286 
ETJRYSTOMUS ORIENTALIS. 
the threat quite as blue as a Ceylonese ; and a Pinang example has a slight inclination towards the greenish edging 
of the caudal feathers. It would seem that there are connecting-links between the two species. 
Distribution . — This handsome Roller is, almost without exception, the rarest resident form in Ceylon. 
I conclude that it is resident, as the only two specimens I have ever met with, and both of which I failed in 
shooting, were seen during the south-west monsoon. One was at Maha-oya, on the new Batticaloa Road, and 
the other in Mr. Chas. de Soyza's timber-forest at Kuruwite, near Ratnapura. Layard remarks that but three 
specimens fell under his notice, one of which he killed in the Pasdun Korale, and the other two near Gilly- 
mally. In the British Museum is an example from the collection of Mr. Cuming ; but the precise locality is 
not stated. Another example was shot some years ago near Kandy, and preserved by Messrs. W hyte and Co. 
In addition to these instances of its capture I am indebted to Mr. Delaney, of the Kirimattie Estate, near 
Kadugannawa, for an account of three or four birds which visited the neighbourhood of his bungalow for 
several days at the close of 1875, and after remaining about some tall trees, disappeared again ; from his 
description of these visitors, and observations which he made on their habits, they must have belonged to the 
present species. 
In Southern India it appears to make its appearance in certain localities and then disappear again. 
Mr. R. W. Morgan says that it is by no means rare in the Malabar forests, and he procured several specimens 
at Nellumbore. Captain Vipan observed it near the foot of the Carcoor Ghat of the Nilghiris ; Mr. Bourdillon 
remarks that it is nowhere abundant in the Travancore hills, and that it is, he thinks, only a visitor; he has 
observed it “in August, during the winter months, in April, and as late as May.” Regarding its distribution 
in the northern parts of India and elsewhere, Jerdon writes ( loc . cit.) that “it is found at the base of the 
Himalayas in Lower Bengal, Assam, and the Burmese countries, extending to Malayana and China;” and he 
further remarks that it is said to visit Central India in the cold weather. In Cachar, Mr. Inglis says it is not 
uncommon and is a resident in that district ; Mr. Oates records one specimen as being brought to him from 
the Arrakan hills, and remarks that it occurs rarely in Pegu. From Tenasserim Mr. Hume notices it as 
procured by Mr. Davison ; this gentleman writes to Mr. Ilume that in the Andamans it is comparatively 
common about Fort Mouat, Mount Harriet, and other wooded places; it has also been procured about Port 
Blair from December until April. 
I have already remarked that specimens are in the British Museum from Pinang, Java, and Labuan, and 
there is likewise an example from Negros, in the Philippines, which I cannot separate from Indian. It is said 
to occur in Sumatra. Concerning Chinese individuals, the late Mr. Swinhoe writes (“Cat. Chinese Birds,” 
P. Z. S. 1871, p. 347) that they do not agree quite with specimens from Java, India, and Lombok; and 
therefore they are, as suggested by Blyth, referable to the nearly allied E. pacificus. 
Habits . — On both occasions that I met with this species, it was frequenting lofty dead trees, on the outer- 
most branches of which it was perched. On the Maha-oya, the individual which I attempted to shoot flew 
out of the tree and returned at once to its perch, which, being at the top of an enormous tree, was beyond 
the range of my shot, and on my firing a second time it flew off into the forest. In the distance it has the 
appearance of a short-tailed Nightjar when perched, its short neck and broad bill giving it a curious outline. 
Its flight has the same peculiar swerving or rolling character as that of the last genus, but in a modified degree. 
Layard shot all his specimens in the act of tearing away the decayed wood round holes in trees ; they clung 
to the bark after the manner of Woodpeckers, and were probably seeking a situation to nest in ; he found 
their stomachs full of wood-boring Coleoptcra, swallowed whole, and he observed that they beat their food 
against the bark before swallowing it. It is entirely a forest species, and is only found in regions which are 
well-wooded throughout. Mr. Morgan writes that in the Malabar forests it may frequently be seen perched 
on a lofty bamboo in the neighbourhood of some forest-stream, and that it is an exceedingly silent bird, sitting 
for hours together on a twig, occasionally taking a short flight after some passing insect, but almost invariably, 
unless disturbed, returning to the same perch. Blyth had one, which he kept in confinement for some time, 
and which displayed the somewhat abnormal propensity of eating plaintains ; it devoured them eagerly, and 
would fly to him for one when lie had it in his hand. The experience of Messrs. Motley and Dillwyn of it in 
the Malay Islands was that it is a most active and lively bird, haunting very tall jungle in parties of five or six 
