CISSA ORNATA. 



(THE CEYLONESE JAY.) 



(Peculiar to Ceylon.) 



Pica ornata, Wagler, Isis, 1829, p. 749. 



Cissa puella, Blyth, J. A. S. 1849, xviii. p. 810 ; id. Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 93 (ex Layard, 



MS.); Kelaart, Prodromus, Cat. p. 124 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 



1854, xiii. p. 213. 

 Cissa pyrrhocyanea, Gould, B. of Asia, pt. i. pi. 13 (1850, ex Licht. MS.). 

 Kitta ornata, Bp. Consp. i. p. 166 (1850). 

 Citta ornata, Licht. Nomencl. Av. p. 9. 

 Cissa ornata, Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 298; Schlegel, Coraces, p. 69 ; Gray, Hand-1. B. ii. p. 7 



(1869); Holdsworth, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 461; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 23; Holdsworth, 



ibid. p. 124; Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 87 (1877). 

 The Mountain- Jay, Europeans in Ceylon ; also Blue Jay. 

 Kahibella, Sinhalese. 



Ad. capite et eollo undique castaneis : dorso laete ultramarino, uropygio cum dorso postico et supracaudalibus magis 

 cyanescentibus : tectricibus alarum omnibus ultramarinis : primario primo nigro : remigibus reliquis extus 

 castaneis, intus nigris : Cauda cyanea, rectricibus late albo terminatis, fascia subterminali nigra transversim 

 notatis : subalaribus ultramarinis, interioribus eineraceis : remigibus infra nigris, extiis castaneis, intus versus 

 basin rufescentibus : palpebra et iride sanguineis : rostro rubro : pedibus corallinis. 



Adult male and female. Length 18-0 to 18-5 inches; wing 6-5 to 6-7; tail 10-25 to 10-7, outer feathers 6-5 shorter 

 than central ; tarsus 1-6 to 1-8 ; mid toe and claw 1-5 ; bill to gape 1-5 to 1*6. Expanse 20-5. 



Iris light brown ; eyelid deep red, orbital skin somewhat paler ; bill, legs, and feet coral-red ; claws reddish yellow at 

 base, dusky at tip. 



Whole head, neck, and chest deep shining chestnut ; interscapulary region, lesser wing-coverts, and beneath the hue 

 of the chest cobalt-blue, paling into light eserulean blue on the lower back, rump, and underparts ; greater wing- 

 coverts duller blue than the lesser ; quills light chestnut on their outer webs, and dull black on the inner, those 

 of the tertials overcast with blue, basal inner edges of quills rufescent grey ; tail greenish blue, the edges brightest 

 and the terminal inch white with a dividing black band chiefly developed on the inner web, the four lateral pairs 

 of feathers with the white running up the outer edge ; thighs dusky cobalt-blue. 



Young. Tail in nestling plumage about 6 inches in length ; feathers pointed. Iris brown, with the outer edge 



pale, orbital skin brown ; bill dusky orange with a pale tip ; legs and feet dusky red. 

 Head, hind neck, throat, and chest pale chestnut : back and upper breast bluish green, becoming dusky on the lower 



breast, with the belly albescent ; lesser wing-coverts as the back ; the greater coverts and quills as in the adult. 



At a further stage the chestnut of the head and throat becomes darker, and the back and breast more blue, but 



not nearly so pure as in the second year or fully adult dress. 



Distribution. — The Ceylon Jay inhabits the mountains of the Central Province, including the detached 

 Muneragala range beyond the south-eastern slopes of Madulsima, and all the peak forests which descend into 

 the Western Province and form the northern slopes of Saffragam. Beyond this district, to the south and 

 west respectively, it is found in the jungles of the Rakwana district, the Morowak and Kukkul Korales, 

 and the immense forests covering the low ranges between the Singha-Rajah jungle and the Kaluganga. This 

 latter district comprises the lower part of the Kukkul Korale and the Pasdun Korale, and the highest parts 

 do not exceed 1700 feet. I found it in the valleys of this wild and little-known region during the rainy month 

 of August, at an elevation considerably under 1000 feet, which leaves no doubt that it is a resident there. 



2z 



