rests of the West oould not be those of any other bird, but was never able 
to propure a specimen, until one morning in the Hewagara Korale, I penetrated 
into a dense bamboo thicket towards a huge overgrown tree in which one of 
these birds was sending forth an unusual number of its sepulchral calls, ana 
succeeded in bagging it, thus identifying the species with its note, and 
enabling me by adopting this device to procure many specimens, and to jot 
down in my note book on auricular testimony. Its distribution wherever I 
went. Its habit is to call for several hours in the morning and evening, 
or after a shower of rain, when it mounts up into a tree to escape the drip¬ 
ping underwood and dries its plumage. When disturbed or on re-alighting 
after being flushed, it has a very singular monosyllabic note, somewhat re¬ 
sembling the dropping of a stone into deep water, which may be likened to 
the syllable "dhjoouk", this is uttered by both sexes, but whenever i procu¬ 
red a specimen uttering the loud call it proved to be a male. 
Its diet consists of coleoptera, spiders, snails, and grasshoppers, and 
in the stomach of one example I found a number of minute ammonites. When 
winged it runs very rapidly through the dense jungle, and quickly escapes 
pursuit. 
NIDIFICATION 
The breeding season probably begins in April or May, and lasts until July 
In August I procured the nestling which forms the subject of the accom¬ 
panying drawing, which had not long left the nest. It was seated on a low 
branch in some dense underwood and uttered a sound resembling the note of 
the adult, but not so deep. On the first occasion that I heard it, I was 
unable to find the bird, supposing it to be an old one which had flown away 
on my approach; but on passing the spot the following day I again heard the 
note, and succeeded In finding its author, which must have remained in exact 
ly the same position during the twenty four hours which had intervened. 
The nest and eggs are. In all probability, almost Identical with those or 
the common Concal, the latter being probably somewhat smaller. 
The figure In the,drawing represents an adult bird, shot in the seven Mo¬ 
rales, feeding the nestling alluded to above, which was procured in Mr Char¬ 
les De Sovza’s fine forest in Kuruwite, where the species abounds. 
