110 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 



I waB able to observe the characteristic grounding habit of this 

 bird in a ravine where a driblet of water was running over rock and 

 sand. When shot its mouth was full of oose. Cichla is the Greek 

 for a bird generally identified with the Ousel , and Geo cichla means 

 Ground Ousel. '*^ 



In the first list I unaccountably left out the up-country Minah . with 

 his starhng plumage and yellow ear lappets. They used to be quite 

 common, nesting in the woodpecker holes and other hollows in tlie 

 giant doon trees, which are now, alas ! of the past in Dimbula. They 

 fed a good deal on the fruit of the wild nutmeg (Malaboda) , and I 

 Jiave shot them with their crops full of the fruit — not a bad swallow 

 for a bird not much bigger than a starling. 



The scientific name of the hill Minah is an amusing example of 

 the turgidity of the classic chamber-naturalist — literally translated 

 Eulabes ptilogenys means the " cunning (fellow) with a featliery 

 lower jaw." 



Xw^V^^ of the general ignorance on the subject of birds, one of 

 our oldest planters recently made the statement to me that hardly 

 any of the birds now visible were in Dimbula in the jungle days. It 

 is seldom worth arguing out an abstract question like this verbally , 

 but it is interesting to note that nearly every bird in my hst had 

 been identified fifty years ago by that keen observer Kelaart. 



Very little has been added to our numbers since then , althouglx the 

 labours of Legge, Bligh, Layard, Lewis, and others have added much 

 to our general knowledge of habits, nidification, &c. 



Classical Nomenclature. — This is from either a naturalist's or a 

 scholar's point of view rather a woful hash, but in the first place 

 it is a mistake to call it classical; and in the second place to 

 complain of it is merely to betray want of famiharity with the 

 principles of zoological nomenclature. In many cases the hteral 

 translation of the Linnsean name leads to an absurdity. In rare 

 instances it may be considered an improvement on the common 

 name, as lyith the common Kestrel, Tinnunculus alaudariu, 

 literally the lark-hunting kestrel. 



Talawakele. JAMES RYAN. 



15. The Purple-r limped Sunhird. — ^Mr, Ernest Green has recentl}" 

 drawn attention to the well-known habit of this bird of fluttering 

 continuously against window panes. Its scientific name being 

 " Spiderhater " {Arachnecthra) , I had the idea that possibly it 

 came to window panes in search of spiders or the flies in their webs. 

 As, however, they frequently allow an approach to within a few 

 inches of the inner side of tlie glass, I am convinced that they are 

 merely attacking their own reflection in the glass , and that therefore 

 the advancing observer is hidden from them by reflection. 



