PASSERINE BIRDS OF CEYLON. 107 



primaries. The wattling is confined to two lappets of rich 

 yellow skin, which spring from the sides of the nape. In old 

 birds these lappets meet at the base. 



Bill orange-red, the lower mandible for half its length and 

 the upper mandible from the gape to the nostrils black ; iris 

 in males grayish-white mottled with brown, in females white 

 or 3'ellowish-white ; legs and feet gamboge yellow. 



Length 10-75 ; wing 6 ; tail 2-75 ; tarsus 1-35 ; bill from 

 gape 1*4. 



Distribution. — Peculiar to Ceylon. It occurs in the well- 

 wooded parts of the main hill ranges from about 6,500 feet to 

 1,500 feet. In the forests westward of the Adam's Peak 

 range it appears to descend almost to sea level. 



Habits. — Much the same as those of the last species. The 

 call is rather less shrill. The nest and eggs also closely resem- 

 ble those of the Southern Grackle, and measure about 1 -30 by 

 •98. 



Family Sturnid^. 



Starlings and Mynahs. 



The Starlings and Mynahs form a large group, with a marked 

 family resemblance, found over a great portion of the Old 

 World. Some species are migratory, others resident, but 

 nearly all are gregarious. They are not nearly so arboreal as 

 the Grackles, the greater portion of their food being obtained 

 on the ground. The bill is generally moderately stout, only 

 gently curved, or almost straight ; but there is a distinct 

 downward bend of the mouth near the gape. 



There are no rictal bristles ; the nostrils are rather narrow 

 and almost horizontal; they stand clear of the line of the 

 forehead, but the base of the bill is feathered down to their 

 margins. The feathers of the crown and nape are elongated 

 and in some species form a distinct crest. The first primary 

 is minute. The tarsus is stout, and the feet large. Four 

 genera, each represented by a single species, are found in 

 Ceylon, and one genus, Sturnornis, is peculiar to the Island. 

 In the migrant genus Pastor the wing is long and pointed, the 

 tail short and square ; in the other three resident forms the 

 wing is blunt and the tail more rounded. 



