^ Birds in Southern Ctijhn. 17 



angle of a horizontal fork or on a branch high up from the 

 ground. The eggs are two in number, of a fleshy white 

 ground-eolour, clouded at the obtuse end with faint lilac and 

 blotched over that, principally at the same part, with light 

 brown; axis 11 lines, diameter 8 lines. D. edoliiformis 

 (Blyth) and Edolius malabaricus (Scop.) are both found in 

 the district ; they are both inhabitants of forest entirely, 

 extending from the Kottowe hills towards the Morowa-Korle 

 moimtains, the former ranging up to the highest points, and 

 the latter confined, so far as I have been able to trace it, to 

 the heavy lowland forests. The song of D. edoliiformis is 

 powerful and melodious, but not so spirited as that of its 

 long-tailed congener, and is generally uttered when the bird 

 is disturbed or flying from tree to tree. It perches mostly on 

 the upper limbs of trees, and sallies forth at passing coleo- 

 pterous insects, very often returning to the same place and 

 elevating its tail on alighting. On comparing a number of 

 specimens I find that females are the smallest ; my finest spe- 

 cimen measures 12"6 inches, with a tail of Q'7 inches, while 

 males attain a total length of 13 "9 inches. Immature birds 

 have the under tail-coverts barred with white, and the under 

 wing-coverts white-tipped. Edolius malabaricus is an ex- 

 tremely shy bird, and frequents deep tangled nullahs in the 

 forest, being consequently very hard to procure. One indi- 

 vidual in my collection, procured in the Kottowe forest near 

 Galle, has the long tail-feathers only 5'2 inches longer than 

 the rest, the bare portion of the " stem " measuring only 2\ 

 inches ; there is no appearance of these feathers being in the 

 growing-stage ; but Jerdon gives the length as 11 inches more 

 than the others. Although this bird and the last mentioned 

 appear to be sometimes confounded when the tail is not in 

 the racket-stage, surely the two species ought to be distinguish- 

 able at all ages, on account of the crest of E. malabaricus 

 falling back over the forehead, whilst that of D. edoliiformis 

 projects forward over the bill; the long-tailed bird is also of 

 slenderer frame, its rictal bristles are shorter, and the fea- 

 thers of the neck are more hackled. 



Of Muscicapidse, the elegant Tchitrea paradisea arrives in 



SER. III. — VOL. IV. c 



