Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth on Ceylonese Birds. 125 
and possibly Mr. Legged pen may have run away with him 
a little when he described the bird as one of the commonest 
in that province. He probably obtained it in several local¬ 
ities ; bu^ curiously enough; he only mentions one. 
Such remarks; also, as that Palceornis calthropce is moje 
abundant in two particular localities on the southern hills 
“ than anywhere else in the island/' and that Merops philip- 
pinus “ is more abundant in the extreme south than in other 
parts of Ceylon/' appear to me somewhat rash; considering 
Mr. Legge's military duties have prevented his having op¬ 
portunities for long-continued observations anywhere except 
at Colombo; Galle, and Trincomalie. P. calthropce is a great 
wanderer; but I did not meet with it in the south in August; 
although P. rosa was abundant near the Morowa Korle. M. 
philippinus used to be so abundant at AripO; on the northern 
coast; from the end of September to April; that the very 
common M. viridis, a resident there, was scarce in compa¬ 
rison with it. 
A matter of more consequence to those interested in the 
ornithological relations of Ceylon to other countries is that 
Mr. Legge calls the south-east coast of the island (< that re¬ 
markably Indo-Ceylonese region" where all the peninsular 
birds found in the island are met with (p. 25). It would not 
be difficult to make a pretty long list of Indo-Ceylonese species 
which have not yet been recorded from there; but it is well 
known that the quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, insects, and plants 
of the northern portion of the island are specially Indian in 
their character, and that very few of the peculiar Ceylonese 
forms are found there. The latter are to be met with only in 
the southern half, with a few exceptions; and the northern 
half is undoubtedly the Indo-Ceylonese region. 
There are many portions of Mr. Legge's interesting paper 
which deserve notice; but I must keep within the space at 
my command. I hope Mr. Legge will be able to clear up the 
mystery of the Devil bird; but he must not trust too much to 
the negative evidence afforded by the silence of his Syrnium 
indranee, as Owls rarely utter their peculiar cries in captivity. 
Remarkable vocal powers might be expected from Batracho - 
