On the Distribution of Birds in Southern Ceylon. 7 
Since, as is mentioned above, the characters of this egg 
appear with great probability to indicate its belonging to the 
Struthious group, I propose to call it, with reference to the 
unknown gigantic bird, Struthiolithus chersonensis*. 
III .-—On the Distribution of Birds in the Southern Hill-region 
of Ceylon. By W. Vincent Legge, Lieut. It. A. 
The southern province of Ceylon possesses a range of moun¬ 
tains of its own, quite distinct from the central zone, inas¬ 
much as it is separated from that region by a long strip of 
low’country extending from the western province, on the south 
of Ratnapoora, through, in an easterly direction, to the flat 
and jungle-clad plains of the south-east of the island. The 
system commences at the eastern boundary of the Morowa 
Korlef, at a point thirty miles north of the southernmost 
extremity of the island (Dondra Head), and, after shooting 
up at once from the plains of Hambantotte and culminating 
in its highest point, 4500 feet, stretches away in a westerly 
direction to a point some twenty miles from the sea on the 
west coast. The river Gindurah rises in the highest portion 
of the range, and takes a westerly course, separating it into 
two parts by a deep valley, in the north of which numerous 
spurs shoot out into the Saflragam district, while on the south 
the higher mountains are supplemented by many smaller par¬ 
allel-lying ridges, which again break into an endless succes¬ 
sion of smaller hills, dwindling down until they form the un¬ 
dulating country in the immediate vicinity of Point de Galle. 
The south-west corner of Ceylon may therefore be said to be 
a perfect labyrinth of hills, clothed in their highest parts with 
lofty primeval forest, except where the axe of the mountaineer 
has left its mark in the course of hill-grain cultivation, and 
covered in the lower districts with secondary or scrubby jungle, 
in the composition of which the small bamboo ( Ochlandra 
* Subsequently Professor Kessler has informed me that he had this egg 
in his hands some years ago, and attempted unfortunately in vain to ac¬ 
quire it for the zoological collection of the University of Kiew. 
t “ Korle” corresponds, as a terrestrial division, to county. 
