on a Ramble in Ceylon.



127



our path, and we hear his companions cooing on all sides. A

pair of Spotted Doves ( Turtur suratensis) are flushed beneath a

clump of giant bamboo, and we catch a glimpse of a small bird

of brilliant black and yellow plumage, but it is not identified. A

family of Wood Swallows (Arlamus fascus) have taken possession

of a dead bough and sit huddled together uttering their peculiar

plaintive call ; occasionally one of their number takes a short

flight in pursuit of some insect, but always returns to nestle close

up to his companions. Here for the first time we note the active

little Ceylonese Loriquet ( Loriculus indicus ) associating in small

flocks of from eight to a dozen birds ; they are very busy and

very noisy, climbing about the tops of the palm trees. We note

that these birds evince a marked partiality for the higher forest

trees.


On the smaller flowering shrubs we notice numerous nests

of the Ceylon Munia {Miinia kelaarti ) but the ones examined

were empty; they were untidy structures composed of dried

grass, not unlike the nest of the Tree Sparrow ( Passer montanus) y

and from the fact that the birds were busy building again we

concluded that we were too early for eggs, or else like the

Sparrow they nest consistently for three or four mouths of the

year, repairing the old nest each time a fresh clutch is laid. In

an area of some thirty square yards upwards of a dozen nests

were discovered, and from the fact that the Nutmeg bird {Munia

punctularia ) was noticed to be equally busy carrying about nest¬

ing material, and quite as excited when the nests were examined,

it is possible that the large untidy bundles were the joint efforts

of both species. Another small bird that we noticed plentiful in

the locality was the Ceylon White-eye {Zosterops ceylonensis), in

its movements closely resembling a small Titmouse busily

searching for minute insects.


As we scramble down a steep bank towards the river a

soft mellow note, strangely familiar, greets our ears; we

“ cudgel ” our brains, where have we heard that note before ?

Visions of the Western Aviary at Regent’s Park rise before us,

and we have it—a Barbet,—but although we search diligently

we cannot discover the bird who must have been close at hand,



