ZANCLOSTOMUS VIEIDIEOSTEIS. 259 



in the northern half and south-eastern division of the island, including, as regards the former, the Puttalam 

 and Chilaw districts and the Seven Korales. 



It does not, as far as I am aware, ascend into the hill-zone to any considerable altitude, although it is 

 found in the hilly country at the base of the Hewa-Elliya ranges, at an elevation of about 1000 feet. In the 

 above-mentioned low-country districts it is dispersed throughout the forests and low jungle, being everywhere 

 to be found by those who know what sort of locality it frequents ; in the south and west, however, it affects 

 only those spots which are suitable to its habits. It is found in tangled thickets here and there throughout 

 the Colombo district, and in the south-west corner of the island is more local still ; for instance, it frequents 

 the thorny tangled brake covering the peninsula on the east side of Galle harbour, and is scarcely to be found 

 anywhere else in the neighbourhood. Mr. Holdsworth records it as abundant at Aripu; and further north, as 

 well as in the island of Manaar, it is equally so. It is found in the Jaffna peninsula. 



Elsewhere this Malkoha is found only in the south of India. In Ramisserum Island it is common, and 

 likewise on the mainland of the peninsula. In the Palani hdls Mr. Fairbank procured it at the eastern base. 

 Jerdon says that it is found as far north as Cuttack, where it meets the larger species. " In the bare Carnatic 

 and the Deccan," he writes, " it is chiefly to be met with in those districts where the land is much enclosed, as 

 in part of the zillah at Coimbatore, where large tracts of country are enclosed by thick and, in many cases, 



lofty hedges of various species of Euphorbia Throughout the west coast, where jungle and forests 



abound, it is much more common, especially in those parts where bamboos occur, and where numberless 

 creepers entwine themselves and hang in luxuriant festoons from every tree." 



Habits. — The Green-billed Malkoha frequents dense low jungle, the tangled edges of forest, scrub near 

 the sea-coast or surrounding large woods, thickets, and so forth. It is not particularly shy, but does not 

 care to subject itself to long observation, making off with a stealthy flight, and threading its way quickly 

 through the most tangled underwood. I have often noticed it in pairs, but just as frequently flushed it singly, 

 its mate being probably not far distant. In the Northern Province and the jungles to the south of Haputale, 

 where it is abundant, it may frequently be seen flying across the roads. Its diet consists of various fruits and 

 berries and also iusects ; in the stomach of one I found a large locust almost whole. In India it is said to be 

 almost entirely insectivorous. Jerdon writes that it " diligently searches the leaves for various species of 

 Mantis, Grasshopper, and Locust, whose green colours and odd forms, though assimilating so strongly to the 

 plants on which they rest, are but of little avail against its keen and searching eye." In his ' Birds of India/ 

 he remarks that he never found it feeding on fruit; in Ceylon it is the exception to find that it has partaken 

 of any thing else. It is difficult to flush a second time ; for when thoroughly alarmed it skulks in the thickest 

 underwood it can find, or escapes, by the use of its legs, among the branches forming its retreat. Its note is a 

 low crake, sounding like kraa, generally uttered after it has been flushed; but it is usually of a silent habit. 



Nidifi cat ion. — We are indebted to Miss Cockburn for the only information yet to hand of this bird's 

 nesting. She obtained one nest in March on the Nilghiris. It was large, and consisted of sticks, put together 

 much in the style of a Crow-Pheasant's nest. It contained two white eggs. 



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