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PEINIA SOCIALIS. 521 



tail, besides being very long (2-7), has the subterminal spots very narrow, as in Decean skins. The determination 

 of this bird appears to be correct, for it is much closer to the true P. socialis than to P. stewarti. The Ceylonese 

 race might stand as P. brevicauda, if proved to be distinct. 



Distribution.— This little bird is widely distributed both in the low country and the bills up to 5500 feet, 

 but is nowhere very numerous. In the western and southern parts of the island it is found chiefly in paddy-fields 

 and plots of Guinea-grass in the vicinity of native bouses, as well as in other suitable spots in the interior. In 

 the north I have met with it usually either in scrubby jungle interspersed with long grass, or in the dry 

 grassy beds of large tanks, such as Hurulle, Topare, or on the borders of Minery Lake and other large sheets 

 of water. In the Central Province it is a common bird on the maana-grass patnas ; and in Uva, where the 

 large hilly -wastes are suited to its habits, it is very frequently met with, and ranges up the Nuwara-EUiya road 

 to within a short distance of Hakgala. I have seen it on the Elephant Plains, between Udu Pusselawa and 

 the Sanatarium, and likewise in Lindula at an almost similar elevation, namely 5500 feet. 



Jerdon writes of its range in India that it is only found in the south, and does not extend north of the 

 Godaveri ; of late years, however, it has been found to inhabit the north-western portions of the empire. At 

 Khandala it is very common, as also in the Decean, ranging southwards to the Nilghiris and other mountain- 

 ranges, on which it is found, where their sides are grassy, up to 6000 feet. In the Carnatic it is met with 

 among reeds and long grass by the sides of the rivers and tanks, and on the west coast it is, says Jerdon, 

 found in similar situations. Captain Butler remarks that it is common on Mount Aboo; but the race which 

 inhabits the adjoining plains appears to be a variety of P. stewarti. 



Habits. — In the low country this species exhibits a tendency to wander about in search of localities 

 favourable to its habits. It appears in fields of " Guinea-" and "Mauritius-grass" when they have grown up, 

 rears its brood, and then departs on the field being cut ; it finds a permanent home, however, in low grassy 

 jungle, the sedge-covered borders of reservoirs and marshy places, and in the overgrown beds of large tanks. 

 In the south of Ceylon it is a common bird about sugarcane-fields; in fact it is the characteristic Warbler of 

 these localities, and may be seen clinging actively to the tall wavy stalks, energetically jerking its tail about 

 and uttering its twittering little warble until disturbed by the approach of some one, when it drops suddenly 

 into the brake and disappears. Its special delight is in the fields of tall Guinea-grass cultivated near towns 

 and villages on the west coast ; and it flits about in the dense cover which they afford, until some fine day its 

 habitation is cut from under its feet and its retreat ruthlessly laid bare ! It then vanishes, and takes up its 

 quarters in the nearest favourable locality. I found great numbers of these birds in the long grass covering 

 the dried-up tank of Hurulle, their companions in this thick vegetation being the Common Grass-Warbler and 

 the White-browed Warbler. It is to be found permanently living in the maana-grass of the hill-patnas and on the 

 busby sides of the hills in the Fort-Macdonald district. Its food consists of insects ; but occasionally I have 

 found small seeds in its stomach. Its flight is weak and of short duration, for the tiny rounded wings with 

 which nature has endowed it are not such as to afford it great powers of locomotion ; it is very active in 

 threading its way through long grass or reeds, and clings adroitly to upright stalks in its progress onwards. 

 Sykes calls its flight a straggling one, as if it had a difficulty in making its way. 



Nidification— -This Warbler breeds, both in the low country and in the hills, during the months of May, 

 June, and July, constructing, as a rule, a very different nest from what is ascribed by some writers to its 

 handicraft in India. There it is said to build generally a fabric resembling that of the Tailor-bird, using, 

 however, more grass in its construction, and not sewing together the leaves with the same neatness as that 

 species. I have found several nests in widely different parts of the island, and watched the birds building them, 

 but in no case was there a single leaf of any kind present. For a description of one of the most remarkable, 



1 quote the words of my note to Mr. Hume, pubbshed in ' Nests and Eggs,' Rough Draft, part ii. p. 337 :— 

 " In May 1870, a pair resorted to a Guinea-grass field attached to my house at Colombo, for the purpose of 

 breeding. I soon found the nest, which was the most peculiarly constructed one I have ever seen. It was an 

 almost shapeless ball of Guinea-grass roots, thrown, as it were, between the upright stalks of the plant about 



2 feet from the ground. I say ( thrown,' because it was scarcely attached to the supporting-stalks at all. It 



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