12 Lieut. W. V. Legge on the Distribution of 



any noise which would lead to the belief that it is the author 

 of the dreaded sounds imputed to it. When hungry its note 

 is a low screech, resembling the creak of a wheel-barrow 

 in the distance ; and when annoyed or chased by its com- 

 panions in captivity it utters a curious tit-tit-tit-tit. On one 

 occasion, after feeding at sundown, it gave vent to a low and 

 somewhat musical noise, which seemed to proceed from the 

 depths of its chest. There are therefore several inferences that 

 might be drawn from my experience — that it does not hoot in 

 captivity, that it is the male that possesses such extraordinary 

 vocal powers (mine being a female), that it does not utter 

 these sounds until it is quite mature, or lastly that the bird 

 and the peculiar notes are wrongly identified. 



Batrachostomus moniliger inhabits the low hills which are 

 covered with thick jungle and bamboo-thickets. It has been 

 procured at Amblangodde, about twenty miles north of Galle ; 

 and I have got a specimen in my collection which I shot a 

 few miles from the town, near the celebrated village of Wack- 

 Avelle. It is remarkably blind in the daytime, as are also the 

 Australian Podargi. My bird was sitting across a horizontal 

 bamboo, and allowed me to almost touch it before I became 

 aware of its presence ; it did not attempt to fly, but simply 

 opened and shut its eyes, turning its head towards me, as I 

 retired to a convenient distance to shoot it. It measured in 

 the flesh 9 inches total length, tail 4*1, wing 4^, iris yellow, 

 bill greenish brown, feet and tarsi fleshy grey, the former the 

 darkest. Caprimulgus asiaticus and C. atripennis ai'e very 

 common ; but the latter is the more numerous of the two : 

 certain wooded localities in the low country, in which it is 

 most plentiful, swarm with this bird. Just as the sun sets 

 the first " kak-o-wa-wa " is heard ; and this is the signal for 

 a whole wood to resound with these peculiar notes, the bird 

 being always seated on a tree at the time ; after having car- 

 ried on this concert for five or ten minutes, they sally out and 

 may be seen alighting on the paths, and allow then a near 

 approach. The largest males measure 11 inches, females 

 10"4 inches ; and these, like C. asiaticus, have the tail-spot on 

 the two outer feathers of a dirty or yelloivish white, and less 



