30 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 



ground is dry enough for their purpose, and until the weather 

 has become so settled that there is little fear of their being 

 swamped'out by a heavy pour. The Night-jars nest from April 

 on to August. The Larks and Pipits for the most part wait 

 until the paddy is reaped, and the water has run off the paddy 

 fields, which are their favourite nesting grounds. The Green 

 Bee-eater {M crops viridis) is another good instance. This 

 bird excavates a long tunnel like a Kingfisher's burrow, but 

 instead of choosing a perpendicular bank, it will run its shaft 

 into the least little rise either on suitable bare grassy land or 

 by the side of the road. The tunnel often slopes downwards, 

 and if the bird did not wait till well on in the dry weather, it 

 would often run the risk of being flooded out by a heavy 

 thunder shower. 



But the most interesting bird from the point of view of my 

 theory is the common Did-he-do-it {Sarcogrammus indicus). 

 Its favourite breeding ground in the North-Central Province 

 is the belt of bare grassy land round every village tank. As 

 soon as the water begins to recede from the rim of jimgle which 

 marks spill level the birds will start breeding, generally 

 choosing little bits of rising ground for a nesting site. As 

 long as there is any water in the tank they have an ample 

 f ceding -gi'ound, and as the water gradually shrinks in the 

 tank-bed they obtain an unhmited choice of little depressions 

 and hoof marks in the sun-dried mud in which to lay their 

 eggs. And so you may find the eggs any month from April 

 to September, for during the whole of that time the birds have 

 a good food supply and a suitable nesting environment. 



Lastly, let us take the waders and swamp -nesters, which 

 are found in numbers on the tanks of the North-Central Pro- 

 vince and on the lagoons of the Tangalla district. The Heron 

 family generally nest in trees, and as we might expect they are 

 early breeders, choosing a time when their feeding areas — ^the 

 swamps and tanks — are at their fullest. Birds which build 

 close to the water's edge in reeds or grass have to wait until 

 the rains are over, and there is no danger of the water rising 

 and flooding their nests. For instance, in the Tangalla 

 district, the Blue Coot {PorpJiyrio poliocephalus) , the Moor-hen 

 {Gallinula chloropus), and the Clamorous Reed-warbler 



