THE GAME BlliDS OF INDIA. 33 



the male : upper breast, sides of the lower breast, and flanks vermi- 

 ciilated black and rufous brown, remainder of breast, belly and 

 thigh coverts white, each feather with a narrow black edging and 

 one or two broad black bands near the visible base. Vent dull 

 pale buff, under tail coverts black and rufous brown, much marked 

 with white in some individuals. 



In some females which appear to be much younger birds the 

 rufoiis brown of the upper breast extends low^er down, the brown 

 of the flanks extends on to the breast, and only the centre of this 

 latter is black and -white, a few red vermiculated feathers appearing 

 amongst the others. In these birds it is also noticeable that there 

 are no white shaft streaks to the upper pliTmage, and the general 

 tone is more rufous and less earth-brown. The throat is, of course, 

 comparatively well feathered with downy grey plumes. 



Colours of soft parts. — '■ Ii*is3-enowish olive ; bill, vipper mandible 

 dark brown, lower yellowish ; tarsi and feet brownish in front, 

 yellowish posteriorly," (Legge). 



Measurements. — "Length about 13"75"; wing 6-8 to 7*0; tail 

 3-5 ; tarsus 2-3 to 2-5 ; middle toe and claw 2-0 to 2-1 ; bill to gape 

 M." (Legge). 



Wings of the females in the British Museum series and of a few 

 others I have measured have varied between 6-5" (165*1 mm.) and 

 7-2" (183-8 mm.) 



Distribution. — Confined to the Island of Ceylon in which Legge 

 describes its distribiition as follows : — 



" More or less scattered through the dry jungly districts of 



" the low country, and diffused throughout the hills of the 



" Southern and Central Provinces, It is rather rare in the 



"jungles of the maritime portions of the Western Province 



" and south-western district, and is not common even in the 



" forests of the interior .... On the eastern slopes of the 



" Morawah Korale where a drier climate prevails it finds a more 



" congenial home, and along the Wellaway River and from that 



" eastward it is numerous. In the maritime poilions of the 



" south-east it abounds . ,. , In the hills it is resident and 



"breeds commonly up to 6,000 feet." 



It is perhaps to some extent locally migratory, ranging higher 



or lower on the hills according to season, but beyond this appears 



to be resident wherever found. 



Xidijication.^lt is almost impossible to say that; the Ceylon 

 Jungle-fowl has an}' real Ijreeding season, for throughout its range 

 it woidd appear to be breeding during practically the whole year. 



Legge records that in the north of the Island it breeds princi- 



pall}- during the early part of the year, but that in the Hambantola 



district he found young birds in July, others in the neighbourhocd 



of Kadugannawa in December and others again in the Horton 



5 



