PICARIAN BIRDS AND PARROTS OF CEYLON. 243 
Length 10°5; wing 7°25; tail 5; tarsus +6; bill from 
gape 1°25. Females slightly smaller. 
Distribution —Occurs mainly on the hills of the central 
ranges down to about 3,000 feet, but Legge also found it in 
the forests at the foot of Friar’s Hood in the Eastern Province. 
Blanford again unites in one species three forms: 
C. kelaarti, from Ceylon and South India ; C. indicus, which 
oceurs over the greater part of India and Burma; and 
C. jotaka, a larger bird which ranges from the Amur and 
Japan through South-eastern Asia to New Guinea. 
Habits, &c.—Occurs chiefly on the patanas, open forest 
glades, and * eliyas”’ of the higher hills. During the day it 
lies up among the rocks at the edge of the jungle, coming out 
in the evening. 
The cry is described by Legge as *‘ chump-pud ”’ repeated 
at intervals. It is noisiest in the breeding season, which 
occurs about April. 
The usual two eggs are laid on the ground under a bush. 
The ground colour is salmon-pink, with brown and purplish- 
gray markings. Average size (in the small South Indian 
race) 1:15 by °86. 
c 
Sub-order PODARGI. 
Family PoDARGID-. 
Genus Batrachostomus, 
Frogmouths. 
The Frogmouths closely resemble the Nightjars in their 
general appearance and habits, but are readily distinguished 
by the bill, which is extremely broad, and flat, rigid, and 
horny, while the tip is hooked. There are no true rictal 
bristles, but at the base of the bill on each side is a tuft of 
bristly feathers. There are similar tufts in front of the eyes, 
while the feathers of the ear tufts also end in bristles. The 
wings are rounded and short. The nest is either a structure of 
twigs, or a pad of moss, &c., placed on a branch. The eggs, 
one or two in number, are white and glossless. Frogmouths 
are found in South India, the Eastern Himalayas, South- 
eastern Asia, and Australasia. One species occurs in Ceylon. 
