422 MR. E. W. H. HOLDSWORTH ON CEYLONESE BIRDS. [Mar. 5, 



they shoot ; and this frequent omission has no doubt led to the over- 

 looking of the fact that in 0. asiaticus the female has the white tail- 

 spot as well as the male, although ahout one fourth shorter. This 

 is not a peculiarity of birds from Ceylon, as in a series of Indian 

 specimens of uuknown sex in Lord Walden's collection I was able 

 to separate them at once into two groups agreeing on this point pre- 

 cisely with the known sexes of the birds of my own collecting. I 

 first noticed the presence of the spot in the female in a specimen I 

 shot at Aripo in 1866, and I made a note of it ; but the skin was de- 

 stroyed by rats ; I have since obtained two more examples showing 

 precisely the same character, so that the first could not have been an 

 accidental variation. I have not been able to ascertain whether the 

 same character is found in the two other Ceylon species, as all my 

 specimens of them are males. 



Bill dusky, tip darker; irides very dark ; feet brownish flesh. 



Ceylon, India, Burmah. 



48. Harpactes fasciatus, Forster. 



Only found among wild tree-jungle in the southern half of the 

 island. I have seen it about twelve miles from Colombo, in a wild 

 uncultivated district in the low country, and also at Nuvvara Eliya, 

 in February ; but it is not very commonly met with, and is perhaps 

 somewhat local in its distribution. In its manners it resembles 

 the Flycatchers, and has generally a peculiar fluttering mode of 

 flight. 



Bill dark blue ; cere smalt ; irides brown ; feet lavender. 



Ceylon, South and Central India. 



49. Merops viridis, Linn. 



Exceedingly abundant in the northern part of Ceylon, where it is 

 a resident. It is also found sometimes at Colombo and on other parts 

 of the coast. Whilst living at Aripo I had constant opportunities 

 of observing these birds closely, as the railings of my veranda were 

 a favourite perching-place for them, and they would allow me to ap- 

 proach within a few feet without showing any alarm. Forty or fifty 

 of these beautiful birds generally roosted in a small bushy tree only 

 a few yards from the house. This species seems to prefer a low sta- 

 tion when looking out for its prey, frequently perching on a small 

 stick only a few inches from the ground. The Ceylon birds gene- 

 rally have the blue throat which is found in the variety described as 

 M. torquatus by Hodgson. 



Bill black ; irides blood-red ; feet lead-colour. 



Ceylon, India to China. 



50. Merops philippinus, Linn. 



A migratory bird ; generally distributed over the low country, but, 

 like the preceding species, very numerous in the north. I have first 

 observed it at Aripo at the end of September ; and it remains there 

 till the change of the monsoon in April. It is a noisy bird, with a 

 lofty, dashing flight, successfully pursuing the dragonflies, and then 



