29 
Birds in Southern Ceylon. 
obtuse end under the brown markings; axis 1 inch 4 lines, 
diameter 11 lines. Some eggs are magnificently clouded with 
sepia and want the pencil-like strokes. With regard to JE, 
mongolicus, I forgot to mention above that it sometimes re¬ 
mains very late in this country, even down here in the south, 
before it migrates northwards. I have procured it on the 
27th April on the sandy hanks of our chief river, the Gin- 
durah, still in the immature plumage in which most of our 
visitors of that ilk are clothed, without a sign of moulting to 
the adult garb. As may he supposed, our list, in the south, of 
Longirostres is not a strong one, the country not being suited 
to their habits. There is, as it were, a gap, as far as this class 
is concerned, extending from the mud flats of Negombo, to 
the north of the capital, to the flat and salt-pan-begirt shores 
of the south-east, where Waders of all kinds become so won¬ 
derfully numerous. Numenius arquata is found in the Ma- 
tura-district ; but I doubt if N.phceopus , which seems confined 
to the north of the island, ever comes so far south. Tringa 
minuta is now and then met with, along with Golden Plover, in 
newly ploughed paddy-fields, where they may be seen search¬ 
ing for the various worms and other insects turned up by the 
plough. This species wanders a good deal inland. I have 
found them in muddy drains running through swamps in the 
northern province; and it was in such a locality, out of a flock 
of three Little Stints, that I obtained, some months ago, T. 
temminckii ) for the first time recorded from Ceylon. Actitis 
glareola is very common in this province, being our first visitor 
at the fall of the south-west monsoon—that is, if I except A. 
hypoleucus, which I cannot but believe is a resident in the 
island to a large extent. These two species frequent the 
brackish mangrove-lined lagoons of these parts, being the 
only birds of the kind found there. They may be often seen 
running along the edges of the loathsome cori-pits , where the 
cocoa-nut husks are allowed to rot before being beaten out 
into cori yam-spots. But to return to Totaninse, T. stagna- 
tilis is the only species I have met with here. While wander¬ 
ing in the haunts of this and other like species in the north 
of the island, watching the movements of happy little parties 
