CEYLON PIGEONS AND GAME BIRDS. 365 
Bill blackish ; iris dark brown ; legs dull red or brownish. 
Length 9 ; wing 5:5; tail 4; tarsus -7; bill from gape °75. 
Distribution —Layard once found a small colony breeding 
in the Jaffna peninsula. The species occurs throughout the 
greater part of India. Stuart Baker gives a_ sub-specific 
title—Oe. tranquebarica humilis—to the Burmese race, which 
ranges eastward to China and the Philippines. 
Habits —This tiny Dove should be looked for in the dry 
north-west district, where it may possibly be re-discovered. 
The birds found by Layard, probably in April, were nesting 
on the dry leaf-stems of a palmyra palm. The nest and two 
eggs are of the usuai Dove type. The average measurement 
of the eggs is 1°02 by ‘8. 
Order GALLINA. 
Sub-order ALECTOROPODES. 
Family PHASIANID2. 
The game birds, which in one form or another are found 
nearly all over the world, constitute a well-marked order. The 
body is plump, the wings are rounded with ten primary and 
five secondary quills, while the legs and feet are well developed 
for running and walking, and the bill is stout. In many 
genera the tarsus is furnished with a spur, sometimes with 
more than one. ‘The hind toe is present, and in the family to 
which all our Ceylon species belong it is short and raised 
above the level of the three front toes. In this family, too, 
the tarsus and toes are naked. 
As a general rule the nest is placed upon the ground ; the 
nestlings are covered with down when hatched, and can run 
about almost as soon as they come out of the eggs. 
Compared with many parts of India, Ceylon is poorly 
stocked with game birds. Only eight species, distributed 
amongst seven genera, have been authentically included in 
our list ; most of them are rare or local, while two are peculiar 
to the Island. 
