144 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA, 



Distribution. — Peculiar to Ceylon. Found in the hills up 

 to about 4,000 feet and in the forests at their base, extending 

 almost to the sea in the west and south-west. In the northern 

 forest tract it is rarer, but has been obtained as far north as 

 Trincomalee. 



Habits. — A shy bird, which may be found in damp jungle, 

 bamboo scrub, and forest undergrowth. It spends most of 

 its time on the ground hunting for insects. The male has a 

 pretty whistle, and sings from a perch on a low bough, chiefly 

 in the morning and evening. Both sexes have a weak little 

 note uttered while searching for food. The breeding season 

 extends from January to about May. The nest is placed 

 either in the fork of a sapling a few feet from the ground, or 

 among the roots of a tree growing on a bank or little eminence. 

 It is a loose-looking, though compactly put together structure 

 of small twigs, roots, moss, and grass, lined with finer materials 

 of the same sort, the egg cavity being a deep cup. There 

 are two or three eggs, in shape regular ovals. The ground 

 colour is pale bluish-green, scattered over with markings of 

 light reddish-brown, or light red and reddish-gray. The 

 marks tend to coalesce at the larger end. Average size 

 1-12 by -75. 



Areenga blighi. 



The Ceylon Whistling Thrush. 



Arrenga hlighi (Gates, Vol. I., p. 183) ; Myiophoneus blighi 

 Legge, p. 463). 



Description. — Male : Head and neck dull black ; feathers 

 of back, scapulars and breast dark blue with black bases ; 

 a patch of bright blue on the least wing coverts and the point 

 of the wing ; remainder of wing and the tail brownish-black, 

 the wing quills with narrow bluish edges ; rump and upper 

 tail coverts black tinged with chocolate brown ; abdomen, 

 vent, and under tail coverts duU brown. 



According to Legge, females resemble males, but have a 

 lighter and brighter wing spot. 



Immature birds are largely dark brown above, with traces 

 of the blue wing spot, and chocolate brown on the whole of 

 the lower parts, the feathers of the forehead, throat, and 

 breast with lighter centres. 



