ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. 65 



ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES. 



By G. M. Henry, 



Draughtsman and Laboratory Assistant, Colombo Museum. 



THESE notes are intended to be a record of distribution, habits, 

 and remarkable occurrences noted during a seven weeks' 

 trip which I made in my capacity of Assistant to Dr. Pearson 

 during the months of August and September, 1911. A short resume 

 of the trip may not be out of place here, as it will serve to explain 

 some of my notes in regard to breeding, &c. 



We left Colombo on August 16, travelling by the ss. Lady 

 McCallum to Batticaloa. After a fortnight's stay, during which 

 I had the opportunity of visiting Kaddukkamunai tank, 9 miles 

 from Batticaloa, we again took steamer to Trincomalee, from 

 whence we went to Niroddumunai to inspect the Placuna beds of 

 Tamblegam lake. A week was spent here, and we returned to 

 Trmcomalee for the purpose of investigatmg the marine fauna, «fec. 

 After another week at Trincomalee, we again embarked for Kanke- 

 santurai and took train for Jaffna, where we spent another fortnight, 

 returning to Colombo on October 2. 



The outstandmg characteristic of the birds shot was the dis- 

 reputable condition of the plumage preceding moult. Very few of 

 the specimens were in good plumage. It is probable that had the 

 trip been made a couple of months later, this list would have been a 

 considerably longer one. We were just too early to catch the stream 

 of migrants , chiefly waders , which come over from India in numbers 

 on the turn of the south-west monsoon. These migrants were just 

 beginning to arrive when we left Jaffna, in the shape of numbers 

 of Ringed Plover, Sandpipers of sorts, and Little Stints, also Wag- 

 tails. It will be seen that the notes are of a meagre nature, but this 

 was unavoidable, as we were not long enough in any one place to 

 correctly ascertain the precise distribution of species, and in spite 

 of this I trust that they will not be altogether valueless or without 

 interest. 



Order ACCIPITRES. 



Sub-order Falcones. 



Family Falconidce. 



Sub-Family Accipitrinse. 



Astur hadius (the Indian Goshawk). — One of these birds was shot 

 at Niroddumunai, and another was shot about a mile dowTi the 

 Sambore river. Both were in immature plumage. 



