South-eastern Subdivision of Southern Ceylon. 409 



south-east coast. During my recent visit to Hambantotta, 

 en route for this station, I observed O. ancesthetus in good 

 numbers off the Basses. Specimens I have recently procured 

 were in immature dress ; and I have no doubt all our birds 

 are young. 



141. Pelecanus philippensiSj Gmelin. 



142. Graculus javanicus, Horsf. 



143. Plotus melanogaster, Forst. 



These species I found breeding, in March 1872, at Udu- 

 willa tank, near Tissa Maha Rama. The Pelecan is, perhaps, 

 as abundant in this district as anywhere in Ceylon. I have 

 seen a score and a half on some of the leways in one mob. 



144. Graculus sinensis, Shaw. 



This species is nowhere abundant in Ceylon, as far as I 

 have observed up to the present time. I saw several examples 

 of it in March 1872 at Tissa Maha Rama. 



Trincomalie, 4th Jan., 1875. 



P.S. I have just received, while finishing this paper, my 

 April copy of ' The Ibis ' (1874) ; it has been running round 

 the world after me, and, coming up from Australia, has at 

 last caught me up here ! 



Though somewhat late in the day, I feel that it is incum- 

 bent on me to notice and reply to Mr. Holdsworth^s obser- 

 vations on my '^ Birds of the south-western Hill-region,^^ 

 chiefly with the view of correcting a singular error "which he 

 has made touching one of my identifications, but also to point 

 out several erroneous conclusions which he has arrived at 

 concerning the distribution of species. 



In the first place, as regards dates and details, my paper 

 did not purpose to be an exhaustive catalogue of species, 

 but merely a running outline, calling attention to their oc- 

 currence in a certain region ; the former would have taken up 

 too much space in ' The Ibis.^ 



Touching the validity of my view of the south-east as an 

 " Indo-Ceylonese region, I think that has been confirmed in 

 this paper. 



