530 DEYMCECA INSULAEIS. 



being paler than even a summer example of the latter, it is 0-37 inch longer in the tail and a trifle shorter, 

 notwithstanding, in the wing : the eye-stripe is not so conspicuous and the bill is paler, the ground-colour of t In- 

 tail darker beneath, with the blackish subterminal bars not so conspicuous. Another example of Sykes's measures 

 I'-l-j in the wing and 2-9 in the tail. As our bird, therefore, cannot be united to D. inornatus, it remains to be 

 seen whether it is the same as the species inhabiting the Nilghiris and Southern India generally, and which 

 Mr. Hume says should stand as B. fuseus, Hodgson. The natural inference would be that it is so ; but Mr. Hume 

 points out that the Nilghiri bird is larger, and has not so slender a bill as the Ceylonese ; and I observe, further- 

 more, that its eggs are marked with fine hair-lines or streaks, which is never the case, to my knowledge, with the 

 Ceylonese race, the eggs of which are always spotted openly with rather large blotches. I have therefore decided 

 to separate our bird as an insular though closely allied race to the Deccan form, which, I have no doubt, will prove 

 to be the same as the (South-Indian species, now styled D. fuseus. 



Distribution. — This sprightly little bird is about equally common with Prinia socialis, being widely distri- 

 buted throughout the low country, as well as an inhabitant of the Kandyan and Southern-Province hills up 

 to an altitude of about 5000 feet. At this height it is to be found on patnas in Uva, Haputale, and the slopes 

 of Northern Saffragam, in which I include the sides of the ranges from Haldamulla round to Ratnapura ; 

 it also affects grassy spots and paddy and hill-grain fields in most of the upland valleys of the Central 

 Province. In the Western Province it inhabits the Guinea- and Mauritius-grass fields in the neighbourhood 

 i if tow ns and villages, and in the interior is to be found in paddy-fields as soon as the grain is of sufficient 



lb to afford it cover. In the Galle district I have often detected it in sugar-cane cultivation,; and in the 

 eastern and northern province it inhabits sedges and long grass in the beds of dried-up tanks. 



Habits. — This Warbler frequents grass-fields, tall paddy and other native cereals, and long grass or 

 ■eky wastes of all kinds, such as are found in the dry beds of tanks, on open plains, or the sides of hill- 

 patnas. It is an active little bird and generally found in pairs, which flit about the tall corn, alighting on, 

 and clinging with ease to, the most pliant stalks, while they constantly utter their repeated note, kink-kink- kink. 

 S( vera] pairs frequented the Guinea-grass near my quarters on the Galle face, and, together with the Ashy 

 Wren- Warbler and the little Grass-Warbler, conduced to make the little field an interesting resort of small 

 birds. I found it in great abundance in the bed of Hurulle tank, which, in the dry season, is a vast area of 

 long grass ; to such large tracts as this, as well as to extensive paddy-fields, it usually flocks for the time being, 

 taking itself off again when its shelter is removed by fire, water, or the hand of the reaper. It consorts much 

 with the Ashy Prinia, and at a distance is with difficulty distinguished from that species, except by its note. 

 I have found the nests of both in close proximity to one another. It has a weak jerky flight, sustained for a 

 short distance only, and it is insectivorous in diet, feeding on small caterpillars, larvae, minute insects, &c. 



Nidification. — I have found the nest of this species in almost every month from February till November; 

 the prevailing time, however, in all parts of the island is from May until June, birds breeding in October and 

 November being probably in the act of rearing a second brood. It builds its neat and cleverly-constructed 

 nest between the tall stalks of paddy or other cultivated species of grass, about 3 feet from the ground. The 

 egg-cavity is very deep for its width, for the better security of its contents, which are liable to be swayed to 

 and fro with the wind. The nest is sometimes dome-shaped, with the top forming a hood over the entrance 

 which, in some instances, is neat and rounded, and in others wide and unfinished. Many, however, have an 

 ingeniously made roof of the green blades of the supporting stalks, cleverly bent down and interlaced. The 

 body of the nest is constructed of strips of green grass, generally sewn into the stalks at the bottom to form a 

 secure foundation, the rest being woven round them to form the walls; the liniug consists of finer strips of 

 grass, scantily arranged in some cases, so that the bottom can be plainly seen through. The interior usually 

 measures 2 inches in width by 3 in depth. The eggs are almost invariably 4 in number, of a beautiful blue 

 ground-colour, very handsomely though sparingly blotched with rich umber and sepia blotches of two shades, 

 u bieh in some examples are gathered mostly round the larger end. They measure from 0'6 by 0'47 to 067 

 by 0'49, and the period of their incubation is from 11 to 13 days. They are almost entirely hatched by the 

 beat of the atmosphere in tine weather, the bird resorting to the nest at sundown and leaving it again in the 

 ning. 



The figure on the Plate accompanying this article is that of a male shot in July at Hurulle tank. 



