BREEDING SEASONS OF CEYLON BIRDS. 27 



fascinating problem, namely, the breeding seasons of the 

 various species ia different parts of the Island. Now in 

 Ceylon we have no real summer or winter, and given favour- 

 able chmatic conditions one may find birds breeding in any 

 month of the year. 



In his introduction to " The Birds of Ceylon," Legge gives 

 the main breeding seasons as follows : — " The majority of 

 Ceylon birds breed during the first half of. the year, the exact 

 times varying according to localit}^ and chmate. In the 

 Western Province the height of the breeding season is, as in 

 India, dm'ing the rains of April, May, and Jime. At this 

 time the jungles teem with insect life, and all forest birds are 

 busy rearing their young. In very moist districts, such as 

 Ratnapura and the Pasdun korale, eggs may be found in 

 August and even September. Among early breeders in the 

 Western Province may be cited the Bar bets and Woodpeckers. 

 On the eastern side of the Island many birds commence to 

 breed in November and December, while the heavy rains are 

 falling ; but the season continues, nevertheless, throughout 

 the fijst three or four months of the year, and many birds 

 may be found nesting as on the western side in May and Jime. 

 In the hills, and more particularly in the upper ranges, where 

 the nights are cold and frosty in January and February, the 

 nesting season commences at the end of March or beginning of 

 April, and continues imtil June and July, corresponding in 

 this respect with the breeding-time in temperate climates. In 

 the north of Ceylon, the larger Waders {Ardeidx) and the 

 water-birds that breed with them, commence to nest in 

 November ; but on the south-east coast, the season is later, 

 the heronries not being resorted to as a rule, I think before 

 January." 



Within these broad generahzations, my own experience 

 shows that there are a surprising number of variations. 

 Some birds habitually build earlier than others, some birds 

 seem to go on nesting indiscriminately for several months ; 

 and again in some places I have foimd that certain species 

 have two weU-marked nesting times, between which their 

 eggs are not usually to be found. To work out the problem 

 fully we requii-e detailed observations carried out over a 



