250 
COCCYSTES COROMANDUS. 
Colombo, an individual was captured on a canoe, some miles from the coast, and on which it had alighted in 
an exhausted state. When it first arrives it is not unfrequently seen in the Western Province, and then 
disappears from the sea-hoard, taking up its quarters in the interior of the low country and asceuding the 
hills to some altitude. It occurs sometimes in Dumbara, and in March 1877 Mr. Bligh saw an example near 
his bungalow on the Catton Estate at an elevation of more than 4000 feet ; he informs me that they are very 
rare in the Haputale district, and, indeed, its numbers throughout the island are very limited. I he island ol 
Manaar and the adjoining coast may perhaps be considered an exception ; in the former I saw a good many 
in March, and Mr. Simpson says it is found about Illepckadua, and in the interior between that place 
and Mahintale. Mr. Holdsworth does not record it from Aripu. Layard procured it at Ratnapura. 
On the mainland the Coromandel Cuckoo enjoys a wide range, but seems to be nowhere numerous . 
Jerdon writes of its distribution “ It appears to be a rare species everywhere, though generally spread 
through India and Ceylon, extending into Burmah and Malay ana. It is said to be common in lenasserim 
and the Mhlayan peninsula. I have seen it in MAlabar and the Carnatic, and it is also found in Central 
India and not very uncommonly in Bengal ; in the latter country only during the rains. I obtained it in 
Sikhim in the warmer valleys.” 
It has been procured by very few collectors of late years either in South or Central India. I find no 
record of it in f Stray Feathers ’ from the Peninsula ; but I am aware that it is not uncommon in Ramisserum 
Island, having received specimens from there, and it must consequently be found on the adjacent coast 
about Tuticorin. Concerning its range to the east of the Bay of Bengal, Mr. Oates writes that in Pegu it 
is widely distributed, but not common. Captain Feilden seems to have fallen in with it to a much greater 
extent; he says : — “ This bird is the commonest Cuckoo at Thayetmyo ; in the thicker parts of the jungle 
every bamboo valley contains one or more pairs. They arrive in the beginning of the rains, and the young birds 
do not leave until October.” This is the period at which the species visits us in Ceylon, so that there would 
appear to be a regular migration north and south at the beginning and end of the rains. In Penasserim 
Mr. Davison only found it at a place called Meeta myo, which is about the centre of the province. There is a 
specimen in the British Museum from Sarawak; it goes, as we know, to Celebes, and it probably occurs in 
intermediate localities, perhaps in Java, but from there I have not heard as yet of any specimens. It is very 
desirable that we should know more of the movements and seasonal distribution of this biid, as it is one of 
the most attractive of its tribe in India. Swinhoe procured it at Amoy. 
Habits — I have observed this species in thick scrub and thorny jungle. A specimen was shot by 
Mr. MacVicar in the cinnamon- gardens near Colombo, a locality decidedly favourable to its habits. It is very 
shy, flying quickly up from the ground on being surprised, alighting then on the nearest bush or low tree, 
and speedily threading its way through the branches to the other side, when it again takes wing. The 
stomachs of those I have procured contained beetles, grasshoppers, Mantidre, and other large insects. Captain 
Feilden notices that they have a Magpie-like chatter usually, but that they utter a “ harsh, grating, whistling 
scream when watching over their young;” and this, I imagine, would be their ordinary note of alarm. 
Nidification . — The breeding-season appears to be during the rains, i. e. from June until October. Mr. 
Hume describes an egg, which was taken from the oviduct of a female shot in Tipperah, as being a broad oval 
and of a “ fine and glossy texture ; in colour it was a moderately pale, somewhat greenish blue, without any 
specks or spots.” 
Captain Feilden has reason to believe that it lays in the nests of Quaker-Thrushes ( Alcippe phayrei ?) . 
He writes, “ I have frequently shot the young bird from the middle of a brood of young Quaker-Thrushes ; 
and, as far as I could see from the thickness of the jungle, the old Thrushes were feeding the young Cuckoo. 
An egg taken from the nest of a Quaker-Thrush, that I believe to have belonged to this bird, was very round 
and pale blue.” 
The dimensions of the egg alluded to above are 1'05 by 092 inch. 
