CENTROPUS EUFIPENNIS. 
261 
Layard procured an albino of this Cuckoo at Pt. Pedro, in which “ the black and purple portions were changed to a 
dirty creamy white, the dark red portions to a light brown. 
Obs. Ceylonese C. rujtpennis differs from the Indian bird of this species in its paler forehead and throat, these parts, 
as a rule, being in the latter concolorous with the adjacent dark plumage. I say, as a rule, because I find that, as 
in Ceylon, so in India, examples vary inter se in this respect; an example from Kamptee and another liom t le 
North-west Province are so close to the insular bird that the latter cannot well be discriminated as a separate 
race. Mr. Swinhoe, when at Gaffe, shot a pair of Coucals, which he considered (‘ Ibis,’ 1873, p. 230) distinct 
from the true O. rufipennis, on account of their smaller size and larger bills (the size of bill is not given), as well 
as their broader tail-feathers barred obscurely across. The wings measured l\ inches, which conesponds wit 
those of Indian specimens ; the tails evidently point to the individuals being immature. 
An example in the British Museum from Kamptee measures 7'3 inches in the wing, and four measured and recorded bv 
Mr. Ball are as follows:— Sex?, Gangpur, 7 - 7 ; 6 , Eajmehal hills, 7'2 ; rf , Satpuras, 7*8 ; 6 FJ., Caicutta, roo 
These would compare very well with five Ceylonese examples taken at random from a series. 1 e al s 0 f ^ 
three here enumerated measure 10'8, 10 - 5, 10'5 inches respectively; this is longer than they ever attain o 
insular bird, and I have observed the same inferiority in this respect when comparing my specimens with those 
in the national collection. . „ 1 
The larger species ((7. euryaereus) from Borneo, Eabuan, bumatra, Java, as well as from Tonasserim, ^ uirna , . p , 
Sindh, Sikkim, and other parts of India (if the continental species be the same), differs from 0. rufipennis in having 
the back coloured red like the wings, which are a paler rufous than in the latter species ; likewise m the blue- 
glossed tail and the much more metallic blue lustre of the hind neck, and finally in the darker under wing-co\ tits . 
it i», in all its races, a larger bird than C. rufipennis. A Labuan specimen measures 8-8, a Sumatran 8' 7, and a 
Bornean 8-6 inches in the wing ; the Sindh and Sikkim birds vary from 9-0 to O' 5 according to Mr. Hume, and 
some I have measured from other localities 7'9 to 8-3. 
nhtribvtion —The “Jungle-Crow,” or “Crow-Pheasant” as it is popularly called, is found throughout 
all the low country, including the island of Manaar and the Jaffna peninsula in winch latter drstnets as wel 
as in most of the north of the island, it is extremely abundant. It ascends the h, Is, ranging up to 3000 feet 
throughout the year in some districts, and reaching the altitude of the Nuwara-tlhya plateau ,u the cool dry 
season. In June I hare met with it iu Upper Hewahette, and in January I have heard it behind Hak D ala 
mountain and in the railway gorge. , , . . ,, , 
It is very abundant in the south-west and west of the island, and is tolerably numerous m the Eastern 
Province and along the north-east coast. At Trincomalie it frequented the native gardens m the heart of the 
Bazaar. In forest-districts it is local, being chiefly found where the jungle has been cut down and low scru > 
o-rown up. It is common in Dumbara, and particularly about Kandy, Paradcniya, and generally along the 
banks of the Mahawelliganga. On the Uva patnas it is not uncommon ; and m Haputale Mr. Bligli has seen 
it above 4500 feet. . T . 
On the continent the Common Coucal inhabits chiefly the southern and central portions of India. It is 
common in Ramisserum Island and on the adjacent coast, and Mr. Fairbank observed it up to 3o00 feet m the 
Palani hills ; it likewise inhabits and breeds in the Nilghiris. It is common m the Deccan and m the 
Khandala district especially. Mr. Ball writes, “ The Crow-Pheasant is tolerably common throughout the Chota- 
Nagpur division,” but “ circumstances, which it is not easy to detect, seem to influence the distribution ot tins 
bird. In some portions of the district I have been for weeks without seeing a single specimen, suddenly then 
I come upon a tract in which I do not fail to hear or see several every day. 
In the North-west Provinces it is also found, as well as in the plains of Upper India. Mr. Ilume remaiks 
that it is abundant along the hanks of the larger rivers in Sindh, but that in lower Sindh it is less common 
than in upper. In the Sambhur-Lake district it is “ very rare ” {Adam). 
Habits The Common Coucal inhabits almost every variety of situation except gloomy forest, the interior 
of which it shuns In the south and west of the island it is found in low woods, cultivated lands, the outskirts 
of heavy jungle, compounds, native gardens, and the borders of paddy-fields, and is usually a shy bird, betaking 
itself when flushed in the open, to the cover of the adjacent wood, and quickly climbing and making its way 
through the branches out of sight. In the north, particularly in the Jaffna peninsula, it is the very reverse 
