14 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
We have nine authenticated species in Ceylon belonging to 
six genera. Of these six genera, two, Gecinus and Micropternus, 
are absent from the Carnatic and north-west coast of Ceylon, 
but present in the Malabar and Ceylon forests. A third genus, 
Iiopicus, is absent from Malabar, but found in the Carnatic 
and the dry zone of Ceylon. In two of the remaining three 
genera, viz., Brachypternus and Chrysocolaptes, we have a 
species peculiar to Ceylon, with its headquarters in the southern 
part of the Island, together with a more widely distributed 
species, which in Ceylon is found solely or mainly in the dry 
Northern tract. 
Going into details more fully, the genus Gecinus is repre- 
sented in Ceylon by two species, G. striolatus—the Green 
Woodpecker—which is almost entirely confined to the 
patanas of the Central Province, and G. chlorogaster—the 
Yellow-naped Woodpecker—which occurs in the foothills 
and the forests of the low-country, except in the north of the 
Island. 
As I have mentioned above, the genus is unknown in the 
Carnatic. 
On the other hand, Liopicus mahrattensis—the Yellow- 
fronted Pied Woodpecker—is not found in the Malabar tract, 
and in Ceylon it is confined mainly to the sandy scrub country 
round the north-west coast, but some birds have crept round 
the east coast to the similar region in the south-east, its 
western limit on this side lying a few miles east of Tangalla. 
Tyngipicus gymnophthalnus—the Ceylon Pigmy Wood- 
pecker—is found mainly in the forests of Ceylon and the 
Malabar tract. It would appear to be rare in the Carnatic, 
and there are sub-specific differences between the Ceylon and 
Malabar races. 
Micropternus gularis—the Malabar Rufous Woodpecker— 
is not found in the Carnatic. Its main haunts in Ceylon are 
the forests at the base of the hills, but it spreads almost 
through the northern forest tract. 
The genus Brachypternus is represented in Ceylon by two 
species. 
B. aurantius—the Golden-backed Woodpecker—which is 
found throughout India, in Ceylon does not occur south of 
