464 
myiopho:j^us blighi. 
of ^'''^^S-ooverts, and rump washed ^Gth hyacinth-blue ; the centre portion 
bfnttrhl r ' "'f'S hyacinth-blue ; wings and tail black, the outer webs washed .vdth 
ue beneath black washed with a darker blue than that of the back, except at the flanks, belly, and thighs which 
re dull blackish ; the bases of the feathers of the upper surface from the scapular region downwards, fnd’of the 
1 er surface from the chest to the abdomen, are marked with a white lanceolate stripe; this character is not 
noticeable unless the feathers be raised. 
An example of a male M. horsfieldi in the British Museum measures in the wing 6-3 inches. The species is ver^ 
ancfuTtcT' “ I'n 
tai n region are jet-black ; the outer webs of the wing-feathers are bright greenish blue, those of the 
tail a darker blue; least vinng-coyerts glistening smalt-blue; feathers of the breast and underparts with broad 
crescentic edgings of smalt-blue, of a deeper hue than that of the shoulder. 
Distributio,i.~Tl^ present species, which is one of our rarest hill-birds, was discovered in 1808 bv 
n!',‘ tr b 3 n '''' of tlio Lemastot'a 
Mhich descends through the magnificent gorge below the Pite-Ratmalie Estate, Haputale, to the town of 
Jiemas. feince that time he has procured one or two examples, and tells me that he has seen it several times 
both in the Haputale and Kotmalie districts. In July 1870, Mr. Holdsworth procured a young bird near 
ISuwaraElliya; and m 1875 a male in fine plumage was shot by myself on the Badulla road, just above 
the Hakgala Gardens; finally, m December 1876 and in January 1877, Mr. Cobbold, of Maskeliva 
obtained two male examples on the Maskeliya oya, a tributary of the Kelani, at about 3800 feet In 
addition to tbe record of these few captures, I may mention that Mr. Forbes Laurie met with an individual 
on his estate at Kabragalla, near Nawalapitiya, at an elevation of about 3000 feet. This altitude is the lowest 
; f \ T ; and I have no doubt it will be found in other forests of similar elevation 
noughout the coffee-districts ; but I apprehend the jungles of the main range form its chief habitat. It is no 
oubt more common than such isolated captures would lead us to believe; but being a denizen of forest-clad 
mountam-gorges, which are mostly difficult of access, it has hitherto almost entirely escaped observation. 
The very shy nature of this handsome bird has doubtless conduced to its non-discovery until so 
recent a period. Mr. Blyth, in his note above quoted, remarked that a Myiophonm, or Whistling Thrush was 
not a likely bird to have been overlooked; but, nevertheless, such was the case, for until late years the forests 
of the upper ranges had only been cursorily explored, and their most interesting novelties consequentlv 
remained to be discovered. It affects the vicinity of mountain -streams, and is very wary keeping almost 
entirely to the shacle of the thick forot, and only now and then showing itself on the Jks of L daahin! 
torrent, where it will rest for a moment, piping out its » long-drawn, plaintive though loud, whistling note or 
It will seize some looked-for morsel of food and then dart quickly out of sight. Its discoverer remarks tl/at at 
such times It IS very impatient of observation, and also that it appears to consort in pairs; this condition is 
however, doubtless varied by the companionship of the yearling birds with their parents; and a brood of such 
pit iably combined to form a little troop of four which I met with at sunset on the occasion above mentioned 
At his period of the day it exhibits the restless habits of the Thrush family by coming into the open and giving 
vent to Its vocal powers, combined with a boldness apparently foreign to its nature ; for the male which I procured 
at Hakgala sat whistling for some moments in an exposed tree by the roadside, and allowed me to dismount 
ff f ' i'* minutes to which my observations were confined, the rest of the 
family flew hither and thither across the road, uttering a high sibilant whistle. It would likewJe appear 
to nander occasiona ly from the shelter of the forest ; for my friend Mr. Forbes Laurie tells me of one which 
he discovered beneath an umbrageous tree at the outskirts of a plantation, and which, when approached took 
refuge under a coffee-bush, running in and out beneath the branches, and refused to depart until his c’ores 
nterlT d " 1 "V ^ ^od consists of various insects, Coleo- 
!enns T ^ ^og, probably of the tree -frequenting 
^enus {Polypedates). Mr. Holdsworth killed his specimen on the low branch of a tree near a mmmtaiu- 
