234 Mr. E. L. Layard's Rambles in Ceylon. 



common in the jungles or tanks and up the large rivers ; H. Smyr- 

 nensis, L., affecting paddy fields throughout the island, and H. atri- 

 capillus. Lath., one solitary specimen procured near Jaffna. Ceryle 

 rudis, L., not uncommon and generally distributed. Alcedo ben- 

 galensis, Gmel., passim ; and the lovely little three-toed Ceyx, 

 C. erythaca, Pallas, rarely seen and more rarely shot, and delighting 

 equally in the veUdest mountain-torrent and the placid tank. I have 

 seen Halcyon Smyrnensiskeding much upon butterflies and coleoptera, 

 hawking after them in.the manner of the Meropidee ; their principal 

 food is small Crustacea, frogs and fishes ; they breed in hollow trees, 

 laying two round white eggs. A. bengalensis breeds on banks, and 

 lays four round white eggs ; I have procured them in May and June. 



Starting very early on the morning of the 1 2th for Mehintally, 

 our next stage, I bagged two specimens of Buceros pica and two of 

 B. yingalensis, Shaw, the only two species of the genus I have 

 yet procured, though I am confident I once saw another (probably 

 B. alhirostris, Shaw) in the Ambegamoa district. 



The habits of B.pica are very peculiar ; I have seen them much on 

 the ground in grass land, but never could detect what they sought — 

 probably some small mammal. In flying they strike the air several 

 heavy strokes with their vnugs, and then stretching them out, sail 

 for several yards, when another flap is required, the head and mon- 

 strous casque thrown as much forward as their long necks will permit. 

 They always fly in flocks, generally in line, uttering their harsh dis- 

 cordant cries, which may be heard for upwards of a mile. The natives 

 assure me that in plucking fruit from the trees, they seize hold of it, 

 and then throw themselves off, turning and tvnsting in the air till 

 they wrench the fruit from its hold, when they recover their wings 

 and alight again, toss up the fruit, catch it, and swallow it whole. 

 B. yingalensis approaches somewhat to the long-tailed cuckoos (Phce- 

 nicophaincii) in its method of travelhng through the leafy tree-tops, 

 and is therefore most difficult to shoot. It flies into a tree and creeps 

 upwards to the top on the opposite side, and then darts into the next. 

 This is a habit vrith all our cuckoos ; less visible in the true genus 

 Cuculus than in the other genera of the same family. As far as I 

 can ascertain, the range of B. pica is from Pt. Pedro, the most 

 northerly point, to Nallande or Matelle. B. yingalensis does not, 

 that I am aware of, attain a greater altitude, but it is found alone in 

 plenty a few miles up the Caltura River, among the isolated hills 

 which mark the first approach to the mountain zone. I have heard 

 of it at Galle and Matura, and saw it at Ragama, twelve miles from 

 Colombo, on the western coast ; neither of the species is seen again 

 till Chilaw is past, when B. pica becomes abundant, and continues 

 so to Jaffna. The natives assert that B. jnca builds in holes in trees ; 

 that when incubation is fairly commenced, the female takes her seat 

 on the eggs, and the male fastens up the hole by which she entered, 

 leaving only a small aperture, through which he feeds his partner, 

 while she successfully guards their treasures from the monkey tribes, 

 her formidable bill nearly filling the entire entrance. 



This day's journey brought us fairly among the mountains. We 

 had one river to cross, and the usual allowance of mud-holes and 



