At early morning they roam about the forests, keeping to the lops of the 
trees, and following each other with a loud clanking cry, until suitable Ires 
trees to feed In have been found, in which they settle down uttering a bars a 
croaking note as they move from branch to branch. When feeding In under¬ 
wood oc on the ground I have noticed that they are usually silent and very 
watchful, which they have need to be, for their beautiful blue plumage quick 
ly attracts the attention of the sportsman. 
It has, notwithstanding its wary habits, a considerable amount of Inqui¬ 
sitiveness In its disposition, Layard writes thus of it -“The last I pro¬ 
cured fell a victim to that curiosity so characteristic of the Jays, I was 
creeping through some thick jungle to get a shot at a large wood pigeon, 
when a "Cissa* flew down from some lofty trees and coming close to me peered 
into my face. I waited until the bird had leisurely surveyed me and flown 
to a. little distance, still watching my movements. This enabled me to 
shoot it". Mr Holdsworth remarks "They are very noisy, continually utter¬ 
ing a jay-like scream, both when perched, and flying. There is consequent¬ 
ly little difficulty in finding them out when they are in the neighbourhood; 
but from their keeping so much to the dense jungle, I have on several occa¬ 
sions worked my way quietly through the bushes to within a few yards of the 
birds without being able to get sight of them". The beauty of the Jay’s 
plumage has caused it to be recklessly shot for the sake of its feathers; oix 
but in this matter people in Ceylon are no more to blame than those in other 
countries who have slaughtered kingfishers, humming birds, and parrakeets to 
satisfy a taste on the part of the fair sex for the ornamentation of their 
hats with the feathers of many of the most lovely members of the bird crea¬ 
tion. 
NIDIFICATION 
This bird breeds in the cool season. I found its nest in Kandapolla jun¬ 
gles in January; it was situated in a fork of the top branch of a tall sap¬ 
ling about forty five feet from the ground, and was a tolerably bulky struc¬ 
ture, externally made of small sticks, in the centre of which was a deep cap 
five inches in diameter by two and a half inches in depth, made entirely of 
fine roots; there was but one egg in the nest which got broken in being low¬ 
ered to the ground. It was ovate and slightly pyriform, of a faded bluish 
green ground, thickly spotted all over with very light amber Drown over lar¬ 
ger spots of bluish'grey. It measured .98 inches in diameter by about 1.3 
in length. 
The front figure in the drawing is that of a fine female example, shot in 
the'forest surrounding .the Horton Plains, and the one in the background that 
of a young bird. 
