MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 285 
To realize the position occupied by Ceylon in the general flow 
of migration, one should glance at the map of Asia. The bulk 
of the migrant species which are summer residents in Northern 
and Central Europe winter in Africa. The desert of the 
Sahara is the ‘“‘No man’s land,’ which lies between the 
summer and winter quarters of many a species. In Asia 
a more or less corresponding position is occupied by the 
Himalayas and the great elevated plateaux of Central Asia. 
Countless hosts which breed on the Siberian Tundras winter 
in. Tropical Asia. There can be no doubt that many 
Siberian birds move south-eastwards down through the Malay 
Archipelago to Australasia, or south-westwards down the 
Arabian Coast to East Africa; but for those that cross the 
Himalayas and strike southwards through India, Ceylon lies 
at the end of the route. 
Accordingly, instead of beg a busy junction like the 
British Isles, Ceylon is a terminus reached by comparatively 
few. It is possible, but unlikely, that a certain number of 
migrants may strike off from our shores south-west to Mauritius 
and Madagascar or south-east to the Malay Archipelago ; but 
in each case the sea voyage is so long, and these countries may 
be reached by so much easier routes, that in all probability 
we may say we have practically no birds of passage. Again, 
as we are almost on the Equator, we have no summer resi- 
dents, that is, as far as I know, we have no migrants which 
come to us for their breeding season. Our Island is wholly a 
winter resort. Our stragglers, too, are comparatively few in 
number, and are composed, not so much of birds which have 
wandered off their true line of migration, as of stray specimens 
of species which usually winter a little to the north of us, but 
which have pushed on beyond their accustomed range. We 
must also remember that being in the tropics the proportion 
of resident species is larger than it would be in a temperate 
climate. The migratory movements, therefore, in Ceylon are 
not nearly so complex as in England. 
The total number of species at present recorded from Ceylon 
is roughly 375; of these, about 15 are very doubtful inclusions, 
leaving about 360 genuine species on the list. Of these 360 
species, two-thirds are known, or are reasonably believed, to 
13 6(5)20 
