No. 29. — 1884.] BALANGODA ORNITHOLOGY. 



275 



not to mention hawks, swallows, and bee-eaters that 

 frequent such spots. 



The chena is, of course, characterised by the presence of 

 that impenetrable bush, lantana. This plant owes its 

 spread in a great measure to birds that eat the fruit in 

 large quantities, and carry the seed into open ground, where 

 it quickly spreads from a single tree — if I may apply the 

 word. Lantana affords a very close cover to many bush- 

 loving species, and among them the jungle-fowl, that are 

 quite safe from the collector's gun, as it is seldom worth 

 the labour to attempt to pick up a small bird that has 

 fallen into thick lantana. 



Another common and conspicious plant is the guava 

 ( Psidium ) or pera of the Sinhalese. Near to the town of 

 Balangoda, guava trees abound in countless numbers, 

 affording during the fruit season food for birds, beasts, and 

 man. So common, indeed, is this fruit tree, that plots of 

 land abounding in it are called by the Sinhalese villagers 

 pera landa or guava-chena. 



The walla-gaha ( Gyrnops walla) and the wild olive 

 (Eloescarpus serratus ) both occur in chena lands in moderate 

 abundance, and afford fruit to some of the larger birds. 



Climate and Soil. — From the middle of May to the 15th 

 of October the winds from the south-west keep all vegetation 

 in a perpetual state of unrest, when but few birds, compared 

 to those in the remaining months of the year, are to be 

 met with, excepting the more hardy and stronger species. 

 During this time of the year the rainfall is much less in 

 point of quantity than in the north-east monsoon, though 

 the temperature is very much lower in proportion. Trees 

 are frequently blown down, and exposed ones are rapidly 

 denuded of leaves, and appear ragged and torn. Paddy 

 fields are noisy with numbers of contrivances worked and 

 agitated by the wind for the purpose of frightening off pigs 

 and scaring buntings, though the villagers add a curious 

 commentary on the value of these inventions by having 

 boys, girls, and even men and women to yell and shout 

 whenever a cloud of goyan-kundlo hover down upon the 



