PALEOEXES CALTHEOP.E. 179 



Saffiragam. Beyond the Karawita hills, which lie to the south of the Kaluganga, I again met with it in the 

 forests of the northern or lower part of the Kukkul Korale, and traced it into the Pasdun Korale as far as 

 the remote and sequestered village of AToropitiya. Xearer the sea than this locality I did not find it. In the 

 south its coast-wise limit appears to he the vicinitv of the Haycock, and in the east that of " TTestmiuster- 

 Abbey " hill. 



From the above remarks it will be seen that this Parrakeet spreads into the low country at all points 

 connected with an adjacent forest-covered range, in which it is numerous. 



As regards the altitude to which it ascends, I have seen it between 5000 and 6000 feet above Maturata, 

 at a similar height in the Wilderness of the Peak and in Haputale, and Dr. Kelaart records it from Xuwara 

 Elliya, though neither Mr. Holdsworth nor Mr. Bligh met with it there. 



Habits. — Layard' s Parrakeet frequents the outskirts and open places in the interior of forests, patna-woods, 

 wooded gorges, and glades in the vicinity of hills ; it associates in moderately-sized flocks, and is a very noisv 

 and restless bird, uttering its harsh " crake " on the wing, as it dashes up and down the magnificent valleys and 

 forest-clad glens of the Ceylon mountains, and enlivens these romantic solitudes with its swift and headlong 

 flight. It is entirely arboreal in its habits, settling in flocks among the leaves of its favourite trees, and silently 

 devouring the fruit-seeds and buds on which it subsists. It is veiy partial to the wild fig, the fruit of the 

 Kanda-tree [Macaranga tomentosa), the wild cinnamon-tree, and the flowers of the Bomba-tree. After feeding 

 in the mornings it becomes garrulous, assembling in small parties in shady trees, and keeping up a chattering 

 note almost similar to that of Layarda rufescens ; towards evening it commences to feed again, and before 

 going to roost roams about in small flocks, constantly uttering its loud harsh note, and settling frequently ou 

 the tops of conspicuous and lofty trees. In the Singha-Eajah forest their presence at evening was more 

 conspicuous than that of any other bird ; they darted up and down the deep gorges and across the small 

 Kurrakan clearings in the forest, keeping up an incessant din ; now and then they rested on the top of some 

 dead tree standing in the cheena, and then suddenly glanced off, shooting with arrow-like speed between the 

 trees of the forest, again to appear as they swept up the valley and away over the top of the gloomy jungle. 



Its flight is bold and swift, but not of that glancing character peculiar to the last species ; and this, 

 together with its harsh cry, which can be heard a long way off, seems to distinguish it easily from Pal. cyano- 

 cephalus. 



Nidification. — The breeding-season commences in January. It nests in holes in large trees ; but I have 

 never been able to procure the eggs, although I have more than once discovered the nest. I have seen one 

 situated in a Hora-tree (Dipterocarpus seylanicus) ; the old birds, on flying to it, clung to the bark outside 

 the opening, and then pulled themselves into the hole, using the beak to assist them in entering. Layard 

 writes that he was informed by natives that they laid two eggs, which, like those of other members of the 

 family, would be pure white. In the Peak "Wilderness they breed in the decaying trunks of dead Kitool- trees. 



The figures on the Plate are those of an adult female in the foreground, with a slightly abnormal amount 

 of black below the cheeks, and a young male from Kaloday, Eastern Province, in the background, which should 

 have been drawn with the back turned to the front, so as to show the peculiarly light blue on the rump of 

 immature males. Vnfortunately, however, the requirements of the author and the tastes of the artist are 

 sometimes at variance. I had wished that these birds should be figured on the " Jambu-tree," a sketch of 

 which, by Sir Chas. Layard, I furnished my artist with; but it was not found suitable, and he has introduced 

 the common fig-tree of Europe instead. 



