32 CXPSEIilD^. 



the rocky hills of Diagallagoolawa, near Pittegalla, on the banks of 

 the Bemtota river, and which are referred to by Layard ; several 

 occupied by large and small colonies on the Dambetenne and 

 Piteratmalie estates on the south face of the Haputale range ; one 

 on Pedrotallagalla, spoken of by Kelaart ; and another which I am 

 informed of in a hill called Maha-ellagala, near the ' Haycock ' 

 Mountahi, as also another in the Nitre-cave district. Besides 

 these there are, I believe, colonies in the ' ]?riars-Iiood ' or some 

 of the surrounding rock-hills and in Eittagalla, the above-men- 

 tioned mountain, situated between the Central and Trincomalie 

 TJoads. The celebrated cave in the Haputale range, and the only 

 one which I have had the good fortune to visit, is situated on a 

 bold peak standing out above and towering over the Dambatenne 

 and adjoining estates, which form one of the finest sweeps of 

 coifee-ground in Ceylon. ... At a point where the great gorge 

 suddenly commenced by a sheer precipice drooping down about 

 1000 feet into the lower estate, stood the fine bungalow occupied 

 by the gentleman, Mr. Imray, who was to be our kind host for the 

 night ; and at the back of this, at the top of a rich slope of coffee, 

 towered up a rocky buttress, in which the Swiftlets of Haputale 

 propagate their species. In this precipice a vast boulder, about 70 

 feet in height and 50 in breadth, has at some period slipped away 

 from the face of the mountain, and leans against it at an angle of 

 about 30°, forming a lofty narrow cavern. Here about 300 pairs of 

 birds have their nests built against the inner side of the boulder, 

 which is convex and corresponds with the concave face of the main 

 mass. There are no nests on this latter, down which there is 

 doubtless a considerable amount of drainage, and the instinct of the 

 little birds is here wonderfully displayed in rejecting the wet side 

 of the cavern, which would seriously impair the stability of their 

 gelatinous nests. These are placed in tiers, one above the other, 

 about 15 feet from the guano at the bottom of the cave ; in places 

 three or four were joined together, the back part of the under 

 nest being prolonged up to the bottom of the one above it. The 

 little structiu'es were by no means edible, being constructed of moss 

 and fine tendrils, arranged in layers and cemented with the inspis- 

 sated saliva of the bird, the back part attaching the nest to the 

 rock, as well as the interior of the cup, being, however, entirely of 

 this material. I have seen one or two nests from Pittegalla almost 

 wholly made of this substance ; but even these were mixed to a 

 certain extent w ith foreign or vegetable material. The interior of 

 these Dambetenne nests was in most cases oval, the longest 

 diameter, which varied from 2 to 2i inches, being parallel to the 

 rock. In depth the egg-cup was, on the average, about 1 inch. 

 At the date of my visit, the 22nd of May, nearly all the nests 

 contained young, two being the average number. A series of eggs 

 procured at another time, and which I have examined, were of 

 various shapes, long ovals being the predominant ; they were pure 

 white, and varied from 0-81 to 0'83 inch in length by 0-51 to 0-54 

 in breadth. It is noteworthy that the partially-fledged young 



