a visitor, and opinion which its scarceness on the peninsula naturally occa¬ 
sioned. It extends down the Eastern side of the island to the country be¬ 
tween Battioaloa and the Uva ranges, in which it is also found to an eleva¬ 
tion of 4500 feet. On the Eastern side of the Badulla valley I frequently 
observed it on the estates between the capital of Uva and Lunegalla; but I 
did not see it on the Fort Macdonald patinas, although I believe it is iound 
in that tract of country. 
HABITS 
The 'King Crow*, one of the best known Ceylonese birds to European resi¬ 
dents in the island, frequents native compounds, openly wooded land, the oor- 
ders of paddy fields and tanks, or the vicinity of grassy forest glades; and 
in the coffee districts it may usually be seen seated on stumps, or percned 
on the branches of lead trees left standing among the luxuriant sweeps of 
Ceylon’s staple plant. 
To the admirer of bird life it must always be an interesting species, as 
its lively manners, familiar habits, and bold onslaughts on its winged prey, 
make It an unfailing"subject of observation. 
Its diet is entirely insectivorous, consisting chiefly of beetles. Dugs, 
(Hemiptera), termites, and such like, which it catches on the wing, return¬ 
ing again to its perch, on which I have observed it striking Its prey before 
swallowing it. It is occasionally, when there Is abundance of food about, 
a sociable species, as many as three or four collecting on one tree ana car¬ 
rying on a vigorous warfare on the surrounding Insect world. 
It is abroad at daybreak, and retires very late at night to roost, appear¬ 
ing to be busy throughout the whole day, and never to be tired of uttering 
Its cheerful whistle. One or more may often be seen chasing an unoffending 
Crow to a great height in the air; and though their attacks must be compara¬ 
tively feeble, I have observed that they have the capability of considerably 
disconcerting their powerful enemy; it is from this singular habit that 
these and other Drongos have acquired the name of "King Crow*. 
The ordinary note of the dark race is a whistling cry, accompanied Dy a 
ouick jerk of the tall, a movement which the bird is constantly performing; 
but In the breeding season the male has a weak twittering song, somewhat re¬ 
sembling that of the Common Swallow. I have listened to this in the North 
country birds; but the ordinary note of the latter always seemed to me to 
be less powerful than that of the Western Province form. 
This species and the Long Tailed Drongo have an Inveterate hatred to Owl§ 
and never fail to collect all the small birds in the vicinity when they dis- 
