370 NOTES ON CEYLON ESE ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY, 



grey ; feet darker. The bill is longer and stouter than that of 

 my Cal. stentoria, which likewise has not the inside of the 

 mouth orange * ; the tertials are longer than those of the latter 

 bird, falling short in the closed wing of the primaries by 0'6 

 against 0*7 in the latter. 



Lores,, dark, surmounted by a light streak ; head and 

 above olivaceous brown, paling on the rump and quite wanting 

 the rusty f hue which pervades Cal. stentoria ; feathers of the 

 back pale edged; wings and tail dark brown; the quills and 

 lateral rectrices pale edged ; beneath the throat is whitish, 

 darkening into greyish on the neck, which with the chest is 

 striated, each feather having a fine mesial line ; centre of the 

 breast greyish white, wanting the fawn hue present in Cal. 

 stentoria; flanks greyish brown, without the fulvous wash of the 

 Indian bird ; abdomen and under tail-coverts whitish ; under 

 wing-coverts pale fawn white. 



The female appears to want the striae on the chest, but is 

 similar in other respects. 



The nest of this species, which I found on the 25th June last, 

 w r as situated about 5 feet from the water, and was built into the 

 fork of one of the tall seed-stalks of the rush, resting only 

 against the three branches of the fork, but worked round the 

 stems of the flower, which sprung from the same point. The 

 structure was composed of various fine grasses and a few rush 

 blades, and was lined with portions of the flower divested of the 

 seed matter ; this was the most singular point in the construction 

 of the nest ; in shape it was a well-formed and rather deep 

 cup, measuring 2^ inside diameter and 2 in depth. There 

 was unfortunately but one egg laid at the time — U"89 by 0*67, 

 of a pale green ground, boldly blotched with blackish, over 

 spots and markings of olive and olivaceous brown, under which 

 there are again small clouds and blots of bluish grey. The 

 black markings are longitudinal and are most abundant towards 

 the obtuse end. 



The song of this Warbler is the usual harsh warble of the 

 family, beginning with measured notes and breaking into varia- 

 tions ; it has also a " chet" and a " churr" note when threading 

 its way through the reeds. After taking the nest the tank dried 

 up, and the reeds were burnt by herdsmen, and I then revisited 

 the spot for the purpose of getting specimens ; singularly enough, 

 though there were plenty of birds tenanting the few remaining 



* This is seasonal. From the specimen sent me I am not at present disposed to 

 concur in the distinctness of this supposed new species. I have compared this speci- 

 men with a large series of continental ones. It does not differ structurally; the 

 si,:c of the bill varies a good deal in different examples. As to the plumage, it is 

 merely the faded August plumage. I have a July Cashmere specimen exactly like 

 the Ceylon bird.— Ed., S. F. 



f Tins again is seasonal. — Ed. 



