In some of the unfrequented portions of the eastern province, to which
Europeans rarely resort, and where the pea-fowl are unmolested by the
natives, their number is so extraordinary that, regarded as game, it
ceases to be a "sport" to destroy them; and their cries at early morning
are so tumultuous and incessant as to banish sleep, and amount to an
actual inconvenience. Their flesh is excellent when served up hot,
though it is said to be indigestible; but, when cold, it contracts a
reddish and disagreeable tinge.

But of all, the most astonishing in point of multitude, as well as the
most interesting from their endless variety, are the myriads of aquatic
birds and waders which frequent the lakes and watercourses; especially
those along the coast near Batticaloa, between the mainland and the sand
formations of the shore, and the innumerable salt marshes and lagoons to
the south of Trincomalie. These, and the profusion of perching birds,
fly-catchers, finches, and thrushes, which appear in the open country,
afford sufficient quarry for the raptorial and predatory
species--eagles, hawks, and falcons--whose daring sweeps and effortless
undulations are striking objects in the cloudless sky.

I. ACCIPITRES. _Eagles_.--The Eagles, however, are small, and as
compared with other countries rare; except, perhaps, the crested
eagle[1], which haunts the mountain provinces and the lower hills,
disquieting the peasantry by its ravages amongst their poultry; and the
gloomy serpent eagle[2], which, descending from its eyrie in the lofty
jungle, and uttering a loud and plaintive cry, sweeps cautiously around
the lonely tanks and marshes, where it feeds upon the reptiles on their
margin. The largest eagle is the great sea Erne[3], seen on the northern
coasts and the salt lakes of the eastern provinces, particularly when
the receding tide leaves bare an expanse of beach, over which it hunts,