280 Lieut. W. V. Legge on the Birds of the 



lonely tanks ; but notwithstanding its frequent occurrence, I 

 only procured two examples, as it is exceedingly shy. The 

 stomach of one of them was crammed with the common small 

 green beetle of the country. It fell to my gun about 2 p.m. ; 

 and at that time its food was undigested, proving it to feed 

 very late in the morning. The dimensions of both my spe- 

 cimens are less than those given by Mr. Hume for a Nicobar 

 example (Str. Feath. vol. ii. p. 152). They are: — 



Length. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. 



I. S 10-6 8 4-3 1-1 



%jriv. S 10-3 7-7 4-25 0-95 



The iris in the young bird is dusky yellow, in contradis- 

 tinction to the golden yellow of the adult, the feathers of the 

 throat margined with a shining oclire-yellow, and the brown 

 of the under surface much darker than in the adult, with 

 much less white, particularly noticeable in its absence from 

 the abdominal region. 



16. HiRUNDO HYPERYTHRA, Layard. 



The Ceylon Swallow is common in the vicinity of tanks in 

 the Wellaway Korle j but I did not notice it in the Hambau- 

 totta district, although it is abundant along the sea-board of 

 the south west. 



17. Cypselus affinis. Gray. 



T found this Swift breeding in the houses at the salt-depot 

 at Kirinde, in March 1872. It is common throughout the 

 coast-region, and the " colony " at Kirinde must have num- 

 bered sixty or seventy pairs. The nests were placed between 

 the tiles and the rafters of the verandas, and were constructed 

 of cottony substances interwoven with grass-stalks. 



18. ACANTHYLIS GIGANTEA (Tcmm.). 



This magnificent Swift, which I have never seen recorded 

 from the low country, occurred once on the borders of this 

 district during my trip in July 1873. During a heavy squall 

 from the south-west a large flock appeared on the coast, hawk- 

 ing near the ground on the hill at Taugolle, They came, as 

 far as I could judge, from the south, and disappeared a short 

 time after the shower was over, flying due north, towards the 



