xviii 
INTRODUCTION. 
and covered with bamboo-cheena in others ; the valleys, constantly rained on during the south- 
west monsoon, and likewise receiving a heavy downfall in the north-east monsoon, are the dampest 
spots iii the island, and haiboui numbers of Timaliidse (J ! Ealacocercus rufescens , Gavvulax cinevei- 
ftons, Alcippe nigrifrons, Pellorneum fuscieapillum), also Brachypodidse (. Hypsipetes ganeesa, 
Criniger ictericus, Rnbigula melanictera). The cultivated districts are conspicuous for the 
numbers of the common Bulbuls, Barbets, Doves ( Turtur suratensis), smaller Timaliidee ( Cisticola , 
Prinia, Drymoeca, &c.), as well as some numbers of the Heron family, which are seen about the 
paddy-fields. A considerable portion of the uncultivated soil in the Western Province and also 
in the lower hills is overgrown with a dense bramble (. Lantana mixta), popularly known as 
“ Lady Horton’s wood,” and which was introduced (unfortunately) into the island about the year 
1830. It thrives on gravelly soil, and especially on land which has once been cultivated, 
sometimes clothing more than an acre without a single break. The fruit of this pest is eagerly 
sought after by many birds, particularly Bulbuls (Rnbigula, Pycnonotus, Ixos ); and to this & fact 
the wonderful manner in which it has been propagated is due. The damp, heavy forests of the 
Adam’s-Peak range descend continuously into the low country of Saffragam, and through them 
several true hill species (Eulabes ptilogenys, Palmrnis caltliropae, Garrulax cinereifrons ) range 
to a lower level than anywhere else, being quite common in portions of the Kuruwite and Three 
Korales. 
We now come to the consideration of the fourth ornithological district, the lofty hills of the 
Southern Province, rising up on the north of the valley of Saffragam, of which iiatnapura is the 
chief town. The first-named region is entirely occupied by a group of high mountains and 
elevated valleys, forming a perfect mountain-zone, inside of the base of which there is scarcely 
any land of less elevation than 1500 or 1700 feet. This lofty district culminates in the high 
Pedrotallagala range (8200 feet), just on the north of the plain of Nuwara Eliya, from which 
extends an elevated plateau, intersected by forest-clad ridges, and dotted here and there with the 
curious natural fields called patnas, for some 20 miles south to the Horton plains (7000 feet) whence 
the lofty Haputale range stretches to the east and the Adam’s-Peak range round to the west as far 
north as the Four Korales, the slopes of both dropping at once into the low country. The 
coffee-districts of Dimbula and Dickoya are enclosed by the latter on the east of the Nuwara- 
Eliya plateau, each with its dividing range ; while the Uva patna-basin (a curious tract of grass- 
covered or patna-hills) forms its eastern flank, and slopes out into the Bintenne country through the 
valley of Badulla, being bounded on the extreme east by the lofty ridges of Madulsima. On the north 
of the Pedro mountain high ranges jut out towards the upland valley of Dumbara, beyond which 
the Knuckles and Ambokka ranges, running on each side to the north-west and north respectively 
complete the Kandyan mountain-system. The southern hill-ranges bound the south side of 
Saffragam, and are comprised of the Kukkul, Morowak, and Kolonna Korales, the highest point 
being Gongalla, a little over 4400 feet in altitude. Of late years the forest has been felled for 
the planting of coffee, as in the Central Province; but there are still large tracts of forest in the 
Kukkul Korale in which Central-Province birds (Cissa ornata, Eulabes ptilogenys, Sturnornis senex, 
