APPENDIX I. 1215 



Page 383. — Lanius caniceps. Numerous nests of this Butcher-bird hare recently been found by Mr. Parker in the 

 Manaar district, where it breeds from the beginning of March to the end of April. " The nests are," writes this 

 gentleman, "almost invariably built in a thick thorny tree, from 7 to 15 feet from the ground, cup-shaped, measuring 

 2| or 3 inches in width and 1| inch in depth, with thick walls made of roots and grasses, often tied together with thread 

 or bits of rag from some neighbouring village, or patches of wild cotton, and lined with fine grasses. " They are in most 

 open situations, often on the roadside, without any attempt at concealment, as if the bird trusted rather to the natural 

 protection of the terrible thorns of that district. Mr. Parker writes me further that this Shrike is very pugnacious. A 

 young brood, reared near his bungalow at the Giants' tank, demonstrated their pugnacity in an interesting manner, 

 attacking any thing that came in their way. He observes (in epist.), " one of them seemed anxious to fight a squirrel the 

 other day, chasing it for 20 or 30 yards along the compound fence, creeping in and out like a rat. The squirrel seemed 

 undecided whether to be amused or alarmed, but the balance seemed in favour of the latter." 



Page 3S6. — Buclianga atra. This Drongo extends inland down the Madewatchiya road from Manaar for 23 miles ; 

 so writes me Mr. Parker. It nests at the end of March, building on an overhanging branch among the leaves at the end, 

 and not on a fork, like B. leucopygialis. The nest resembles, says this gentleman, that of Lanius caniceps, and is not 

 built higher than about 10 feet from the ground. Layard, hi his recent paper already referred to, maintains that he 

 found B. longicaudata perching on the backs of cattle at Pt. Pedro ; but I still retain my opinion that the Drongo 

 found at Jaffna perching on the backs of cattle is the present species. B. longicaudata is a forest species. Blyth was 

 not always correct in his identifications. 



Page 392. — Buclianga leucopygialis. This bird sometimes holds its prey in its foot, after the manner of a Parrot, 

 that is, if the insect it has caught is very large or too bulky to be swallowed instantly. With reference to Layard's 

 remarks (Ibis, 1880, p. 284) as to there being some " confusion under this head," I must refer him again to the working- 

 out of the plumages, whereby he will see I have united the B. ccerulescens, apud Blyth, from Ceylon, and B. leucopygialis ; 

 also he will see that my remarks as to the species he found at Pt. Pedro refer to the " light form " of B. leucopygialis 

 (B. cceridescens, apud Blyth). The true B. ccerulescens is not found in Ceylon. 



Page 399. — Bissemurus paradiseus. There appears to be no fixed rule for the shape of this bird's tail in youth ! 

 Mr. Parker writes me that on May 7th, 1879, in the TTswewa district, he shot one of two young birds flying about with 

 their mother, which of course had the tail-feathers in the ordinary racket-shape ; but those of the young bird were 

 perfectly straight, without a trace of a curl; the other young one appeared to have a similar tail. The specimens referred 

 to in the last paragraph of my " Observation " can, I think, after all, scarcely be considered to form a new race ; they 

 simply illustrated cases of abnormal formation of the outer tail-feathers. 



Page 404. — Terpisiphone paradisi. I omitted to state that males commonly breed in the red plumage : indeed from 

 what I learn it is the exception to find a white male paired in Ceylon, though such is the case occasionally, for the late 

 Mr. Lorenz, of Colombo, who took a great interest in the birds of his native country, wrote me, when I first went to the 

 island, of a pair, white and red, breeding together. Capt. Wade-Dalton has a specimen (white) in which the central 

 tail-feathers are 18| inches in length, projecting 13^ inches beyond the adjacent feathers. Mr. Wickhain, of Holmwood, 

 Lindoola, writes me that he has seen this bird once at his estate, which has an elevation of 5200 feet. This is by far 

 the greatest altitude at which I have heard of its being seen ; it was probably on passage across the mountains to the 

 Eastern Province. 



Page 417. — Alseonax muttui. Capt. Wade-Dalton procured a specimen of this Flycatcher in Kottowe Forest. 

 Collectors for the future in Ceylon should particularly look for this species in the forests during the S.W. monsoon, as 

 further evidence is much wanted to prove that it is not migratory, but peculiar to the island. 



' Page 446. — Larvivora brunnea. I see Mr. Hume uses the later title L. superciliaris of Jerdon for this Woodchat. 

 There can be no doubt, I think, that L. brunnea was the female of this species, and as such it ought to be the title 

 employed, notwithstanding that it is not very applicable to the male bird. 



Page 449.— Turdus linnisi. It is to be hoped that further specimens of this species will be procured in the 

 Travancore hills. I do not think it is as yet satisfactorily proved that the race from the latter region is not larger than 

 the Ceylonese, and consequently distinct. I should be glad to see the " Nuwara-Eliya Blackbird " reinstated as a 

 peculiar Ceylon bird. 



Page 451.— Turdus spiloptera. Mr. Seebohm classes this and all spotted Thrushes with a pale bar on the under 

 wing as Oreocincla. 



