49 



grows to the stalk of the guinea grass, and which the bird fixes 

 with its saliva to the interior of the nest ; this process is con- 

 tinued until the bottom is almost of the consistency of felt. A 

 piece of this material at present in the Society's Museum will 

 repay the trouble of inspection. One of the many nests I 

 watched building in my grass field this season was commenced 

 on the 25th May and finished on the 1st June. How Wonder- 

 ful the diligence displayed in its construction, when we think 

 of the countless ntimber of these hair-like atoms contained in 

 the lining ! The eggs are three or four in ntimber, of a greenish 

 white ground, spotted and blotted sometimes all over, &t other 

 times in a zone round the larger end, with brownish red and 

 reddish grey or lilac. Axis lines, diam. 6 lines. The 

 bird scarcely ever sits during the daytime, resorting to the 

 nest at nightfall only,* and leaving the rest to the sun to 

 perform ; the time of incubation, as noticed by me this season^ 

 being eleven days, which is about the same time taken to hatch 

 a similar sized egg in a cold climate with the bird sitting all 

 day. 



There is some doubt how whether Mr. Blyth's species^ 

 V. homalura, said by Dr. Kelaart to be found in great abun- 

 dance at Nuwera Ellia, is really distinct from this birds, 

 The dimensions of iSchcenicota in perfect plurnage are—total 

 length 4*3 inches ; tail 1*5 inch * closed wing 1*7 inch; tarsus 

 •8 inch. ; bill to gape 13*20 inch 6 , mid toe and claw '6 inch* 

 An individual procured by myself on the Lindoola Patinas, 

 Bimboola, differs slightly in having the edges of the Uppef 

 surface less rufous than those of the low*country bird, the cen- 

 tre feathers lighter, shewing the spot near the top as distin* 

 guishable from the rest of the colour and the under surface 

 less tinged with fulvous. 



* The same thing is observable with many other birds in Ceylon, 

 although it is a fact which [ think is not generally known to Naturalists. 



