344 CAPEIMULGUS ASIATICUS. 



Obs. With age the white terminal spots of the reetrices increase in size, and the throat-band develops and becomes 

 whiter. Examples from the dry, hot districts in the south-east and north of the island are more rufous in their 

 tints than those from the west and south : they thus resemble Indian examples of the species, which are, as a 

 rule, as Mr. Holdsworth remarks, he. cit., much less grey than those from the island. It- must, however, be borne 

 in mind that this Nightjar is a very variable bird in its coloration ; some individuals seem to have the tendency 

 to buff markings more exaggerated throughout the entire plumage than others, this behig particularly noticeable 

 in the scapulars and tail-feathers ; the wing-spots vary considerably in character, and while the ground-colour of 

 the primaries is almost black in one bird, it will be a medium brown in another of the same age. 



Distribution. — This little Nightjar inhabits, in considerable numbers, all the maritime portions of the 

 island, affecting, by choice, those localities where sandy scrubs or sparsely clothed open lands border the 

 sea-coast ; it is consequently less common in the damp wooded district of the south-west than in the hot 

 eastern and northern divisions of the island. It is very abundant in the Batticaloa, Hambantota, and 

 Trincomalie districts, and likewise in the Jaffna peninsula and down the western coast as far south as 

 Kalatura. In the interior it is less numerous, and such wooded tracts as Saffragam, the Pasdun, and lower 

 portion of the Kukkul Korale are haunted but little by it. It ascends into the Kandyan Province, and is by no 

 means uncommon in Dumbara and Deltota and in the low-lying basins drained by the affluents of the 

 Mahawelliganga. In Ilva it ranges to a considerable altitude, and I have seen it in May as high as 

 4000 feet in the Fort-Maedonald district. Higher than this I have no evidence of its occurring. 



Elsewhere on the continent this species, which is the commonest of the Indian Nightjars, is found 

 throughout all India, and ranges, according to Mr. Hume, into the Himalayan mountains in the spring 

 and summer, at which season it may be met with as high as 6000 feet. It extends into Burmah, and is 

 common in the British Provinces there, Mr. Oates recording it as numerous in the plains of Pegu, but not 

 in the hills. As regards India proper, I find that it is local in Sindh, having only been met with at Sehwan. 

 In the Sambhur-Lake district Mr. Adam savs it is not common, but in northern Guzerat and the 

 surrounding plain country it is so. Mr. Fairbank notes that it is plentiful in the Decean ; it is likewise so in 

 the southern parts of the Madras Presidency, but does not appear to occur in the hills, as Mr. Bourdillon does 

 not record it in his list of T ravaneorc birds, and Mr. Fairbank procured but one example of it at the base 

 of the Palanis. 



Habits. — The Common Indian Nightjar affects scrubby waste lands, low sandy jungle-tracts, cinnamon- 

 plantations, and openly wooded country intermingled with small wood. It is a tame and familiar bird, and 

 is better known to most people than the last species. It roosts during the day on bare ground between 

 shrubs and sleeps soundly, suddenly getting up when almost trodden on, and quickly realighting again at a 

 little distance oil'. The young brood remain with the parents for some time, and thus a little party of three 

 or more may often lie surprised roosting in close proximity to native houses. It is a well-known bird in the 

 cinnamon-gardens of Colombo, alighting in the roads just after sunset, and on dull afternoons an hour earlier, 

 and allowing itself to be almost driven over before it rises. Layard well describes the habits of this and the 

 last species when he says that "the belated traveller hurrying homeward ere the last dying gleams of the 

 setting sun fade in the west, is startled by what seems to be a stone flying up with a few rapid querulous notes, 

 anil gliding along on noiseless pinions settling again within a few yards of him." It is a very noisy bird at 

 sunset and before daybreak, uttering its notes likewise on moonlight nights, although it is quite silent in 

 darkness. Its well-known note, persistently repeated for a long time together, is wearisome when heard 

 around one's bungalow at midnight, and many liken it, both in India and Ceylon, to the sound made by a 

 stone scudding along ice. It resembles somewhat the sounds chuk-chuk-chuk chuk-urrr-ruk ; but some liken 

 it, according to Jerdon, to the syllables tyook-tyook-tyook. However this may be, the peculiar note has given 

 rise to its name " Ice-bird ;" and not unappropriate it is too, notwithstanding that the idea does not assimilate 

 well with a temperature of 84° Fahr. ! Its flight is buoyant and skilful, enabling it to capture its coleopterous 

 prey with great ease. It feeds more on beetles than moths, and some say that the singular pectination of the 

 middle claw is adapted by nature for the removal of beetles' claws from its gape. This species usually settles 

 on the ground ; but I have several times seen it perched ou stumps, like the preceding. 



