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.
Pomatorhinus melanurus. Mr. Layard states that the mountain babbler frequents low, scraggy, impenetrable brush, along the margins of deserted cheena land. This may turn out to be little more than a local yet striking variety of P. Horsfieldii of the Indian Peninsula.
Malacocercus rufescens. The red dung thrush added by Dr. Templeton to the Singhalese Fauna, is found in thick jungle in the southern and midland districts.
Pycnonotus penicillatus. The yellow-eared bulbul; was found by Dr. Kelaart at Neuera-ellia.
Butalis Muttui. This very handsome flycatcher was procured at Point Pedro, by Mr. Layard.
Dicrurus edoliformis. Dr. Templeton found this kingcrow at the Bibloo Oya. Mr. Layard has since got it at Ambogammoa.
Dicrurus leucopygialis. The Ceylon kingcrow was sent to Mr. Blyth from the vicinity of Colombo, by Dr. Templeton. A species very closely allied to D. coerulescens of the Indian continent.
Tephrodornis affinis. The Ceylon butcher-bird. A migatory species found in the wooded grass lands in October.
Cissa puella. Layard's mountain jay. A most lovely bird, found along mountain streams at Neuera-ellia and elsewhere.
Eulabes ptilogenys. Templeton's mynah. The largest and most beautiful of the species. It is found in flocks perching on the highest trees, feeding on berries.
Munia Kelaarti. This Grosbeak previously assumed to be M. pectoralls of Jerdon; is most probably peculiar to Ceylon.
Loriculus asiaticus. The small parroquet, abundant in various districts.
Palæornis Calthropæ. Layard's purple-headed parroquet, found at Kandy, is a very handsome bird, flying in flocks, and resting on the summits of the very highest trees. Dr. Kelaart states that it is the only parroquet of the Neuera-ellia range.
Megalaima flavifrons. The yellow-headed barbet, is not uncommon.
Megalaima rubricapilla, is found in most parts of the island.
Picus gymnophthalmus. Layard's woodpecker. The smallest of the species, was discovered near Colombo, amongst jak-trees.
Brachypternus Ceylonus. The Ceylon woodpecker, is found in abundance near Neuera-ellia.
Brachypternus rubescens. The red woodpecker.
Centropus chlororhynchus. The yellow-billed cuckoo, was detected by Mr. Layard in dense jungle near Colombo and Avisavelle.
Phoenicophaus pyrrhocephalus. The malkoha, is confined to the southern highlands.
Treron Pompadoura. The Pompadour pigeon. "The Prince of Canino has shown that this is a totally distinct bird from Tr. flavogularis, with which it was confounded: it is much smaller, with the quantity of maroon colour on the mantle greatly reduced."—Paper by Mr. BLYTH, Mag. Nat. Hist. p. 514: 1857.
Carpophaga Torringtoniæ. Lady Torrington's pigeon; a very handsome pigeon discovered in the highlands by Dr. Kelaart. It flies high in long sweeps, and makes its nest on the loftiest trees. Mr. Blyth is of opinion that it is no more than a local race, barely separable from C. Elphinstonii of the Nilgiris and Malabar coast.
Carpophaga pusilla. The little-hill dove a migratory species found by Mr. Layard in the mountain zone, only appearing with the ripened fruit of the teak, banyan, &c., on which they feed.
Gallus Lafayetti.—The Ceylon jungle fowl. The female of this handsome bird was figured by Mr. GRAY (Ill. Ind. Zool.) under the name of G. Stanleyi. The cock bird had long been lost to naturalists, until a specimen was forwarded by Dr. Templeton to Mr. Blyth, who at once recognised it as the long-looked-for male of Mr. Gray's recently described female. It is abundant in all the uncultivated portions of Ceylon; coming out into the open spaces to feed in the mornings and evenings. Mr. Blyth states that there can be no doubt that Hardwicke's published figure refers to the hen of this species, long afterwards termed G. Lafayetti.
Galloperdix bicalcaratus. Not uncommon in suitable situations.
Footnote 2411: [(return)]
Pratincola atrata, Kelaart.
Footnote 2412: [(return)]
Kittacincla macrura, Gm.
Footnote 2413: [(return)]
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.
Footnote 2421: [(return)]
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 2422: [(return)]
Brachypternus aurantius, Linn.
Footnote 2423: [(return)]
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 2424: [(return)]
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 2431: [(return)]
Itinerarius FRATRIS ODORICI, de Foro Julii de Portu-vahonis, &c.—HAKLUYT, vol. ii. p. 39.
Footnote 2451: [(return)]
Spizaëtuslimnaëtus, Horsf. The race of these birds in the Deccan and Ceylon are rather more crested, originating the Sp. Cristatellus, Auct.
Footnote 2452: [(return)]
Which Gould believes to be the Hæmatornis Bacha, Daud.
Footnote 2453: [(return)]
Pontoaëtus leucogaster, Gmel.
Footnote 2461: [(return)]
Haliastur Indus, Bodd.
Footnote 2462: [(return)]
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.
Footnote 2463: [(return)]
Falco peregrinus, Linn.
Footnote 2464: [(return)]
Tinnunculus alaudarius, Briss.
Footnote 2465: [(return)]
Astur trivirgatus, Temm.
Footnote 2466: [(return)]
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.
Footnote 2467: [(return)]
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 2471: [(return)]
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."
Footnote 2481: [(return)]
Collocalia brevirostris, McClell.; C. nidifica, Gray.
Footnote 2491: [(return)]
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.
Footnote 2492: [(return)]
Nectarina Zeylanica, Linn.
Footnote 2493: [(return)]
Tchitrea paradisi, Linn.
Footnote 2511: [(return)]
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.
Footnote 2512: [(return)]
Pycnonotus hæmorrhous, Gmel.
Footnote 2513: [(return)]
"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.
Footnote 2514: [(return)]
Orthotomus longicauda, Gmel.
Footnote 2521: [(return)]
Ploceus baya, Blyth.; P. Philippinus, Auct.
Footnote 2531: [(return)]
The engraving above is taken by permission of Mr. Gould from one of his drawings for his Birds of India.
Footnote 2532: [(return)]
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 2541: [(return)]
WOLF'S Life and Adventures, p. 117.
Footnote 2551: [(return)]
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.
Footnote 2561: [(return)]
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.
Footnote 2571: [(return)]
Annals of Nat. Hist. vol. xiii. p. 263.
Footnote 2572: [(return)]
Treron bicincta. Jerd.
Footnote 2581: [(return)]
Alsocomus puniceus, the "Season Pigeon" of Ceylon, so called from its periodical arrival and departure.
Footnote 2582: [(return)]
Chalcophaps Indicus, Linn.
Footnote 2591: [(return)]
Gallus Lafayetti, Lesson.
Footnote 2592: [(return)]
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.
Footnote 2601: [(return)]
Tantalus leucocephalus, and Ibis falcinellus.
Footnote 2602: [(return)]
The violet-headed Stork (Ciconia leticocephala).
Footnote 2603: [(return)]
Platalea leucorodia, Linn.
Footnote 2604: [(return)]
Ardea cinerea. A. purpurea.
Footnote 2611: [(return)]
Phoenicopterus roseus, Pallas.
Footnote 2621: [(return)]
Nettapus coromandelianus, Gm.
Footnote 2622: [(return)]
Larus brunnicephalus, Jerd.
Footnote 2623: [(return)]
Dafila acuta, Linn.
Footnote 2624: [(return)]
Querquedula creeca, Linn.
Footnote 2625: [(return)]
Fuligula rufina, Pallas.
Footnote 2626: [(return)]
Spatula clypeata, Linn.
Footnote 2627: [(return)]
Sterna minuta, Linn.
Footnote 2628: [(return)]
Pelicanus Philippensis, Gmel.