296 Mr. Blyth on the OTiiithology of Ceylon. 



dusky, faintly barred with rufous on the inner web, and 

 with a series of spots of bright rufous on the outer web ; tail 

 dusky, with eight or nine narrow white or whitish bars, the 

 last of them terminal ; head and neck closely barred with bright 

 rufescent on a dusky ground, and contrasting strongly with 

 the rufous of the back ; breast nearly similar, but the colours 

 deeper; the abdomen white, with longitudinal dusky streaks; 

 and the vent and lower tail-coverts pure white ; bill pale yel- 

 low ; irides red brown. Length of wing about 5 inches. " Its 

 hoot is not unlike the cry of the cuckoo, though more shrill 

 and abrupt ; indeed when I first heard it one morning, I 

 thought it was the note of our annual visitor the European 

 cuckoo. It hoots as late as 9 or 10 o^ clock in the morning in 

 shady situations ; is silent during the heat and glare of the day, 

 but begins again at 4 or 5 p.m. It is most on the alert during 

 moonlight nights, feeding on coleoptera and geckoids, securing 

 the latter while creeping up the bark of trees, seizing them in 

 its claws. ■^ * ^ it sees very clearly by day, being even then 

 most difficult to approach" (Layard, Ann. & Mag. N. H. 1853, 

 xii. pp. 105, 106). 



4. TocKUS GiNGALENSis (Lath.); Buceros gingalensis, Layard, 

 partim, Ann. & Mag. N. H, 1854, xiii. p. 260. 



Occurs in the southern province, about the base of the hills. 



Obs. — Mr. Layard also indicates a second species of Hydro- 

 cissa, besides H. coronata, as existing in the mountains of the 

 island {torn. cit. p. 261). 



5. MegaL/EMA ZEYLANiCA(Gmel.); M.caniceps,Ca.ssm,Ormth. 

 Rep. U. S. Exped. Japan, &c. p. 242; Brown, Illustr. pi. 15. 



This is hardly more than a small dark-coloured race of the 

 Indian M. caniceps, being rather smaller, with the head, neck, 

 and breast much browner, the pale central streaks being much 

 reduced, and the light specks at the extremity of the wing- 

 coverts being also reduced, and perhaps fewer in number. 

 Length of wing 4*25 in., tail 2*75 in., bill at front 1*25 in. 

 Common and universally distributed. Mr. Layard gives an in- 

 teresting account of a captive individual, which evinced a re- 

 markable predatory propensity (Ann. & Mag. N. H. 1854, xiii. 



