260 SPOLIA ZEYLANIGA. 
the Southern Indian Babbler, C. striatus, or possibly in those 
of the Magpie Robin, Copsychus saularis. They resemble 
those of the last species, but are larger and of a slightly paler 
blue. An egg from near Puttalam, which probably belongs 
to this species, measures 1°04 by °83. The average size of 
Indian eggs is about 1°06 by °90. 
Sub-family Phenicophaine. 
Koels and Coucals. 
The Koels, Malkohas, and Coucals are a cuculine group, 
typically represented in Ceylon by the familiar Crow Pheasant, 
frequently but erroneously termed the ‘“‘ Jungle Crow ”’ and 
the Koel. They are all birds of moderate size, with short, 
rounded wings and long, broad tails; the bill is generally 
stout, and the upper mandible much curved ; the tarsus is 
always naked. Most of them are ground feeders, and are 
found in thorny scrub, thick jungle, or long grass. Their 
powers of flight are poor, but they slip through tangled thorn 
bushes and undergrowth with surprising ease. The Koel, 
Eudynamis honorata, like the true Cuckoos, is parasitic in its 
nesting habits, and its eggs approach in colour and markings 
those of the crows, in whose nests it lays. The other members 
of the sub-family build their own nests and lay chalky-white 
eggs. Seven species representing five genera are found in 
Ceylon. Several of them are rare or local, while one—Pheni- 
cophes pyrrhocephalus—placed in a genus by itself, is peculiar 
to the Island. 
Rough Key to Ceylon Pheenicophaine. 
A.—Tail and wing measurements equal; male glossy 
black ; female glossy brown speckled with white. 
EHudynamis honorata (Koel). 

B. 
I.—Tail tipped with white. 
Tail measurement longer than that of wing. 
(1) Upper plumage gray, glossed with green ; naked 
skin of face bluish. 
Rhopodytes __viridirostris (Small Green-billed 
Malkoha). 
