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Show 1873.] MR. E. L. LAYARD ON CEYLONESE BIRDS. 203 vious. The mesenteric border of the caecum was nearly as black as the strangulated part; but it was more normal in colour elsewhere. The alimentary canal was not at all over-distended with food ; and the colon was nearly empty. Till the attack came on which caused its death, the animal was in excellent health. It was ill only forty hours. At first it lay out straight on its back for some hours; but during the last day of its life it was much doubled up, with its head between its legs. 3. Notes on Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth's Catalogue of Ceylon Birds. By E . L. L A Y A R D , F.Z.S. [Received January 29, 1873.] Through the kindness of my friend Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth, I have just received a copy of his " Catalogue of Ceylon Birds " P. Z. S. 1872, p. 404 et seq.); and I wish to make a few observations thereon which strike m e on the perusal of his remarks. Mr. Holdsworth has added twenty-five species to the Ceylon list which I did not meet with, but has failed to find several which occurred to me. This is precisely what happened to m e at the Cape, following M . Verreaux's footsteps, and should teach us to be very careful in imputing inaccuracy to a brother naturalist. I commenced collecting in Ceylon in 1846, twenty-six years ago; what changes have taken place since then! It appears to m e that (as I found it at the Cape) some species, for reasons unknown to us, have altered their line of travel or migration and left the country ; while others, perhaps influenced by the same causes, have deflected their line of route and come in. This is especially marked among the Waders and Water-fowl; for instance, Gallinago gallinula. The late Mr. Vassil Burleigh, m y "sportsman's authority," was a well-known collector and sportsman in the northern province, and one of the best snipe-shots of m y day. He knew the bird well, and regretted its sudden disappearance from his shooting-grounds. Limosa eegocephala, Totanus fuscus, and T. calidris. The first of these was scarce, the two others common in m y time. What has caused them to disappear, and the Heron (Ardea cinerea) to become common ? Surely I could not have overlooked A. cinerea, a bird I have known since childhood! and then in m y keen search for eggs, in which I visited some of the most noted breeding-places for the Ardeidae, I could not have passed over m y old friend had it been nesting with others. As to the identity and existence of Branta rufina, I am as sure of it as one can be of any thing in this world. H o w I did strive to circumvent those I saw between Jaffna and Chavagacherry; when I found I could not approach them with my shot gun, I actually had m y little American rifle-barrel restocked, hoping to get a shot at them. I certainly never handled a Ceylon specimen ; but I knew the Duck well, and had specimens then in m y collection received from Mr. Blyth. |