274 Lieut. W. V. Leggc on the Birds of the 



be noticed — namely, tlie immense flat area which comprises 

 the Hambantotta and Kaltsegama districts, and stretches north 

 of tliem to the foot of the central mountains. I spoke of this 

 region as a remarkably "Indo-Ceylonese" one, which is some- 

 what noteworthy, seeing that it is adjacent to the typically 

 Ceylonese district of which I was wi^iting. In truth, however, 

 the two localities might well diff'er in toto in the character of 

 their avifauna; for there are, perchance, fcAV spots in the 

 world where the transition from one region to another en- 

 tirely different is as sudden as the jump from the damp forest- 

 clad hills of the south-west to the arid, dry, scrub-covered 

 plains of the south-east of this island. The wooded plains 

 and the open wastes surrounding the salt lakes or " leways '"^ 

 of this subdivision, therefore, present us with all the inses- 

 sorial forms characteristic of most parts of the north of the 

 island, such as Merops viridis, Hydrocissa coronata, Picus 

 mahratiensisf, Xantholcema indica, Upupa niyripennis, Bu- 

 changa ccsrulescens, Kittacincla macrura, Thamnobia fulicata, 

 Temenuchus pagodarum, Munia malacca, Mirafra affinis, 

 Pyrrhulauda grisea, and Alauda galgula ; and its leways and 

 wild secluded tanks furnish a long list of the grallatorial 

 forms, likewise characteristic of the north-east and north 

 coasts. 



North of the maritime region the soil improves slightly, 

 the jungle becomes larger, and the rivers are lined with a 

 belt of forest of magnificent trees. These streams are the 

 Wellaway, Kirinde, and Kattregama Gaugas (rivers). 



In March 1872, during the N.E. monsoon, I explored the 

 sea-board, making the salt depot of Kirinde, twenty-four 

 miles north of Hambantotta, my headquarters. My leave 

 being of short duration, I was unable to work the interior, 

 or country lying between the Hambantotta and the central 

 province, and I was compelled to defer my visit to that part 

 imtil the year before last, when I made a trip through it 



* Pronounced Imcys; these are the shallow lagoons from which the 

 Government of Ceylon collects such a large amount of salt. 



t I might also include P. strichhindi, common in the forests of the 

 northern interior. 



