110 Mr. E. L. Layard on the Ornithology of Ceylon. 



ings of the most intense pleasure, feelings of exultation, which 

 make me long to raise my voice and shout in concert with those 

 of the busy multitudes. 



The commonest of the three species above enumerated is per- 

 haps H. Philippina ; they are all birds of passage, frequenting 

 different parts of the island at different seasons, but I never 

 heard of any of them breeding with us. 



233. Strepsilas interpres, L. 



Rare. I procured three specimens at Pt. Pedro in January on 

 the coral-reef, and Mr. Brodie forwarded me one from Putlam 

 which he shot on the Calpentyn lake ; I also saw one on the rocks 

 in Colombo harbour in March. 



234. H^MATOPUs osTRALEGUS, Linn. 



Very rare; only one or two specimens seen in the Jaffna 

 estuary in the month of January. 



235. Ardea cinerea, Linn. Kallapua-Karawal-koka and In- 

 dooroo-koktty Cing. 



Rare : I only procured one specimen, which I killed one 

 morning before daylight while crossing Wally plain. Mr. Gis- 

 borne's collector procured one in the island of Valenny near 

 Jaffiia. --Ji 



'■"'■! ITS 



236. 'Ardea purpurea, Linn. Carawal-koka, Cing. 



The " Blue Heron '' of European sportsmen is not uncommon. 

 I have shot it at Matura and at Pt. Pedro, and saw it on most 

 of the tanks in the central road. It is rarely seen walking in 

 the flooded fields like the White Herons, but keeps to beds of 

 reeds along the margins of rivers and tanks. ^^ |i; 



237. Ardea Asha, Sykes. 



I procured several specimens of this bird from Valenny, one 

 of the islands of the Jaffna estuary, and from a lake near Chilaw, 

 where they bred in company with others of the same genus. I 

 also shot a young bird pure white, except some dusky gray upon 

 the winglet and coverts of the primaries, and at the base of some 

 of the dorsal feathers. Of this bird Mr. Blyth writes— "This 

 is an exceedingly interesting specimen, and goes far to prove by 

 analogy the identity of the white Herodias Greyi with H. gu- 

 laris.^' I shot this specimen on Colombo lake. The eggs of this 

 species arc of a pale blue colour, in shape a rounded oval. Axis 

 1 in. 10 lines, diam. 1 in. 5 lines. The nest is a huge structure 



