PASSERINE BIRDS OF CEYLON. 145 



Bill, legs, and feet black ; iris brown. 



Length about 8-25 ; wing 4-3 ; tail 3-3 ; tarsus 1-4 ; bill 

 from gape 1 • 25. 



Distribution. — Peculiar to the Island and one of our rarest 

 residents. It is confined to the hill country at elevations of 

 over 3,000 feet. 



Habits. — This species keeps to the neighbourhood of 

 mountain streams running through forest-clad gorges. It 

 hides in the shade of the forest, now and again showing 

 itself on the rocks in the stream bed. The cry, according 

 to Legge, is a long-drawn, plaintive, though loud, whistling 

 note. Its diet appears to be mainly insectivorous. Mr. 

 E. Green discovered what he believed to be the nest of this 

 species on March 1.* "It was placed on a sheltered ledge 

 of rock by the side of a waterfall and hidden by surrounding 

 ferns. It was a very compact, solid structure of moss and 

 fern roots, the top forming a level platform, in which a small 

 and rather deep cavity was sunk for the eggs. The platform 

 exceeded in area the hollow space, and when first found the 

 fresh body of a small fish was lying upon it, its head having 

 apparently just been devoured. In the hollow of the nest 

 was a single egg, bluntly oval, with a smaller and larger 

 extremity ; the colour dull greenish -white stained with pale 

 reddish at the end. I was unable to get a sight of the birds, 

 though I heard them in the bushes close by, uttering the 

 complaining note common to many thrushes. I had on 

 former occasions seen specimens of what I believe to be 

 31. blighi frequenting this stream." 



Irena puella. 

 The Fairy Bluebird. 

 Irena puella (Oates, Vol. I., p. 240 ; Legge, p. 466). 

 Description. — Male : The whole of the upper parts, lesser 

 wing coverts, and under tail coverts glistening ultramarine 

 blue shot with lilac ; sides of head and low^er parts deep 

 black ; greater wing coverts, wing quills, and tail black ; 

 some of the coverts have blue tips and the central tail feathers 

 are washed with blue. 



* Vide " Taprobanian," Part II., Vol. HI., 1887, p. 27. 



19 6(17)21 



