PASSERINE BIRDS OF CEYLON. 27 



As regards the Acromyodi, I -pvo^osG to follow the classitica- 

 tion given by Gates in volmes I. and II. on Birds in the 

 Fauna of British India, making, however, one or two modi- 

 fications communicated by E. C. Stuart Baker. According 

 to this classification, twenty famUies belonging to the group 

 are found in Ceylon. Some of these f aniihes may be marked 

 o£E by clear, though minor, structural characters. For in- 

 stance, the Larks have the hinder side of the tarsus scuteUated ; 

 the Sun-birds and Flower-peckers have the edges of the bill 

 serrated ; the SwaUows, Wagtail family, and the Sparrows 

 have only nine primaries ; while the Weaver-bird famfiy and 

 the Sparrows have conical bills, in which the nostrils are set 

 very far back, and lie nearer to the ridge than to the cutting 

 edge of the mandible. The remaining families, however, all 

 possess ten primaries, the first being smaU, and no structural 

 differences sufficient or constant enough to serve as sharply 

 defined lines of division. Gates, therefore, fell back on a 

 system of grouping according to the types of i^lumage normaUy 

 found in the young of each family. He recognized five main 

 groups. In the first the nestling resembles the adult female, 

 but is paler ; in the second it is more brilliant than the 

 adult female, and is generally suffused with yellow ; in the 

 third it is transversely barred ; in the fourth streaked ; in 

 the fifth it is mottled or scaly-patterned. In certain genera, 

 however, the young are exceptions to the normal family rule. 

 For instance, some nestling Flycatchers and Thrushes are 

 plain and not mottled. 



I give below a short synopsis of the Passerine families found 

 in Ceylon. Where possible, in addition to the structural points, 

 I have given short remarks on distinctive characters of form, 

 colour, and size, which will render identification more easy 

 for the beginner ; but it must be remembered that in some 

 cases these latter distinctions hold good only for the limited 

 number of forms occurring in this Island. I hope that this 

 synopsis, taken in conjunction with the short descriptions 

 given in the text at the beginning of each family and sub- 

 family group, wiH enable beginners to get a fair grasp of the 

 different families belonging to this order, \\hich are found 

 within our limits. 



