Mr. W. Clark on the Rissoa rubra. 107 and mingled with a tremulous cry. It breeds in Febiniaiy, nest-ling in hollow trees, and laying from two to four roundish white eggs. 29. Ketxtpa Ceylonensis, Gmel. Baccamooney, Cing. Oomuttanloovey , Mai. These large owls are common through the island, both in the interior and on the sea-coast. They feed much upon fish, which they catch in the shallow moimtain rivulets dm-ing moonlight nights. I have several times had them alive, and they devoTired fish with avidity. When alarmed during the day, they utter a loud hissing note subsiding into a low growl ; during this time the throat is much inflated at the white spot. I hear that they breed in hollow trees and clefts of I'ock, laying two large white eggs. 30. Syrnium Indrani, Gray. Oolama, Cing. Inhabits dense and lonely jungles, and utters the most doleful cries, which the natives (a very superstitious race) consider the sure tokens of approaching evil. 31. Strix Javanica, Gmel. The only locality in Ceylon for this bird is the pretty fort of Jaffna. Here several pairs may be nightly seen perched on the gables of the old Dutch church, or on the dilapidated bastions of the walls. They feed much on fish, which they capture in the shallow water of the estuary commanded by the fort. [To be continued.] XI. — On the Rissoa rubra. By William Clark, Esq. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. Gentlemen, Exmouth, June 26, 1853. It is stated in a paper of mine on the Rissoce in the ' Annals,' vol. X. p. 262. N. S., "that the R. rubra is very common alive in certain localities, and that I have never seen the animal, and can scarcely believe it to be a true Rissoa, as the semitestaceous operculum and its apophysis are more like those of a Chem-nitzia." This view is corroborated by the reception this day, by favour of Mr. Barlee, of many lively specimens sent from Penzance in a bottle of sea-water by post, which has enabled me to get notes of all the organs. I am not aware that this curious, I may almost say, anomalous species, has ever been mentioned beyond a very slight notice by one or two authors, which in most respects 8*
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