Chapter XII: Appendix: To Chapter VII (1)

* * * * *

As Ælian's work on the _Nature of Animals_ has never, I believe, been republished in any English version, and the passage in relation to the training and performance of elephants is so pertinent to the present inquiry, I venture to subjoin a translation of the 11th Chapter of his 2nd Book.

"Of the cleverness of the elephant I have spoken elsewhere, and likewise of the manner of hunting. I have mentioned these things, a few out of the many which others have stated; but for the present I purpose to speak of their musical feeling, their tractability, and facility in learning what it is difficult for even a human being to acquire, much less a beast, hitherto so wild:--such as to dance, as is done on the stage; to walk with a measured gait; to listen to the melody of the flute and to perceive the difference of sounds, that, being pitched low lead to a slow movement, or high to a quick one: all this the elephant learns and understands, and is accurate withal, and makes no mistake. Thus has Nature formed him not only the greatest in size, but the most gentle and the most easily taught. Now if I were going to write about the tractability and aptitude to learn amongst those of India, Æthiopia, and Libya, I should probably appear to be concocting a tale and acting the braggart, or to be telling a falsehood respecting the nature of the animal founded on a mere report, all which it behoves a philosopher, and most of all one who is an ardent lover of truth, not to do. But what I have seen myself, and what others have described as having occurred at Rome, this I have chosen to relate, selecting a few facts out of many, to show the particular nature of those creatures. The elephant when tamed is an animal most gentle and most easily led to do whatever he is directed. And by way of showing honour to time, I will first narrate events of the oldest date. Cæsar Germanicus, the nephew of Tiberius, exhibited once a public show, wherein there were many full-grown elephants, male and female, and some of their breed born in this country. When their limbs were beginning to become firm, a person familiar with such animals instructed them by a strange and surpassing method of teaching; using only gentleness and kindness, and adding to his mild lessons the bait of pleasant and varied food. By this means he led them by degrees to throw off all wildness, and, as it were, to desert to a state of civilisation, conducting themselves in a manner almost human. He taught them neither to be excited on hearing the pipe, nor to be disturbed by the beat of drum, but to be soothed by the sounds of the reed, and to endure unmusical noises and the clatter of feet from persons while marching; and they were trained to feel no fear of a mass of men, nor to be enraged at the infliction of blows, not even when compelled to twist their limbs and to bend them like a stage-dancer, and this too although endowed with strength and might. And there is in this a very noble addition to nature, not to conduct themselves in a disorderly manner and disobediently towards the instructions of man; for after the dancing-master had made them expert, and they had learnt their lessons accurately, they did not belie the labour of his instruction whenever a necessity and opportunity called upon them to exhibit what they had been taught. For the whole troop came forward from this and that side of the theatre, and divided themselves into parties: they advanced walking with a mincing gait and exhibiting in their whole body and persons the manners of a beau, clothed in the flowery dresses of dancers; and on the ballet-master giving a signal with his voice, they fell into line and went round in a circle, and if it were requisite to deploy they did so. They ornamented the floor of the stage by throwing flowers upon it, and this they did in moderation and sparingly, and straightway they beat a measure with their feet and kept time together.

"Now that Damon and Spintharus and Aristoxenus and Xenophilus and Philoxenus and others should know music excellently well, and for their cleverness be ranked amongst the few, is indeed a thing of wonder, but not incredible nor contrary at all to reason. For this reason that a man is a rational animal, and the recipient of mind and intelligence. But that a jointless animal ([Greek: anarthron]) should understand rhythm and melody, and preserve a gesture, and not deviate from a measured movement, and fulfil the requirements of those who laid down instructions, these are gifts of nature, I think, and a peculiarity in every way astounding. Added to these there were things enough to drive the spectator out of his senses; when the strewn rushes and other materials for beds on the ground were placed on the sand of the theatre, and they received stuffed mattrasses such as belonged to rich houses and variegated bed coverings, and goblets were placed there, very expensive, and bowls of gold and silver, and in them a great quantity of water; and tables were placed there of sweet-smelling wood and ivory very superb: and upon them flesh meats and loaves enough to fill the stomachs of animals the most voracious. When the preparations were completed and abundant, the banqueters came forward, six male and an equal number of female elephants; the former had on a male dress, and the latter a female; and on a signal being given they stretched forward their trunks in a subdued manner, and took their food in great moderation, and not one of them appeared to be gluttonous greedy, or to snatch at a greater portion, as did the Persian mentioned by Xenophon. And when it was requisite to drink, a bowl was placed by the side of each; and inhaling with their trunks they took a draught very orderly; and then they scattered the drink about in fun; but not as in insult. Many other acts of a similar kind, both clever and astonishing, have persons described, relating to the peculiarities of these animals, and I saw them writing letters on Roman tablets with their trunks, neither looking awry nor turning aside. The hand, however, of the teacher was placed so as to be a guide in the formation of the letters; and while it was writing the animal kept its eye fixed down in an accomplished and scholarlike manner."

CHAP. VIII.

BIRDS.

Of the _Birds_ of the island, upwards of three hundred and twenty species have been indicated, for which we are indebted to the persevering labours of Dr. Templeton, Dr. Kelaart, and Mr. Layard; but many yet remain to be identified. In fact, to the eye of a stranger, their prodigious numbers, and especially the myriads of waterfowl which, notwithstanding the presence of the crocodiles, people the lakes and marshes in the eastern provinces, form one of the marvels of Ceylon.

In the glory of their plumage, the birds of the interior are surpassed by those of South America and Northern India; and the melody of their song bears no comparison with that of the warblers of Europe, but the want of brilliancy is compensated by their singular grace of form, and the absence of prolonged and modulated harmony by the rich and melodious tones of their clear and musical calls. In the elevations of the Kandyan country there are a few, such as the robin of Neuera-ellia[1] and the long-tailed thrush[2], whose song rivals that of their European namesakes; but, far beyond the attraction of their notes, the traveller rejoices in the flute-like voices of the Oriole, the Dayal-bird[3], and some others equally charming; when at the first dawn of day, they wake the forest with their clear _réveil_.

[Footnote 1: Pratincola atrata, _Kelaart_.]

[Footnote 2: Kittacincla macrura, _Gm_.]

[Footnote 3: Copsychussaularis, _Linn._. Called by the Europeans in Ceylon the "Magpie Robin." This is not to be confounded with the other popular favourite the "Indian Robin" (Thamnobia fulicata, _Linn._), which is "never seen in the unfrequented jungle, but, like the coco-nut palm, which the Singhalese assert will only flourish within the sound of the human voice, it is always found near the habitations of men."--E.L. LAYARD.]

It is only on emerging from the dense woods and coming into the vicinity of the lakes and pasture of the low country, that birds become visible in great quantities. In the close jungle one occasionally hears the call of the copper-smith[1], or the strokes of the great orange-coloured woodpecker[2] as it beats the decaying trees in search of insects, whilst clinging to the bark with its finely-pointed claws, and leaning for support upon the short stiff feathers of its tail. And on the lofty branches of the higher trees, the hornbill[3] (the toucan of the East), with its enormous double casque, sits to watch the motions of the tiny reptiles and smaller birds on which it preys, tossing them into the air when seized, and catching them in its gigantic mandibles as they fall.[4] The remarkable excrescence on the beak of this extraordinary bird may serve to explain the statement of the Minorite friar Odoric, of Portenau in Friuli, who travelled in Ceylon in the fourteenth century, and brought suspicion on the veracity of his narrative by asserting that he had there seen "_birds with two heads_."[5]

[Footnote 1: The greater red-headed Barbet (Megalaima indica, _Lath_.; M. Philippensis, _var. A. Lath_.), the incessant din of which resembles the blows of a smith hammering a cauldron.]

[Footnote 2: Brachypternus aurantius, _Linn._]

[Footnote 3: Buceros pica, _Scop_.; B. Malaharicus, _Jerd_. The natives assert that B. pica builds in holes in the trees, and that when incubation has fairly commenced, the female takes her seat on the eggs, and the male closes up the orifice by which she entered, leaving only a small aperture through which he feeds his partner, whilst she successfully guards their treasures from the monkey tribes; her formidable bill nearly filling the entire entrance. See a paper by Edgar L. Layard, Esq. _Mag. Nat. Hist._ March, 1853. Dr. Horsfield had previously observed the same habit in a species of Buceros in Java. (See HORSFIELD and MOORE'S _Catal. Birds_, E.I. Comp. Mus. vol. ii.) It is curious that a similar trait, though necessarily from very different instincts, is exhibited by the termites, who literally build a cell round the great progenitrix of the community, and feed her through apertures.]

[Footnote 4: The hornbill is also frugivorous, and the natives assert that when endeavouring to detach a fruit, if the stem is too tough to be severed by his mandibles, he flings himself off the branch so as to add the weight of his body to the pressure of his beak. The hornbill abounds in Cuttack, and bears there the name of "Kuchila-Kai," or Kuchila-eater, from its partiality for the fruit of the Strychnus nuxvomica. The natives regard its flesh as a sovereign specific for rheumatic affections.--_Asiat. Res._ ch. xv. p. 184.]

[Footnote 5: _Itinerarius_ FRATRIS ODORICI, de Foro Julii de Portu-vahonis, &c.--HAKLUYT, vol. ii. p. 39.]

The Singhalese have a belief that the hornbill never resorts to the water to drink; but that it subsists exclusively by what it catches in its prodigious bill while rain is falling. This they allege is associated with the incessant screaming which it keeps up during showers.

As we emerge from the dark shade, and approach park-like openings on the verge of the low country, quantities of pea-fowl are to be found either feeding on the seeds among the long grass or sunning themselves on the branches of the surrounding trees. Nothing to be met with in English demesnes can give an adequate idea of the size and magnificence of this matchless bird when seen in his native solitudes. Here he generally selects some projecting branch, from which his plumage may hang free of the foliage, and, if there be a dead and leafless bough, he is certain to choose it for his resting-place, whence he droops his wings and suspends his gorgeous train, or spreads it in the morning sun to drive off the damps and dews of the night.

In some of the unfrequented portions of the eastern province, to which Europeans rarely resort, and where the pea-fowl are unmolested by the natives, their number is so extraordinary that, regarded as game, it ceases to be "sport" to destroy them; and their cries at early dawn are so tumultuous and incessant as to banish sleep, and amount to an actual inconvenience. Their flesh is excellent in flavour when served up hot, though it is said to be indigestible; but, when cold, it contracts a reddish and disagreeable tinge.

The European fable of the jackdaw borrowing the plumage of the peacock, has its counterpart in Ceylon, where the popular legend runs that the pea-fowl stole the plumage of a bird called by the natives _avitchia_. I have not been able to identify the species which bears this name; but it utters a cry resembling the word _matkiang!_ which in Singhalese means, "I _will_ complain!" This they believe is addressed by the bird to the rising sun, imploring redress for its wrongs. The _avitchia_ is described as somewhat less than a crow, the colours of its plumage being green, mingled with red.

But of all, the most astonishing in point of multitude, as well as the most interesting from their endless variety, are the myriads of aquatic birds and waders which frequent the lakes and watercourses; especially those along the coast near Batticaloa, between the mainland and the sand formations of the shore, and the innumerable salt marshes and lagoons to the south of Trincomalie. These, and the profusion of perching birds, fly-catchers, finches, and thrushes, that appear in the open country, afford sufficient quarry for the raptorial and predatory species--eagles, hawks, and falcons--whose daring sweeps and effortless undulations are striking objects in the cloudless sky.

I. ACCIPITRES. _Eagles_.--The Eagles, however, are small, and as compared with other countries rare; except, perhaps, the crested eagle[1], which haunts the mountain provinces and the lower hills, disquieting the peasantry by its ravages amongst their poultry; and the gloomy serpent eagle[2], which, descending from its eyrie in the lofty jungle, and uttering a loud and plaintive cry, sweeps cautiously around the lonely tanks and marshes, to feed upon the reptiles on their margin. The largest eagle is the great sea Erne[3], seen on the northern coasts and the salt lakes of the eastern provinces, particularly when the receding tide leaves bare an expanse of beach, over which it hunts, in company with the fishing eagle[4], sacred to Siva. Unlike its companions, however, the sea eagle rejects garbage for living prey, and especially for the sea snakes which abound on the northern coasts. These it seizes by descending with its wings half closed, and, suddenly darting down its talons, it soars aloft again with its writhing victim.[5]

[Footnote 1: Spizaëtuslimnaëtus, _Horsf_. The race of these birds in the Deccan and Ceylon are rather more crested, originating the Sp. Cristatellus, _Auct_.]

[Footnote 2: Which Gould believes to be the _Hæmatornis Bacha_, Daud.]

[Footnote 3: Pontoaëtus leucogaster, _Gmel_.]

[Footnote 4: Haliastur Indus, _Bodd._]

[Footnote 5: E.L. Layard. Europeans have given this bird the name of the "Brahminy Kite," probably from observing the superstitious feeling of the natives regarding it, who believe that when two armies are about to engage, its appearance prognosticates victory to the party over whom it hovers.]

_Hawks_.--The beautiful Peregrine Falcon[1] is rare, but the Kestrel[2] is found almost universally; and the bold and daring Goshawk[3] wherever wild crags and precipices afford safe breeding places. In the district of Anarajapoora, where it is trained for hawking, it is usual, in lieu of a hood, to darken its eyes by means of a silken thread passed through holes in the eyelids. The ignoble birds of prey, the Kites[4], keep close by the shore, and hover round the returning boats of the fishermen to feast on the fry rejected from their nets.

[Footnote 1: Falco peregrinus, _Linn._]

[Footnote 2: Tinnunculus alaudarius, _Briss._]

[Footnote 3: Astur trivirgatus, _Temm._]

[Footnote 4: Milvus govinda, _Sykes._ Dr. Hamilton Buchanan remarks that when gorged this bird delights to sit on the entablature of buildings, exposing its back to the hottest rays of the sun, placing its breast against the wall, and stretching out its wings _exactly as the Egyptian Hawk is represented on the monuments_.]

_Owls_.--Of the nocturnal accipitres the most remarkable is the brown owl, which, from its hideous yell, has acquired the name of the "Devil-Bird."[1] The Singhalese regard it literally with horror, and its scream by night in the vicinity of a village is bewailed as the harbinger of impending calamity.[2] There is a popular legend in connection with it, to the effect that a morose and savage husband, who suspected the fidelity of his wife, availed himself of her absence to kill her child, of whose paternity he was doubtful, and on her return placed before her a curry prepared from its flesh. Of this the unhappy woman partook, till discovering the crime by finding the finger of her infant, she fled in frenzy to the forest, and there destroyed herself. On her death she was metamorphosed, according to the Buddhist belief, into an _ulama_, or Devil-bird, which still at nightfall horrifies the villagers by repeating the frantic screams of the bereaved mother in her agony.

[Footnote 1: Syrnium Indranee, _Sykes._ Mr. Blyth writes to me from Calcutta that there are some doubts about this bird. There would appear to be three or four distinguishable races, the Ceylon bird approximating most nearly to that of the Malayan Peninsula.]

[Footnote 2: The horror of this nocturnal scream was equally prevalent in the West as in the East. Ovid introduces it in his _Fasti_, L. vi. l. 139; and Tibullus in his Elegies, L. i. El. 5. Statius says--

Nocturnæque gemunt striges, et feralla bubo
_Damna canens_. Theb. iii. l. 511.

But Pliny, l. xi. c. 93, doubts as to what bird produced the sound;--and the details of Ovid's description do not apply to an owl.

Mr. Mitford, of the Ceylon Civil Service, to whom I am indebted for many valuable notes relative to the birds of the island, regards the identification of the Singhalese Devil-Bird as open to similar doubt: he says--"The Devil-Bird is not an owl. I never heard it until I came to Kornegalle, where it haunts the rocky hill at the back of Government-house. Its ordinary note is a magnificent clear shout like that of a human being, and which can be heard at a great distance, and has a fine effect in the silence of the closing night. It has another cry like that of a hen just caught, but the sounds which have earned for it its bad name, and which I have heard but once to perfection, are indescribable, the most appalling that can be imagined, and scarcely to be heard without shuddering; I can only compare it to a boy in torture, whose screams are being stopped by being strangled. I have offered rewards for a specimen, but without success. The only European who had seen and fired at one agreed with the natives that it is of the size of a pigeon, with a long tail. I believe it is a Podargus or Night Hawk." In a subsequent note he further says--"I have since seen two birds by moonlight, one of the size and shape of a cuckoo, the other a large black bird, which I imagine to be the one which gives these calls."]

II. PASSERES. _Swallows_.--Within thirty-five miles of Caltura, on the western coast, are inland caves, to which the Esculent Swift[1] resorts, and there builds the "edible bird's nest," so highly prized in China. Near the spot a few Chinese immigrants have established themselves, who rent the nests as a royalty from the government, and make an annual export of the produce. But the Swifts are not confined to this district, and caves containing them have been found far in the interior, a fact which complicates the still unexplained mystery of the composition of their nest; and, notwithstanding the power of wing possessed by these birds, adds something to the difficulty of believing that it consists of glutinous material obtained from algæ.[2] In the nests brought to me there was no trace of organisation; and the original material, whatever it be, is so elaborated by the swallow as to present somewhat the appearance and consistency of strings of isinglass. The quantity of these nests exported from Ceylon is trifling.

[Footnote 1: Collocalia brevirostris, _McClell_.; C. nidifica, _Gray_.]

[Footnote 2: An epitome of what has been written on this subject will be found in _Dr. Horsfield's Catalogue_ of the Birds in the E.I. Comp. Museum, vol. i. p. 101, &c. Mr. Morris assures me, that he has found the nests of the Esculent Swallow eighty miles distant from the sea.]

_Kingfishers_.--In solitary places, where no sound breaks the silence except the gurgle of the river as it sweeps round the rocks, the lonely Kingfisher, the emblem of vigilance and patience, sits upon an overhanging branch, his turquoise plumage hardly less intense in its lustre than the deep blue of the sky above him; and so intent is his watch upon the passing fish that intrusion fails to scare him from his post.

_Sun Birds_.--In the gardens the tiny Sun Birds[1] (known as the Humming Birds of Ceylon) hover all day long, attracted to the plants, over which they hang poised on their glittering wings, and inserting their curved beaks to extract the insects that nestle in the flowers.

[Footnote 1: Nectarina Zeylanica, _Linn._]

Perhaps the most graceful of the birds of Ceylon in form and motions, and the most chaste in colouring, is the one which Europeans call "the Bird of Paradise,"[1] and natives "the Cotton Thief," from the circumstance that its tail consists of two long white feathers, which stream behind it as it flies. Mr. Layard says:--"I have often watched them, when seeking their insect prey, turn suddenly on their perch and _whisk their long tails with a jerk_ over the bough, as if to protect them from injury."

[Footnote 1: Tchitrea paradisi, _Linn._]

The tail is sometimes brown, and the natives have the idea that the bird changes its plumage at stated periods, and that the tail-feathers become white and brown in alternate years. The fact of the variety of plumage is no doubt true, but this story as to the alternation of colours in the same individual requires confirmation.[1]

[Footnote 1: The engraving of the Tchitrea given on page 244 is copied by permission from one of the splendid drawings in. MR. GOULD'S _Birds of India_.]

_The Bulbul_.--The _Condatchee Bulbul_[1], which, from the crest on its head, is called by the Singhalese the "Konda Cooroola," or _Tuft bird_, is regarded by the natives as the most "_game_" of all birds; and training it to fight was one of the duties entrusted by the Kings of Kandy to the Cooroowa, or Head-man, who had charge of the King's animals and Birds. For this purpose the Bulbul is taken from the nest as soon as the sex is distinguishable by the tufted crown; and secured by a string, is taught to fly from hand to hand of its keeper. When pitted against an antagonist, such is the obstinate courage of this little creature that it will sink from exhaustion rather than release its hold. This propensity, and the ordinary character of its notes, render it impossible that the Bulbul of India could be identical with the Bulbul of Iran, the "Bird of a Thousand Songs,"[2] of which, poets say that its delicate passion for the rose gives a plaintive character to its note.

[Footnote 1: Pycnonotus hæmorrhous, _Gmel_.]

[Footnote 2: "Hazardasitaum" the Persian name for the bulbul. "The Persians," according to Zakary ben Mohamed al Caswini, "say the bulbul has a passion for the rose, and laments and cries when he sees it pulled."--OUSELEY'S _Oriental Collections_, vol. i. p. 16. According to Pallas it is the true nightingale of Europe, Sylvia luscinia, which the Armenians call _boulboul_, and the Crim-Tartars _byl-byl-i_.]

_Tailor-Bird_.--_The Weaver-Bird_.--The tailor-bird[1] having completed her nest, sewing together leaves by passing through them a cotton thread twisted by herself, leaps from branch to branch to testify her happiness by a clear and merry note; and the Indian weaver[2], a still more ingenious artist, hangs its pendulous dwelling from a projecting bough; twisting it with grass into a form somewhat resembling a bottle with a prolonged neck, the entrance being inverted, so as to baffle the approaches of its enemies, the tree snakes and other reptiles. The natives assert that the male bird carries fire flies to the nest, and fastens them to its sides by a particle of soft mud;--Mr. Layard assures me that although he has never succeeded in finding the fire fly, the nest of the male bird (for the female occupies another during incubation) invariably contains a patch of mud on each side of the perch. Grass is apparently the most convenient material for the purposes of the Weaver-bird when constructing its nest, but other substances are often substituted, and some nests which I brought from Ceylon proved to be formed with delicate strips from the fronds of the dwarf date-palm, _Phoenix paludosa_, which happened to grow near the breeding place.

[Footnote 1: Orthotomus longicauda, _Gmel_.]

[Footnote 2: Ploceus baya, _Blyth_.; P. Philippinus, _Auct_.]

Amongst the birds of this order, one which, as far as I know, is peculiar to the island is _Layard's Mountain-jay_ (_Cissa puella_, Blyth and Layard), is distinguished not less by the beautiful blue colour which enlivens its plumage, than by the elegance of its form and the grace of its attitudes. It frequents the hill country, and is found about the mountain streams at Neuera-ellia, and elsewhere.[1]

[Footnote 1: The engraving above is taken by permission of Mr. Gould from one of his drawings for his _Birds of India_.]

_Crows_.--Of all the Ceylon birds of this order the most familiar and notorious are the small glossy crows, whose shining black plumage shot with blue has suggested the title of _Corvus splendens_.[1] They frequent the towns in companies, and domesticate themselves in the close vicinity of every house; and it may possibly serve to account for the familiarity and audacity which they exhibit in their intercourse with men, that the Dutch during their sovereignty in Ceylon, enforced severe penalties against any one killing a crow, under the belief that they were instrumental in extending the growth of cinnamon by feeding on the fruit, and thus disseminating the undigested seed.[2]

[Footnote 1: There is another species, the _C. culminatus_, so called from the convexity of its bill; but though seen in the towns, it lives chiefly in the open country, and may be constantly observed wherever there are buffaloes, perched on their backs and engaged, in company with the small Minah (_Acridotheres tristis_), in freeing them from ticks.]

[Footnote 2: WOLF'S _Life and Adventures_, p. 117.]

So accustomed are the natives to their presence and exploits, that, like the Greeks and Romans, they have made the movements of crows the basis of their auguries; and there is no end to the vicissitudes of good and evil fortune which may not be predicted from the direction of their flight, the hoarse or mellow notes of their croaking, the variety of trees on which they rest, and the numbers in which they are seen to assemble.

All day long these birds are engaged in watching either the offal of the offices, or the preparation for meals in the dining-room: and as doors and windows are necessarily opened to relieve the heat, nothing is more common than the passage of a crow across the room, lifting on the wing some ill-guarded morsel from the dinner-table. No article, however unpromising its quality, provided only it be portable, can with safety be left unguarded in any apartment accessible to them. The contents of ladies' work-boxes, kid gloves, and pocket handkerchiefs vanish instantly if exposed near a window or open door. They open paper parcels to ascertain the contents; they will undo the knot on a napkin if it encloses anything eatable, and I have known a crow to extract the peg which fastened the lid of a basket in order to plunder the provender within.

On one occasion a nurse seated in a garden adjoining a regimental mess-room, was terrified by seeing a bloody clasp-knife drop from the air at her feet; but the mystery was explained on learning that a crow, which had been watching the cook chopping mince-meat, had seized the moment when his head was turned to carry off the knife.

One of these ingenious marauders, after vainly attitudinising in front of a chained watch-dog, that was lazily gnawing a bone, and after fruitlessly endeavouring to divert his attention by dancing before him, with head awry and eye askance, at length flew away for a moment, and returned bringing a companion which perched itself on a branch a few yards in the rear. The crow's grimaces were now actively renewed, but with no better success, till its confederate, poising itself on its wings, descended with the utmost velocity, striking the dog upon the spine with all the force of its strong beak. The _ruse_ was successful; the dog started with surprise and pain, but not quickly enough to seize his assailant, whilst the bone he had been gnawing was snatched away by the first crow the instant his head was turned. Two well-authenticated instances of the recurrence of this device came within my knowledge at Colombo, and attest the sagacity and powers of communication and combination possessed by these astute and courageous birds.

On the approach of evening the crows near Colombo assemble in noisy groups along the margin of the freshwater lake which surrounds the fort on the eastern side; and here for an hour or two they enjoy the luxury of throwing the water over their shining backs, and arranging their plumage decorously, after which they disperse, each taking the direction of his accustomed quarters for the night.[1]

[Footnote 1: A similar habit has been noticed in the damask Parrots of Africa (_Palæornis fuscus_) which daily resort at the same hour to their accustomed pools to bathe.]

During the storms which usher in the monsoon, it has been observed, that when coco-nut palms are destroyed by lightning, the effect frequently extends beyond a single tree, and from the contiguity and conduction of the spreading leaves, or some other peculiar cause, large groups will be affected by a single flash, a few killed instantly, and the rest doomed to rapid decay. In Belligam Bay, a little to the east of Point-de-Galle, a small island, which is covered with coco-nuts, has acquired the name of "Crow Island," from being the resort of those birds, which are seen hastening towards it in thousands towards sunset. A few years ago, during a violent storm of thunder, such was the destruction of the crows that the beach for some distance was covered with a black line of their remains, and the grove on which they had been resting was to a great extent destroyed by the same flash.[1]

[Footnote 1: Similar instances are recorded in other countries of sudden and prodigious mortality amongst crows; but whether occasioned by lightning seems uncertain. In 1839 thirty-three thousand dead crows were found on the shores of a lake in the county Westmeath in Ireland after a storm.--THOMPSON'S _Nat. Hist. Ireland_, vol. i. p. 319. PATTERSON in his _Zoology_, p. 356, mentions other cases.]

III. SCANSORES. _Parroquets_.--Of the Psittacidæ the only examples are the parroquets, of which the most renowned is the _Palæornis Alexandri_, which has the historic distinction of bearing the name of the great conqueror of India, having been the first of its race introduced to the knowledge of Europe on the return of his expedition. An idea of their number may be formed from the following statement of Mr. Layard, as to the multitudes which are to be found on the western coast. "At Chilaw, I have seen such vast flights of parroquets hurrying towards the coco-nut trees which overhang the bazaar, that their noise drowned the Babel of tongues bargaining for the evening provisions. Hearing of the swarms that resorted to this spot, I posted myself on a bridge some half mile distant, and attempted to count the flocks which came from a single direction to the eastward. About four o'clock in the afternoon, straggling parties began to wend towards home, and in the course of half an hour the current fairly set in. But I soon found that I had no longer distinct flocks to count, it became one living screaming stream. Some flew high in the air till right above their homes, and dived abruptly downward with many evolutions till on a level with the trees; others kept along the ground and dashed close by my face with the rapidity of thought, their brilliant plumage shining with an exquisite lustre in the sun-light. I waited on the spot till the evening closed, when I could hear, though no longer distinguish, the birds fighting for their perches, and on firing a shot they rose with a noise like the 'rushing of a mighty wind,' but soon settled again, and such a din commenced as I shall never forget; the shrill screams of the birds, the fluttering of their innumerable wings, and the rustling of the leaves of the palm trees was almost deafening, and I was glad at last to escape to the Government Rest House."[1]

[Footnote 1: _Annals of Nat. Hist._ vol. xiii. p. 263.]

IV. COLUMBIDÆ. _Pigeons_.--Of pigeons and doves there are at least a dozen species. Some live entirely on trees[1], never alighting on the ground; others, notwithstanding the abundance of food and warmth, are migratory[2], allured, as the Singhalese allege, by the ripening of the cinnamon berries, and hence one species is known in the southern provinces as the "Cinnamon Dove." Others feed on the fruits of the banyan: and it is probably to their instrumentality that this marvellous tree chiefly owes its diffusion, its seeds being carried by them to remote localities. A very beautiful pigeon, peculiar to the mountain range, discovered in the lofty trees at Neuera-ellia, has, in compliment to the Viscountess Torrington, been named _Carpophaga Torringtoniæ_.

[Footnote 1: Treron bicincta. _Jerd_.]

[Footnote 2: _Alsocomus puniceus_, the "Season Pigeon" of Ceylon, so called from its periodical arrival and departure.]

Another, called by the natives _neela-cobeya_[1], although strikingly elegant both in shape and colour, is still more remarkable for the singularly soothing effect of its low and harmonious voice. A gentleman who has spent many years in the jungle, in writing to me of this bird and of the effects of its melodious song, says, that "its soft and melancholy notes, as they came from some solitary place in the forest, were the most gentle sounds I ever listened to. Some sentimental smokers assert that the influence of the propensity is to make them feel _as if they could freely forgive all who had ever offended them_; and I can say with truth such has been the effect on my own nerves of the plaintive murmurs of the neela-cobeya, that sometimes, when irritated, and not without reason, by the perverseness of some of my native followers, the feeling has almost instantly subsided into placidity on suddenly hearing the loving tones of these beautiful birds."

[Footnote 1: Chalcophaps Indicus, _Linn._]

V. GALLINÆ. _The Ceylon Jungle-fowl_.--The jungle-fowl of Ceylon[1] is shown by the peculiarity of its plumage to be not only distinct from the Indian species, but peculiar to the island. It has never yet bred or survived long in captivity, and no living specimens have been successfully transmitted to Europe. It abounds in all parts of the island, but chiefly in the lower ranges of mountains; and one of the vivid memorials which are associated with our journeys through the hills, is its clear cry, which sounds like a person calling "George Joyce,"[2] and rises at early morning amidst mist and dew, giving life to the scenery, that has scarcely yet been touched by the sun-light.

[Footnote 1: Gallus Lafayetti, _Lesson_.]

[Footnote 2: I apprehend that in the particular of the peculiar cry the Ceylon jungle fowl differs from that of the Dekkan, where _I am told_ that it crows like a bantam cock.]

The female of this handsome bird was figured many years ago by Dr. GRAY in his illustrations of "_Indian Zoology_," under the name of _G. Stanleyi_. The cock bird subsequently received from LESSON, the name by which the species is now known: but its habitat was not discovered, until a specimen having been forwarded from Ceylon to Calcutta, Dr. BLYTH recognised it as the long-sought-for male of Dr. Gray's specimen.

Another of the Gallinæ of Ceylon, remarkable for the delicate pencillings of its plumage, as well as for the peculiarity of the double spur, from which it has acquired its trivial name, is the _Galloperdix bicalcaratus_, of which a figure is given from a drawing by Mr. Gould.

VI. GRALLÆ.--On reaching the marshy plains and shallow lagoons on either side of the island, the astonishment of the stranger is excited by the endless multitudes of stilt-birds and waders which stand in long array within the wash of the water, or sweep in vast clouds above it. Ibises[1], storks[2], egrets, spoonbills[3], herons[4], and the smaller races of sand larks and plovers, are seen busily traversing the wet sand, in search of the red worm which burrows there, or peering with steady eye to watch the motions of the small fry and aquatic insects in the ripple on the shore.

[Footnote 1: Tantalus leucocephalus, and Ibis falcinellus.]

[Footnote 2: The violet-headed Stork (Ciconia leticocephala).]

[Footnote 3: Platalea leucorodia, _Linn._]

[Footnote 4: Ardea cinerea. A. purpurea.]

VII. ANSERES.--Preeminent in size and beauty, the tall _flamingoes_[1], with rose-coloured plumage, line the beach in long files. The Singhalese have been led, from their colour and their military order, to designate them the "_English Soldier birds_." Nothing can be more startling than the sudden flight of these splendid creatures when alarmed; their strong wings beating the air with a sound like distant thunder; and as they soar over head, the flock which appeared almost white but a moment before, is converted into crimson by the sudden display of the red lining of their wings. A peculiarity in the beak of this bird has scarcely attracted the attention it merits, as a striking illustration of creative wisdom in adapting the organs of animals to their local necessities.

[Footnote 1: Phoenicopterus roseus, _Pallas_.]

The upper mandible, which is convex in other birds, is flattened in the flamingo, whilst the lower, instead of being flat, is convex. To those who have had an opportunity of witnessing the action of the bird in its native haunts, the expediency of this arrangement is at once apparent. To counteract the extraordinary length of its legs, it is provided with a proportionately long neck, so that in feeding in shallow water the crown of the head becomes inverted and the upper mandible brought into contact with the bottom; where its flattened surface qualifies it for performing the functions of the lower one in birds of the same class; and the edges of both being laminated, it is thus enabled, like the duck, by the aid of its fleshy tongue, to sift before swallowing its food.

Floating on the surface of the deeper water, are fleets of the Anatidæ, the Coromandel teal[1], the Indian hooded gull[2], the Caspian tern, and a countless variety of ducks and smaller fowl--pintails[3], teal[4], red-crested pochards[5], shovellers[6], and terns.[7] Pelicans[8] in great numbers resort to the mouths of the rivers, taking up their position at sunrise on some projecting rock, from which to dart on the passing fish, and returning far inland at night to their retreats among the trees, which overshadow some solitary river or deserted tank.

[Footnote 1: Nettapus coromandelianus, _Gm_.]

[Footnote 2: Larus brunnicephalus, _Jerd_.]

[Footnote 3: Dafila acuta, _Linn._]

[Footnote 4: Querquedula creeca, _Linn._]

[Footnote 5: Fuligula rufina, _Pallas_.]

[Footnote 6: Spatula clypeata, _Linn._]

[Footnote 7: Sterna minuta, _Linn._]

[Footnote 8: Pelicanus Philippensis, _Gmel_.]

I chanced upon one occasion to come unexpectedly upon one of these remarkable breeding places during a visit which I made to the great tank of Padivil, one of those gigantic constructions by which the early kings of Ceylon have left imperishable records of their reigns.

It is situated in the depth of the forests to the north-west of Trincomalie; and the tank is itself the basin of a broad and shallow valley, enclosed between two lines of low hills, that gradually sink into the plain as they approach towards the sea. The extreme breadth of the included space may be twelve or fourteen miles, narrowing to eleven at the spot where the retaining bund has been constructed across the valley; and when this enormous embankment was in effectual repair, and the reservoir filled by the rains, the water must have been thrown back along the basin of the valley for at least fifteen miles. It is difficult now to determine the precise distances, as the overgrowth of wood and jungle has obliterated all lines left by the original level of the lake at its junction with the forest. Even when we rode along it, the centre of the tank was deeply submerged, so that notwithstanding the partial escape, the water still covered an area of ten miles in diameter. Even now its depth when full must be very considerable, for high on the branches of the trees that grow in the area, the last flood had left quantities of driftwood and withered grass; and the rocks and banks were coated with the yeasty foam, that remains after the subsidence of an agitated flood.

The bed of the tank was difficult to ride over, being still soft and treacherous, although covered everywhere with tall and waving grass; and in every direction it was poched into deep holes by the innumerable elephants that had congregated to roll in the soft mud, to bathe in the collected water, or to luxuriate in the rich herbage, under the cool shade of the trees. The ground, too, was thrown up into hummocks like great molehills which, the natives told us, were formed by a huge earthworm, common in Ceylon, nearly two feet in length, and as thick as a small snake. Through these inequalities the water was still running off in natural drains towards the great channel in the centre, that conducts it to the broken sluice; and across these it was sometimes difficult to find a safe footing for our horses.

In a lonely spot, towards the very centre of the tank, we came unexpectedly upon an extraordinary scene. A sheet of still water, two or three hundred yards broad, and about half a mile long, was surrounded by a line of tall forest-trees, whose branches stretched above its margin. The sun had not yet risen, when we perceived some white objects in large numbers on the tops of the trees; and as we came nearer, we discovered that a vast colony of pelicans had formed their settlement and breeding-place in this solitary retreat. They literally covered the trees in hundreds; and their heavy nests, like those of the swan, constructed of large sticks, forming great platforms, were sustained by the horizontal branches. Each nest contained three eggs, rather larger than those of a goose; and the male bird stood placidly beside the female as she sat upon them.

Nor was this all; along with the pelicans prodigious numbers of other water-birds had selected this for their dwelling-place, and covered the trees in thousands, standing on the topmost branches; tall flamingoes, herons, egrets, storks, ibises, and other waders. We had disturbed them thus early, before their habitual hour for betaking themselves to their fishing-fields. By degrees, as the light increased, we saw them beginning to move upon the trees; they looked around them on every side, stretched their awkward legs behind them, extended their broad wings, gradually rose in groups, and slowly soared away in the direction of the seashore.

The pelicans were apparently later in their movements; they allowed us to approach as near them as the swampy nature of the soil would permit; and even when a gun was discharged amongst them, only those moved off which the particles of shot disturbed. They were in such numbers at this favourite place; that the water over which they had taken up their residence was swarming with crocodiles, attracted by the frequent fall of the young birds; and the natives refused, from fear of them, to wade in for one of the larger pelicans which had fallen, struck by a rifle ball. It was altogether a very remarkable sight.

Of the birds familiar to European sportsmen, partridges and quails are to be had at all times; the woodcock has occasionally been shot in the hills, and the ubiquitous snipe, which arrives in September from Southern India, is identified not alone by the eccentricity of its flight, but by retaining in high perfection the qualities which have endeared it to the gastronome at home. But the magnificent pheasants, which inhabit the Himalayan range and the woody hills of the Chin-Indian peninsula, have no representative amongst the tribes that people the woods of Ceylon; although a bird believed to be a pheasant has more than once been seen in the jungle, close to Rangbodde, on the road to Neuera-ellia.

* * * * *

_List of Ceylon Birds_.

In submitting this Catalogue of the birds of Ceylon, I am anxious to state that the copious mass of its contents is mainly due to the untiring energy and exertions of my friend, Mr. E.L. Layard. Nearly every bird in the list has fallen by his gun; so that the most ample facilities have been thus provided, not only for extending the limited amount of knowledge which formerly existed on this branch of the zoology of the island; but for correcting, by actual comparison with recent specimens, the errors which had previously prevailed as to imperfectly described species. The whole of Mr. Layard's fine collection is at present in England.

ACCIPITRES.

Aquila
Bonelli, _Temm_.
pennata, _Gm_.
Spizaëtus
Nipalensis, _Hodgs_.
limnæëtus, _Horsf_.
Ictinaëtus
Malayensis, _Reinw_.
Hæmatornis
Bacha, _Daud_.
spilogaster, _Blyth_.
Pontoaëtus
leucogaster, _Gm_.
ichthyaëtus, _Horsf_.
Haliastur
Indus, _Bodd_.
Falco
peregrinus, _Linn._
peregrinator, _Sund_.
Tinnunculus
alaudarius, _Briss_.
Hypotriorchis
chicquera, _Daud_.
Baza
lophotes, _Cuv_.
Milvus
govinda, _Sykes_.
Elanus
melanopterus, _Daud_.
Astur
trivirgatus, _Temm_.
Accipiter
badius, _Gm_.
Circus
Swainsonii, _A. Smith_.
cinerascens, _Mont_.
melanoleucos, _Gm_.
_æruginosus, Linn_.
Athene
castonatus, _Blyth_.
scutulata, _Raffles_.
Ephialtes
scops, _Linn._
lempijii, _Horsf_.
sunia, _Hodgs_.
Ketupa
Ceylonensis, _Gm_.
Syrnium
Indranee, _Sykes_.
Strix
Javanica, _Gm_.

PASSERES.

Batrachostomus
moniliger, _Layard_.
Caprimulgus
_Mahrattensis, Sykes_.
Kelaarti, _Blyth_.
Asiaticus, _Lath_.
Cypselus
batassiensis, _Gray_.
melba, _Linn._
affinis, _Gray_.
Macropteryx
coronatus, _Tickell_.
Collocalia
brevirostris, _McClel_.
Acanthylis
caudacuta, _Lath_.
Hirundo
panayana, _Gm_.
daurica, _Linn._
hyperythra, _Layard_.
domicola, _Jerdon_.
Coracias
Indica, _Linn._
Harpactes
fasciatus, _Gm_.
Eurystomus
orientalis, _Linn._
Halcyon
Capensis, _Linn._
atricapillus, _Gm_.
Smyrnensis, _Linn._
Ceyx
tridactyla, _Linn._
Alcedo
Bengalensis, _Gm_.
Ceryle
rudis, _Linn._
Merops
Philippinus, _Linn._
viridis, _Linn._
quincticolor, _Vieill_.
Upupa
nigripennis, _Gould_.
Nectarina
Zeylanica, _Linn._
minima, _Sykes_.
Asiatica, _Lath_.
Lotenia, _Linn._
Dicæum
minimum, _Tickell_.
Phyllornis
Malabarica, _Lath_.
Jerdoni, _Blyth_.
Dendrophila
frontalis, _Horsf_.
Piprisoma
agile, _Blyth_.
Orthotomus
longicauda, _Gm_.
Cisticola
cursitans, _Frankl_.
omalura, _Blyth_.
Drymoica
valida, _Blyth_.
inornata, _Sykes_.
Prinia
socialis, _Sykes_.
Acrocephalus
dumetorum, _Blyth_.
Phyllopneuste
nitidus, _Blyth_.
montanus, _Blyth_.
viridanus, _Blyth_.
Copsychus
saularis, _Linn._
Kittacincla
macrura, _Gm_.
Pratincola
caprata, _Linn._
atrata, _Kelaart_.
Calliope
cyanea, _Hodgs_.
Thamnobia
fulicata, _Linn._
Cyanecula
Suecica, _Linn._
Sylvia
affinis, _Blyth_.
Parus
cinereus, _Vieill_.
Zosterops
palpebrosus, _Temm_.
Iöra
Zeylanica, _Gm_.
typhia, _Linn._
Motacilla
sulphurea, _Becks_.
Indica, _Gm_.
Madraspatana, _Briss_.
Budytes
viridis, _Gm_.
Anthus
rutulus, _Vieill_.
Richardii, _Vieill_.
striolatus, _Blyth_.
Brachypteryx
Palliseri, _Kelaart_.
Alcippe
nigrifrons, _Blyth_.
Pitta
brachyura, _Jerd_.
Oreocincla
spiloptera, _Blyth_.
Merula
Wardii, _Jerd_.
Kinnisii, _Kelaart_.
Zoothera
imbricata, _Layard_.
Garrulax
cinereifrons, _Blyth_.
Pormatorhinus
melanurus, _Blyth_.
Malacocercus
rufescens, _Blyth_.
griseus, _Gm_.
striatus, _Swains_.
Pellorneum
fuscocapillum, _Blyth_.
Dumetia
albogularis, _Blyth_.
Chrysomma
Sinense, _Gm_.
Oriolus
melanocephalus, _Linn._
_Indicus, Briss_.
Criniger
ictericus, _Stickl_.
Pycnonotus
pencillatus, _Kelaart_.
flavirictus, _Strickl_.
hæmorrhous, _Gm_.
atricapillus, _Vieill_.
Hemipus
picatus, _Sykes_.
Hypsipetes
Nilgherriensis, _Jerd_.
Cyornis
rubeculoïdes, _Vig_.
Myiagra
azurea, _Bodd_.
Cryptolopha
cinereocapilla, _Vieill_.
Leucocerca
_compressirostris, Blyth_.
Tchitrea
paradisi, _Linn._
*Butalis
latirostris, _Raffles_.
Muttui, _Layard_.
Stoparola
melanops, _Vig_.
Pericrocotus
flammeus, _Forst_.
peregrinus, _Linn._
Campephaga
Macei, _Less_.
Sykesii, _Strickl_.
Artamus
fuscus, _Vieill_.
Edolius
paradiseus, _Gm_.
Dicrurus
macrocereus, _Vieill_.
edoliformis, _Blyth_.
longicaudatus, _A. Hoy_.
leucopygialis, _Blyth_.
_cærulescens_, _Linn._
Irena
puella, _Lath_.
Lanius
superciliosus, _Lath_.
_erythronotus, Vig_.
Tephrodornis
affinis, _Blyth_.
Cissa
puella, _Blyth & Layard_.
Corvus
splendens, _Vieill_.
culminatus, _Sykes_.
Eulabes
religiosa, _Linn._
ptilogenys, _Blyth_.
Pastor
roseus, _Linn._
Hetærornis
pagodarum, _Gm_.
_albifrontata, Layard_.
Acridotheres
tristis, _Linn._
Ploceus
manyar, _Horsf_.
baya, _Blyth_.
Munia
undulata, _Latr_.
_Malabarica, Linn_.
Malacca, _Linn._
rubronigra, _Hodgs_.
striata, _Linn._
Kelaarti, _Blyth_.
Passer
Indicus, _Jard. & Selb._
Alauda
gulgula, _Frank_.
_Malabarica, Scop_.
Pyrrhulauda
grisea, _Scop_.
Mirafra
affinis, _Jerd_.
Buceros
gingalensis, _Shaw_.
Malabaricus, _Jerd_.

SCANSORES.

Loriculus
Asiaticus, _Lath_.
Palæcornis
Alexandri, _Linn._
torquatus, _Briss_.
cyanocephalus, _Linn._
Calthropæ, _Layard_.
Megalaima
Indica, _Latr_.
Zeylanica, _Gmel_.
flavifrons, _Cuv_.
rubicapilla, _Gm_.
Picus
gymnophthalmus, Blth.
Mahrattensis, _Lath_.
_Macei, Vieill_.
Gecinus
chlorophanes, _Vieill_.
Brachypternus
aurantius, _Linn._
Ceylonus, _Forst_.
_rubescens, Vieill_.
Stricklandi, _Layard_.
Micropternus
gularis, _Jerd_.
Centropus
rufipennis, _Illiger_.
chlororhynchos, _Blyth_.
Oxylophus
melanoleucos, _Gm_.
Coromandus, _Linn._
Endynamys
orientalis, _Linn._
Cuculus
Poliocephalus, _Lath_.
striatus, _Drapiex_.
canorus, _Linn._
Polyphasia
tenuirostris, _Gray_.
Sonneratii, _Lath_.
Hierococcyx
varius, _Vahl_.
Surniculus
dicruroïdes, _Hodgs_.
Phoenicophaus
pyrrhocephalus, _Forst_.
Zanclostomus
viridirostris, _Jerd_.

COLUMBÆ.

Treron
bicincta, _Jerd_.
flavogularis, _Blyth_.
Pompadoura, _Gm_.
chlorogaster, _Blyth_.
Carpophaga
pusilla, _Blyth_.
Torringtoniæ, _Kelaart_.
Alsocomus
puniceus, _Tickel_.
Columba
intermedia, _Strickl_.
Turtur
risorius, _Linn._
Suratensis, _Lath_.
humilis, _Temm_.
orientalis, _Lath_.
Chalcophaps
Indicus, _Linn._

GALLINÆ.

Pavo
cristatus, _Linn._
Gallus
Lafayetti, _Lesson_.
Galloperdix
bicalcaratus, _Linn._
Francolinus
Ponticerianus, _Gm_.
Perdicula
agoondah, _Sykes_.
Coturnix
Chinensis, _Linn._
Turnix ocellatus
_var._ Bengalensis, _Blyth_.
_var._ taigoor, _Sykes_.

GRALLÆ.

Esacus
recurvirostris, _Cuv_.
Oedienemus
crepitans, _Temm_.
Cursorius
Coromandelicus, _Gm_.
Lobivanellus
bilobus, _Gm_.
Göensis, _Gm_.
Charadrius
virginicus, _Bechs_.
Hiaticula
Philippensis, _Scop_.
Cantiana, _Lath_.
Leschenaultii, _Less_.
Strepsilas
Interpres, _Linn._
Ardea
purpurea, _Linn._
cinerea, _Linn._
asha, _Sykes_.
intermedia, _Wagler_.
garzetta, _Linn._
_alba, Linn_.
bubulcus, _Savig_.
Ardeola
leucoptera, _Bodd_.
Ardetta
cinnamomea, _Gm_.
flavicollis, _Lath_.
Sinensis, _Gm_.
Butoroides
Javanica, _Horsf_.
Platalea
leucorodia, _Linn._
Nycticorax
griseus, _Linn._
Tigrisoma
melanolopha, _Raffl_.
Mycteria
australis, _Shaw_.
Leptophilus
Javanica, _Horsf_.
Ciconia
leucocephala, _Gm_.
Anastomus
oscitans, _Bodd_.
Tantalus
leucocephalus, _Gm_.
Geronticus
melanocephalus, _Lath_.
Falcinellus
igneus, _Gm_.
Numenias
arquatus, _Linn._
phæopus, _Linn._
Totanus
fuscus, _Linn._
calidris, _Linn._
glottis, _Linn._
stagnalis, _Bechst_.
Actitis
glareola, _Gm_.
ochropus, _Linn._
hypoleucos, _Linn._
Tringa
minuta, _Leist_.
subarquata, _Gm_.
Limicola
platyrhyncha, _Temm_.
Limosa
ægocephala, _Linn._
Himantopus
candidus, _Bon_.
Recurvirostra
avocetta, _Linn._
Hæmatopus
ostralegus, _Linn._
Rhynchoea
Bengalensis, _Linn._
Scolopax
rusticola, _Linn._
Gallinago
stenura, _Temm_.
_scolopacina, Bon_.
_gallinula, Linn_.
Hydrophasianus
Sinensis, _Gm_.
Ortygometra
rubiginosa, _Temm_.
Corethura
Zeylanica, _Gm_.
Rallus
striatus, _Linn._
Indicus, _Blyth_.
Porphyrio
poliocephalus, _Lath_.
Porzana
pygmæa, _Nan_.
Gallinula
phoenicura, _Penn_.
chloropus, _Linn._
cristata, _Lath_.

ANSERES.

Phoenicopterus
ruber, _Linn._
Sarkidiornis
melanonotos, _Penn_.
Nettapus
Coromandelianus, _Gm_.
Anas
poecilorhyncha, _Penn_.
Dendrocygnus
arcuatus, _Cuv_.
Dafila
acuta, _Linn._
Querquedula
crecca, _Linn._
circia, _Linn._
_Fuligula
rufina, Pall_.
Spatula
clypeata, _Linn._
Podiceps
Philippensis, _Gm_.
Larus
brunnicephalus, _Jerd_.
ichthyaëtus, _Pall_.
Sylochelidon
Caspius, _Lath_.
Hydrochelidon
Indicus, _Steph_.
Gelochelidon
Anglicus, _Mont_.
Onychoprion
anasthætus, _Scop_.
Sterna
Javanica, _Horsf_.
melanogaster, _Temm_.
minuta, _Linn._
Seena
aurantia, _Gray_.
Thalasseus
Bengalensis, _Less_.
cristata, _Stepth_.
Dromas
ardeola, _Payk_.
Atagen
ariel, _Gould_.
Thalassidroma
_melanogaster, Gould_.
Plotus
melanogaster, _Gm_.
Pelicanus
Philippensis, _Gm_.
Graculus
Sinensis, _Shaw_.
pygmæus, _Pallas_.

NOTE.

The following is a list of the birds which are, as far as is at present known, peculiar to the island; it will probably be determined at some future day that some included in it have a wider geographical range.

Hæmatornis spilogaster. The "Ceylon eagle;" was discovered by Mr. Layard in the Wanny, and by Dr. Kelaart at Trincomalie.

Athene castonotus. The chestnut-winged hawk owl. This pretty little owl was added to the list of Ceylon birds by Dr. Templeton. Mr. Blyth is at present of opinion that this bird is identical with Ath. Castanopterus, _Horsf_. of Java as figured by Temminck: _P. Col._

Batrachostomus moniliger. The oil bird; was discovered amongst the precipitous rocks of the Adam's Peak range by Mr. Layard. Another specimen was sent about the same time to Sir James Emerson Tennent from Avisavelle. Mr. Mitford has met with it at Ratnapoora.

Caprimulgus Kelaarti. Kelaart's nightjar; swarms on the marshy plains of Neuera-ellia at dusk.

Hirundo hyperythra. The red-bellied swallow; was discovered in 1849, by Mr. Layard at Ambepusse. They build a globular nest, with a round hole at top. A pair built in the ring for a hanging lamp in Dr. Gardner's study at Peradenia, and hatched their young, undisturbed by the daily trimming and lighting of the lamp.

Cisticola omalura. Layard's mountain grass warbler; is found in abundance on Horton Plain and Neuera-ellia, among the long Patena grass.

Drymoica valida. Layard's wren-warbler; frequents tufts of grass and low bushes, feeding on insects.

Pratincola atrata. The Neuera-ellia robin; a melodious songster; added to our catalogue by Dr. Kelaart.

Brachypteryx Palliseri. Ant thrush. A rare bird, added by Dr. Kelaart from Dimboola and Neuera-ellia.

Pellorneum fuscocapillum. Mr. Layard found two specimens of this rare thrush creeping about shrubs and bushes, feeding on insects.

Alcippe nigrifrons. This thrush frequents low impenetrable thickets, and seems to be widely distributed.

Oreocincla spiloptera. The spotted thrush is only found in the mountain zone about lofty trees.

Merula Kinnisii. The Neuera-ellia blackbird; was added by Dr. Kelaart.

Garrulax cinereifrons. The ashy-headed babbler; was found by Mr. Layard near Ratnapoora.