248 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1934 



The roster of Ceylonese birds includes numerous owls and hawks, 

 and several eagles, although the last are of the smaller varieties and 

 are rather rare. There is also a beautiful, distinct subspecies of the 

 jungle-fowl. Rather abundant are the species and races of wild 

 pigeons, parrakeets, sunbirds, flycatchers, kingfishers, and orioles, 

 most of them dressed in brilliant plumage. One might also mention 

 crows (two species), toucans, the edible swift, partridge, snipe, and 

 quail. Perhaps the most noteworthy of the avian fauna are the water 

 birds and waders, among them many ducks, teal, flamingos, storks, 

 egrets, ibises, herons, and spoonbills. 



Bird protection through legislation and the fact that the majority 

 of the inhabitants are Buddhists account for the great number, vari- 

 ety, and persistence of the avian population. 



Some of the birds peculiar to the country ^ are of great interest 

 and call for better colored portraits and plumage descriptions than 

 this paper can furnish. One of these is a beautiful trogon {Har- 

 pactes fasciatus (Pennant)). It may be regarded as a subspecies 

 of the bird found in South India where, as in Ceylon, it is seen only 

 in thick and usually high forest. These birds are found in pairs; 

 they are insectivorous, hawking their prey in the air, and their call 

 note is a peculiar whistle. The accompanying plate (pi. 1, fig. 1) 

 gives only a faint idea of this bird's brilliant plumage. 



Another notable species is the small Ceylonese hornbill {Tockus 

 gHseus gmgalcnsis (Shaw)), fairly common throughout the bush of 

 the low country, where it is seen in the tops of the trees. Its call 

 closely resembles a human laugh repeated with increasing harshness 

 and frequency. Its food is fruit and large insects. It breeds from 

 April to August and, following the rule of the genus, the female is 

 walled up by means of a plaster of droppings in the nest, a tree 

 cavity, by the male and is fed by him during the incubation period 

 through a narrow opening in the covered retreat. 



The races of babblers (most inappropriate name for birds that, 

 whatever notes they emit, never " babble ") are well represented in 

 Ceylon, some of them being indigenous species. The brown-capped 

 babbler {Pellomeuiii fuscicapillutn (Blyth)) is a shy, skulking bird 

 of the forest that builds a domed nest well hidden on the ground and 

 whose call is a sharp whistle. The common babbler, a friendly bird, 

 is nearly always found in flocks of from 5 to 7 and goes in Cey- 

 lon by the name of the " seven sisters." This company is probably 

 made up of members of several families who flock together. I do 

 not agree with Miss Kershaw as to the notes of Turdoides griseus 

 striatus (seven sisters). My experience of this very common bird 



iSee Coloured Plates of the Birds of Ceylon, by G. M. Henry, Ceylon Government 

 Printing Press, Colombo, 1927-30. 



