No. 26.— 1883.] SINHALESE BIRD-LORE, 



bird may be seen continually harassing and "bullying" th.0 

 crows, frequently snatching a feather from the crow's head. 

 In districts where the first name is used it is said that in a 

 previous birth the drongo was a barber, and the crow a 

 customer who failed to " pay up," and that as a punishment 

 for his dishonesty the former was permitted to continue 

 "dunning" him in his future state. In the districts where 

 the bird is known by the name Kaputu-bend it is said that 

 the drongo is such a cunning fellow that even his crafty 

 uncle, the crow, was never a match for him. Once upon a 

 time the drongo challenged the crow as to which of them 

 could fly the higher, and the challenge was accepted, on the 

 condition that each should carry a certain-sized bag full of 

 whatever material they liked, and that the winner should, 

 as his reward, be at liberty to knock the loser on the head. 

 The crow in his craftiness selected cotton as the material 

 with which to fill his bag, bat the drongo, after giving a 

 knowing glance at the weather, filled his bag with salt, much 

 to the surprise of the crow. They had not soared far before 

 it commenced to rain, and consequently as the crow's load 

 got heavier the drongo's got lighter, and before long he had 

 nothing to carry but the bag. It is needless to say that he 

 won, and is making use of the privilege he gained by con- 

 tinually tapping his uncle on the head. 



The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Sin. Ge-kurulld, 

 "the house-bird." A Sinhalese legend accounts for the black 

 patch on the male bird's throat by recounting how a house 

 took fire, underneath the eves of which a pair of these birds 

 had built their nest, and hatched their young. The hen 

 flew away, but the cock battled bravely through the flames 

 to rescue its young ones. In doing so he scorched his throat, 

 the mark whereof still remains to testify to his bravery and 

 paternal love. The building and breeding of the sparrow 

 in the precints of a house is considered an extremely good 

 omen, and in order to make these birds build, chatties are 

 frequently hung on the walls. If a sparrow should make 

 its nest and rear its young in the building, it is believed 

 that the next child born to the owner will be a boy. 

 Sparrow's eggs broken and accompanied by incantation 

 are used as a charm to stop objectionable tom-tom beating, 



