124 Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth on Ceylonese Birds. 
and it will be interesting to bear whether they remain at all 
seasons where Mr. Legge met with them. The occurrence 
of Cissa ornata in comparatively low country is not surprising, 
as it only visits the upper hills during winter, and at that 
time I expect Mr. Legge would not find it in his district. 
There is nothing which better shows how much there is to 
reward a diligent collector in Ceylon than Mr. Legged dis¬ 
covery of Drymocataphus fuscicapillus in some abundance 
near Galle. Only a few localities for this bird (most of them 
in the low country) had been previously recorded; but the 
expression “it appears to have escaped much observation 
hitherto in Ceylon ” is likely to mislead those who may not 
be aware that the bird is peculiar to that island. The state¬ 
ment, however, that this species “is one of the commonest 
and most widely distributed birds in the southern pro¬ 
vince” will certainly require some qualification. Here, I 
suspect, the question of season will have to be considered; 
if not, it is difficult to understand why other collectors of 
considerable experience in looking for birds should not have 
met with this one in the south. In 1869 I spent the 
whole of the month of August collecting in parts of the 
southern province; during most of the time I was only about 
twelve miles inland from Galle, and sometimes making ex¬ 
cursions to the lower hills near the Morowa Korle. Yet I 
♦ 
never saw or heard Drymocataphus; and I think I could 
hardly have missed it had it been “ one of the commonest 
birds ” there, as, in the following month, whilst travelling 
across the centre of the island on my way to Trincomalie, I 
was attracted by some notes quite new to me, and after a 
little difficulty succeeded in shooting this very species whilst 
it was in the act of uttering them. It is remarkable also that 
Layard never met with this bird in the southern province, 
although, as the discoverer of the species, having first obtained 
it close to his house at Colombo, and afterwards in the centre 
of the island, he would not have been likely to pass it by. 
Two other collectors, one English and one native, have also 
done good work in the south, but did not meet with this 
bird. I think, then, it cannot be a constant resident there; 
