South-eastern Subdivision of Southern Ceylon. 405 



Pelicans and Ibises lined the branches close to their nests, 

 or stood like vanes on the tops of the forest-trees^ while others, 

 as if they had just awoke, flapped lazily about ; huge Pelicans, 

 on great " platforms of sticks/' kept watch by their young 

 and preened off" the night-dew from their broad backs ; little 

 companies of Spoonbills and Ibises, mindful of hungry fami- 

 lies, filed off" to distant marshes, and disappeared over the tops 

 of the forest-waves, while Cormorants and Darters dashed 

 round and round the tank, as if they were training for a race. 

 From behind a tree hard by I gazed on this splendid sight 

 for a few moments, and hastily jotted down in my note-book 

 the diff'erent species on their respective trees. The sun was 

 getting up, and the birds were rapidly going off" for food ; so 

 it was time to begin work and (cruel monster that I was ! 

 mais que voulez-vous?) carry death into the midst of the 

 happy company. It was not long before I was up to my 

 knees in black mud, while lazy crocodiles, waiting beneath 

 the trees for hapless nestlings, floundered before me into the 

 water. Bang, bang went the old 12-bore; and down came 

 first of all a magnificent Grey Heron. Then what a scene tbere 

 was ! The lonely jungle resounded with bird-cries j Pelicans 

 launched themselves from their nests and, mounting in the 

 air, soared round in circles, accompanied by Herons, Peli- 

 cans and Ibises, while the " Shell-eaters '^ {Anastomus), the 

 pluckiest and most numerous of all, swooped on me from 

 dizzy heights with fearful swiftness and a booming whirr of 

 their large wings ; added to all which was the bang of my 

 gun, mingled with frantic shouts to my coolies to " come on " 

 and get up the thorny trees at once ! approaching which they 

 climbed with considerable hesitation, to my mind at the time, 

 showing a remarkable lack of ornithological interest ! But 

 enough ! such scenes as this are familiar to most readers of 

 ' The Ibis,' and, when once witnessed, are not easily forgotten. 

 I brought away young of several species on this occasion, 

 but did not succeed in rearing any but a Tantalus leucoce- 

 phalus, which lived for some time, growing up a most amusing 

 bird. It ate fish voraciously, squatting down on its tarsi and 

 snapping its huge mandibles with a loud " crake " when hun- 



