverts, outer webs and tips of tertials, scapulars, and back leaf-green ; the back more or less washed with browmish
on its upper part ; least wing-coverts and upper tail-coverts brilliant turquoise-blue ; tips of tail-feathers greenish
blue ; beneath from the throat fawn-colour, the flanks somewhat dusky ; lower part of belly, vent, and under
tail-coverts scarlet.
Ohs. Some females appear to have the scarlet less bright than the males, and the back shaded with brown. Variations,
however, occur in the plumage of both sexes, probably dependent on age, and consist in the greater or less breadth
of the white wing-bar, in the brilliancy of the upper tail-coverts, and in the amount of white at the tips of the
secondaries. Some examples, which appear to be immature, have the white feathers at the side of the throat
tipped with brownish.
Indian specimens 1 have examined are similar in size and colouring to those which visit Ceylon. An example,
however, from Nepal measures 4‘5 inches in the wing, being somewhat larger than our birds. There are some
allied species in the green-backed, fulvous-breasted group to which our bird belongs, and among them P. areas,
Swiuh., from Formosa, is, according to Elliot, the nearest to P. coronata. It is distinguished from this latter by
having the crown dull reddish brown and the under wiug-co\erts jet-black, “ without any ti’aco of the white
feathers which form so conspicuous a mark in its ally”: wdng 5'0 inches. Pitta moluccensis, Muller, from the
countries on the east of the Bay of Bengal, likewise belongs to this group ; but is a handsomer bird, having the
beautiful lazuline-blue wing and upper tail-covert patches larger, the brown of the head is darker, and the black
of the face runs past the gape upon the chin : wing 4’7 to 4'8 inches. Pitta megarliyncha, Schlegel, is allied to
the last, and inhabits likewise the province of Teuasserim. I have not had the opportunity of examining
specimens ; but EUiot remarks that, in addition to having a black bill, “ the reddish brown of the bead extends to
the nape without being broken by a black bar.”
Another group of Pittas is characterized by their green under surface, and another (Melano^itta) by having portions
of the plumage, especially the head and throat, black, to which latter Mr. Hume’s beautiful new species, P. gurneyi,
from Tenasseriin, appears to belong.
This singular group of birds, characterized by a more beautiful plumage than is to be found in any series of Passerine
birds, save perhaps the Sun-birds, is essentially a Malajo-Asian family. Mr. Elliot, in his s 3 mopsis of the
family (Ibis, 1870, p. 108), gives a list of 32 species as then known to or recognized by him. Subsequently
others have been described, and some which he combined together under one title are now found to be
diiitinet from one another. The following table will show what a large proportion of species is found in
the Malay archipelago: —
PITTA COEONATA.
689
Malax Archipelago.
Pitta maxima, Porst. (Grilolo).
P. megarhyneha, Schleg. (Banka).
P. concinna, Groulcl (Lombok, Sumbawa, Plores).
P. irena, Temm. (Timor, Sula Islands).
P. vemista, Temm. (Sumatra).
P. celehensis, Porsten (Celebes).
P. ruhrinmha, Wallace (Bourn).
P. rujiventris, Cab. & Heine (Gilolo, Batehian).
P. cyanonota. Gray (Ternate).
P. baudi, S. Muller (Borneo).
P.forsteni, Elliot (Celebes).
P. novce-guinece, Miill. & Schleg. (N. Guinea).
P. banJcana, Schleg. (Banka).
P. guiaim, P. L. Muller (Java).
P. schwaneri, Temm. (Borneo).
P. mulled. Bp. (Borneo).
P. sanghintaa, Schleg. (Sanghir Islands).
P. rosenhergi, Schleg. (Soek).
P. usslieri, Sharpe (Borneo).
P. arcuata, Gould (Borneo).
P. mayforeana, Schlegel (Mayfor Island).
P. ccerideitoi-quata, Salvador! (Sanghir Islands).
Philippines.
P. ei-ythrogastra, ^Temm,
P. sordida, P. L. Muller.
P. steed, Sharpe.
Malay Archipelago, Malayo-Chinese Eegion,
AND AHSTEALIA.
Pitta areas, Swinh. (Pormosa, Borneo).
P. moluccensis, P. L. Muller (Malacca, Amoy, Siam, Java,
Sumatra, Borneo).
P. vigorsi, Elliot (Banda Islands, Australia).
P. granatina, Temm. (Malacca, Borneo).
P. mackloti, S. Muller (Papua, Australia).
P. bosclii, S. Midler (Sumatra, Malacca).
Indo-Malaccan Eegion.
P. cairulea. Baffles (Sumatra).
P. nepalensis Hodgs. (Nepal).
P. coronata (India, Ceylon).
P. gurneyi, Hume (Tenasserim).
P. davisoni, Hume (Tenasserim).
P. cucullata, Elliot (Malacca, Nepal, Assam).
P. cyanea, Blyth (Arrakan).
P. oatesi, Hume (Tenasserim).
Anihocindcc pliayrei, Blyth (Burmah, Tenasserim).
Ahstbalia.
P. strepitans, Temm.
P. iris, Gould.
Japan and China.
P. nymphu, Temm.
Africa.
P. angolensis, Hartl. (Sierra Leone).
The Sanghir-Island species, P. sanghirana, and the Bornean, P. mulleri, were united by Elliot with P. sordida, from
the Philippine Islands. Salvador!, however, considers that the Bornean bird is distinct ; and the Sanghir-Island
Pitta has, I believe, lately been figured (Eov^ley, Orn. Misc. vol. ii. p. 329, pi. Ixv.) as distinct. I have therefore
included these two species in the Malayan list ; and among the Indian members I have placed the remarkable
horned “ Ground-Thrush ” or Pitta (A. pJuiyrei).
Space has been devoted to this list in order to give my readers in Ceylon who may be interested in this beautiful genus
some idea of its distribution. It is probable that I may have omitted some recently described species from among
the 44 here enumerated ; but I may mention that Mr. Gould is about to publish a monograph of the Pittas, which
will, doubtless, contain every known species properly discriminated.
Distribution.^The Indian Pitta is a cool-season visitant to Ceylon. It arrives about the same time as
the Snipe, or perhaps, on the whole, a little later, for it is not very numerous before the first or second week
in October. During that month it arrives in vast numbers in the island, occupying almost every little copse
and grove as well as all the forests in the low country, while it is spread throughout all the jungles of the
Central Province up to the Nuwara-Eliya plateau, where, however, it is not nearly so numerous as at
3000 feet lower dowm ; and at the Horton Plains I did not hear it at all during my visit in 1877.
Mr. Iloldsworth remarks that he has heard it more than once in August at Nuwara Eliya ; so that individuals
remain throughout the year at that elevation, and perhaps breed, as they do in many parts of India. I have
never myself met with it between the months of May and October ; and it is very certain that by the beginning
of the former month it has entirely left the low country on its northward migration. Mr. Bligh writes me,
in 1876, from Haputale : — “They arrived in October this year in large numbers; they rarely come up so
high as this (4500 feet), though I have flushed them at over 5000 feet; but I never heard one call at so high
4 T
690
PITTA COEONATA.
an elevation in this district. On the other haud^ if I step down to a friend’s 1500 feet below mej at 6 o’clock
their peculiar cry (like attempting to whistle the words ' quite clear ’ in a moderately high key) can be heard
on all sides calling each other to roost.” This Pitta is very abundant throughout the northern forest tract ;
and near Trincomalie they may be heard everywlierej even close to the sea-beach where the shore is lined
with scrub. Its well-known cry I have often listened to in the woods just beyond the cinnamon-gardens;
and throughout the Western Province it is very numerous ; but I do not think its numbers arc so great ii
the south- westeru wooded districts, as there is a considerable quantity of humid timber-forest in that part, and
W'hich is the only kind of country that I have noticed it avoid.
Jerdon remarks of its distribution in India as follows : — “ This prettily-plumaged Thrush is found
throughout the whole of India, from the sub-Himalayan range to Cape Comorin ; but it is never found on
the east side of the Bay of Bengal In the Carnatic it chiefly occurs in the beginning of the hot weather
when the land-winds first begin to blow with violence from the west; and the birds, in many instances,
appear to have been blown by the strong wind from the Eastern Grhats, for, being birds of feeble flight, they
are unable to contend against the strength of the wind.”
These remarks tend to show that there is a seasonal movement of this Pitta; but in this case it is noted as
from Avest to east. Its migration to and from Ceylon, however, shoAvs that the chief movement is from north
to south and vice versd-, they avoid the cold climate of Northern India and the Central Provinces; and
Avhen this is over, about May, great numbers have been observed to move towards those districts from Southern
India and Ceylon. Mr. Hume thus dwells upon its migrations (Str. Feath. 1877, p. 416) in connexion with
a remark of Mr. Ball’s concerning its movements from the south to the Central Provinces : — “ In regard to
the present species I may remark that the migration extends much further than the Central Provinces. They
arrive in Bareilly about the beginning of the rains, sometimes earlier; in the Dhoon they become very common
early in the hot weather. In this latter place some few may be permanent residents, but the great bulk of the
birds are migi’ants from the south. Tp the Berars and to the forests about Hoshungabad it is a regular migrant.
It straggles up even into the semi-desert country of Kattiawar, Northern Guzerat, and the Sambhur Lake.
It comes up in numbers to the northern districts of Oudh and Behar. I have caught a specimen in my house
at Chowringee, Calcutta, in May. Throughout the length and breadth of the country it moves, during
April, May, and June, from the extreme south to all suitable localities in the north (at any rate west of the
Brahmapootra), great numbers reaching the bases of the Himalayas or sub-IIimalayan ranges.”
The Rev. Dr. Fairbank speaks of having seen three in the city of Abraednagar, and says that numbers
arrive in the Khandala district in May. Mr. Ball met with it in sal-forest iu Gangpur, and records it from
many places between the Ganges and the Godaveri, but not from the Rajmehal hills. It is, as has been
already remarked, only a straggler into the north-western parts of India. Captain Butler considers it very
rare about Mount Aboo ; and Mr. Adam only notes a single specimen obtained near the Sambhur Lake.
This handsome bird, sow'ell known to the Singhalese as the “Avitebia,” is, almost more than any
other migratory bird to Ceylon, a denizen of thick cover. It rarely shows itself in the open ; and tliose who
do not take particular pains to make its acquaintance might listen to its familiar evening cry, season after
season, without eA^er seeing it. It especially loves copses, thick woods, underwood, and overgrown waste land,
and in forest districts is usually found where the timber has been cleared and secondary jungle has groAvn up.
Nevertheless while Avandering about in tolerably open forest anywhere north of Kurunegala I have frequently
seen it and flushed it near pathways ; and in damp muggy Aveather, or on very cloudy days, listened to its
strange cry all day long, and over and over again seen it fly to the low limb of a large tree, where it would sit
for an instant cocking its tail up with a quick Rail-like movement, and then dart off into the surrounding
cover. More than tAvo are, I should say, scarcely ever seen together, and it is a rare thing to find even two
in close proximity. They utter their cry in the morning until about 8 o’clock, and commence it again as
the sun is nearing the horizon, becoming most noisy at sundown. At this time, Avheu calling to each other
they fly about in search of roosting-places. Their flight is quick and irregular, reminding one of that of the
LapAving, and they dart round the trunks of trees very adroitly. Its note, which I have alluded to, and which
Mr. Ball just as aptly renders by the words wheet-pe-u, is preceded often by a shrill churr or call ; that is to
say, this note is heard usually before the long-drawn cry, this, I imagine, being only uttered as a call-note
PITTA COEONATA.
691
■when the birds begin to answer one another. Mr. Ball says that when uttering the wlieet (or, as the Singhalese
render it, avit) the head is drawn hack as far as possible and then jerked forward again as the bird concludes
with the pe-u. He has heard it (in the breeding-season I conclude) utter a sweet Thrush-like song
resembling that of the Shdma.
Though very shy and wary it is possessed of considerable inquisitiveness. While standing still under
the shelter of dense jungle I have not unfrequently had it approach me within a few yards, flitting from the
ground to a low branch and quietly scanning me with its bright eye, its head cocked on one side and its tail
erect. While I remained motionless it would continue to scrutinize me, but on the least stir it would dart
otf into the surrounding cover.
M hen it first arrives it wanders into strange places — gardens, compounds, and even houses. Jerdon
writes of capturing one in the General Hospital, Madras. My friend Mr. Forbes Laurie related to me that
one night, on returning from dining at a friend^s, he found one running about among the flowers in his
garden at Tunisgala; on bringing a lamp upon the seene he easily caught it. Mr. Bligh, too, informs me
that they are frequently caught on coffee-estates in the bungalows on cold stormy days, and that one so
captured in his distriet lived for many weeks, chiefly on worms ; it was kept in a lumber-room with only a
small window in it and seemed quite happy, standing a good deal on one leg and nervously moving its tail
up and down. He tells me that they come some distance to roost, as they are fond of bushy trees like the
lime and orange, which are not plentiful on the coffee- estates j and he has seen them making their way across
a coffee-plantation by short flights or stages.
It feeds entirely on the ground, picking up beetles, termites, ants, and other insects which it finds in
the soil and among dead leaves, its bill being usually covered more or less with earth when it is shot. Layard
says that it resorts to the same ant-hill for days together,
I have already referred, in my article on Turdus spiloptera, to a Singhalese legend connected with the
Pitta; and Mr. Parker sends me the following as bearing on its name {Ayittd) in the North-west Province : —
“ It is said that this bird once possessed the Peacock^s plumes ; but one day when he was bathing the Peacock
stole his dress ; ever since that he has gone about the jungle calling for them, ‘ Ayittam, ayittam ’ (mv
dress, my dress) .
Another legend is that the Pitta was formerly a prince who was deeply in love with a beautiful
princess. Ilis father sent him to travel for some years, as was in olden times the custom with princes here.
When he returned the princess w'as dead, and the unfortunate prince 'W'andered disconsolately about, continually
calling her by name, ‘ Ayitta, Ayitta.^ Out of pity to him, the gods transformed him into this bird.’^
There is something peculiar, in fact startling, in this bird’s curious cry, proceeding from dense thickets,
where it cannot itself be seen ; and this fact, combined with its beautiful plumage and its sudden appearance
in the island as a migrant, which is not intelligible to the untutored native mind, has naturally made it the
subject of legends with the Singhalese.
Nidification. In the Central Provinces of India this Pitta breeds in July and August, according to
Mr. Blewitt, who has taken numbers of its eggs. The nests are described by Mr. Hume as “ large globular
sti’uctures, fully 9 inches in horizontal diameter and 6 inches high, with a circular opening on one side ; thev
are composed internally of fine twigs, notably of the tamarisk, and grass-roots ; externally of drv leaves, many
of them skeletons, held in their places by a few roots or twigs. The inteimal cavity may be about 4 inches
in diameter. The nests are placed in brushwood and scrub-jungle, either on the ground or on low branches
close to it.’'’
“lew Indian eggs are,” says the same author, “more beautiful than those of this species. In shape
they are excessively broad and regular ovals ; they are excessively glossy ; the ground-colour is china-white,
sometimes faintly tinged with pink, sometimes creamy, speckled and spotted, and sometimes also painted, with
fine hair-like lines of deep maroon, dark purple, and brownish purple as primary markings, and pale inky
purple as secondary ones. The primary markings arc scattered, in some instances pretty thickly, in others very
sparingly, over the whole surface of the egg, but are always much denser towards one end, to which in
some eggs they are entirely confined; and here alone the secondary markings are at all conspicuous..
I should note that there is one not uncommon type in which the whole egg is devoid of markings, except
4t2
692
PITTA COEONATA.
within a broad zone near one end, and even here they only consist of widely scattered and minute specks of
maroon and pale lilac.”
The average size of fifty eggs is recorded as I'Ol by O' 86 inch.
The accompanying woodcuts are intended to illustrate Mr. Wallace's system of classification of the great
Passerine Order which I have followed in this work.
They represent the underside of the wing, so that the 1st quill may be seen to advantage, and are
drawn to -f size.
Tuedoid Passeees
(see p. 345).
Wing of Turdus spiloptera.
Tanageoid Passeees
(see p. 574).
Wing of Hirundo rustica.
Stuenoid Passeees
(see p. 630).
Wing of Sturnus vulgaris.
PoEwicAEioiD Passeees
(see p. 687).
Wing of Pitta coronata.
P ALU MB US
Order COLUMB^*.
Bill with the basal half straight and soft, covered with a *eshy skin, in which the nostrils
are placed ; the tip homy, curved, and vaulted inside ; gape wide and smooth. Wings pomted,
of 10 feathers. Tail variable in the number of its feathers, usually of 12 or 14, m some
16. Legs short, feathered to the knee ; the tarsus fleshy and very stout, scutate in front, except
in one elnus. Toes stout, flattened beneath, forming a broad sole.
Sternum narrow, with a high keel, and two notches on each side of it in the posterior
margin ; chest with a large double crop.
Fam. COLUMBIDa®.
Bill rather narrow, the gape moderately wide, the horny tip less in extent than the fleshy
base , nostrils opening to the front. Wings pointed. Tail broad, short, and even m some, long
and graduated in others, of 12 feathers. Tarsus somewhat lengthened and not very stoii .
Toes lengthened ; lateral toes suhequal ; the hallux moderately short.
Of both terrestrial and arboreal habits.
Genus PALTJMBTJS.
Bill moderately stout, the tip well curved; nostrils placed in a groove and beneath a
capacious memhiune. Wings with the
PALTIMBUS TOBRINGTONIiE.
(THE CEYLON WOOD-PIGEON.)
(Peculiar to Ceylon.)
PahmJim elfhimtom, var„ Blyth, J. A, S. B. 1851, xx. p. 178^ ^
Palumbm torringtonii, Kelaart, Prodromus, Faun. Zeylan. p. 1 { h
iii. p. 466 (1864); Elyth, Ibis, 1867, p. S06; Hume, Nests and
. Carpophaga {Pabimbus) torriligtonu (Keh), ft elphinstonn, var., aput y ,
Cat. p. 130 (1852).
its focus, as Mr. Wallace, in
* This interesting order of birds is chiefly developed inthe grea region, comprised of New Guinea, the
his able article on the Pigeons (Ibis, 1865), terms it, being in t e us r^ that out of the three hundred and odd
island of Celebes, and the Solomon Islands. In the article in ^ other hand, others have since been discovered)
.species known, no less than 118 (some of these are now uni ec , there arc only 80, and in Africa less than 40,
inhabit the Malay Archipelago, while on the vast J? . distribution of Pigeons are as follows : These
Australia possessmg 43. Mr. Wallace’s remarks on is metropolis of the Pigeon tribe. It is now well known, how-
numbers show that the Malay Archipelago is preeminently the metropol
694
PALUMBUS TOEEINGTOXI^,
♦
«-
Carpophaga torrmgtonn{Ke\.), Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 59.
Talumhus torringtonm (Kel.), Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 466; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 25.
Lady Torrington’s Pigeon, Kelaart ; Pine Pigeon, PlacJc Pigeon, Wood-Pigeon, Coffee-planters.
Mila-goya {goya being the name for Pigeon), Sinhalese in Central Province; Mahavillagoya,
apud Layard.
Ad. supra pulchre sehistaceo-niger: interscapulio lilascenti-vinaceo, dorsi snmmi phitnis vix quoque lilacino aclumbratis •
teetrieibus alarum dorso coucoloribus : remigibus brunneis, schistaceo extus lavatis, secundarHs intimis dorso con-
coloribus, primarns anguate pallidiore brunneo limbatis : capite undique vinaceo, colli postiei iugulique plumis
vindi nitentibus, dims plumis albo termmaliter maculatis ; corpore reliquo subtiis pulchru lilascenti-vinaceo sub-
cauclalibus longionbus schistaceo-nigris, rehquis vinaceis ad basin schistaceis : subalaribus et axillaribus schistaceo-
nigris : rostro pallide cajrulesceute, ad basin plumbescente : pedibus carnescenti-albis, tarso antico rubescente •
inde pallide rubra, plaga orbitali carnea.
Adult male Length 13-5 to 14-3 inches; wing 7-7 to 8-0; tail 5-25; tarsus 1-1 ; middle toe 1-2, its claw (straight)
0-4 ; bill to gape 1-1. ^ ’
Ins pale red; orbital skin pink; bill, basal half plumbeous, the apical or corneous portion bluish; tarsus in front and
top ot the toes red, posterior tarsus and sides of toes with the soles paler ; claws fleshy white.
Head, nape, and upper throat vinaceous ashy, paling to albescent on the chin, and passing on the chest and under
surface into a more vinous hue, which pales into reddish albescent on the belly, and passes round on the hind
nediand upper part of interscapular region into fine reddish bronze, richly illumined with metallic green the head
and fore neck being more faintly illumined with the same; a broad black demi-collar across the hind neck vrith
white tips to the feathers ; rest of upper surface and wings bluish plumbeous, the tail blackish slate and the
quills deep brown with fine light margins to the primaries ; under tail-coverts dark cinereous ashv, passing into
reddish brown at the tips of the feathers. ^ ^ ^
Female. Length 13-2 inches ; wing 7-2 ; tail 5-0 ; tarsus 0'9 ; bill to gape I'O.
Legs and feet not so red, with the posterior part of tarsus and sides of toes fleshy white.
Head, chest, and under surface more ruddy than in the male, and the cupreous hue of the lower hind neck deener ■
under tail-coverts and flanks redder. ^ ’
Young. Birds of the year have the iris yellowish grey, with generally a narrower outer ring of pale red (the normal
colour of the adnlt); bill dusky at the tips^ legs and feet dull red anteriorly, dusky fleshy behind.
Upper surface ashy plumbeous ; forebead and face slightly ruddy ; neck-patch not developed, the feathers of the nuchal
collar being blackish, with ashy-whitish tips, not pure white ; the metallic hues of the hind neck faintly developed •
chest ruddy plumbeous ; the under surface vinaceous slaty, washed with fulvous-brown on the breast. Some
examples have the wdng-coverts edged with rusty, and the chin and gorge more albescent than in the adult.
hs. This fine Pigeon, which was at first considered to be a variety of the Nilghiri Woodchat, P. elfldmtoni, is closelv
allied to that species, differing from it merely in the colour of the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts which are
cogoiper-colouT in the continental form. An example in the British Museum has the head slaty, .lith a slic^ht
bronze tinge; the lower part of the hind neck, the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts are of a bronzed copper-
coloqr ; tail not so “ slaty ” as in P. ton-ingtonice . ; throat greyish ; chest light slaty, tinged with green ; the breast
ami lower parts iridescent slaty grey, wanting the vinaceous tint of the Ceylon bird ; the bill is stouter and the
wing measuremont 8-7 and 8-5 inches respectively in two examples which 1 have measured.
The genus Palwn^us is a somewhat limited one, comprising in India, besides the two species already noticed the
Himalayan Cushat (P. casiotis, Bp.), which is the representative of the European Cushat, and the northern ally of
the Nilghiri Wood-Pigeon, P. puV-JincoUis. The latter is a very handsome bird, differing from P. elpMmtoni
chiefly in its brilliantly-coloured neck and also in its redder under surface. The feathers of the neck-patch are riodd
black at the base, changing into reddish, and tipped with white. P. caaiotis differs from the “ Bimr-Dove ”
ever, that this part of the world belongs to two distinct zoological regions— the Indian and the Australian ; and in these the
Pigeons are very unequally distributed; for the western and larger portion (the Indo-Malayan subregion) contains nine
genera and forty-three species, while the eastern and smaller portion (The Austro-Malayan subregion) has fifteen genera
and eighty-four species. Here, therefore, the species ot Pigeons become more condensed and more varied than in any other
part o. the globe : here i.s the focus of the order ; and it was probably from this part of the world that the original dispersal
. 1 ?” ifu chiefly took place. This condensation is carried to its greatest height in New Guinea, in
n 1 C , although only a few points on its coast have been idsited, no less than 25 species of Pigeons have been obtained.”
PALUMBUS TOERIXGTONLa:.
695
according to Jerdon, “ in having the neck-patch clayey buff instead of white, and much contracted in size ; also in
the less extent of the white border to the primaries.” It is a very fine species ; wing IO 5 inches.
Dist 7 'ibution. — Essentially a bird of the mountain forests, this splendid Pigeon is well known to all
Europeans in the Central Province. It is very abundant in the Nuwara-Eliya plateau forests and on all the
surrounding wooded slopes down to an elevation of about 3000 feet ; below this it is not numerous. Kelaart
speaks of examples being procured at Gampola ; but this was in the days of forest ; now that the whole country
round that district is denuded, the visits of the Torrington Pigeon to it must be few and far between. I met
with it at Nuwara Eliya in May, and found it plentiful on the Horton Plains in January; it seemed then to
prefer the singular isolated groves on the plains to the surrounding forest, no doubt owing to a greater abun-
dance of food obtaining at that time in the former. It is very numerous in the Peak forests, where I procured
it under 3000 feet ; and I have no doubt those vast jungles stretching along the high mountain-chain up to
the Horton Plains now form its chief stronghold. In the Morowak Korale I have killed it at Aning-Kanda
Estate as low as about 2400 feet, and between there and the Kukul Korale it is, I understand, abundant at times.
ilr. Holdsworth remarks that it “changes its locality according to the season and the time at which the fruit
of particular trees ripens;” he found it numerous at Nuwara Eliya at the end and beginning of the year.
Mr. Bligh has noticed that a migratory movement takes place just previous to the “bursting” of each monsoon;
which, together with its wanderings in search of fruit, will probably account for its somewhat periodical
appearance in many districts.
This species was named torringtonicB by its discoverer Kelaart, in compliment to the Viscountess Torrington.
HaUts. Frequenting, for the most part, lofty trees in the primeval forests of the mountains, and being of
a very shy and wary disposition, this fine Pigeon is generally a difficult bird to procure ; but, notwithstanding,
it is much sought after on account of its excellent flesh, and frequently falls to the planter s gun. It is entirely
a fruit-eating species, and feeds more on the wild cinnamon-fruit than any other kind ; on this it gorges itself
to such an extent that I have found its crop burst wide open with the shock of falling to the ground : when thus
satiated it is not so watchful as usual, and may sometimes be approached without the cracking of a twig or the
noise of leaves crushed under foot frightening it off. It comes very early to roost; and I found that it
resorted to the same trees night after night, coming home from its forest wanderings about 4 p.m., and settling
down cither in or somewhere near its intended roosting-place. It then commences its coo (which is a fine deep
note, but not so guttural or resounding as that of the Imperial Pigeon), now and then moving about among
the adjacent trees, but not flying away to any distance. By waiting in such places it may be more easily shot
than in any other manner. About 10 oVlock in the morning, after feeding, I have found it resting on the
under brauches of moderately sized trees in the Nuwara-Eliya district ; but, as a rule, it selects the loftiest
branches to perch on. Its flight is very strong and swift, and it takes a good shot to bring it down as it darts
out of some lofty tree in its forest haunts ; Kelaart says that “ it flics high and in long sweeps.” In common
with other Pigeons it drinks in the morning; and I have found it at mountain-streams as late as 9 p.m.
Mr. Blio-h informs me that it is unusual to find many together while feeding ; but I imagine this depends on
the' quantity of fruit there may be on any given tree ; he tells me he once saw 30 or 40 on a large tree in the
Hambeteunc gorge, but never observed so many together on any other occasion.
Nidification.—l was never fortunate enough to find this Pigeon’s nest, nor to obtain much information
from my friends in the Central Province concerning its nesting-habits. Mr. Bligh writes, “I have seen their
nests both in spring and autumn as late as October; they generally build in lofty forest trees; but I once
frightened a large young one from a nest on a small tree some 15 feet above the ground.” Kelaart merely
remarks, “Their nests are found on lofty trees.” Its nest and eggs probably closely resemble those of its
South-Indian ally, P. elphinstoni, which builds a “ slight platform ” of a nest, and generally only lays one egg
a broad oval, pure white, measuring from 1'46 to 1'56 inch in length by 1'07 to 1'2 inch in breadth.
The figure in the Plate accompanying this article is that of a male shot at Palabaddala on the pilgrims’
path through the Peak forest.
Subgenus ALSOCOMUS.
Tarsus shorter and tail longer than in Palumbus.
ALSOCOMUS PUAICEUS.
(THE PUEPLE WOOD-PIGEON.)
Alsocomus puniceus, Tickell, J. A. S. B. 1842, xi. p. 462 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B.
p. 233 (1849) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 58 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii.
p. 462 (1864); Beavan, Ibis, 1868, p. 373; Iloldsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 466 ; Ball, Str.
Feath. 1874, p. 424, et 1878, vii. p. 224; Armstrong, ibid. 1876, p. 337 ; Davison &
Plume, ibid. 1878, B. of Tenass. p. 418.
Kurunda kobceya, Neeyang kobceya, lit. “ Season Pigeon ” [apud Layard), Sinhalese.
Adult male. (Brit. Museum, Tenasserim) Wing 8-6 inches; tail 6-0 ; tarsus 1-0; bill at point 0>7.
(Tenasserim) “ Length 14-12 to 15-C ; wing 8-2 to 8-5, expanse 25-0 to 26-25 ; tail 5-5 to 6-6 ; tarsus 0-9 to 1-1 : bill
from gape 1-1 to 1-2.”
Female. “ Length 14-75 inches ; wing 8-4, expanse 25-25 ; tail 5-5 ; tarsus 1-0; bill from gape 1-2 ” (Hmne).
(Irrawaddy delta, Armstrmwj) “ Length 15-75 inches ; wing 8-65 ; tail 6-1 ; tarsus 1-0 ; bill to gape 1-05.”
“ L'is orange ; bill purplish, tipped with horny ; legs and feet pm-plish red ” {Armstrong).
“ Irides deep orange or pale yellow ; eyelids bright red ; orbital skin purplish pink ; horny portion of bill bluish white,
rest of bill and gape lake-pink; legs and feet purplish or lake-pink” {Hume).
(British Museum.) Forehead, lores, crown, and nape pale slaty greyish; lower part of face, ear-coverts, throat, and
neck light coppery sienna, intensifying or becoming more vivid on the fore neck and under surface, and illumined with
greenish bronze on the chest and hind neck ; back, scapulars, wdng-coverts, and inner secondai-ies coppcr-colovu-,
blending into the paler hue of the crown, and the feathers broadly tipped with metallic amethystine red ; primary-
coverts, primaries, and secondaries slaty brown, the primaries pale on the inner webs ; under tail-coverts dark
ashy slate, blending into the colour of the lower breast ; under wing-coverts bronze-red.
The female is said to be duller in its tints than the male.
Ohs. The small genus to w'hich this Pigeon belongs is an Indian one, and consists of tw-o species only, the second of
which (A. hodgsoni) inhabits Nepal and other mountains of the sub-Himalayan districts. These birds differ but
little from the true Wood-Pigeons, and might well be classed in the genus Palumbus. A. hodgsoni is a larger bird
than the present, measuring, according to Jerdon, 9 to 9^ inches in the wing. It differs chiefly in having the
median wing-coverts and flanks spotted with white, and the sides of the neck and underparts with a ruddy mesial
streak to each feather.
Distribution , — Layard is the only naturalist who has recorded this Pigeon as a Ceylonese bird ; and there
is a specimen of his collecting in the Poole museum. His remarks on the species are as follows : — “ This bird
is but rarely a visitant of our island. I believe it appears during the fruiting of the cinnamon-tree ; the natives
all assure me of this.^' Had not Layard actually obtained specimens, and satisfactorily identified the bird, I should
be inclined to doubt its occurrence in Ceylon. But it cannot well be a seasonal visitor, depending on the fruit
of the cinnamon, otherwise it would occur annually, which it certainly does not, and it can only be looked upon
as a rare straggler to the island. I once met with a flock of Pigeons, which I found frequenting cinnamon-
bushes near Borella, early one morning at the latter end of 1869. I did not, however, succeed in procuring
any, as they were very shy and took flight at once. They w^ere about the size of the present species and of
a brown colour, so that it is probable that they were the Purple Wood-Pigeon, as there is no other kind which
would answer to the description. As it visits Ceylon it is strange that it has not been detected in Southern
India; neither Jerdon nor any subsequent naturalist has met with it in the south of the peninsula. Jerdon
ALSOCOMUS PUNICEUS.
697
states that it is only found “ in the eastern portion of Central India, extending to near the sea-eoast in Midna-
pore, and probably southwards towards Cuttaek.” He was of opinion that it was more common in the countries
to the east of the Bay of Bengal, in Assam, Arracan, and Tenasserim, and instances the island of Ramree, off
the coast of Arrakau, where it is numerous. I do not find, however, that it is common on the Irrawaddy
delta, for Dr. Armstrong procured but one specimen in evergreen forest near China Ba-keer. In Tenasserim
it is, according to Messrs. Hume and Davison, sparingly distributed throughout the northern and central parts
of the province. The latter gentleman, in fact, writes of it, “ I have found this Pigeon very rare in Tenasserim,
meeting with one now and then, and always singly. Captain Bingham tells me that they are not rare in the
Sinzaway reserve forest on the Younzaleen.” Tickell met with it in Singhhum, and Captain Beavan procured
it in Maunbhum, on the banks of the river Cossye; elsewhere in the same region Mr. Ball has seen it on the
Mahan river and its tributaries in Sirguja, but finding it very shy did not procure a specimen.
Habits . — Tickell met with the “ Purple Wood- Pigeon” in small parties of four or five, always along the
banks of rivers which were shaded by forest trees. It is, according to Jerdon, wary and difiicult of approach ;
and the observations of subsequent naturalists corroborate this statement. In the ' Birds of India ’ it is stated
to feed on the fruit of the Jamoon {Eugenia jamb olana) morning and evening, and to roost, during the heat of
the day, on the uppermost branches of lofty trees. Captain Beavan found that it likewise subsisted on the
fruit of the Strychnos nux-vomica ; he writes that “ it is excessively wary and can seldom be procured, except
by a flying shot, as the birds dart out of the thick foliage oii hearing a step below them on the ground.’^
We learn nothing concerning its nidification from any source, and its eggs, therefore, remain to be
described.
Genus COLIJMBA.
Bill longer and more compressed than in the last genus ; tumid portion swollen. Wings
long and firm, the 2nd quill the longest. Tail rather short, very firm and rounded at the tip.
Tarsi and feet more slender than in Palumhm, but with the claws short and very deep.
4u
COLTJMBA INTEEMEDIA.
(THE INDIAN EOCK-PIGEON.)
Columha intermedici, Strickland, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1844, xii. p. 39 ; Kelaart, Pro-
dromus. Cat. p. 130 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 59 ; Jerdon,
B. ofind. iii. p. 469 (1864); Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 149; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 46;
Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 217 ; Ball, ibid. 1874, p. 425 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, iii.
p. 499 (1875) ; Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 400; Ball, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 208; Butler &
Hume, ibid. 1876, p. 3 ; Ball, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 224 ; Cripps, t. c. p. 296.
Columha oenas, Burgess, P. Z. S. 1855, p. 34.
Columha livia, Adams, P. Z. S. 1859, p. 187.
Columha livia, var., Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 233 (1849); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas,
p. 63 (1873).
The Blue RocJc-Pigeon of Sportsmen in India ; Rocic-Pigeon, Europeans in Ceylon. Kahutar,
Hind. ; Gudi-gwurai, lit. “ Pagoda-Pigeon,” Telugu ; Kovilpora, Tamil ; Parvi, Mahr.
(Jerdon) ; Mdda-prdd, Ceylonese Tamils.
Adult male and female. Length 13‘2 to 13'5 inches ; wing 8-6 ; tail 4-25 ; tarsus 1‘1 to 1'2 ; middle toe and claw 1'25 ;
bill to gape 0-95 to I'O ; expanse 24-6. Weight 12 oz.
Iris buff, mottled at the outer edge with red specks ; eyelid plumbeous ; bill blackish leaden ; cere grey ; legs and
feet pinkish red, claws black.
Immediately after death the iris becomes j'ellowish red.
Head and upper part of throat unglossed dark bluish slate, the ear-coverts and cheeks generally the darkest, and
blending into the metallic green and a'mothj'stine reflections of the entire neck, chest, and upper part of the inter-
scapular region ; back, wmg-coverts, and secondaries pale slatish blue ; the greater coverts and secondaries crossed
by two black bands, the latter of which e.xtends to the terminal portion of the tertials ; primaries slaty brown ;
rump, upper tail-coverts, tad. and lower parts davlcet' slate-hlue than the hacJc j the tail wdth a subterminal black
band • abdomen and thigh-coverts paler than the breast ; under wing-coverts and under surface of the quills at
the base w'hitlsh.
Vtyuiiff. Iris sullied yellowish; legs and feet dusky reddish; head and neck brownish, the latter with very slight
metallic reflections ; wings brownish, with the dark bands narrow. Birds probably not quite mature have the
lower part of the hind neck less illumined with the metallic reflections, and the wing-bars narrower, with less black
on the tertials than in old birds.
Ohs. The Indian Eock-Pigeon differs from the European one in having the rump dark slate, instead of pure white.
The Ceylon race of this Pigeon is typical 0. intermedia, having the rump as dark as any specimens I have seen
from India. The species varies in this respect ou the continent. Mr. Hume remarks that those he shot at the
Vingorla rocks and St. George’s Island on the west coast were the most typical he had seen from any part of India ;
they must therefore have been quite as dark as our Ceylonese birds.
Sti'ickland, who first discriminated and described the Indian Pigeon under its present title, thus remarks concerning
it ; “ Distinguished, besides the banding and grey rump, by its black beak, and by the metallic-green feathers
entirely surrounding the neck.” The last character is, I think, worthless ; but in the matter of its very dark colour
above and beneath, and of its rump, darker than the back, the typical 0. intermedia is a good subspecies or local
race of the European bird. In the south of India and Ceylon there is scarcely any variation in the plumage, and
the birds inhabiting these parts constitute the subspecies. In the north-west of Lidia and parts of the Himalayas the
intermediate races are evidently formed by the interbreeding of the tw'o species, as everyone know's how prone
Pigeons are to interbreed. There is much difference of opinion as to the validity of our Indian species, owing to
the existence of intermediate forms ; but I incline to the belief that there were originally two very distinct forms—
the one (0. livia) pale grey, with a pure white rump, the other (C. intermedia) leaden colour, with the rump darker
COLUMBA INTEBMEDIA.
699
than the back ; and any races with at all a whitish rump, whether the albescent coloration be of small or great
extent, I would class as strictly belonging to 0. livia. The real character of the Indian species is that its runif is
darJcer instead of lighter than the haclc.
Columha rufestris, Pallas, “ The Blue Hill-Pigeon,” the Asiatic pied race of C. livia, might equally well be styled a variety
of the present species, and differs from it maiuly in the white colour of the tail ; the lower back, rump, and a broad
bar across the tail are white ; but the upper tail-coverts and the base of the tail are slate-grey, and the tip of the
latter is very dark grey ; the interscapular region and wings are pale slate-grey, the chest viuaceous, and the lower
breast and abdomen albescent slaty grey. An example from the Altai Mountains measures — wing 8‘5 inches,
tail 4-5. It is found in Central Asia and Turkestan, and has been killed in Kumaon.
An example of C. livia from Mesopotamia measures 8’4 inches in the wing, and has the interscapular region and wing-
coverts pale grey, and the lower hath and rump pure white ; the hind neck is not so highly illumined with green and
copper-colour as in the Indian bird ; the under surface is pale bluish gre 3 n A Jericho specimen is slightly darker
beneath. I notice those two as examples of this Pigeon from regions not very remote from India. In Cashmere
Mr. Hume says an intermediate form exists with less of the pure white on the rump ; but he has received the
true livia from Sindh ; and I observe that he allows Mr. Cripps’s identification of it in Purreedpore to stand.
Distribution . — There arc several isolated colonies of this fine Pigeon round the coast of Ceylon ; but they
are not restricted to two localities, as Layard and others have supposed. His remarks are : — “ Extremely local,
being confined to two places, ‘Pigeon Island,^ off Trincomalie, and a rock off the southern coast near Barberryn.
From these it, of course, makes incursions into the interior, and I have heard of specimens being shot at Vavonia-
Vlancolom, on the great central road, about fifty miles from Trincomalie.”
The truth is, there are more colonies of these birds in the interior than one supposes. Those seen at
Vavonia-Vlancolom evidently have their home in some of the isolated rocky masses which are characteristic
of the northern forests. It is possible there may be a colony near Mahintale. There is a large one in a
precipitous gorge through which the stream flow's, which is crossed by the bridge just to the north of Nalanda.
Here my friend Mr. Simpson, of the Indian telegraph-departmeirt, who informed me of the existence of the
colony, has, on several occasions, had good sport, and thither people resort from Matale to shoot the Pigeons.
There is another colony at the Hatagalla rocks, about 15 miles west of Hambantota; and I dare say there are others
round the east coast, between there and Batticaloa. From inquiries I made at Ambalangoda, I imagine that the
Barberryn rocks near Bentota arc deserted, and consequently I did not visit them, but I may have been mis-
informed. The rocky islet which is so much frequented by these Pigeons, near Nilavele, is not Pigeon Island
itself, but a small island of about two or three acres in extent, half a mile nearer the shore, and about 13 miles
Maceoptoia MACEOtTEA, Gmeliu {Tourterelle a large queue du Senegal, Buffou, PL Enl. 329).' — -This Cuckoo-Dove
was said by Bonaparte to inhabit Ceylon ; but no one has ever seen it in the island, as far as I, or any other person who
has paid anj' attention to the ornithology of Ceylon, can ascertain. It is not likely that a large bird like a Cuckoo-Dove
could have been passed over all these years ; it would have been recognizable on the wdng by reason of its long tail,
even if it had not actually been procured. The only evidence we have as to this Pigeon being a Ceylon bird is contained
in the simple statement by Bonaparte (Consp. ii. p. 57), “ ex Ceylon, nec Senegal.”
The Marquis of Tw'eeddale, in a note to Mr. Holdsw'orth on this subject, remarks that it is doubtful whether Bonaparte
ever saw the bird, the diagnosis given by him (loc.cit.) only containing “ the prominent characters discernible in BiifEon’s
plate.” Buffon, who figiircd this Pigeon from a Senegal example presented by Adansoii under the name of “ Tourterelle
a large queue du Senegal,” is, writes the Marquis, “ most circumstantial in his account of the locality whence his bird
was obtained; and the fact that tlie specimen bore a title given by Adanson strongly corroborates the Senegal origin.” I
am under the impression myself that Bonaparte got his information from a perusal of Temminck’s remarks (Hist, des
Colombes, p. 345) in reference to this Cuckoo-Dove — “ Levaillant m’a dit avoir vu des individus rapportes de Ceylon.”
There could be no more broken reed to trust to in a matter of geographical distribution than Levaillant !
There are examples in the British Museum labelled as this species, one of which measures in the wing 6-3 and in
the tail 8-5 inches. It is of a dusky coppery red on the back and upper tail-coverts ; tail brownish copper-colour ; head
and sides of neck viuaceous, illmniued with bronze-colour ; chest and underparts fulvous tawmy, with bronze reflections,
each feather with a black w'avy cross bar ; flanks and under tad-coverts light cinnamon-colour. Species of Cuckoo-Dove
found in the Indo-Malacean region are: — M. iusalia, Hodgson, from the Eastern Himalayas ; M. rujiceps, Teium., and
M. assimilis, Hume, from Tenasserim ; and M. rujipennis, Blyth, from the Nicobars.
4u2
700
COLUMBA INTEEMEDIA.
I
from Trincomalie. They are met with in many plaees on the adjaeent mainland ; and I have seen them flying
over the Peria-kerretje salt lake towards the remarkable roeky eminenees rising up on its eastern shores.
Here there is probably a colony.
In India it is a very abundant bird^ and, contrary to its habit in Ceylon, is found much about “ large
buildings, such as churches, pagodas, mosques, tombs, and the like, frequently entering the verandahs of
buildings and building in the crevices. Holes in walls of cities or towns, too, are favourite places ; and in
some parts of the country they prefer holes in wells, especially, I think, in the west of India, the Deccan, &e.
The celebrated falls of Gaissoppa are tenanted by thousands of Blue Pigeons, which here associate with
the large Alpine Swift ’’ {Jerdon ) .
In the Deccan and in the Khandala district it is said to be very abundant and universally distributed ;
along the west coast there are various colonies, one of which is at the well-known Pigeon Island; and another at
the Vingorla rocks, where there is a cliff pierced from side to side by a tunnel-like cave, which, Mr. Hume tells
us, is tenanted by numbers of these birds. Prom either side of the peninsula it ranges w'est and east, and in
the former direction is numerous. Captain Butler remarks that it abounds in the Guzerat province. In Sindh
Mr. Hume foimd it abundant on the plains during the day, returning to the hills to roost, and when grain is
ripening large flocks visit the neighbourhood of Jacobabad. It extends northward of Sindh, ranging into the
Suliman hills, where Mr. Ball noticed it, as well as its European relative. Along the sub-Himalayan districts
it is found as high up as Kotegurh, according to Herr von Pelzeln ; and he also records it from Pangi, which
has an elevation of 9000 feet. In Lower Bengal it is common, and in Chota Nagpur it is frequent, according
to Mr. Ball, in deep rocky gorges cut by the rivers in Sirguja and Udipur, as also in other suitable localities
throughout the division ; he likewise records it from Sambalpur and Orissa north of the Mahanadi river, and
from other localities in this eastern territory, while Mr. Hume notes it from Raipur. In Purreedpore it is very
common, according to Mr. Cripps, frequenting the ruins of indigo-factories and temples. Blyth asserts that
it is common in Burmah ; but I notice that Mr. Oates did not procure it in Pegu, nor Dr. Armstrong in the
Irrawaddy delta. Speaking of Tenasserim, Mr. Hume remarks that it occurs nowhere in the province. If it
occurs in Northern Burmah, it must extend thither across to Siam ; for in the national collection I have seen
a specimen from that country not to be separated from Indian ones. Regarding its range northward of the
Himalayas, it is difficult to speak with certainty ; I find that it is doubtfully included by Dresser in Severtzofl'^s
list of Turkestan birds, reference being made to a Pigeon said by the latter to breed throughout the country
up to elevations of 4000 feet. Both C. livia and C. rupestris are found in Turkestan.
Habits . — In Ceylon the Blue Rock-Pigeon is essentially an inhabitant of out-of-the-way, wild, and little-
frequented spots ; the country does not, like India, abound in inland walled towns, temples, and pagodas, which
there are the natural resort of the species ; and it is consequently driven to such rocky localities as I have
alluded to above, and is not therefore nearly such a well-known bird as in India. The eastern and northern
bivisions of the island, however, teem with so many remarkable rocky masses, towering far above the circum-
jacent forests, such as the Priars Hood, “Westminster Abbey,^^ the Elephant rock, the “ Gunner’s Coin,” Sigiri
and Danibulla rocks, Rittagalla, Mahintale, and a host more of nature’s mighty castles, the very resorts of all
others for the “ Blue Rock,” that it has always been a wonder to me that the species is not far more numerous
than it is — the only solution of the problem being that these natural strongholds are situated too much in
forest-country, besides which there is a lack throughout Ceylon of the extensive cultivated tracts which are
necessary to the existence of this Pigeon.
The islet off Nilavele is a mass of rock, its coast-line consisting of enormous boulders, and its summit
divided by large crevices into huge “humps” of stone, on which, as well as on the surrounding masses, the Pigeons
perch in scores. Tliey fly across to the mainland in the early morning, and make their incursions over the
adjoining paddy-fields, returning about noon to their stronghold, where, though they are difficult of approach
when not feeding, they seem to evince little fear, owing probably to their being crammed with food. On the
occasion of a visit to this spot with a friend we shot numbers, but did not succeed in driving away the flock,
for they flew round and round over the water, and speedily realighted on the rocks. About 3 o’clock they start
off again to the mainland, flying very strongly; and they may be met with almost anywhere along the adjoining
sea-board during the afternoon. I have seen two or three at times feeding on the salt flats round the Nilavele
COLUMBA INTEEMEDIA.
701
lake, but what they were picking up I do not know. They are very destructive to the paddy, and devour
an enormous quantity at a time, extending their crops with it to such an extent that I have taken a mode-
rately-sized salt-cellar full from a specimen I was skinning.
In India they assemble in vast flocks in the cold season, and there no doubt do great damage wherever
there is grain. As I have already set forth in my quotation from J erdon, they dwell chiefly in architectural
and not natural strongholds, the many temples, mosques, tombs, &c. with which the country abounds affording
them ample shelter in districts where there are no rocks and caves. These resorts are, prima facie, building-
places, but are used as nightly roosting-abodes, and the Pigeons can be strictly said to dwell there. The note
of this Pigeon much resembles that of some of the domesticated varieties of the “ Rock;^’ it is entirely a
grain-feeder, and does not, as far as I am aware, perch on trees.
Nidification.—ln the Trincomalie district these Pigeons breed in May and June; I have shot the young
birds in October, but have never taken the eggs. In India Mr. Hume writes that the breeding-season lasts
from Christmas until May-day, and observes as follows:— “The nest is chiefly composed of thin sticks and twigs,
but is often more or less lined with leaves of the tamarisk, feathers, &c When undisturbed they will
breed in incredible multitudes. At the grand old fort of Deig in Bhurtpoor, where, as in most parts of
Rajpootana, they are sacred, and even a European who molested them would risk his life, several hundred
thousand pairs must live and breed ; a gun fired on the moat towards evening raises a dense cloud, obscuring
utterly tbe waning day, and deafening one with the mighty rushing sound of countless strong and rapidly-
plied pillions.'’^
The eggs are glossy pure white, varying a good deal in size and shape, and averaging from 1-45 to
ri2 inch.
Genus TIJRTUE.
Bill slender, the horny apical portion much less than the soft basal part, and slightly arched.
Wings moderately long and pointed, the 2nd or the 3rd quill the longest. Tail large, rounded
at the tip; graduated in some. Legs and feet somewhat slender; the tarsus longer than the
middle toe, covered with broad transverse scutes in front. Lateral toes equal.
Of delicate form. Head small. Neck ornamented with a demi-collar or patch of pale-tipped
feathers.
TUKTUE EISOEIFS.
(THE COMMON INDIAN DOVE.)
Columha risoria, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 285 (1760).
Tiirtur risorius, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 238 (1849); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat.
p. 130 (1862); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1864, xiv. p. 59; Blyth, Ibis, 1867,
p. 151 ; Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 397 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 218; Adam, t. c.
p. 390; Hume, Nests and Eggs, iii. p. 506 (1875); id. Str. Feath. 1875, p. 165;
Butler & Hume, ibid. 1876, p. 3; Fairbank, ibid. 1877, p. 409.
T'urtur risoria, Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p. 481 (1864) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 467; Legge,
Ibis, 1874, p. 26; Ball, Str. Feath. 1878, vii. p. 224.
The Common Eing-Love, The Collared Turtle-Bore of authors ; Turtle-Bove, Grey Dove,
Europeans in Northern Province, Ceylon. Pomba de Cinsa, Portuguese in Ceylon ;
Bhor fachta. Hind, in the south; Kalhak, Pauk-gJmghu, Bengal.; Pedda bella-guwa,
Telugu (Jerdon); Eingel Buyven, Dutch in Ceylon ; Cally-iyrdd, Ceylonese Tamils (from
“ Cally,” Euphorbia), Layard.
Kobceya, Sinhalese.
Adult male and female. Length 11-8 to 12-5 inches ; wing 6-2 to 6-5; tail 5T to 5-o : tarsus 0-95 to 1-0 ; middle toe
and claw 1-05 to 1-2 ; bill to gape 0-9.
Iris crimson ; orbital shin bluish white ; bill blackish ; legs and feet purple-red ; claws black.
Head, nape, sides of neck, throat, fore neck, and breast delicate vinous grey, the head marked with ashy, the breast
passing into delicate bluish ashy grey on the lower parts ; chin white ; round the hind neck to about the centre of
its sides a black collar, the feathers above it edged with delicate bluish white ; lower part of hind neck, back, wing-
coverts, upper tertials, upper tail-coverts, and central tail-feathers above brownish grey, suffused with bluish ashy
on the sides of the rump, and with the scapulars and lesser wing-coverts edged pale; primaries dark brown, with
jjale margins towards their tips ; primary-coverts and secondaries with their coverts, together with the feathers
at the point of the wing, bluish ashy ; beneath, the basal part of all but the central rectrices black, with the terminal
half white, the upper surface being suffused with bluish ashy, and washed outwardly with brownish towards the
centre of the tail ; on the lateral outer web the black projects towards the tip ; under tail-coverts darker ashy than
the lower parts, and the under wing-coverts ashy white.
Ynnufj. Immature birds are said to be reddish above; some that I have seen have the head vinous grey; these are
probably not adults.
OU. A comparison of examples from Kamptee with my Ceylonese skins enables me to say that our birds are not
characterized by any tints not present in Indian birds ; the birds in question are identical with mine as regards
the hues of the back, head, and undeq)arts : wing 6-4 inches. The specimens from Gor es Safiek, Palestine, are
slightly paler than mine in the back, but otherwise tlie same ; they are slightly lai-ger — wing 0-6 and 6’7 inches
respectively. A Baluchistan skin is brow'n on the back and head, and the chest is more ruddy than others.
Mr. Hume separates the Turlcestau race (Str. Featli. 1874, p. 519) as T. stoliczTcce on account of its larger size, broader
ajid wffiter nuchal collar, and more deeply tipped tail-feathers. The wing in his type specimen measures 7‘35 inches.
There is much difference of opinion as to which species the Domestic Eing-Dove sprung from originally; Blyth says:—
“ Of several kindred races I do not know one that can be satisfactorily assigned as the true origin of the common
cage-bird.” The note of the latter is quite different from T. risorius and it is smaller. The two interbreed well.
Distribution. — The Turtle-Dove is remarkably local in Ceylon, being apparently a bird of the driest districts
of the north of the Jaffna peninsula and the west coast down as far as Puttalam. The note is so very peculiar
and so totally unlike that of T. suratensis, the common Ceylon species, that it cannot fail to serve as a sure
TUETUE EISOEIUS.
703
guide to the distribution of the bird. I found it common all over the Jaffna peninsula, frequenting even the
mangroves on the borders of the great swamp near Ethelumaduvil ; it was also met with on the islands, and
on the Erinativoe group, on the coast between Kalmunai Point and Mantotte, and in Manaar Island in great
abundance. Abont Aripu and Salavatori it was more numerous than in the peninsula ; and here Mr. Holds-
worth records it as very abundant. I understand it is found near Puttalam as a straggler ; but south of that
place, at Chilaw, I only saw T. suratensis. It is never seen at Trincomalie j but it probably ranges down the
coast to Mullaittivu, where the country is open. I did not see it anywhere on the south-east coast; but I
cannot but think that it occurs there about Yala, as Layard says it is found wherever the Euphorbia-ireeif
abound. At present, as far as I know, its range is much the same as the Grey Partridge [Ortygm'ms pond/i-
cerianus) . Mr. Simpson, who has travelled over all the north-west of Ceylon, both in the interior and on the
coast, tells me that it does not extend far inland from Mantotte, but is essentially a bird of the coast-districts.
Throughout the whole Indian empire it is a common bird in suitable open country ; Jerdon says that it
is rare in Malabar, and generally in forest country. The Eev. Dr. Eairbank found it in the plains by the
Palanis, but not so abundantly as in the Deccan, w’here it occurs, he says, everywhere. Pollowdug it first, as
is my rule, in a north-westerly direction, we find that Messrs. Butler, Adam, and Hume all record it as abini-
dant in the Sindh, Guzerat, and Eajpootana divisions ; Captain Butler says that it abounds all over the plains,
but does not occur in any numbers in the hills. Beyond the confines of India it extends into Baluchistan,
where Mr. Blanford met with it; he was likewise informed by Major St. John that he saw a pair in captivity
at Isfahan, said to have been taken from a nest there. Canon Tristram states that it is a permanent resident
round the Dead Sea {'Ibis,’ 1868, p. 311), and that in spring its numbers are largely increased, when it
spreads itself throughout the greater part of Palestine to Mount Tabor, living in small flocks of eight or twelve.
Mr. Taylor procured it at Constantinople, and there, as also in some of the Macedonian villages, Messrs. Elwes
and Buckley state that it is common.
All across continental India to the Calcutta district it is of course found, and northwards of that region
ascends the Himalayas as high as Mussoorie to breed. In that neighbourhood, says Captain Hutton, it
arrives at the end of March, leaving again for the plains in October. Throughout Chota Nagpur it is
found, and elsewhere Mr. Ball records it from Bardwmn and Orissa north of the Mahanadi river. In
Purreedpore Mr. Cripps records it as an abundant permanent resident. I do not know whether it extends from
Dacca over into Cachar ; but in Pegu, according to the experience of Messrs. Feildcn and Oates, it docs not
appear to be common ; and southward of that province it does not extend into Tenasserim. The Ringed Dove
found in China is admitted to be the same as our species. Wallace includes "Chinese Asia” in the distribu-
tion of T. risorms ; and Swinhoe identified a specimen from Tokio, in Japan, as belonging to it. Swinhoe records
it from villages about the Great Wall, but not from Pekin itself ; and Oustalct remarks that it is found in the
north-west provinces of China and on the confines of Mongolia.
Habits. — In Ceylon diy open country dotted with small trees and clumps of scrub is suitable to the habits
of this Pigeon. It also affects isolated groves of mango and other trees and cocoanut and palmyra topes in
the Jaffna peninsula; and in this district I likewise found it in mangrove-jungle. In the island of hlanaar it
dwells in the thorny scrub abundant near the town, seating itself often on the limbs of the huge baobab-trees,
and giving out its melodious love-note. Its voice is much deeper than that of the Spotted Dove, and appeared
to my ears to be well rendered by the w'ords coo-hooo-kuk often repeated, the second syllable being deep and
long-drawn in tone. Blyth, however, who remarks on its note being very different from that of the Domestic
Turtle-Dove, considers that it may be expressed by kookoo-koo, kookoo-koo. It is a pleasing sound w'hen heard
in the early morning in the low scrubs lining the north-western coast of Ceylon; and I remember well, having
beached my canoe at midnight on the sands beneath the ruins of the Dutch settlement at Aripu, being aw'oke
at dawn, as I lay in the little bamboo “ crib ” const ructed on the outrigger-spars of the craft, by the soft cooing
of the doves and the harsh cackle of the similarly distributed Grey Partridge, with Avhich the low jungle
on that coast abounds.
This Dove has a great partiality for Euphorbia-trees {E. antiquorum), and was considered by Layard to
be abundant wherever this tree grew; be this as it may, it certainly is usually found about these trees in the
north, and I was surprised that I did not hear its note anywhere in the south-east, where the Euphorbia abounds.
704
TURTUK RISORIUS.
Its Tamil name in the north of Ceylon is derived from this liking to the tree in question. In the north-west
portion of India it exhibits a similar taste. Captain Butler writing that “ it is particularly partial to clumps of
habool-trees, Zizyphm-h\x^Q%, and Euphorbta-heAge&.” It is essentially granivorous in diet, feeding on grass-
seeds as well as corn of various kinds ; and in crop-season is stated by Mr. Cripps to collect in flocks of ten
to thirty for the purpose of feeding on grain. Its flight is strong, but not, I think, so swift as that of the
Spotted Dove.
In South-eastern Europe it manifests a particularly tame disposition ; for Messrs. Elwes and Buckley, in
their paper on the birds of Turkey, say that it loves “the neighbourhood of dwellings, and may be seen sitting
like a sparrow on the roofs of the houses, where it is never molested by the Turks.'”'
Nidification. — Layard writes concerning the nesting of this Dove ; — ■“ It breeds in the spring, fabricating a
loose careless nest of small twigs in the Euphorbia-trees, in which it deposits tw'o oval and shining white eggs :
axis 14 lines (1'14 inch), diameter 11 lines (0'84 inch).” When I was in the Jaffna district, in March 1876,
I ascertained by dissection that it was then breeding, but did not find its nest.
In the Mount Aboo district, according to Captain Butler, it breeds in great quantities at the end of the
rains, commencing to lay about the second week in August. Writing of a district on the oj)posite side of the
peninsula (Furreedpore, near Calcutta), Mr. Cripps says, “This species breeds from December till July in small
bushes and trees at from 6 to 1 2 feet from the ground, in very exposed situations. The nest is a mere apology
of twigs, and never contains more than two eggs.” Mr. Hume considers that it breeds throughout the
year, having taken the eggs himself “in every month from December till August.” Although the nest is
usually placed on a tree or bush, it has been known to nest on bare ground ; my late friend, Mr. A. Anderson,
to whom we are indebted for so much information concerning the nesting of Indian birds, writes : — “ On the
20th of November (1875), while drawing sandy downs covered with low flowering grass, such as the Desert fox
delights in, a dove was flushed from off her nest, which contained a pair of fresh eggs. These clearly belonged
to T. risoria; but not having seen the bird myself, and identification in a case of this sort being a matter
of absolute necessity, I replaced the eggs, and subsequently shot one of the parent birds.
“ The nest, if such it can be styled, consisted of a few dry twigs and grass-stalks which rested on the bare
sand. There was no tree nearer than a mile ; but the ground on all sides was covered with grass-seeds, which
constitute the chief food of these birds ; and this pair w'cre evidently sensible enough to adapt themselves to
the force of circumstances.”
Mr. Hume describes the eggs as broad perfect ovals, white and glossy ; the majority have a just percep-
tible ivoi’y tinge, and average in size 1'16 inch in length by 0'92 inch in breadth.
TUETUK SUKATENSIS*.
(THE SPOTTED DOVE.)
Columla suratensis, Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. i. p. 778 (1788).
Turtur suratensis (Gm.), Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1845, xiv. p. 874; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B,
p. 236 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 130 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 60 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p. 479 (1864) ; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 150 ;
Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 467; Adam, Str. Feath. 1873, p.-390; Ball, ibid. 1874,
p. 425 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, iii. p. 504 (1875); Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 26, et 18 i 5,
p. 275 ; Butler & Hume, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 3 ; Fairbank, t. c. p. 262, et 1877, p. 409 ;
Ball, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 224 ; Cripps, t. c. p. 297.
Turtur ceylonensis, Eeichenbach, Tauben, p. 73.
Tourterelle de Surat, Sonnerat; The Speckled Dove, Sportsmen in India; Turtle-Dove,
Europeans in Ceylon. Chitroka fachta and CMtla, Hind. ; Chaval-ghughu, Bengal. ;
Poda hella guvoa, Telugu ; Pulipora, lit. “ Spotted Pigeon,” Tamil ; Bode of the Gonds;
Ku-er-plio, Lepchas; Piap-clm, Bhotias; Pomba de Cinsa, Portuguese in. Ceylon;
Mani-prdd, lit. “ Bead-Dove,” Ceylonese Tamils.
Koloeya and Allu-kohmya, Sinhalese.
Adult male and female. Length 11‘2 to ll'o inches; wing 5’1 to 5'4; tail 5'25, lateral feathers 1’5 shorter than,
the central; tarsus 0'8 to 0'9 ; middle toe 1'05 to !•! ; bill to gape 0'65 to 0'7.
I’emales are, as a rule, smaller than males.
Iris mottled pink or reddish outwardly, with a brown imier circle ; orbital skin red ; bill dark leaden, in some slightly
suffused with a reddish hue ; legs and feet lake-red.
Head, nape, throat, fore nock, and breast vinaceous ashy (the ruddy tint of the lower parts variable), paling into whitish
ashy on the forehead and cheeks, and albescent at the chin ; a black line through the lores and a broad black patch
■ reaching from each side of the hind neck across it, and blending into the smoky ashy brown of the back, scapulars,
and tertials, each feather of the collar divergent at the tips and with two white terminal spots, those of the back
with rufous-grey spots ; the wing-coverts and tertials with a terminal black spot spreading up the shaft and set
off by an isabelline or greyish-red spot on each side ; quills blackish brown ; point of the wing and the greater
wing-coverts delicate bluish grey, the feathers on the former part with a black central stripe ; upper tail-coverts
and four central tail-feathers brownish ashy, the coverts wdth a dark terminal spot and a light one at each side
of it ; remaining tail-feathers black on the basal half and white on the rest, with the upper surface pervaded with
ashy ; lower parts albescent, blending into the ruddy of the breast ; under tail-coverts w'hite, frequently with
blackish terminal spots.
Young. When first hatched the nestling is covered with white hair-like plumes above, and with slightly rufescent
feathers beneath. Immature birds have the feathers of the breast and fore neck narrowly tipped with blackish
grey.
Ohs. The Ceylonese Spotted Dove was separated by Eeichenbach from the Indian on account of its smaller size.
I find, on comparing my specimens with others from India in the British Museum, that the wings of the latter do,
as a ride, average larger than those of insular birds ; but the difference is not sufficient, in a bird of the size of
this Dove, to warrant our separating the Ceylon race. I find, for example, a specimen from the North-west
* This Dove, which belongs to Bonaparte’s section of the Turtle-Doves {Tigrini), differs from the last in the spotted
character of the neck-patch feathers, which are furcate at the tips ; the tail is likewise graduated.
4 X
706
TUETrE SUEATENSIS.
Himalayas, collected by Capt. Pinwell, measures 5'6 inches in the wing, which is only O'l more than large
Ceylonese individuals. Some Indian specimens are characterized by a stronger blue tint on the head than is
noticeable in most Ceylon birds.
Allied to the present species is Turtw tigrinus, from the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Celebes, Lombok, Timor, and
other islands. It differs chiefly in its plain or unspotted back, and in the different colour of the spots on the wing-
coverts, these being more rufous than in T. suratensis. It is, however, a darker bird, and has the abdomen and
flanks of a warm fulvous colour, and the isabelline of the chest and breast deeper than in its Indian ally. The
wings of four examples in the national coUectiou, from the Malay archijvclago, vary from 5-5 to 5-7 inches. A
Labuan specimen has the under surface lighter than any others, and the head bluer. In the Malay peninsula and
Tenasserim, and also in Burmah, this species, according to Mr. Hume, passes through intermediate races, approxi-
mating, in the latter region, to the Indian bird, where it has the vinaceous spots of true suTcitensis reduced to
narrow lines, with the ffark feather-centres and tips of tigrinus. This race would, however, in my opinion, be more
related to the former than the latter species, which is distinguished by having no pale markings at all on the back.
T. cJiinensis is another species, larger than T. tigrinus, and perfectly plain on the back, without the dark central lines,
and with the under surface darker.
Distribution . — ^This is an exceedingly numerous bird in Ceylon, being more or less diffused over the whole
of the low country, in parts of which it is remarkably abundant, and is likewise an inhabitant of the Kandvan
province up to an altitude of 3000 feet or more. Common and well known in the immediate vicinity of Colombo
it is equally so throughout the interior of the Western Province, inhabiting suitable localities in the well- wooded
district of Saffragam, and likewise in the equally sylvan and hilly tract of country in the south-west of the
island. It is independent of climate, for it is almost quite as common in the dry section of country eastward
of the southern ranges ; and in the open tracts, surrounded, by wood, of the Eastern Province, and thence
north to Trincomalie, I scarcely ever failed to meet with it. It is found in the interior of the northern division
of the island wherever there is open land, on the borders of tanks, paddy-fields, or clearings surrounding juuo-le
villages. In the extreme north it is common, but in places not so abundant as the last. Layard found it
numerous in the J affna peninsula, and so did Mr. Holdsworth at Aripu. I have observed it in Dumbara and
in the Knuckles, Deltota, Hewahette, and Piisselawa districts, as also in Uva; but I do not think it ranges
much higher than these upland valleys, where it affeets the vicinity of the “terraced” paddy-fields of the
Kandyans.
It is generally distributed throughout India from the extreme south to the Himalayas, which it ascends
to an altitude of 7000 feet. “As a rule,” says Jerdon, “it is most abundant in forest districts or well-wooded
countries, and is consequently rare in the bare Carnatie tableland, the Deccan, and the North-western
Provinces generally ; and most abundant on the Malabar coast up to Surat, Lower Bengal, and the foot of the
Himalayas.” It breeds throughout Nepal, according to Mr. Hodgson, and in Upper India, says Mr. Hume
“chiefly affects the submontane districts, whence, as summer approaches, many migrate to the lower
forest-clad hills and valleys, where also a good many are permanent residents. In dry traets such as
Cawmpore, Etawah, and Agra they are but rarely seen, and still more rarely found breeding, while at Bareilly,
Bijnour, and Shahjehanpoor they are the commonest Dove.” Of late it has been recorded bv the Eev.
Dr. Fairbank as the most common Dove at the base and on the lower ranges of the Palanis, and also as being
abundant on the western slopes of the Mahabaleshwar hills ; by Mr. Davidson as common at Sholapoor in
the Deccan during the rains,- by Mr. Ball as occurring at Bard wan, in the Eajmehal hills, at Midnapur,
Manbhum, Lohardugga, Sambalpur, Orissa, Nowagarh, and Karial, and throughout Chota Nagpur, not
being, however, so eommon there as the last species. In the north-west of the empire it is not so numerous
for Capt. Malden only met with it in Upper Sindh. In the wooded districts near Mount Aboo it is eommon^
but near Deesa, aecording to Capt. Butler, it is only found during the rains; and this is also the case about
the Sambhur Lake. In Furreedpore and about Calcutta it is common and resident. It does not seem to
extend beyond Dacca towards the east, for I And no comment concerning it in the ' List of the Birds of
Cachar ; ’ while in Burmah it seems to exist in an intermediate form moi’e nearly related to itself than to its
Malayan ally T. tigrinus.
Habits . — Wherever there are trees surrounding, or encircled by, open places, this familiar little Dove
TUETUE SUEATEXSIS.
707
is sure to be found. It delights in the bushy trees which here and there have been left standing in the
cinnamon-gardens, and after it has satisfied its appetite on the grass-seeds which it finds in abundance in
this locality, flies about from tree to tree, or takes up its perch on an outspreading branch and coos to
its mate. When perched it is very wary and scarcely ever lets one approach it within gun-shot; but
when feeding in a newly-cut paddy-field, or about the native thrashing-places (which it constantly frequents,
even months after the grain has been gathered in), or on a road where it scrutinizes the dried-up
droppings of cattle or horses, or while elegantly tripping over some newly-burnt jungle-clearing (another
favourite resort), it will not rise till approached within a moderate distance, when, taking a few hurried
paces, it will fly off with a Pigeon-like clapping of its wings and settle down in the nearest inviting tree.
In the interior every paddy-field, every clearing in the forest, and every cheena under cultivation has
its attendant flock of Doves, which find abundant sustenance in the grain or grass-seeds of such resorts.
Its coo is a plaintive note, not nearly so deep as that of the last species. It is, as Blyth remarks, difficult to
express in writing, and he likens it to the syllables oot-raow-oo-oot-raoio-oo.
Its flight is swift and graceful ; and during the breeding-season it indulges in sundry careerings on the
wing, rising in the air and then circling down with outspread wings to its perch, these performances being
apparently for the mutual gratification of the happy pair during this joyous time of their existence.
From the clever pen of Layard we have the following passage eminently descriptive of this habit ; —
“ The male bird will at such times soar away from the branch on which his ‘ meek-eyed ’ partner is reposing
to a considerable altitude, rising almost perpendicularly and clapping his wings together over his back,
then opening them and spreading his tail he sails downwards in decreasing circles and graceful curves
to the object of his affections, who greets him with the tenderest and blandest cooings, and, while he struts
and pouts before her, caresses his head and wings with her bill. The fervour of their love being assuaged,
away they both soar in the fulness of their joy, to descend again in undulating curves, crossing and recrossing
each other with the most easy and graceful flight, to the more sober and matter-of-fact work of collecting
building-materials for the nest.^'’
They feed in the mornings until about 9 a.m., and then again in the afternoon, commencing about
3 o^ clock, when they may generally be seen on the ground at the edges of woods, copses, and groves, or on
native compounds often not far from the cottages.
Nidification . — In the Western Province this Dove breeds from March until June, after which it no
doubt lays again, for the eggs may be taken almost at any time of the year. I have found the nests in
bushy umbrageous trees at about 10 or 15 feet from the ground, generally situated near the end of the
branch, also on low date-palms (a favourite situation), placed near the trunk at the origin of the frond.
They arc made of fine twigs neatly laid over one another, some of them interlaced so as at times to form a
firmly constructed fabric, in the centre of which there is a just perceptible hollow. The eggs arc two in
number, exact ovals, glossy, and pure white, measuring from I'O to 1'12 inch in length by from 0’8 to
O' 15 inch in breadth.
According to most observers in India, its nest is generally very exposed and often placed on low bushes,
where it can be seen by the most casual observer; and it is therefore no wonder that the eggs are
frequently taken by such incorrigible thieves as the Indian Corby and Common Magpie [Dendrocitta rufa).
Mr. Thompson, in writing of its nidification in the Lower Himalayas, where it is abundant, says : — “ On a
nest being robbed the parent birds will forthwith set to work and build another ; and if that be robbed in
its turn, they will still go on seeking new sites, building new nests, and laying fresh eggs.
“ The female sits very close on her nest; but if forced from it she will at times fly or, in fact, throw herself
down on the ground before the intruder, and will then mimic before his astonished gaze all the actions
and efforts of a wounded bird trying to escape its pursuers, and thus endeavours to turn him from the nest.’^
Mr. Hume gives the average of 33 eggs as 1'06 by 0'83 inch, which is no larger than that of the Ceylon bird,
notwithstanding its slight inferiority of wing.
4x2
TUETUE TEANQEEBAEIGES.
(TPIE INDIAN RED DOVE.)
Columba tranquebanca, Herm. Obs. Zool. p. 200 (1804), ex Tranquebaria.
Turtiir humilis (Temm.), Blyth., Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 236 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat.
p. 130 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 60; Jerdon, B. of Ind.
iii. p. 482 (1864); Hume, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 218; Ball, ibid. 1874, p. 425; Hume,
ibid. 1875, p. 165 ; id. Nests and Eggs, iii. p. 507 (1875); Butler & Hume, ibid. 1876,
p. 3 ; Fairbank, t. c. p. 262.
Turtur tranquebanca (Herm.), Hume, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 293 ; Davidson & Wender, ibid.
1877, vii. p. 86 ; Ball, t. c. p. 224 ; Cripps, t. c. p. 297; Hume (List Ind. B.), ibid. 1879,
p. 110.
The Ruddy Ring-Dove of some Indian writers. Seroti-fachta, Hind. ; Golabi-ghughu, Tuma-
kliuri, lit. “ Eose- coloured or Copper-coloured Dove,” Bengal.; Rah-gwwa, lit. “Tile-
coloured Dove ; ” also Reri-arigm gwwa, Telugu.
Adult male. “Length 9-42 inches; wing 5-25, expanse 16'0; tail from vent 3-42; tarsus 0-80; bill from gape 0-81,
at front 0-58; weight 3-5 oz.” ( JercWs measurements are: — “Length 9-25 inches; wing 5-5; tail 3-25.”
Nepal (British Museum) : wing 5-5 inches ; tail 4-0 ; tarsus 0-75 ; middle toe 0-75 ; bill to gape 0-78.
Ohs. This example would appear to be much larger than those from the low country, as exemplified by the above
measurements and Mr. Hume’s statement that 9'25 inches total length (wing 5'25) is the ^iverage of five males.
“ Iris brown ; bill black ; legs and feet homy black” {Cripps).
Male (Nepal). Head and nape slate-blue, paling on the face and forehead; below the neck a broad black demi-collar,
set off above by a whitish edge ; lower part of the hind neck, interscapular region, terminal portion of the wing-
coverts, and the innermost secondaries, together with the fore neck, chest, and breast vinous red, paler and also
pervaded with ashy on the breast and fore neck ; back, rump, and upper tail-coverts dark plumbeous, paler on the
tail-coverts than on the back ; primaries brownish slate, with pale edges ; secondaries the same, tinged with
reddish on the outer webs ; basal portion of the wing-covert feathers slaty ; central tail-feathers brownish slate-
colour, the lateral pair white on the outer webs and black on the basal part of the inner webs ; remainiutr feathers
whitish, tinged with slaty near the tips, and darkening into blackish at the bases ; flanks leaden grey; vent and
luider tail-coverts bluish white ; under wing pale slaty grey.
Female. Back and wings dull reddish brown, and the breast and under surface pale earthy grey, whitish on the lower
parts ; wing 5-1 inches.
Obs. I have adopted for the bird procured by Layard in the Jaffna peninsula the title used of late for the Indian
Ruddy Dove, instead of that under which it was formerly known, and which is now considered to be better
applied to the species inhabiting the Philippine Islands and China. Lord Tsveeddale, in a paper on the birds of
the Philippine Islands, has recently pointed out the distinction between the two races. The eastern form
T. Inmilis (with which Mr. Hume unites the bird inhabiting the Andamans, Tenasserim, and Burmah), differs in
being larger and of a darker red beneath, with the head, rump, and under tail-coverts of a darker ash-colour than
the Indian race ; the under wing is also dark ash-colour instead of pale ashy. It is a matter of conjecture,
however, which race Temminck referred to, for he united the two under his title of humilis, inasmuch as he
remarks — “ This species inhabits Bengal and the island of Luzon.”
It matters not, however, whether Temminck referred to and figured (PI. Col. 258, 259, 1838) the Indian or the Philip-
pine bird as far as the former (that which we have to do with) is concerned, for Hermann’s title is of thirty-four
years’ prior date to his ; and as the specimen he named came from Tranquebar, in the Carnatic, the matter is settled.
Mr. Hume gives the measurements of the wing of T. humilis as generally 5-5 inches or more ; but it will be seen that
a Nepal specimen belonging to the Indian form measures as much as this. Hill specimens may, however, average
larger than those from Bengal.
TIJETUE TEAXQUEBAEICUS.
709
Distribution. — This little Dove appears to have visited the north of Ceylon many years ago, hut does not
seem to have been subsequently noticed in the island. Layard, its discovei’er as a Ceylonese species, writes a
long account of his meeting with it in a tope of cocoanut- and palmyra-trees, situated in the middle of
the plain separating the cultivated district of Pt. Pedro from the fertile country betw'een Jaffna and
Chavagacherry. The writer cleverly describes the difficulty he found in crossing this waste in the hot season,
when every thing was parched up by the burning rays of a tropical sun, combined with the drought that prevails
at that time in the Northern Province. His duty compelled him to visit the tope in question ; and after speaking
of the effect which the heat had upon himself, his dogs, and the native^ attendants, he continues : — “ The
mirage deluded us with its pictures of limpid water and tall trees, my spirits almost sank, and I thought I never
should reach the trees before us in the distance. How willingly would I, had I been a litigant for that miserable
tope, have resigned it rather than have taken the trouble to walk to it! Suddenly — the first living thing 1 had
seen for hours — a Pigeon darted past us in full flight tow'ards the tope ; I hardly cared to look at it with my
half-closed aching eyes; but its pink-coloured back and small size at once roused me — it was something new!
O, how eagerly I watched its flight to that now coveted tope, and longed to be there. The natives knew of no
other species but the ‘ Cally’ and ‘Mani prdds,’ and stoutly maintained there were none; I was equally positive
the bird that flew by was neither of them, and hurried forward ; thirst and heat were alike forgotten ; and when
I reached the spot, instead of partaking of the cocoanuts which the head-man’s forethought had provided there
for me, I sprang on the low w'all and peered eagerly among the trees. Turtiir suratensis and T. risorius
perched about the branches in abundance, and — could I believe my eyes ? — on a dry leafless ^matty’ projecting
from a palmirah tree, and supporting the twigs of a nest, sat a pair of the lovely little T. Immilis. There they
were, ^billing and cooing,’ in sweet but dangerous proximity, for the same shot laid them both dead at my feet,
and in another minute a native lad who had followed me brought down two shining, smooth, white eggs from
their nest. This was not the only pair in the tope, and I soon procured half a dozen specimens, and might have
killed as many more. An old head-man who was with me, and who had the reputation of being the best
sportsman in my district, assured me he had neither seen nor heard of this description of Pigeon before ; and
so said all present, some of them old men who had spent their lives in that neighbourhood. I had lived more
than a year in the district and killed dozens of Doves without finding one ; nor did I ever after, though I often
shot along the cultivation at the edge of the plain, meet with them. Had they bred there that year only ?
where did they come from? why did they select that lonely tope and keep so closely to it? I left the district
and never could learn, nor did I ever find any native who had met with them in other parts of the island.
Dr. Kelaart knew nothing of it, and only included it in his list on Mr. Blyth’s authority, and I furnished the
latter with data; so whether the little colony raised their young and departed, or breed there still, "remains
an untold tale.”’
Civil servants and others collecting in the north of Ceylon would do well to ascertain whether this Dove
ever visits the island now.
Jerdon says that this species is “ found throughout the whole of India to the foot of the Himalayas and
the Punjab, avoiding the Malabar forests and generally the jungly and hilly countries; and not very common
in Lower Bengal.” These remarks appear to be very correct, for I do not find it recorded from either the
Travancore or Palani hills. Concerning the low country of the Carnatic we have no recent information ; but
we know that Hermann’s specimen came from Tranquebar, on the coast of that part which runs due north on
the Indian side of Palk’s Straits; and thence it probably visited Ceylon via Point Calimere. It is common in
the Deccan, and found in tlie Ahmcdnagar district in flocks in the cold season. Further north on the same
side of the peninsula it is recorded by Captain Butler as common in the plains round Mount Aboo, and met
with in most parts of the hills; at the Sambhur Lake Mr. Adam says it is plentiful, breeding there throughout
the year. Writing of the north of India, Mr. Hume remarks that it is very capriciously distributed. “ It is
common,” he says, “ in some dry well-cultivated districts like Etawah, where there are plenty ot old mango-
groves. It is very common in some of the comparatively humid tracts like Bareilly, and again in the sal-
jungles of the Kumaon Bhabur and the Nepal Terai ; on the other hand, over wide extents of similar country
it is scarcely to be seen.” Mr. Ball records it from Sambalpur and Orissa to the north of the river Mahanadi,
and likewise from Lohardugga and Manbhum ; while writing of Chota Nagpur generally, he says that it is
found throughout the province, and most common in Sirguja. In Furreedpore, east of Calcutta, it is far
from common, according to Mr. Cripps, although a resident species.
710
TTJETUE TEANQUEBAEICrS.
To the eastward of the Bay it is replaced by the larger darker form already alluded to, and which is
recorded from the Irrawaddy delta, Eangoon, and Tenasserim. The Pegu specimens appear to belong to the
Indian race (Str. Feath. 1875, p. 165).
Habits. As already remarked, this pretty little Dove is capricious in its selection of country, there being
something in its food or mode of life which restricts its distribution, but which naturalists do not seem to be
acquainted with. In some districts, such as Sambhur, it is fond of arid places, and in others, such as Purreed-
pore, the converse is the case, for Mr. Cripps remarks that it frequents woods more than either of the two last
species. Its food mainly consists of grass-seeds ; but when grain is procurable it must levy heavy contributions
on it, as do all its congeners.
Jerdon writes of it as affecting “large groves of trees near cultivation, often feeding under the shade of
trees, but also betaking itself to fields, grass-downs, and bare spots near rivers and tanks. Its coo is short,
deep, and grunt-like.” Like other Doves, it thrives in confinement, and will, according to Blyth, breed in an
aviaiy.
Nidification . — Layard does not mention at what season he procured his birds, which, it will be pereeived,
were nesting; but I conclude it was about April, as at that season the plain he speaks of is dried up!
Mr. Hume writes: — “I have always found the nests at or near the extremities of the lower boughs of very
large trees, at heights of from 8 to 15 feet from the ground, and laid across any two or three horizontal
branchlets. As a rule the nests are excessively light structures, composed of a few slender sticks or grass-stems,
or both, so loosely and sparsely put together that the eggs can generally be espied from below through the
bottom of the nest.” The eggs are two in number, and more elongated than the other species of Indian Doves’
eggs, glossy, and generally of an ivory-w'hite colour. They average in size 1-02 by OB inch.
TUETUE PTJLCHEATUS.
(HODGSON^S TURTLE-DOVE.)
Cohmba pulchrata, Hodgs. in Gray’s Zool. Miscell. p. 85 (1831).
Tw'tiir orientalis (Lath.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 236 (1849, in part) ; Layard,
Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 62; Dresser, B. of Europe, pt. Iv. & Ivi. (1876,
in part).
Turtur rupicola (Pall.), Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p. 476 (1864); Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 149;
Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 467; Adam, Str. Feath. 1873, p. 390; Brooks, ibid. 1875,
p. 256.
Turtur pulchrata (Hodgs.), Hume, Nests and Eggs, iii. p. 500 (1875); Butler & Hume,
Str. Feath, 1876, p. 3; Hume (List Ind. B.), ibid. 1879, p. 110.
1 Turtur meena (Sykes), Fairbank, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 262.
Adu.lt (Nilambe). Wing 7-3 inches (abraded at the tip) ; tail 5-3 (abraded) ; tarsus 2-0 ; middle toe 0-95 ; bill to
gape O' 9.
Iris orange (?) ; bill dusky slate, reddish at the base of the upper mandible ; legs purplish red.
Head, back and sides of neck, and interseapnlary feathers ashy, shading at the margins into dull rust-colour, which
is most prominent below the nape and almost absent on the forehead ; the interseapnlary feathers slaty at the
centres ; back and rump ashy blue, pervaded on the upper tail-coverts with brownish, and the feathers there
paling into rufous-grey at the tips ; scapulars, lesser median, and inner greater wing-coverts black in the centre,
passing with a slaty hue into broad brick-red margins ; the outermost feathers of the lesser series, and nearly all
the greater covert feathers, ashy blue, those adjoining the red-edged feathers shaded on the inner webs with rust-
colour ; primaries and secondaries slaty brown, pale at the tips and on the edge of the longer quills ; winglet
and primary-coverts darker brown than the quills ; centre tail-feathers bi’ownish ash, paling into grey at the tips,
and tinged there with rusty ; remaining feathers blackish, with broad slaty-white tips, the tip and outer edge of
the lateral feather pure white.
Race and ear-coverts rusty ash-colour, passing on the throat and chest into rusty vinaceous, which pales gradually on
the breast into vinaceous grey, and becomes albescent on the abdomen and almost pure white on the lower tail-
coverts ; chin whitish ; flanks, axillaries, and under wing-coverts fine ashy blue.
Obs. In view of the present confused state of the synonymy of the Indian and Asiatic Red- winged Turtle-Doves,
I adopt for our rare Ceylon visitant Hodgson’s name of T. pulchratus, in doing which it seems to me that I cannot
well err, inasmuch as Hodgson’s bird was a Nepal specimen, and must, in all probability, have had white under
tail-coverts.
There are two forms of these Rufous-winged Doves in India : — the one with whitish under tail-coverts, or very pale
ashy, fading at the tips into whitish, which Jerdon and others call Turtur rupicolus, but which Mr. Hume
thinks is better entitled to the name T. pidchratus of Hodgson ; the other with uniform greyish-blue under tail-
coverts, which Mr. Hume considers is the bird described by Sykes as T. meena., and which is apparently the
same as the species (T.gelastes, Temm.) figured from Japan in Dresser’s work, to accompany his article on Turtur
rupicolus, or (as he uses an older title still) T. orientalis, Lath.
Latham unfortunately does not say what colour the under tail-coverts of his T. orientalis were. Mr. Dresser holds this
species, however, to be identical with T. gelastes, Temm., from Japan, which has slate-blue under tail-coverts. I have
seen the specimen he figures, and it closely resembles an example from Burmah in the national collection which
Mr. Hume would, I think, refer to the bird described by Jerdon as T. meena, Sykes. Mr. Dresser writes me
that he found such variations in the colour of the under tail-coverts in the specimens he examined that he was
compelled to unite both forms under one title — T. orientalis, which appears to have been the first used.
To this decision Mr. Hume takes exception, and holds that in India the two forms are distinct, having a different
distribution, the one being a resident form, while the other is migratory. He further remarks, in his vahrable
disquisition on the vexed subject (B. of Tenass. pp. 420-422), that though the sedentary species, T. meena, Sykes,
undergoes, in its extension westward into a dry climate, a certain change (which is only to be expected), yet the
712
TUETUE PULCHEATUS.
under taiJ-cov^erts are at all times distinct from the white, or nearly white, ones of the Himalayan migratory
species.
It is thus satisfactorily demonstrated, I think, that there are two species in India. The dark under tail-coverted form
is apparently the same as the Japanese ; and if so must take the name of T. gelastes, Temm. Whether the other
which is the present species — is the same as T. rvpicolus (T. orientalis ?) I am unable to decide ; but it is evidently
the bird styled T, pvXdiratus by Hodgson.
I have compared the Ceylonese migrant, above described, with two specimens from Nepal in the British Museum.
The first measures 7'8 inches in the wing (my bird would measure about 7‘5 inches if the quills were perfect) and
has the under tail-coverts very pale albescent ashy, with the tips whitish, in fact not so white, on the whole, as
in my bird ; the nape is more rufous and the chest more vinous. The second measures 7'4 inches in the wing,
and the under tad-coverts are very pale bluish grey at the bases, and nearly white at the tips. Another specimen,
from “ ISorth Burmah,” has the under tail-coverts as pale as the Nepal birds ; they are whitish ashy.
Jerdon s description of this species is unsatisfactory ; he says it is “ brown beneath, becoming whitish towards the
vent,” also “ the back and rump ashy brown.”
The European Turtle-Dove, T. auritus, of which the species here treated of are the Asiatic representatives, difi^ers
from them in being bluish on the head and nape, with the rufous edgings of the scapulars and wing-coverts of a
different hue; these are more yellow-rufous than in our bird; the interscapular region is not so rufous, but
more of a brownish grey ; the breast has a very delicate hue, being of a pink vinaceous colour ; the hind neck
above the collar is slate-blue and not rufous. It is a smaller bird ; wing about 7-0 inches.
An allied form to T. auritm is the Egyptian species T. slmrpii, Shelley, which has the head pale yellowish brown
instead of ashy, the chest “rich pink,” and the rump, upper tail-coverts, and the two central tail-feathers
“ broadly edged with yellowish brown.” Captain Shelley calls it a desert form of T. auritus. It is beautifully
figured, pi. X., ‘ Birds of Egypt,’ along with the European species.
Distribution. This handsome Dove has proved to be an occasional straggler to Ceylon. Its first recorded
appeal ance is that testified to in Layard’s notes as follows : — “I shot a young bird of this species from a
small flock of Pigeons which flew over my head as I was travelling with the late Dr. Gardner in the Pasdun
Korale in the month of December, 1848.” The locality and time of year mark this individual as a visitant
to the island during the prevalence of the north or “ long-shore ” wind. In looking over a collection of my
friend Mr. Bligh’s at Norwich last year I detected an adult individual of this species ; and on communi-
cating with this gentleman he writes me from Catton as follows The Dove T. rupicola was sent me
in the flesh from Nilambe by Mr. G. S. Grigson, in 1871, during the cold season, and is the only one I have
seen.”
It is highly probable that on the two occasions in question not a few examples of this species visited the
island, and in the north it may put in an appearance oftener than is supposed.
I identify Layard’s specimen with mine and not with the allied species with dark under tail-coverts,
simply because the birds that have visited Ceylon must needs belong to the migratory form ; and the latter
Air. Hume proves to be a resident species in continental India. There is a specimen, if I remember right,
in the Poole collection, but so faded that it would be impossible to say whether it originally had dark or
light under tail-coverts ; but I think we may, on the grounds here advanced, safely conclude it belongs to
the race with the latter characteristic.
The bird with the white under tail-coverts, whatever its right classical name may be, is an inhabitant
in summer of Nepal and the sub-Himalayas beyond Nepal towards the north-west. In the cool season it
migrates to the south, chiefly avoiding the desert country of Eajpootana, according to Mr. Hume, although
Captain Butler says that it occurs rarely at Mount Aboo, and Mr. Adam obtained it in the Sambhur district.
It is found at Alahabaleshwar in the cool season, but does not seem to have been procured in the Nilghiris
01 the Palani hills. Now, however, that we know that it has strayed as far south as Ceylon, it must of
necessity pass by these districts to reach the island, and no doubt, when the species reaches our limits, some
few examples lodge in them. Air. Ball does not record it from any of the eastern districts which he has
worked, having only met with the allied bird with the dark under tail-coverts, which, being resident there,
seems to replace it in that part of India. ^
Habits. I glean nothing of note concerning the economy of this Dove from the writings of Indian
TTJRTUE PULCHEATUS.
713
naturalists. Its habits appear to be similar to those of other Turtle-Doves. It feeds on seeds and grain,
has a rapid flight and a deep-toned coo.
Nidification . — The lower ranges of the Himalayas as far east as Sikhim, and at elevations from 4000 to
8000 feet, form, aecording to Mr. Hume, the breeding-grounds of Hodgson’s Dove. Captain Marshall writes
that it breeds in pine-forests in June. It makes “ & loose but rather more substantial twig nest than many of
its eongeners, jflaced on some horizontal branch of a large tree, nsually not far from the extremity.” The
eggs are two in number, pure white and glossy, and measure 1‘22 by 0'93 inch.
C O L U M B
Fam. GOURID^.
Bill usually lengthened ; the gape not so wide as in Columbidse. Wings moderate. Tail-
feathers varying in number from 12 to 16. Legs and feet lengthened ; toes slender, fitted
for progression on the ground.
Of large size in some genera {Qoura, See.), with hackled feathers in one genus (Caloems).
Genus CHALCOPHAPS.
Bill slender, straight ; tip moderately curved. Wings moderate, the feathers pointed, and
the 2nd and 3rd quills the longest and slightly sinuated on the outer webs. Tail of 12 feathers,
compact, shorter than the wing, rounded. Tarsus slender, longer than the middle toe, bare to the
knee, slightly reticulated ; inner toe longer than the outer ; hind toe rather long.
Of small size ; clothing-feathers with the shafts broad and flattened. Feeding entirely on
the ground.
CHALCOPHAPS Ii\DICA.
(THE BRONZE-WINGED DOVE.)
Columha indioa, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 284 (1766).
Columha javanica, Gm. ed. Syst. Nat. i. p. 781 (1788).
ChalcopJiaps indicus (L.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 234 (1849); Layard, Ann. & Mag.
Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 62 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p. 484 (1864); Walden, Ibis, 1873,
p. 315 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 269 ; Ball, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 225.
Chalcophaps indica (L.), Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 130 (1852) ; Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1871,
p. 397; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 467; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 26, et 1875, p. 400;
Salvadori, Ucc. di Bom. p. 299 (1874); Walden, Trans. Zool. Soc. 1875, ix. p. 221 ;
Hume, Nests and Eggs, iii. p. 609 (1875) ; id. Str. Feath. 1875, p. 165 ; Bourdillon,
ibid. 1876, p. 404 ; Inglis, ibid. 1877, p. 40 ; Fairbank, t. c. p. 409 ; Hume & Davison,
ibid. 1878, B. of Tenass., p. 424; Cripps, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 298.
Chalcophaps hornensis, Bonap. Compt. Rend, xliii. pp. 947, 949 (1856); Wall. Ibis, 1865
p. 393.
ChalcopJiaps javanica (Gm.), Wall. Ibis, 1865, p. 393.
The Green-winged Dove, Edwards, Nat. Hist. i. pi. 14; Tourterelle de Java, Buffon, PI. Enl.;
Imperial Dove, Sportsmen in India; Green Pigeon, ^^Bronze-wing J Beetle-winged
Pigeon, Ground-Dove, Ground-Pigeon, Europeans in Ceylon. Bam-gJmghu and Baj-
ghughu, Bengal. ; Audi bella guwa, Telugu ; Pathaki prod, Ceylonese Tamils ; Pomha
verde, Portuguese in Ceylon.
Nila kohceya, lit. “ Green Dove,” Sinhalese.
Adult male. Length lO-O to 10'5 inches ; wing 5'3 to 6'8 ; tail 3‘3 to 3-5 ; tarsus 0'9 to 1-0 ; middle toe and claw
I'Oo to I'l ; hiU to gape 0-9.
Examples from the hills appear to average larger than those from the low country ; I have not procured many, and it
is probable that some may exceed 5'8 inches in the wing.
Iris dark brown ; bill coral-red, dusky about the base ; legs and feet purplish or dark coral-red.
Forehead and a broad stripe above the eye down to the side of the nape white, blending into the fine ashy blue of
the crown ; whole neck, throat, and breast rich vinaceous brown, paling on the belly into reddish grey ; in some
specimens there is a broad stripe of blue-grey from the nape down the centre of the Mnd neck, spreading out over
the ruddy brown just above the interscapulary region ; in others there is merely a wash of this colour down this
part; interscapulars, scapulars, wing-coverts, the tertials, and the outer webs of the secondaries metallic emerald-
green, beautifully illumined with a coppery bronze hue when viewed exactly from above ; primaries and inner webs
of secondaries brown, the basal portion of the inner margins cinnamon-red ; lower back glossy sepia-brown, crossed
by two broad bands of bluish white, the lower one blending into the dark ashy black-tipped upper tail-coverts,
the dark interspace with a few small bronze spots near the tips of the feathers ; tail cinereous blackish, the two
outer pairs of feathers bluish white at the base and tipped with the same, having a broad subterminal blackisli
band ; under tail-coverts at the sides bluish ashy, in the centre concolorous with the tail, tipped with bluish ashy :
under wing-coverts cinnamon-red, and along the upper edge of the ulna the anterior webs of the feathers are pure
white, changing to bluish ashy at the flexure of the wing, and forming a white shoulder-patch.
Female (low country). Length 9-2 to 9-5 inches ; wing 5-1 to -5-3 ; legs and feet dusky red ; bill not so bright as in the
male.
Supercilium and forehead not so white as in the male, but overcast with bluish, and passing on the crown and nape
into the deeper blue of the tips of the feathers, the bases being ruddy brown ; the throat and fore neck are light
chocolate-brown, passing into ruddy whitish on the chin and lower breast, and darkening on the hind neck into a
CHALCOPHAPS INDICA.
715
browner hue than the chest, with a trace of bluish in some specimens on the lower part ; green portions of the
upper surface more overcast with bronze than in the male ; the pale rump-bands narrower ; the upper and under
tail-coverts and the tail warm ferruginous brown, the upper tail-coverts tipped with blacldsh, the lower with
bluish grey ; the three outer tail-feathers with a subterminal baud of blackish, and the two outer pairs bluish at
the base and tips.
Young (nestling : Travancore). “Warm brown above, with all the feathers except those of the head and quills broadly
tipped with chestnut, and with a coppery-green lustre on the scapulars and the outer webs of the tertiaries and
later secondaries, and with all the primaries margined with chestnut; below duskily barred with chestnut.”
(Bourdillon.)
Ohs. I have not had an opportunity of comparing South-Indian examples of this Pigeon with those in my collection
from Cejdon, and I am therefore unable to say whether such slight differences exist betv'een the birds from these
two localities as are perceptible in those which I have examined from a number of other places throughout its
range in the Malay archipelago. As regards the size of those nearest to Ceylon on the mainland, viz. specimens
from South Travancore, Mr. Bourdillon gives us the following data : — Male, length 10‘25 inches, wing 6‘1, tail
3’75, tarsus 1'06 ; female, length lO'O inches, w’ing 5-75, tail 3'75. These dimensions exceed considerably those
of every Ceylonese specimen I have measured ; the bird is, however, a variable one in size as well as in its tints,
and these may have been exceptionally large examples ; a female from North India, collected by Capt. Pinwell,
corresponds fairly with a specimen in my collection. Mr. Hume remarks that Thayetmyo specimens are identical
with those from all parts of India, Tenasserim, the Andamans, and the Nicobars. The bird from the latter region
was separated by Bonaparte as C. augusla; but Mr. Hume fails to find any valid difference in it from those
obtained in the Andamans or India ; and he remarks that the specimens from these islands have the rump-bands
somewhat less strongly marked than in continental birds, and the white frontal band somew'hat narrower. He
further states (what I have myself observed in Ceylon specimens) that the bluish-gi-ey stripe down the centre
of the hind neck is an uncertain chsiracter, and has no reference to the breeding-season.
The Javan bird, C. javanica, Gmelin, which Wallace united (Z. c.) with the species inhabiting Borneo, Plores, Lombok, and
Sumatra, was originally considered distinct ; but it is now admitted to be identical with the Indian, Malaccan,
Pormosan, and Philippine form. Examples I have seen from East Java are more purplish on the under surface
than my Ceylon sldns, the abdomen is not so pale, and there is more of the bronze tipping to the feathers of the
upper rump-band. In one specimen the greeji of the back is less illumined with bronze : d > wing 5-8 inches,
tail 4'0. The Celebean bird is likewise identical with the Javan.
Allied species are; — G . cyaneopileata, Bonnaterre, = C. moluccensis, G. E. Gray; C. timorensis, Bonap. ; G. stephani,
Homb. & Jaeq.
G. cyaneopileata is nearest to the Javan and Indian bird. It is redder on the throat, neck, and breast, and the abdomen
is darker ; back more coppery, and the inner webs of the quills more covered with cinnamon-red and also of a
brighter hue ; B , wing 5-7 inches. The female, which I have not seen, is said by Wallace to have the head and
upper part of the back earthy browm.
C. timorensis is a larger bird, and the male has no white forehead or eye-stripe, the head being vinaceous down to the
base of the bill ; back as in 0. indica • the primaries with more cinnamon-colour, extending to the outer w'obs of the
shorter feathers ; lower parts redder than in our bird : wing 6-2 inches. The female has the head and hind neck
coppery brown and the forehead ashy ; tail coppery chestnut-colour, the lateral feathers bluish grey, with dark
terminal bands.
G. stephani is ashy chestnut beneath ; upper tail-coverts and tail chestnut-red ; an olive-black rump-band, bounded
above by a fulvous band, and beneath by a rufesceut one ; forehead white ; back chestnut ; vving, d , d’d inches.
This is a very distinct species inhabiting North Celebes.
G. liomhroni, another species described by "W allace, is smaller than G. stephani ; “ the forehead is slate-brown, and the
low’er back black, with two yellowish bands ; middle and larger wing-coverts and ends of the tertiaries golden
green.”
Distribution. — This beautiful Pigeon is chiefly an inhabitant of the damp forests and well-watered wooded
districts of Ceylon; but yet its habits are so essentially sylvan that it is found all through the forests of the
northern half of the island. In the woods and jungles of the Western Province it is a common bird, being
especially partial to bamboo-cheena, and it is consequently abundant throughout Safiragam and in the well-
covered hills of the south-western portion of the island. In forest districts, such as the Kukul Korale and
Pasdun Korale, it is very numerous. It is well diffused throughout the Central Province, being found up to
4 Y 2
716
CHALCOPHAPS INDICA
the altitude of Nuwara Eliya, but more particularly during the N.E. monsoon. Mr. Holdsworth says that
at the end of the year it frequents the woods at the Sanatarium in great numbers. I am under the impression
it inhabits the Horton-Plains jungles at this season ; but I did not make a note of it when I was there.
In the south-east of Ceylon, and likewise in the Eastern Province, wherever the jungle is hot and dry, it
confines itself to the forest on the banks of the rivers. In the Trincomalie district and throughout the northern
forests it may be met with anywhere j but it is not so numerous as in the southern part of the island.
On the mainland the distribution of this Pigeon is for the most part easterly ; it is common in the
wooded districts of the south, such as Travancore, the Palanis, and the Nilgbiri jungles; but it avoids the
Dcccan, and is not found in the north-west portions of the empire. Neither Mr. Hume nor Captain Butler
notice its occurrence in the direction of Sindh. It is said to be abundant in the Dhoon up to 5500 feet, and
affects jungle-clad hills in Central and Eastern India up to an elevation of 6000 feet. In his article on the
avifauna of Chota Nagpur Mr. BaU says it is a bird of extreme rarity in the province ; he met with it once in
a forest in Gangpur, and once in the Rajmehal hills. In his subsequent article on the district extending to
the Godaveri he records it from Sambalpur and Orissa on the north of the Mahanadi. In Eurreedpore it is
rare, and likewise in North-eastern Cachar; but in Upper Pegu Mr. Oates records it as tolerably common in
evergreen forests on the hills. Dr. Armstrong did not meet with it in the Irrawaddy delta; but southward in
Tenasserim it is generally distributed throughout the wooded portions of the province up to 4000 feet. In the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands it is likewise generally distributed, and very numerous in some localities of the
former accoi’ding to Mr. Davison. It extends down the Malay peninsula to Sumatra and Java, in the forests
of both of which islands it is plentiful. Mr. Wallace is of opinion that it may have been introduced into India
from the latter island, as communication between the two places has long existed, the Hindoo religion having
been established in J ava for an unknown period prior to its being subverted by Mahommedanism in the fifteenth
century. The fact of the genus being entirely a Malayan one, and this species being the only member of it in
India, certainly fosters the belief that it may have been so introduced ; but, on the other hand, it may have made
its way across to the Malay peninsula from Sumatra, and thence spread over the tracts it now inhabits on the
mainland. It inhabits Borneo throughout, having been procured at Baujermassing on the south coast, at
Sarawak and other places on the western side, and at Labuan on the north. Thence it extends to the
Philippines, where it is not uncommon in Negros and in the most northerly of the group — -Luzon.
It is likewise found in Formosa, and perhaps along the coast of South China, for it has been recorded
from Hainan by Swinhoe. Blyth states that M. Mouhot obtained it in Cambodia; and this is quite probable,
as it would extend thither through Siam from the Malay peninsula. Eastward of Borneo it has been obtained
in Celebes, and southward in Flores and Lombok.
In Ceram, Borneo, Amboyna, and other Moluccan islands the allied species C.moluccensis, Gray, is found;
but it is probable that the present species may also be obtained in some of these localities.
Habits. The “ Bronze-wing,’ which is the handsomest of its family in Ceylon, is rarely seen away from
wood; it is entirely a denizen of jungle, and is so often seen on forest-paths and roads, that it is well known
to all who travel in the interior. Its swift arrow-like flight, seen to advantage as it darts over one’s
shoulders on its swift course down some forest-path, its brilliant plumage and upright carriage as it quickly
walks hither and thither on the pathway, letting the spectator approach it so closely that its bright red bill
and soft eye may easily be seen, and its melodious though deep unpigeon-like coo, all combine to make it one
of the most favourite of Ceylonese birds. It is, however, not always so tame; in the early morning, when
first commencing to feed, it is the reverse of shy, but when I have seen small parties of three or four feeding
at the edges of clearings or paddy-fields in the afternoon they were difficult to approach. It is in its element in
bamboo-jungle, and wherever this abounds it is very plentiful and rarely seen out of the woods filled with this
undergrowth. In the breeding-season the bamboo-cheenas clothing the hill-sides in Saffragam and the Rayigam
and Hewagam Korales resound in the evening with the coo of this Dove. It feeds on seeds, and I have
occasionally found bulbous roots in the stomachs of specimens I have shot. .
Layard well describes its habits in the following paragraph: — “Being a bold, fearless bird of great
power of wing, it will permit approach to within a few paces, when, with a spring into the air, it will dash onwards
a few dozen yards, and again settle; a renewed approach drives it further off a second and a third time, till driven
CHALCOPHAPS IXDICA.
717
beyond the range of its food, the lovely bird will dart back to its old feeding-ground with the rapidity of
thought, often brushing the intruder's person with its wings, while following the tortuous narrow windings of
the native path.”
Mr. Davison writes : — “ They are not in general shy, and will walk on in front of one for some considerable
distance if not closely pressed. They rise with a sharp flutter of the wings, and their flight is very rapid indeed.
When distirrbed they generally fly some considerable distance before alighting, sometimes on the ground, more
generally on a tree at no great elevation from it. Their note is a low mournful one and can be heard from a
long distance. It sounds like the word ' oo ’ very much prolonged and slowly uttered with a booming sound.”
This note is more like that of an Owl than a Pigeon, and were it not heard during the daytime would
unmistakably be taken for that of a night-bird.
mdification.—ls^ the Western Province I have shot the “ Beetle- wing ” in a state of breeding in June ;
but I have taken its eggs in the Kurunegala district in February, so that it probably breeds at no regular period
and very likely has more broods than one in the year. The nest I found was near Dyatura, built at the
extremity of the lateral branch of a small tree at about 6 feet from the ground. It was made of small
sticks, and slightly more cup-shaped than that of a true Dove {Turtur ) . It contained two eggs, regular ovals
in shape, and of a warm buff or crcam-colour. They unfortunately got broken before I measured them ; but
Layard, who describes the eggs as yellowish-drab colour, gives their dimensions as 12 lines (I’O inch) by 8i
(0'71 inch). There is probably an error in the latter dimension. Mr. Hume describes the nests as more
regular saucers than those of the Doves, composed of roots, grass, or twigs, but comparatively neat and devoid
of lining, with a decided central depression. It breeds in India from February till July. The eggs are said
by this gentleman to vary from creamy white to white, and to measure from I'O to I'l inch in length by from
0-82 to 0'86 inch in breadth.
C O L U M B
Fam. TRERONIDiE.
Bill with the gape very wide, in most short and thick, the tip strong and much vaulted.
Wings long, the primaries pointed. Tail moderately long, of 14 feathers. Tarsus short, reticu-
lated in front, feathered below the knee. Toes short and very broad, fitted for grasping.
Of frugivorous habit ; entirely arboreal.
Genus CAEPOPHAGA.
Bill rather long, flattened, the gape very wide, the corneous tip short; frontal feathers
advancing much on the base. Wings long and pointed, the 3rd quill the longest, and the 1st
rather short, slightly exceeding the 6th. Tail tolerably long and rounded. Tarsus short, very stout,
feathered for half its length, the bare portion shielded with broad scutes. Toes very stout and
broad at the base, lateral toes subequal. Claws very stout and curved.
Of large size and brilliant metallic plumage on the back and wings.
CAEPOPHAGA iENEA.
(THE IMPEEIAL GEEEN PIGEON.)
Palumbus moluccensis, Briss. Om. i. p. 148. no. 41 (1760), “ ex Moluccis insulis.”
Columha mnea, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 283. no. 22 (1766) {ex Brisson).
Columha sylmtica^ Tickell, J. A. S. B. 1833, p. 581.
Carpopliaga cmea, G. K. Gray, Gen. of B. p. 468 (1844); Sclater, P. Z. S. 1863, p. 221;
Wallace, Ibis, 1865, p. 383; Walden, Ibis, 1873, p. 314; Hume, Str. Feath. 1874,
p. 260; Ball, t.c. p. 424; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 399; Salvador], Ucc. di Born. p. 290
(1874) ; Walden, Trans. Zool. Soc. 1875, ix. p. 215 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, iii. p. 496
(1875) ; id. Str. Feath. 1875, p. 163 ; Ball, ibid. 1876, p. 235 ; Armstrong, f. c. p. 337 ;
Inglis, ibid. 1877, p. 39 ; Ball, t. c. p. 418 ; Hume & Davison, ibid. 1878 (B. of Tenass.)
p. 417 ; Ball, ibid. vii. p. 224; Hume, List Ind. B., ibid. 1879, p. 109.
Carpophaga sylvatica (Tick.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 231 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus,
Cat. p. 130 (1852); Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p, 455 (1864); Wallace, Ibis, 1865, p. 383
(in part); Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 148 ; Swinhoe, P.Z. S. 1871, p. 396 ; Holdsw. P. Z. S.
1872, p. 466 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 24.
Carpophaga pusilla, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 232 (1849); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 58 ; Blyth, Ihis, 1867, p. 148 (in part).
Pigeon Marnier des Molugues, Temm. ; Imperial Pigeon, Sportsmen in India ; Large Green
Pigeon, Wood-Pigeon, Europeans in Ceylon. Bunkul, Boomkul, Sona kalutra, Burra
harrial. Hind. ; Pogonnah, Malyalum ; Kakarani guwa, Telugu (Jerdon) ; Berg Buyven,
Dutch in Ceylon (Layard) ; Mar atham prod, Tamils in North of Ceylon.
Malta nila goya, lit. “ Large Green Pigeon,” Sinhalese ; also Matabatagoya, Sinhalese north
of Kandy (Layard).
Adult male and female. Length 15-5 to 16-2 inches ; wing 8-0 to 8-6, expanse 27‘0 ; tail 0-2 to 5-7 ; tarsus I'O to 1-1 •
middle toe and claw 1-7 to 1‘75 ; bill to gape 1-3 to 1-35.
Individuals of both sexes vary much in size. It is probable that some birds range beyond 8-6 inches in the wing.
Lord Tweeddale gives the wing-measurement of three Ceylonese examples as 8-26. Mr. Hume states the average
to be 8-0 ; this is, however, the minimum dimension ; 8-3 is about the average.
Iris carmine-red ; eyelid arterial red ; bill with the basal part greyish green and the tip light bluish, sides of the
lower mandible pimplish ; legs and feet dull lake-red, soles yellowish ; claws olive.
Head, neck, throat, and rmder surface delicate bluish grey, purest on the chest and palest on the abdomen, and moi-e
or less suffused with vinous grey about the face and on the hind neck and breast ; chin, foi-ehead close to base of
bill, and an orbital circle whitish ; back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and wings metallic green, with a bright coppery
lustre, and pervaded with ashen when viewed against the light ; primaries deep plumbeous, suffused with green, the
outer webs witli a greyish hue ; tail deep slaty green, the marghis and tips of the feathers being shining green,
passing into obscure or slaty gi-een at the shafts ; lateral feathers paler than the rest ; under surface of tail
yellowish grey and the shafts pale ; under tail-coverts liver-colour or deep chestnut ; thighs albescent internally,
pale lilac, like the abdomen, externally; under wing-coverts slate-grey.
Young. Immature birds are said to have the under tail-coverts paler than adults. Mr. Davison remarks that they
are just as brightly glossed on the back, wings, and tail, but want the vinaceous tinge below.
Ohs. The Imperial Green Pigeon (G. sylvatica) of India was long considered distinct from the Philippine and Malayan-
Archipelago species G. (sned. The late Marquis of Tweeddale, however, after a comparison of a large series from
CAEPOPHAGA m^EA.
719
the Philippines, Java, Sumatra, India, Bnrmah, and the Andamans, united the two races under the Linnean title.
I have compared examples from Hainan, Java, Sumatra, Andamans, Lomboh, Borneo, Negros, and Madras with
Ceylonese skins, and am fully convinced that there is but the one species of this particular Pigeon, which varies
greatly in size in different localities, the smallest race inhabiting Ceylon and South India, and the largest birds
being found in Burmah, Borneo, Lombok, and the Philippines (those from the latter locality exceeding all others),
and which is likewise subject to variation in the coppery hue of the back and the vinous tinting of the under
surface, but unaccompanied by any corresponding alteration in the distribution of colour, and not in such a
systematic way as to warrant the discrimination of any of the most aberrant specimens as distinct species.
A Madras example which I have compared with my Ceylonese skins has moi-e white round the gape and on the chin
(a variable character, however), back and wings slightly more coppery, and the under surface more sufiused
with vinaceous. An Andaman example (wing 8'9) and one from Sumatra (wing 9'2) are more vinaceous on the
nape than my birds, but the white of the forehead, the green of the back, and the tints of the under surface
are the same. The Andaman bird has a good deal of wliite on the chin. Mr. Hume says that, as a race, the
birds from these islands are very large, and greener with deeper-coloured under tail-coverts and whiter foreheads than
continental birds. He gives the wing-moasurement at 8'5 to 9'0 inches. Lord 'Walden’s measurements (Ibis, 1873)
of seven specimens are 8'5 to 9-25. Two females from Sarawak measure 8'8 and 9-1 respectively in the wing, have
the green of the back less coppery and the imderparts more vinaceous than Ceylon skins, but are otherwise the
same. The reddish tinge of the under surface is doubtless a mark of age, as we have seen from Mr. Davison’s
description of a young bird. A Lombok example measures 9'0 inches in the wing, and is identical with one of mine
from Saffragam. Birds from the Philippine Islands have a stronger coppery lustre on the back than any I have
seen ; the hind neck is less vinaceous too, the abdomen and lower breast are more vinaceous than the chest, and
the primaries, as in Sumatran and Bornean birds, have a very strong grey tinge on the outer webs : wing 9-7 inches.
A Hainan specimen corresponds well with one from Madras ; it is slightly ruddier on the head : wing 8'9. A
Burmese skin is extremely red on the lower parts : wing 9-5. I observe that all these long-winged birds from
various localities appear to be no larger in head and feet than smaller-winged individuals, and, further, that they
have not the tail proportionately lengthened; the primaries are simply more or less attenuated, the ti^s thus
prohnyed causing the extra length of wing. Ceylonese and South-Indiau birds have the tips of the primaries
peculiarly round in comparison to the large examples in question. Mr. Hume finds the average of Anjango
birds to be 8-2.5 inches in the wing, and of Calicut and Nilghiri 8-5 to 8-75. Blyth described the birds inhabiting
South India as a smaller race under the title of O. pusilla, and j)laeed Layard’s Ceylonese specimens with it ;
but Jerdon did not consider it distinct from Tickell’s bird from Central India, and states that Blyth’s name was
founded on a peculiarly small specimen.
This genus of magnificent Pigeons — the princes of their family, the Treronidm — is a very extensive one, extending from
India through the Malay archipelago, where it is chiefly developed, to Australia and New Zealand. In the archi-
pelago there are not a few species resembling the present, some of which are characterized by a knob at the base of
the bill, much developed in the male at the breeding-season : these form Bonaparte’s division Glohkera. The under
tail-coverts are liver-coloured in all the allied forms.
C. paulina, Temm., a Philippine species found in Menado, has a bright reddish nape, and the face, head, and throat
vinaceous. It is allied to O. ceuea, but easily distinguished by the characters mentioned. Wing of a specimen
from Menado, 8’ 5 inches.
C. pacifica (Gm.) is a tine species, allied to the present and seemingly very close to it ; the head and hind neck are of a
different grey colour ; the back and wings much as in G. miea, A Samoan example has the wing 9-4 inches.
C. neglecta, Schleg., a Moluccan form, is larger than 0. mnea, the back, rump, and wings brighter green, the head, throat,
and under surface grey, not tinged with vinaceous. Wing 10-0 inches, tail 6-6 (Ceram).
C. tamida, Wallace. Back and w'ings deep bronzed green ; head, entire neck, and underparts delicate gi-ey, tinged
with \inaceous on the hind neck, breast, and belly ; at the base of the upper mandible is a large knob. Wing
of a Waigiou example 9-5 inches. Belonging to another group are C. insularis, Blyth, from the Nicobars, and
0. perspieiTlata from Bouru. The former is larger than C. mnea on the w'hole, and has the under tail-coverts dingy
brown, which constitutes its chief difference. A new species {C. palumhoides, Hume) from the Andamans belongs
to another subgroup ; it has the lower parts dusky slate-blue, the under tail-coverts blackish, and the head and
face pale grey.
The fine Bronze-backed Imperial Pigeon, C. cuprea, Jerd., of Southern India, and its northern representative, C. in-
signis, Hodgs., belong to quite another group, and are inhabitants chiefly of mountainous regions. It is a matter
worthy of comment that the southern bird or an insular representative of it has not been found in our mountains.
G. cuprea is an abundant species, according to Mr. Bourdillon, in the Travancore hills.
Distribution. — This magnificent Pigeon is exceedingly abundant in all the well-wooded and forest-clad
720
CAEPOPHAGA ^NEA.
poitions of the low country. Proceeding inland from Galle it is first met with heyond Baddegama and in
the forest of Kottowe, becoming more numerous towards the Oodogamma and Opate hills, in the higher parts
of winch, however, it is not so common as in the valleys. Further north, some miles inland, east of Kalatura
and Bentota, it becomes plentiful, and continues so all through the Pasdun and lower portions of the Kukul
Korale to Saffragam, which is its great stronghold in that part of the island, and in which (above Gillymally)
I have traced it to an elevation of about 1500 feet. In the south-east it avoids the scrub-country along the
sea-coast, except where it is cleft by the forest-clothed banks of the rivers ; but it is very abundant at the back
of this region up to the base of the Uva hills. In the Friars-Hood group it is common. In the northern half
of the island it is pretty evenly distributed throughout the jungle which covers the whole of that part. 1 have
met with it in all parts which I have visited, and Mr. Parker has found it in the Madewatchiya and Anarad-
hapura districts. Along the rivers in the Seven Korales it is abundant.
I have never been able to obtain any information concerning this bird being found in the higher jungles ;
I have not myself seen it above an altitude of 1500 feet j and Air. Bligh has not met with it in the higher
regions of the Kandyan zone; numerous inquiries which I have made have all failed in disclosing any locality
in the coffee-districts inhabited by it. I conclude, therefore, when Layard writes that its “ great haunt is
certainly the mountain-zone,” he refers to the base of the Kandyan hills, and not the upper parts.
According to Jerdon it is not at all a mountain species in India ; he remarks that he cannot call to mind
having seen it as high as 2000 feet, and that it is more abundant at elevations from the level of the sea up to
1000 feet. This is exactly the ease in Ceylon. “ It is only found,” he writes, “ in forest countries, and is
very abundant in the Alalabar jungles, in Central India, Alidnapore, and the wooded countries to the north-
east generally.” It appears to avoid the Deccan entirely, passing up to the north-east from the forests of
Southern India, and inhabiting the Godaveri valley, Orissa, Jaipur, Smgbhum, Maunbhum, Midnapnr, and
the Eajmehal hills. It does not appear to extend across to Western India at all. Mr. Blauford says that he
did not meet with it in the valleys of the Nerbudda or Taptee; and Mr. Ball did not meet with it in M^estern
ChotaKagpur even ; further south, however, its range extends up the Godaveri valley to Siroucha and Chanda;
but this appears to be only an isolated branch of extension, and northward of this river its visit to the west
would be defined by a line drawn through the Jaipur district to Sambalpur, and thence northwards through
eastern Chota Nagpur to the Eajmehal hills. How far it extends through the forests at the base of the
I'V estern Ghfi,ts towards the north I am unable to say ; but the Rev. Dr. Fairbank did not meet with it about
Alahabaleshwar, which proves pretty clearly that is confined to the south. Northward of the Eajmehal
lulls we find it in Nepal, and thence eastwards into Cachar, where Air. Inglis says it is common, breeding during
the rains. Southward we find it in the Arrakan hills, and eastward in Pegu. Mr. Oates records it as common
both in the hills and the plains, whence it extends to the sea-coast at the mouths of the Irrawaddy, where
Air. Armstrong tells us it occurs sparingly. In Tenasserim it is generally distributed, according to Messrs
Hume and Davison, throughout the better-wooded portions of the province, but does not ascend the hills. In
the Andaman group Mr. Davison found it abundant in December; but later on, in April, it had become
scarcer, owing, as he suggests, to the then scarcity of wild fruits which abound in December and January.
Tdiroughout the Alalay peninsula we may conclude that it occurs in suitable places, which brings us to
Sumatra, of which island it is an inhabitant, although, with our scanty data concerning the avifauna of this
great island, it w'ould be impossible to speak with certainty concerning its distribution there. Both RafHes
and M allace record it, probably from the southern coast ; but Mr. Buxton did not meet with it in Lampoug.
The latter naturalist and Horsfield notice its occurrence in Java, and in Borneo it has been found in Baiijer-
massing, Sarawak, and other maritime provinces. From Java eastward it probably extends through all the
chain of islands towards Timor, for it has been obtained in Lombok, Sumbawa, and Flores. From Borneo
towards the north it ranges into Palawan, and thence through the Philippine group. In Hainan, Swinhoe
procured it in the central and western portions of the island. Data are now desirable concerning the vast
stretch of country between Burmah and this latter locality, which it doubtless will be found to inhabit.
Habits — ‘^Alaha nila goya,” the finest Pigeon in Ceylon, is a denizen of wild forest and jungle-
clad districts, the fruit-hearing trees of which afford it such ample sustenance that in some parts of the island it
abounds to an equal extent with the very numerous Maroon-backed Pigeon presently to be noticed. Though
CARPOPIIAG-A ^NEA.
721
very shy when feeding it may easily be shot when wending its way across country in flights to drink in the
morning or to roost in the afternoon. At such times a regular stream of these birds will continue to cross a
road in the Eastern Province for perhaps half an hour together, and they afford very good shooting. It is well
styled, together with all its genus, “Imperial Pigeon.’'’ On the wing, when dashing into a forest-glade in the
Pasdun Korale or Saffragam, or sweeping across an opening in the dense jungle of the Park country, it is a
splendid bird, and to the hungry sportsman by no means to be despised for the table. Indeed, if kept for a
couple of days in the dry hot districts of the island, it becomes very tender, and its flesh is then almost equal
to that of the succulent smaller Fruit -Pigeons, the ‘’“’Batta-goya ” of the Singhalese.
There is something quite startling in its grand guttural note, when heard uttered from the top of a tall
tree in the forest ravines of Southern Ceylon j it resembles the syllables wuck-womr, the last having a deep
sepulchral sound. Mr. Ball, who calls it a deep sonorous coo, which he represents by the words wuh, tvooh,
says “ there is something weird about it when heard resounding through the valleys.” When feeding, like
other Pigeons they are silent, and it is generally about 10 o’clock in the morning, when sitting motionless,
a few perhaps together near the top of a tree, that they utter their coo. They are most diflicult to see when
the spectator is approaching them from behind, as their green plumage assorts so well with the surrounding
verdant foliage. It is a gluttonous fruit-eater, swallowing its food whole, and is perhaps fonder of the berries
of the Bo-tree {Urostigma religiomm) and of the “Palu” or “iron-wood” [Mimusops indica) than those of
any other trees. In the south-east of Ceylon both these trees are to be found growing by themselves among
small scrubby jungle and towering far above it ; and when in fruit. Pigeons flock to them from all sides until
the branches are literally laden with them. In Saffragam I found them feeding on the wild cinnamon-fruit,
and also on wild nutmegs, which their enormous gape enables them to swallow with ease. The nutmeg is, of
course, as in the case of the Myna, voided after the mace has been digested ; and Mr. Davison remarks
that, “ in Southern India, this is so well known, and the good taste of the birds, who always select the ripest
and the finest fruit, so thoroughly relied upon, that people are sent round to collect the nutmegs thus discarded
by these Pigeons, as these are the best and can most be relied on for seed.” The reason for this singular
practice is, he writes, “ that birds and animals only eat the perfectly ripe fruit when they have a large choice,
and that the seeds of these germinate more freely than the more or less unripe ones of which the coolies are
certain to gather so many.”
It is remai’ked by J erdon that in the hot weather they resort to the salt swamps of the Malabar coast to
feed on the buds of Aricennia.
The stout feet possessed by these Pigeons enables them to walk freely along the branches, or hold on
firmly while reaching out at their food. It is said to erect the feathers of its head and neck when wounded ;
and Mr. Ball says that, when doing this, it looks double its natural size, and strikes out violently with its wings.
Mr. Davison, who notices, with reason, the loud “ put -put-put” made by their powerful wings when they dash
out of a tree, says they are not quarrelsome, like many Green Pigeons, but, on the contrary, are sociable and
gentle together.
Nidification . — Considering that this Fruit-Pigeon is so common, it is surprising that so little has been
written about its nesting. I am not aware that its nest has been taken by any naturalist in Ceylon ; but I
am able to state that it breeds in April and May in the south of the island, as I shot a female on the 28th of
the former month at Baddegama, in the oviduct of which was an egg almost ready for expulsion. Mr. Inglis
states that a nest he saw in North-eastern Cachar was built about 30 feet from the ground, and consisted of
“ a very few sticks and a few stiff grasses.” It contained two young birds. Two eggs, sent by Captain
Wimberley to Mr. Hume from the Andamans, were broad ovals, obtuse at both ends, pure white, with a
slight gloss, and measured 1'6 by 1‘25 inch. Jerdon speaks of a Shikaree informing him that he had found
a nest with two eggs ; so that there seems quite evidence enough to show that this species differs from
most other members of the genus, who only deposit a single egg.
Genus CEOCOPUS*.
Bill short, stout, very deep for its length, the soft base occupying about a third of the
length of the culmen, which is boldly curved at the tip ; gonys deep. The longer primaries very
much pointed ; the 3rd quill with a large sinuationf. Tail moderately long, rounded at the tip.
Tarsus short, stout, feathered for a third of its length ; middle toe longer than the tarsus ; outer
toe considerably longer than the inner ; claws deep and curved.
CKOCOPUS CHLORIGASTER.
(THE SOUTHEEN GEEEN PIGEON.)
Treron chlorigaster, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1840, xii. p. 167 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 229
(1849 ) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 130 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist.
1854, xiv. p. 57.
Treron jerdoni, Strickland, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1844, p. 167.
Crocopus chlorigaster, Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p. 448 (1864) ; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 465 ;
Adam, Str. Peath. 1873, p. 390; Ball, ibid. 1874, p. 423; Hume, Nests and Eggs, iii.
p. 492 (1875); Butler & Hume, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 2 ; Fairbank, t. c. p. 261, et 1877,
p. 408 ; Ball, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 224.
The Large Green Pigeon, Kelaart.
Hind. ; Pacha-guwa, ; Pac/ia-pom, Tamil (Jerdon) ; Pa^c/w'-jjrdd, Ceylonese
Tamils (Layard).
Adult male (Behar). Length to forehead (from skin) 11-75 inches ; wing 7-25 to 7-4 ; tail 5-0 j tarsus 0-8 ; middle
toe 1-05 ; bill to gape (straight) 0-95.
Female (“ Madras ”). Wing 6-7 inches ; tail 4-3.
.Terdon gives the wing at “ barely 7 inches ; tail 4-75.”
Iris carmine, with a blue inner circle ; bill whitish ; legs and feet chrome-yellow.
Forehead, entire top and the sides of the head, including the ear-coverts, dusky bluish grey, changing on the lores
and lower cheeks into the impure green of the chin and throat ; fore neck and chest olive-yellow, passing in a
broad collar round the hind neck, beneath which there passes across the lower hind neck a collar of paler bluish
grey than the head ; back, scapulars, rump, upper tail-coverts, tertials, and wing-coverts yellowish olive-green,
with a slaty tinge on the upper tail-coverts ; point of the wing and adjoining portion of the lesser wing-coverts
hlac ; greater wing-coverts slaty green, with yellowish-white edges and tips ; primaries and secondaries slaty
brown, edged outwardly with yellow, e.xcept towards the tips of the longer primaries ; tail slate-colour, the central
feathers at the base and the remainder on the inner webs at the base tinged wnth green ; breast yellowish green,
slaty on the flanks, and changing into yellow on the abdomen ; thighs yellow ; under tail-coverts greyish crimson.
* The “Green Pigeons” are removed by Jerdon from the larger Pigeons (Carpophaginee) and placed in a separate
subfamily (Treroninse). Both are, however, essentially Fruit-Pigeons, and have precisely the same habits. The dis-
tinctions pointed out, which consist in the thicker bill and shorter tail, are, in my opinion, only generic. I have, moreover,
throughout my work (which is intended solely for the henejit of students of ornithology in Ceylon') avoided a complication
of the subject by not taking sitMamilies into consideration more than I could possibly help.
t This is only fully developed when the bird is adult. I have a young example of Osmotreron pompadora in which
there is only an indication of it ; and the same holds good with other species of this group I have examined in the British
Museum. It is, however, absent in Sphenocercus, the Kokla Green Pigeon, a curious Himalayan form with a pointed wedge-
shaped tail.
CEOCOPUS CHLOEIGASTEK.
723
very bi-oadly edged and tipped with dull white ; under wing-coverts slaty, tinged with green ; lower thigh-coverts
slaty green, edged with white.
Female has the yellow of the hind neck dusky and that of the chest greener than in the male ; point of the wing and
the edges of the adjacent lesser coverts hlac ; shorter under taU-coverts greenish slate, the longer feathers as in
the male, and the whole similarly edged.
Ohs. This species is very closely allied to the northern Green Pigeon, G. plicenicopterus, which is said by Jerdon to be
larger (wing from 7'2 to 8'0 inches), and has the forehead and head strongly tinged with green, and the blue of
the crown less decided, the lilac wing-spot larger, the centre of the lower breast and abdomen bright yellow,
the tail greenish at the base. Two examples of this species in the British Museum, collected by Capt. Pin well,
measure 7'3 and 7' 6 inches in the wing. One has a pure slate-coloured tail, with no green at the base.
C. viridifrons, Blyth, from Burmah, Pegu, and Tenasserim, is an exceedingly handsome species of this genus. A
male (Burmah) measures — wing 7‘25 inches ; tail 4-5 ; bill to gape 1-6. The forehead and front of crown, lores,
face, and throat olive-green ; occiput, nape, and ear-coverts slate-blue, sharply defined against the green ; yellow
collar broader than in G. chlorigaster, and the yellow of the chest richer ; more than the basal half of the tail
olive-yellow, defined against the broad, dark, slate-coloured terminal band ; breast and flanks delicate slate-blue,
clearly defined against the yellow chest.
Distribution. — This fine Pigeon I was never fortunate enough to meet with. It appears to inhabit (or
visit, according to Layard) the extreme north of the island j and there are two specimens of his collecting in
the Poole Museum. He states that “ it is migratory, only appearing in the fruit season, and returning again to
the coast of India.” Mr. Holdsworth procured it near Aripu on the north-west coast, so that it would not
appear to be entirely confined to the extreme north. I searched diligently for it in the Trincomalie and
north-central districts, but never saw it. It probably inhabits the forest country stretching from the Elephant
Pass south-westwards to the gulf of Manaar ; but why it should restrict itself to that part of the island it is
hard to say. That it migrates to the island in the fruit season is, I think, scarcely a tenable hypothesis, for
all our visitors (those which come in any number) are regular migrants influenced by the ordinary instinct,
and moving southwards in the cool season. The banyan-fruit is, I think, chiefly ripe in March, April, and
May, which would scarcely be the time when any species would visit our shores.
Jerdon writes that tliis species replaces the Bengal Green Pigeon throughout the greater part of the
peninsula of India; he considered it to be rare north of the Nerbudda, though occasionally killed in Lower
Bengal. It is, however, found, according to Capt. Butler, throughout the plains of Northern Guzerat, “in
all well-wooded districts'”; and Mr. Hume adds that it occurs throughout all the surrounding region, though
very rare in Sindh, in which pro'vince it has only recently been procured at Jacobabad by Mr. J. A. Murray. “ It
is very abundant,^^ says J erdon, “ in many parts of Southern India, especially along the fine avenues of
trees met with in many parts of Mysore and the Carnatic.” Concerning its locale in the Deccan, Messrs.
Davidson and Wender write that they observed it but rarely about Sholapoor. It was commonest at
Lanoli and Egutpoora, and its nest was taken on the Satara hills, where it is common in March. It was
also seen at Nulwar. The Eev. Dr. Eairbank found it everywhere in the Khandala district, but nowhere
abundant ; he likewise obtained it in avenues at the north base of the Palanis. The localities recorded by
Mr. Ball for it are the Eajmehal hills, Manbhum, Lohardugga, Sirguja, Gangpur and Samuda, Sambalpur
and Orissa on the north of the Mahan adi, Nowagarh and Karial, and the Godaveri valley; and elsewhere
(Str. Eeath. 1874, p. 423) he remarks that most of the specimens he procured in Chota Nagpur belonged to
this and not the northern speciem Mr. Hume records it from Etawah, Bareilly, Oudh, Futtehgurh, and
Meerut, and likewise from various localities in the Central Province, in all of which he states that it breeds.
Habits. — As regards this fine Pigeon’s habits in Ceylon I know nothing but that it is said by Layard to
be very fond of the fruit of the banyan. Jerdon states that “ it comes in large parties, generally about
9 A.M., to certain spots on river-banks to drink, and, after taking a draught of water, occasionally walks a few
steps on the damp sand, appearing to pick up small pebbles, pieces of gravel or sand.” Their call, he says,
“ is very similar to that of the Bengal Green Pigeon ;” but this he does not describe. Like all its family it is
4z 2
724
CEOCOPUS CHLOEI&ASTEE.
entirely frugivorous in diet. Captain Butler states that the berries of the Ficus indica appear to be its
favourite food.
Nidification . — This Green Pigeon breeds throughout continental India from March till June, making,
according to Mr. Hume, a typical Dove’s nest, and laying two white eggs. Mr. Blewitt, writing concerning
nests he found near Hansie, says that they " were placed on various trees, mostly growing on the canal-bank,
at heights of from 14 to 18 feet from the ground. They were composed of Shishum, Zizyphus, and Keeker
twigs, in some cases slenderly and in others somewhat densely put together. One or two were absolutely
without lining; but they were mostly very scantily lined with leaves, feathers, or tine straw.” This is
remarkable for a Pigeon’s nest, as they usually have no lining at all, and other observers testify to there being
none in the ease of this species. The birds sit very close, Messrs. Hume and Marshall both stating, with
regard to nests found by them at different times, that they pelted the bird without her flying away. The
eggs average in size “ 1'25 by 0'95 inch.”
Genus OSMOTEEEOK.
Bill more slender than in Crocopus. Gape wide. Wings with the quills less pointed, the
sinuation present in the 3rd primary ; the 2nd quill the longest, and the 1st exceeding the 4th.
Tail as in the last genus, of 14 feathers.
Of small size.
OSMOTEEEON BICINCTA.
(THE ORANGE-BEEASTED GREEN PIGEON.)
Vinago hicincta, Jerdon, Cat. B. S. India, Madr. Journ. 1840, xii. p. 13. no. 289; id. 111.
Ind. Orn. pi. 21 (1847).
Treron Ucincta (Jerd.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 229 (1849) ; Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat.
p. 130 (1852) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 57.
Osmotreron hicincta, Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p. 449 (1864); Beavan, Ibis, 1868, p. 371 ; Holdsw.
P. Z. S. 1872, p. 465 ; Ball, Str. Peath. 1874, p. 423 ; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 25, et 1875,
p. 399 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, iii. p. 493 ; Armstrong, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 337 ; Oates,
ibid. 1877, p. 163 ; Hume & Davison, ibid. 1878, B. of Tenass. p. 411 ; Ball, ibid. vii.
p. 224.
The Parrot-Pigeon, Kelaart ; Orange-breasted Pigeon, Sportsmen in India ; Green Pigeon,
Europeans in Ceylon. Chota hurrial. Hind., also KoMah ; CJiitta putsa Guwa, Telugu ;
Patcha-prdd, lit. “ Green Pigeon,” Tamils in Ceylon ; Groene Puyven, Dutch in Ceylon,
Layard.
Batta-goya, lit. “ Bamboo-Pigeon,” Sinhalese.
Adult male and female. Length 10-3 to 10-6 inches ; wing 5-5 to 5-8 ; tail 3-6 to 3-S ; tarsus 075 ; middle toe and
claw !•! ; bill to gape 075 to 0-8.
Females average smaller than males. ... t, ,
Iris carmine outwardly and beautiful cobalt-blue inwardly, divided by a narrow dark ring ; eyehd glaucous green ; bill
with the soft basal half glaucous green, and the terminal part pale blue ; legs and feet coral-red or pink-red ,
claws bluish brown.
Hale. Forehead, face, and throat yellowish green, becoming greener on the fore neck and crown, and passing thence
into delicate grey-blue on the hind neck and upper part of the interscapulary region ; back, scapulars, wing-coverts,
and tertials broivnish green, passing into greenish brown on the upper tail-coverts ; (juills deep cinereous blue or
ashy black, the greater coverts and lowermost tertials with very deep sharply-defined primrose-yellow margins ;
primaries with narrow yellowish-white margins ; secondaries narrowly edged with the same ; tail bluish ashy, with
a median dark band, and the terminal portion lighter than the base and showing whitish beneath ; a narrow lilac
baud across the upper part of chest, succeeded by a broader band of orange-sienna ; breast yellowish green,
passing into yellow on the abdomen and into bluish cinereous on the flanks ; centres of tibial plumes ashy green, and
the margins yellowish ; under tail-coverts cinnamon-red, the basal feathers with white outer edges ; under wing
concolorous with the flanks.
In some examples the under tail-coverts are much edged and tipped with albescent.
Female. Has the blue of the hind neck of less extent, but darker than the male ; the upper surface is more overcast
with brownish; the chest wants the lilac and orange bands; under tail-coverts whitish, the inner ivebs mostly
cinnamon, and the bases of the feathers dappled with ashy.
Young. Immature birds have the outer circle of the iris reddish yellow. In first plumage they are all clothed in the
garb of the female ; and males, I believe, assume the light tints on the chest at the first moult, but the unaer
tail-coverts do not become so bright as in the adult.
Ohs. This species belongs to a small section of this beautiful genus, the members of which have an orange band on
the chest. The other Indian members of the group are 0. vernans, Linn., 0. phayrei, Blyth, and 0. fulvicollis, Wagl.
The Ceylonese representatives of this species seem to constitute almost a diminutive race, measuring constantly less in
the wing than continental birds. They correspond, however, too w^ell in plumage (as far as I can judge from
the small series with which I have compared them) with Indian birds to warrant my specifically separating them.
726
OSMOTEEEON BICINCTA.
Two South-Indian specimens in the national collection measure in the wing 6-2 and 6'3 inches respectively. I
have not met with any Northem-Indian examples ; but on the other side of the Bay I find, from published data,
that still larger measurements prevail. Dr. Armstrong records his specimens from the Irrawaddy delta as
having a length of 11'5 to 12‘0 inches, and measuring in the wing 6'1 to 6'5 ; this is again exceeded in Tenas-
serim by Mr. Hume’s measurements, which range as high as 6‘75 in the wing. On the other hand, with regard
to Ceylonese specimens, I must remark that I measured and preserved far too few examples of this species, inasmuch
as they were often transferred to my cook instead of to my taxidermist. As to variation in plumage, the lilac band
and orange chest-patch in South-Indian birds are very much the same as in ours ; the tint of the latter is perhaps
slightly more rufous ; in one specimen from South India the throat is yellower than in any of mine. In a female
from India I observe that the slaty colour of the hind neck is more extensive, and the upper surface slightly
greener than in my specimens, while the lower parts are not so yellow.
0. vernans differs in having the vinous collar in the male extending round the hind neck ; the head and throat are
slaty and the upper tail-coverts a pronounced rusty colour ; under tail-coverts deep cinnamon-red in the male,
and creamy white in the female, washed with cinnamon-red as in 0. hicincta. The female has no ash-colour on
the hind neck. Dimensions : — Siam, wing 5-9 ; Makassar, wing 5-7 ; Sarawak, wing 5'3. Tenasserim, S , wing 5-75
to 6'0.5 {Hume').
0. phayrei I have not seen ; but Mr. Hume, in his diagnostical table of these Pigeons (Str. Death. 1875, p. 162), gives,
as distinguishing marks, the grey forehead, crown, and occiput, and the red mantle in the male, and the clear
bluish-grey head and green central tail-feathers in the female. Dimensions : — Tenasserim, wing ^ 6'0 to 6-25,
2 6-0 to G-1.
Distribution. — This handsome Fruit-Pigeon is more or less common all round the coast of Ceylon. In
the northern and wilder half of the island and in the south-east, where the sea-hoard is clothed wdth jungle, it is
found close to the coast and is very abundant there ; but in the Western Province and south-west it is princi-
pally located in the wooded country at the back of the cocoanut cultivation, and in these parts it extends
further inland than in the above-mentioned. It is common in the Eayigam and Kuruwite Korales and in
parts of Saffragam ; and I have likewise met with it in valleys in the neighbourhood of Morowaka, but it is not
so numerous there as lower down near the sea-coast. I have procured it about Kurunegala and in the Seven
Korales, but not in such abundance as the next species, which is more forest-loving. At Uswew'a, in the interior
of the Puttalam district, Mr. Parker says it is found, and likewise about Anaradhapura. Layard states that he
did not meet with it in the extreme north, but that he killed a few specimens in the Patchellepally district.
In India the distribution of this Pigeon is somewhat peculiar. It is not found at all in the western parts
of Upper India. Mr. Hume has the following outEne of its habitat in ' Nests and Eggs,’ vol. iii. he says,
“ It is entirely unknowm in Kandeish, Guzerat, Kattiawmr, Sindh, the Punjab, Eajpootana, and the North-
west Provinces, and is only known in the sub-Himalayan terais of Behar and Oudh, and the eastern forest-
regions of the Central Provinces. It is a purely Indo-Burmese type, not to be found, I think, in India out of
the 60 inches rainfall regions, and, excluding Assam, Cachar, &c., is not, I believe, to be found over more than
one third of India proper.”
I do not find it recorded by many observers in South India, but I have seen specimens from the Carnatic.
In the hills, where it is not to be expected that it would be found, it is seemingly replaced by 0. malabarica,
w'hich is noticed as being found in the Travancore hills, in the Palanis, and in the Khandala ranges. Mr. Ball,
on the testimony of Capt. Beavan, records it from Manbhum ; the latter gentleman writes, in ‘ The Ibis,’ 1868,
that he found it in some abundance in the hilly forest-covered parts of that district, especially near Ambeka-
nuggur and among the Jubee hills, where he noticed a flock of five or six. Mr. Cripps does not record it
from Furreedpore, nor does Mr. Inglis from Cachar ■, but in the latter district it is said by Jerdon and Mr. Hume
to be found. It inhabits portions of Pegu, and in the Irrawaddy delta is said to be abundant by Dr. Armstrong,
more particularly in the evergreen forests between Elephant Point and China Ba-keer. He also says that it
occurs in tolerable abundance in thin tree-jungle and hedges on the borders of forest land. In Tenasserim it
IS common throughout the Provinces, except in the higher hills ; and lower down the peninsula I suspect it is
entirely replaced by O. vernans, which is confined to the southernmost part of Tenasserim.
Habits. The Orange-breasted Fruit-Pigeon affects low jungle, the outskirts of forest, detached rows of
trees in open country, and sundry other localities where any of its favourite fruits abound. It associates in
OSMOTIiEEON BICINCTA.
727
small parties, as a rule, but collects in large flocks on trees which are in heavy fruit. Its favourite food
consists of the berries of the Bo, Banyan, Palu, and Poppalille trees ; on these it feeds with such avidity that
it will return to the trees very shortly after being shot at. Its flight is swift ; and when returning from its
feeding-grounds in a continuous stream at evening-time it affords good shooting, as it crosses the roads in the
northern and eastern jungles. This and the next species are much shot by the natives who possess guns ; they
take up their position beneath some fruit-bearing monarch of the forest, and shoot the Pigeons as they fly in
to feed in the mornings. It has a regular time, like other Fruit-Pigeons and Doves, for drinking, which
is about seven in the morning and four in the afternoon. The flesh of this species is succulent and well-
flavoured ; but it is not so delicate as that of the next bird. Its note is a hoarse croak, repeated at intervals,
but it is usually a silent bird.
In the south of Ceylon I found that they fed much on wild dates ; an example I shot near Galle had its
crop almost extended to bursting with this fruit. They are fond of frequenting hedges of fruit-bearing trees
in open land ; and I have often seen them frequenting rows of the common “ Caduru "’-tree, although there
can be nothing, of course, in the large nauseous fruit of that tree to tempt them.
Layard, who was under the impression that it only fed on berries from the highest trees (it is frequently
found feeding on quite low trees) , remarks as follows concerning it : — “ V ast numbers are killed in the southern
and western provinces by noticing what trees are in fruit, and watching at their foot for the birds, which are
continually going and coming. It, however, feeds so silently and moves so seldom, that it requires much
skill to detect a single bird out of a flock of fifty or sixty ; and on the least alarm, which is communicated from
one to another by a plaintive whistle* they all dart off the tree as by magic ; frequently, on firing at a bird
which exposed itself, I have brought down seven or eight others which I could not see."'
Captain Beavan found it feeding generally in Maubhum on the pulpy orange-coloured fruit of the
Stvychnos nusc-voinica, which grows abundantly there and affords sustenance to many wild Pigeons.
Nidification.—l believe this Pigeon breeds for the most part in May and June, but that it also nests as
late as August. Layard Avrites that “it forms a nest in the month of May, of sticks, with a very slight lining
of roots, &c., in the fork of a tree, and deposits two shining white eggs : axis 14 lines (I'lS) j diameter 10 lines
(0-85).’" It would appear that the nest is very difficult to find; and I never succeeded in getting much reliable
information from the natives concerning it. When interrogated on the subject they generally replied that its
nest was far away in the “mukalaney"" (forest) ; and in many parts they have an idea that no one has ever
seen the nest of a “ Batta-goya.”
In the summer of 1871 some eggs were kindly sent me by the Mudliyar Disanayke of Baddegama, which
were taken in bamboo-jungle, and said to belong to this Pigeon ; they must have been those of this or the next
species, if the locality was rightly given me, for they were not the Ground-Dove"s eggs. They were pure
white and oval in shape, and slightly larger than those of the Spotted Dove. I regret to say that they got
lost with a number of other eggs before I had taken any measurements. In August 1876, while forcing my
Avay through some dense bamboo-chcena in the Pasdun Korale, I flushed a female from a clump of bamboos ;
she flew into an adjoining thicket and there remained, from which I infer that she was sitting ; it was, how-
ever, raining so hard that I could not find the nest, and after a short search I gave up looking for it.
Few have been successful in India in finding its nest. Blyth records one which was built halfway up a
small mahogany-tree in the Calcutta gardens. Hodgson states that it breeds in the Terai in April and May
and in the low valleys at the base of the Nepal hills, making a loose stick nest on branches of trees at no great
elevation from the ground, and laying two eggs. Mr. Irwin, as recorded by Mr. Hume, found its nest in
Hill Tipperah ; it Avas a slight structure of thin twigs, loosely put together, and laid towards the end of a
branch of a small tree. It contained two eggs.
Mr. Oates, again, took the nest in a thick bush about 7 feet from the ground ; it was merely a fcAv sticks
laid together like a Dove"s. The eggs were “ white, with a little gloss, I'OG and I'OQ by 0-87 respectively.""
The eggs sent by Mr. Irwin measured IT and 1-02 in length by 0-9 and 0-85 in breadth.
* This would appear to refer to the other species, 0. pompadora.
OSMOTEEEON POMPADOEA*.
(TPIE POMPADOUR GREEN PIGEON.)
Colo,nla^o,ni,aio„ Qm. ed. Syst. Nat. i. p. 775. no. 9, “ Zeyloni* ” (1788) t Walden, Tran.
Zool. Soc. 1875, IX. p. 212.
(Jerd.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. 8. B. p. 229 (1849, in part) ; Kelaart, Pro.
dromus, Cat, p. 130 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. p 68
Blyth, J. A, S. B. 1867, xxvi. p. 226 ; Wall. Ibis, 1866, p 375 (in part)
rrertmpompn*™ Gmel.), Wall. t.c. p. 875 (in part); Schlegel, Mus. P.-B. 1873, p. 62 '
smotreronflawgulans (Bl), Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p. 452 (1864); Legge, Ibis, 1874 p 25
Osn.otreron^a,oura (Gmel.), Jerdon, . . p. 452 (in^art) ; Hotlsw. P. Z S 1872
p. 465 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1879 (List of Ind. B.), p. 109
P«mpaionr Pigton Brown. Illustr. pi. 19 (male), pi. 20 (female); Breen Pimm,
Batta-goya, Sinhalese.
S-8 ) tarsus 0-8 ; middle toe and
Adult male and female. Length 10-3 to 10-6 inches ; wing 5-5 to 57 • tail 3-5 to 3-^
claw 1-0 to 1-1 ; bill to gape 0-9 to 0-95 ’ 3 o to 3 e
paling to bluish on the apical
centre, and with deep blui.sh-ashy tips, showing whitish Lneath- quills ashv Tt’
secondaries, and tertials sharply edged with rich primrose velLv greater coverts,
coverts, and decreasing towards the anterior portion of the wiL • be’nJriT tertials and inner
ashy on the flanks and flavescent on the abdomen • tibial plumes dirk or
colour at the base. S a s bright, and the under tail-coverts with more ash-
Malirof ?b! i'l^tead of carmine.
colour of rferhe^VquhiA^^^^^^^^ “-tie by an alteration in the
'■f “l"-' »1 Mr. Hume se occum.g iu
Smbely,' 1875, em.„ ir „ C il tytl 1 ly ' C“ jLtrr' T n’ ' “*
.»«y lb. 1 m,.eh ™b,e 1. U „ „pLu se'
to me very unadvisable to S’^^he^otigSaf orthoiraphy^^^ reference to “Fomj>adour;” but it seems
committed. ® orthography ot a specific name, except when an error of gender has been
OSMOTREEON POMPADOEA.
729
wlio states that he had noticed it as a variety of malabarica from South India, before it was discriminated as
O.Jlavoffiilaris by Blyth, was not aware what localities it frequented, although, many years previous to his publi-
cation of the ‘ Birds of India,’ he mentions the shooting of a specimen which appears to have been the same. I
conclude, however, that Mr. Hume has specimens from the south of the peninsula, and I wiU only add that Blyth
discriminated his fiavoyularis from Ceylon specimens ; and therefore it is plain that his species is the same as
Gmelin’s. i j ii, i
0 pompadora differs from 0. malabarica chiefly in the coloration of the under tail-coverts. In the male ot the latter
the longer feathers are cinnamon-colonr, and the shorter lateral ones whitish with slaty green bases ; the forehead
is ashy white, darkening gradually to slaty on the crown and nape ; the m.antle is maroon, as in our bird, but the
rump and upper tail-coverts are yellower ; the throat is likewise yellow; wing of a South-Indian specimen 6-7.
0 qriseicawla, Wallace, from the Sula Islands and Celebes, belongs to the same section as 0. malabarica. It has the
face, forehead, and crown fine leaden grey ; the mantle, scapulars, and lesser wing-coverts maroon, the colour not
extending so much to the point of the wing as in 0. pompadora : <J , Sula Islands, wing, 5-75 ; Java (0. pulve-
rulenta, Wall.), wing 5-6. . . ,
0. chloropUra, Blyth, from the Andamans, has the under tail-coverts green, with cream-coloured tips in both sexes ; it
is more closely allied to our bird than the Celebean species, differing chiefly in having the forehead bluish white ; the
crown is bluish, as in 0. pompadora, the wing-coverts and tertials are more broadly margined with yellow ; rump
and upper tail-coverts greenish yellow ; throat greenish.
Distribution.— stout handsome little Pigeon is very abundant throughout all the inland forests and
well-wooded districts of Ceylon. On the north-east coast, however, where the forest and wild jungle grow
down to the water’s edge almost, I have met with it in numbers close to the sea ; but, as a rule, its place is
taken on the sea-board by the last-mentioned species. In the forests of the Vanni, and, in fact, throughout
the northern half of the island, in the Eastern Province, and in the jungle-country south of Haputale, it is
abundant. In the latter region I did not notice it near the sea, except where the rivers were lined with
forest containing fruit-bearing trees ; but the Orange-breasted Pigeon was to be seen in the scrubs near the
sea wherever they were interspersed with Palu-trces. In the south-west this latter species is, as I have already
remarked, common in wooded country not far from the coast ; but the present is met with first in noticeable
numbers some distance up the rivers, and becomes numerous in the Oodogamma district, inhabiting thence the
Hinedun pattu up to the Singha-Eajah forest on the borders of the Kiikul Korale, where I have seen it at an
elevation of 2000 feet. Further north, in the low-lying wooded and semi-cultivated portion of the Kukul
Korale and in the forest-country of the Pasdun Korale, it is very numerous, extending throughout Saffragam ;
round the base of the Peak it swarms; in fact, I do not think I found it anywhere on the western side of the
island more abundant than in Mr. Chas. de Zoysa’s timber-forests at Kuruwite in the month of August.
Layard first procured it in the Matale district on the Balacadua Pass : thither it extends up from the low
country between Nalanda and Matale, where it is very numerous. On the western base of the West Matale
ranges it is equally plentiful, and in the Seven Korales and Kuruncgala district is more numerous than
the last species. Mr. Parker notes it from Uswewa and Anaradhapura.
Its range as a South-Indian species appears to be very limited. Jerdon, who writes of it under Blyth’s
subsequent title oiflavogularis, and mentions that it was discriminated from Ceylon specimens by that naturalist,
has the following statement (to which I have alluded above) concerning it : — “ I had long previously noticed
it from the south of India as a variety of malabarica, but I am not aware what particular localities it
affects.” Writing many years previously of O. malabarica, he speaks of an example which appears to me
to have belonged to the present species. " One specimen,” he remarks, “ that I shot in Malabar differs
from the others in having the face, forehead, and chin yellow, the under tail-coverts mottled with green and
white and in the bluish tips of the lateral feathers being broader” than in malabarica.
The Pompadour Pigeon was first made known from Ceylon, whence specimens were sent by Governor
Loten to Brown.
pjabits. This Pigeon is an inhabitant of woods, forests, and openly-timbered country ; it collects together
in the fine Banyan-, Bo-, and Palu-trees which arc scattered through the low jungles of the eastern and
northern districts, and also in the magnificent outspreading Mee-trees which line the borders of the jungle
tanks and in such resorts feeds in flocks on the luscious berries which these large trees provide. Its
5 a
730
OSMOTRERON POMPADORA.
flesh is at all times delicious; but when killed during the fruiting- time of the banyan and iron-wood, there
IS nothing which surpasses this Pigeon in flavour in the island. It is a shy bird and difficult to kill, except
when feeding ; it may then easily be shot out of large forest trees, provided the sportsman be concealed, as it
feeds so greedily that many do not take flight on the discharge of a gun. They collect in troops of
a dozen or more early in the morning or after feeding, and sit motionless on the tops of trees; on being
alarmed, one or two dart oflF, and are followed by their companions, one after another, till the whole liave taken
flight. Ihey are very strong on the wing, and fly with a steady straight course. Their note is a melodious,
soft, modulated whistle, which can be precisely imitated, and by doing which many are enticed, by “ Eurasians ”
in the north of Ceylon, into uttering it, and are thus more easily descried in the green foliage and then shot.
I here is something peculiarly charming in their human-like notes when heard in the tops of lofty trees over-
shadowing the mighty bunds by which the ancient kings of Ceylon dammed up valleys and skilfully formed
vast reservoirs for the support of their subjects in the wild forests of the Vanni. In the Wellaway Korale,
where this Pigeon is abundant, I have seen, as in the case of the two preceding species, large flocks in scattered
company returning in the evening from their feeding-grounds or from the widely-dispersed water-holes of that
istrict ; and by remaining in wait for them in the same position, I have had excellent shooting. Both this
and the Orange-breasted Pigeon, however, are very strong birds, and take more hitting to bring them down
especially wlien perched, than almost any bird of the same size in Ceylon.
Doubt has been expressed whether Brown’s figure of Governor Loten’s specimen from Ceylon really
represents this species or not, and it has been thought that there may be some other Pigeon on the island to
which the title of pompadora was applied ; but Brown’s account of the habits of Governor Loten’s Pigeon
refers to an abundant species, only relate to the Pompadour Pigeon ; it is as follows :
These birds are never seen on the ground, but always perched on high trees, generally the Wurringen
grothebia, on the berries of which they delight to feed. They are good food, and often shot by the Europeans.
The natives catch them with bird-lime. In this manner, says Mr. Loten, who was Governor of Ceylon, I once
found some hundreds, if not more, by break of day, sticking to the boughs of the great Warringen tree and
sent a native servant to take them off.” ’
In those days the natives of Ceylon must have been more expert bird-catchers than they are at the present
time.
Nidificahon.—l was unable to obtain any information from the natives of the island as to the breeding of
this species. It probably nests high up in umbrageous trees and at the extremities of boughs, easily escapino-
the unobservant eye of the Singhalese villager. ^ ^
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