122 Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth on Ceylonese Birds. 



and Mr. Fuller were inclined to consider the uncrested bird 

 a distinct species. 



Apteryx mantelli. 



The few instances that Captain Hutton records do not suf- 

 fice to make Apteryx mantelli a common species in the North 

 Island. Its practical scarcity may be inferred from the fact 

 that an offer of j65 for a specimen, which appeared some years 

 ago in the Maori newspaper, failed to obtain one. 



I must here record my total dissent from the opinion ex- 

 pressed by Captain Hutton, and based on the structure of the 

 egg-shell, that Apteryx "belongs to the Carinate type of birds" 

 (Trans. N. Z. Inst. iv. p. 167) ; for such a view is entirely op- 

 posed to the principles of modern classification. 



XVI. — Remarks on Mr. Legge's Paper on Ceylonese Birds. 

 By E. W. H. Holdsworth, F.L.S. &c. 



The publication of Mr. Legge's observations on the distribu- 

 tion of birds in the southern hill-region of Ceylon will doubt- 

 less be received with satisfaction by all who are interested in 

 the somewhat peculiar avifauna of that island ; and I espe- 

 cially am glad of the information he gives about a district 

 with which I have had only a slight personal acquaintance. 

 Mr. Legge is an active worker, and has told us some interest- 

 ing ornithological news ; but there are some points in con- 

 nexion with particular species mentioned by him about which 

 more precise information would be desirable, and one or two 

 others which are perhaps open to criticism. As we are both 

 anxious to have an accurate account of the manners and 

 customs of the birds of the island placed on record, some 

 comments will, I hope, not be considered altogether out of 

 place. 



The particular point of interest to me in Mr. Legge's paper 

 is the record of the occurrence at 1500 or 2000 feet, in the 

 south of the island, of birds hitherto supposed to be generally 

 confined to the upper hills, and especially abundant at an 

 elevation of about 6000 feet in the central province. 



