370 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
In the male the bill is brownish-red, paler at the tip and on 
the lower mandible ; comb orange-yellow, shading into bright 
red on the edge; the naked face, throat, and wattles are 
purplish-red ; iris light yellow; legs and feet pale yellow, 
darker down the front ; tarsus armed with a sharp spur. 
In females the bill is dark brown, paler beneath ; iris olive- 
yellow ; feet and legs as in the male. 
Male: length about 27; wing 9°5; tail 13 to 15; tarsus 
3°25; bill from gape 1:2. 
Female: length about 14; wing 7; tail 4; tarsus 2°5; 
bill 1+. 
Distribution.—Peculiar to Ceylon. Found in most parts of 
the Island, except in the more cultivated districts. Its chief 
haunts are the forests of the north and the scrub jungle of the 
dry maritime districts. It ascends in great numbers to the 
Horton Plains and other elevated plateaux when the nellu 
(a species of Strobilanthus) is ripe to feed on the seeds. 
Habits—A jungle bird living largely in the cover of the 
undergrowth. In the morning and evening, especially after 
rain, it comes out on the roads, jungle paths, and open spaces 
in the forest to feed ; during the heat of the day it keeps well 
inside the jungle, and at night time roosts in trees. The cry 
of the cock, “ cluck—joy-joyce,” may be heard constantly 
from sunrise till about 9 a.m.; the hen has a curious littie 
metallic clucking cry. The cocks are polygamous, and leave 
all family cares entirely to the hens. I have taken the eggs 
in February, April, June, and August, so the breeding season 
extends over a considerable period. The nest is sometimes a 
small hollow in the ground under a bush or behind a fallen 
log, the eggs resting on a few dry leaves. I have, however, 
often found it in such situations as on the stump of a felled 
tree, in the tangle of dry leaves caught up by a bush over- 
hanging a water-course, or in an oven-shaped hollow in a 
tree trunk. The eggs vary in number from two to four. In 
shape they resemble those of a domestic hen. The ground 
colour is creamy-white with light brown or purple-brown 
markings, which vary from an excessively fine stippling all 
over the egg to comparatively large and scattered freckles. 
Their average size is 1:82 by 1°39. 
