338 Mr. F. Lewis on the Land-birds of 



when formed are rudely torn off and lost, and those birds 

 that remain are forced to a state of comparative privation. 



When, on the other hand, the north-east monsoon comes 

 in, with its sharp local thunderstorm, a still air, and a 

 burning sun, then bird-life is found in profusion. The first 

 of the migratory species to appear is generally Motacilla 

 melanope. This beautiful little Wagtail will be found often 

 on the 1st of September, and in a few days, from the banks 

 of the cold bubbling streams in the heart of the " wilderness 

 of the Peak,^' down to silent rivers of the " Bintenna " 

 country, this ever active little bird will be found in restless 

 movement in search of its food. Soon aftei', and often 

 together with this Wagtail, will be found Merops philippensis 

 and Hirundo rustica, while more to the south, in the swamp- 

 lands and rice-fields (paddi-fields), the sportsman of the 

 country hopes to record his bag of the " first Snipe of the 

 season.^^ The Snipe {Gallinago stenura) arrives about the 

 2nd of September and departs at the end of April, though it 

 it is not uncommon to find individual specimens so late as 

 the 10th of May. In the hills, as well as in the low country, 

 migratory species begin to increase in number, counting 

 among them such species as Cerchneis tinnuncv,lus,Hierococcyx 

 vnrius, Lanius cristatus, Terpsiphone paradisi, Phyl/oscopus 

 nitidus, and Pitta coronata, not to mention many others 

 that are less noticeable. The stream of migration is difficult 

 to follow, as it has never been regularly observed at different 

 points at right angles to its course simultaneously ; but the 

 impression I have gathered from my own observations is 

 that in this province the incoming stream strikes well to the 

 south of the main mountain-ranges, while the outgoing may 

 be taken at first as a gradual thinning of species in the hills 

 and increase in the plains, after which the departure takes 

 place, probably in the course of a few nights. I have not 

 been able to find any special places or points at which birds 

 of any one species congregate previous to departure, and I 

 receive with doubt the statement insisted on by some observers 

 that this association does take place, as it has not been sup- 

 ported by my own direct experience, beyond a few occasions 



