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BY © BOWDLER SHARPE, LLD, FLS, FZS, Etc, DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, BRITISH MUSEUM; HOLDER OF THE GOLD MEDAL FOR SCIENCE FROM H.I.M. THE EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA; M.A, (Hon.) BATES COLLEGE, U.S.A.; HON. MEMBER OF THE NEW-ZEALAND INSTITUTE; FOREIGN MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF LISBON; HON. MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY (NATURA ARTIS MAGISTRA’) OF AMSTERDAM; FOREIGN MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISLS’ UNION: MEMBER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NATURALISTS OF MOSCOW; FOREIGN MEMBER OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF FRANCH; MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, ETC. ETC.: AND CLAUDE W. WYATT, MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, VOLUME Ill. LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHORS. 1885-1894. FLAMMAM. ALERE PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, REP LION COURT, FLEET STREET. LIST OF CONTENTS. VOL. Il. Hirundo daurica A striolata. . Bs nipalensis » erythropygia melanocrissa 5 domicella ms emini Table of Geographical Distribution of the Genus Hrrunpo (continued). Hirundo hyperythra . : badia. [No Plate.] . semirufa FF, gordoni. [No Plate. | senegalensis es monteiri . » euchrysea . sclateri . Appendix to the Genus Htrunpo Table of Geographical Distribution of the Genus Htrunbo (continued) . Genus CHERAMG@CA . Cheramececa leucosternum . Appendix to the Genus CHERAM@CA Genus ProGNeE (with Key to Species) . Progne purpurea . » hesperia » fureata lv LIST OF CONTENTS. Progne concolor . », dominicensis . ages » domestica. [No Plate.]. » - Chalybea . » tapera. Appendix to the Genus PROGNE. Table of Geographical Distribution of the Genera CoERaAMa@ca and PROGNE . yenus ATTICORA (with Key to Species) Atticora fasciata . | cinerea 3 | *tubialis melanoleuca » cyanoleuca . me pileata m fucata Appendix to the Genus Arricora Table of Geographical Distribution of the Genus ATTICORA Genus PETROCHELIDON (with Key to Species) . Petrochelidon nigricans a timoriensis. [No Plate. | Bs pyrrhonota . 45 swainsoni . swainsoni erythrogastra (hybrid) ‘6 fulva ruficollaris i rufigula . a spilodera . a fluvicola . 7 ariel Appendix to the Genus PETROCHELIDON . Table of Geographical Distribution of the Genus PETROCHELIDON Subfamily II. Psatrpoprocnin& (with Key to Genera) . Genus PsALIDOPROCNE (with Key to Species) Psalidoprocne holomelzena . Page 463 465 469 473 — ATO 487 4.90 4.93 495 4.99 501 503 505 513 515 517 520 523 525 529 531 555 559 561 567 571 573 57 585 589 598 601 601 603 LIST OF CONTENTS. Psalidoprocne obscura ewe : chalybea. [No Plate.] . re nitens . o orientalis 2s antinorii . petiti . ie fuliginosa re pristoptera . a albiceps . Appendix to the Genus PSALIDOPROCNE . Table of Geographical Distribution of the Genus PsaLtDoPROCNE Genus SrELGIDOPTERYX (with Key to Species) . Stelgidopteryx serripennis . B: ruficollis ¥ uropygialis . Appendix to the Genus STELGIDOPTERYX . Table of Geographical Distribution of the Genus STELGIDOPTERYX . Index LIST OF PLATES. VOL. Il. —— __.____ eeceeee — —— Puate 65. Hirundo daurica. 66. 67. 68. 69. 10. WL. 72. 73. 7A. 75. 76. 77. 78. (ASP 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. _ striolata. 5, hipalensis. » erythropygia. a melanocrissa. is domicella. - emini - hyperythra. a semirufa. rn senegalensis. - monteiri. - euchrysea. * selateri. Map of the Genus Hirundo. 99 99 39 Pr the Genera Hirundo, Cheramececa, aid Progne. rr a Hirundo and Progne. - Be Hirundo, Progne, and Atticora. 3 ¥ Hirundo, Atticora, and Petrochelidon. ed 39 9 be) 39 oe} +B) 99 39 99 Cheramoeca leucosternum. Progne purpurea. », hesperia. see luncatae » concolor. , dominicensis. », Chalybea. PP tapera. Vill LIST OF PLATES. Puate 94. Map of the Genus Progne. sp 95. Atticora fasciata. " 96. 35 cinerea. = 97. tibialis. 35 98. et melanoleuca. rs 99. a cyanoleuca. » 100. es pileata. Ode ” fucata. » 102. Map of the Genera Atticora and Petrochelidon. » 103. Petrochelidon nigricans. » LOA. m pyrrhonota. » 105. " swainsoni. ; 106. + swainsoni erythrogastra. a Oe 3 fulva. » LOS8. Ps ruficollaris. » LO9. 5 rufigula. | 1LK0)s Se spilodera. x Allie ” fluvicola. 5 ALI ariel. » 113. Map of the Genera Petrochelidon and Psalidoprocne. », 114. Psalidoprocne holomeleena. ye Lb: Ss obseura. a Lill6: 3 nitens. roa Wire 7 orientalis. yo alalish - antinori. Eo! on petiti. 5 ILA) e fuliginosa. Pmploale a pristoptera. ye li2.28 albiceps. » 123. Map of the Genus Psalidoprocne. » 124. A 5 , 125. Stelgidopteryx serripennis. P26: Z ruficollis. oe fled 3 uropygialis. 5) . Map of the Genus Stelgidopteryx. — oe) aa bo 2 ” 99 29 imp. W.W. del HIRUNDO DAURICA, Linn. DAURIAN MOSQUE-SWALLOW. Hirundo daurica, Linn. Mantissa Plant. App. p. 528 (1771); Gm. 8S. N. i. p. 1024 (1788); Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 576 (1790); Gray, Gen. B. 1. p. 57 (1845) ; Bp. Consp. i. p. 838 (1850); Selys-Longch. Bull. Acad. R. Belg. xxii. pt. 2, p. 108 (1855); Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 159 (1885); Oates, Faun. Brit. Ind., Birds, ii. p. 282 (1890). Hirundo alpestris, Pall. Reis. Russ. Reichs, ii. App. no. 19 (1771-76); id. Zoogr. Rosso-Asiat. i. p. 534, pl. 30 (1811); Blasius, Nachtr. Naum. Vog. Deutsch. xiii. p. 209, pl. 383. fig. 3 (1860); Radde, Reis. Sibir., V6g. p. 280 (1868); Finsch, Verh. z.-b. Ges. Wien, xxix. p. 150 (1879); Seebohm, Ibis, 1883, p. 169; Homeyer & Tancré, MT. orn. Ver. Wien, 1883, p. 838. Daurian Swallow, Lath. Gen. Syn. ii. pt. 2, p. 570 (1783). Cecropis daurica, Less. Compl. Buff. viii. p. 498 (1837); Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 174; Dybowski, J. f. O. 1876, p. 192; David & Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 125 (1877, pt.). Cecropis alpestris, Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 174; Gould, B. Asia, i. pl. 28 (1860) ; Dybowski, J. f. O. 1868, p. 336, 1872, p. 352, 1874, p. 384, 1875, p. 244; Taczan. - Bull. Soc. Zool. France, i. p. 133 (1876); Prjev. in Rowley’s Orn. Mise. ii. p. 161 (1877); David & Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 125 (1878). Lillia alpestris, Boie, J. f. O. 1858, p. 364. Lillia intermedia, Hume, Str. F. v. p. 263 (1877). Lillia substriolata, Hume, Str. F. v. p. 264 (1877). Hirundo intermedia, Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 84 (1879). Hirundo substriolata, Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 84 (1879). H. wropygio rufo: pileo dorso concolore : subtis pallidé rufescens, distincté striolata. Hab. in Siberia orientali, in terré Assamicaé hibernans, Adult male. General colour above deep blue, the back much streaked with white when the feathers are disturbed ; head like the back, and not separated by a nuchal collar from the mantle ; lesser and median wing-coverts like the back, the greater coverts, bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills blackish, externally glossed with blue; lower back and rump cinnamon-rufous, with a few blackish shaft-lines, very indistinct ; upper tail-coverts dark blue ; tail-feathers blackish, glossed slightly with blue ; lores blackish, whiter at base, and surmounted by a narrow line of rufous, forming a slight eyebrow, which expands into a broad neck-patch of cinnamon-rufous, behind the ear- coverts, which are dingy whitish washed with rufous and distinctly streaked with black shaft- streaks ; cheeks and throat also dingy whitish, with broader blackish shaft-streaks ; remainder of 2 under surface pale rufous, everywhere streaked with dusky blackish shaft-lines, less marked on the vent and under tail-coverts, the long ones of which end in dark blue or blue-black like the upper tail-coverts; sides of body and flanks washed with a little deeper rufous ; axillaries and under wing-coverts clear rufous, with scarcely any shaft-lines, the edge of the wing more dis- tinctly streaked with the latter; quills dusky below. Total length 8:4 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 5:15, tail 4°7, tarsus 0°65. Adult female. Similar to the male in plumage. Total length 7°5 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 4°75, tail 4°5, tarsus 0°55. Young. Duller in colour than the adult, and easily distinguished by the rufescent margins to the tips of the wing-coverts and secondary quills ; rump more coarsely striped than in the old birds ; ear- coverts nearly uniform sooty brown ; rufous colour on sides of hinder crown very dull and less developed than in the adults. Wing 4°35 inches. Hab. Eastern Siberia, wintering in Tibet and Mongolia, and also in Assam. THE number of species of Asiatic Mosque-Swallows has been a subject of discussion for many years, and even now we cannot regard the present state of our knowledge with any great satisfaction. After several attempts on Mr. Swinhoe’s part to define the Chinese species, Mr. Allan Hume wrote a capital article on the Indian species of the eroup, and Mr. Henry Seebohm, in 1883, made a further contribution to our knowledge of the subject. In 1885 we had to describe the species of the H. daurica section of Swallows in the ‘Catalogue of Birds,’ and our conclusions principally agreed with those of Mr. Seebohm. The year 1890 has been remarkable for a further exposition of the Indian species, and this took place in the Natural History Museum, when Mr. E. W. Oates was able to lay out on the table a goodly series of specimens from the Hume collection, such as had never before been available for any European naturalist to work with. To this series of skins Mr. Seebohm brought his Japanese and Chinese examples, and found that Mr. Oates’s conclusions were correct, and they are in the main adopted by Mr. Seebohm in his ‘Birds of the Japanese Empire.’ We have also had the advantage of the loan of Mr. Seebohm’s specimens, and, with some slight modifications, we have adopted the opinion of the two naturalists above mentioned, though we still maintain our conviction that to draw a hard-and-fast line between the four races of Oriental Mosque-Swallows is nearly impossible, so much do they grade towards each other both in size and colour. Four races may, however, be recognized, of which two are large and two small, two rufescent underneath and two whitish. Mr. Oates fixes the length of wing in the two large forms, H. striolata and H. dawrica, as from 49 to 5°3 inches, and in HZ. nipalensis and HZ. erythropygia as from 4°5 to 4:7 inches. Mr. Seebohm divides the four races into two sections, relying on the coarseness or fineness of the streaks on the under surface, and the presence or absence of shaft- streaks to the rump-feathers. Thus in the first section of finely streaked birds he puts 3 H. daurica (which, as will be noticed, he calls H. alpestris), with a wing measuring 4-9 to 5:2 inches, and ZH. erythropygia, with a wing of from 4-2 to 4°5 inches. Then in his second section of coarsely streaked species he puts HZ. s¢riolata, with a wing of from 4-9 to 5:4 inches, and ZT. nipalensis, with a wing of 4°4 to 4°8 inches. We find that in the British Museum series the wing varies between 4°75 and 5:15 inches. The oldest known species of the group is undoubtedly A. dawrica, which was described by Linnzeus in the Appendix to his ‘ Mantissa,’ from a specimen brought from Siberia by Laxman. There can be no doubt as to the bird intended, and Linnzeus’s name must be retained in preference to that of alpestris of Pallas, which has probably been resuscitated by Mr. Seebohm for the species as being better known, and therefore auctorum plurimorum. Pallas described his Hirundo alpestris as nesting in rocks and in eaves on the Altai Mountains and in the other Siberian Alps, being found but rarely building in deserted dwellings. In his ‘ Zoographia,’ he again gives the habitat as the Altai Mountains and Dauria, and he states his belief that it occurs throughout the whole mountain-region to Tibet and China. He describes and figures the nest, which is depicted as fixed to a rock ; but it was probably drawn from memory, as it does not coincide with the form of the nest as described by other authors. Messrs. Homeyer and Tancré have recorded the species from the Altai Mountains, and, according to Dr. Otto Finsch, it was breeding in a large colony between Urdschar and Bakti on the 20th of May; he again met with the species on the Irtisch River, above Buchtarminsk, on the 16th of June. Dr. Dybowski records it as common throughout the whole of Dauria, and found it on the Amoor and in the Ussuri country, but it was not met with near Lake Baikal. It breeds in Dauria, and it was also found nesting in the Ussuri delta by Dr. Grabowski. Radde’s localities for the species were the Krimski Post, the eastern slope of the southern part of the Apple Mountains, and again at Argun and Blagowestchensk. In the British Museum are two specimens of Dr. Severtzoff’s, procured by him in N.W. Mongolia, one being marked as from the River Etyr. The following account is given by General Prjevalski :— “The specimens obtained by us in 8.E. Mongolia and Kan-su have hardly any black streaks on the rust-coloured rump, and these are scarcely perceivable. At the same time, the black streaks are much narrower on the underparts than is shown in Gould’s plate, although they are somewhat wider than in C. erythropygia, Sykes, which also differs from the present species by the absence of all streaks on the rump and the wider rust-coloured patch on the nape. “The Daurian Swallow is extremely common in $.E. Mongolia, Ordos, and Ala- shan. In Kan-su it inhabits the median and low mountain-circles, and hardly ever visits the Alpine zone. It breeds on rocks, as well as in summer-houses, and even in tents. “The shape of the nest is elongated-oval, about 8 or 10 inches long; the front 4 portion is occupied by a narrow entrance. The eggs are pure white, five or six in number, and are deposited in the wider part of the nest, which is lined with hair, wool, and feathers. The young leave the nest about the middle of summer; but in a single instance we found, on the 20th of September, in Din-juan-in, close to the Ala-shan Mountains, a nest with some unfledged young in it. “Tt arrives in 8S.E. Mongolia much later than Hirundo gutturalis (i. e. about the 10th of May), although in the mountains of Kalgan we once observed it on the 23rd of April. The first birds in Kan-su were seen on the 14th of May. The autumnal migra- tion takes place in the early part of September; and on the 12th of this month we saw a large flock about the river Tetunga, which occupied about two hours in passing us. In the Ussuri country we only once observed it.” As regards the winter habitat of this Swallow we do not know much. Mr. Seebohm says that it winters in Mongolia and Tibet, and we know that if goes to Assam and Cachar. It may even be resident here, as Mr. Hume’s specimens of H. intermedia from Sadhyia, in Assam, were killed in June; but these were probably early winter arrivals, or laggards behind the main body of northward migrants. The type of H. substriolata of Hume came from Cachar, and is undoubtedly H. daurica. A slight error occurs in Mr. Oates’s book, for he considers that “two specimens from Cachar, February (types of Liilia substriolata, Hume),” belong to H. striolata; but these cannot be the types of I. substriolata, as they were shot in February 1879, whereas Mr. Hume’s bird was described in 1877. There was only one Cachar specimen in his collection at that date, and consequently it must be the typical one, which we refer without hesitation to H. daurica. The descriptions are taken from specimens in the British Museum, and the figure is drawn from a Daurian specimen in Mr. Seebohm’s collection. ne “ Py Mintern Bro’s. imp C. W. W. del HIRUNDO STRIOLATA. (KAREN - NEE) HIRUNDO STRIOLATA, Temm. § Schl. JAVAN MOSQUE-SWALLOW, Cecropis striolata, Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 174 (ex Kuhl, MSS. : deser. nulla); Cass. Cat. Hirund. Mus. Philad. Acad. p. 3 (1853); Swinh. P. Z. 8. 1871, p. 346; Wald. in Blyth’s B. Burm. p. 127 (1875); David & Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 127 (1877, pt.). Hirundo striolata, Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 58 (1845); Temm. & Schl. Faun. Jap. p. 33 (1850, deser. orig.); Bp. Consp. i. p. 840 (1850); Wall. P. Z.S. 18638, p. 485 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 337; Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 69, no. 801 (1869); Hume & Davison, Str. F. vi. p. 44 (1878); Seebohm, Ibis, 1883, p. 169; Vorderm. Nat. ‘Tijdschr. Nederl. Ind. xlii. p. 210 (1883); Sharpe, Cat. Birds ‘in Brit. Mus. x. p. 161 (1885); Oates, Faun. Brit. Ind., Birds, ii. p. 281 (1890); Seebohm, Birds Japan. Emp. p. 148 (1890) ; Steere, List B. Philippines, p. 16 (1890). Hirundo daurica (nec L.), Swinh. Ibis, 1860, p. 48, 1863, p. 255. Lillia striolata, Hume, Str. F. v. p. 261 (1877). Hirundo japonica (nec T. & 8.), Oates, Handb. B. Brit. Burm. i. p. 305 (1883). Hirundo strioluta, B. substriolata (nec Hume), Seebohin, Ibis, 1883, p. 169. H, major: similis H. daurice et statura equali, sed subtts albescens, striis pectoralibus latioribus et uropygio distincté striatulato distinguenda. Hab. in China meridionali et in insula “ Formosa”’ dicté: im terris Assamicis et Burmanicis usque ad insulas Philippinas et ad eas “ Java”’ et “ Flores” dictas. Adult male (type of species). General colour above dark purplish blue, the back perceptibly streaked with white where the white bases to the feathers show through ; lesser and median wing-coverts like the back; greater coverts, bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills black, washed with purplish blue externally; lower back and rump light chestnut-rufous, with narrow blackish shaft-lines, not very distinct ; upper tail-coverts purplish blue with rufous bases ; tail-feathers black washed with purplish blue ; head like the back, with a few streaks of rufous on the hind neck ; no rufous on base of forehead; loral plumes dusky with whitish bases, surrounded by a narrow streak of rufous ; from behind the eye a triangular patch of dull chestnut, extending on the sides of the neck, but not meeting behind the nape; ear-coverts dingy fulvous, with blackish shaft-streaks ; cheeks and under surface of body whitish, more silky white on the throat and a little deeper buff on the sides of the body; all the under surface from the chin to the vent streaked with distinct blackish centres to the feathers, broader on the throat and breast ; under tail-coverts fulvescent, with broad and conspicuous tips of blue-black; under wing-coverts and axillaries pale fulvescent, with narrow shaft-lines of black, the outer coverts more strongly mottled with blackish central markings; quills dusky below, more ashy along the edge of the “inner web. ‘Total length 7:6 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 5:05, tail 4, tarsus 0°6. 3C 2 Adult female. Does not differ from the male in colour. Total length 7 inches, wing 5:1, tail 3-67, tarsus 0°65. Hab. From Java and Flores, north to the Burmese countries, Southern China and Formosa. Tuts species is as large as H. daurica, having the wing from 4°65 to 5:3 inches, but it is much whiter below, more coarsely streaked, and has distinct black shaft-lines to the rufous feathers of the lower back and rump. It was originally described from Java, where we suspected that it would be only a winter visitant, but Dr. Vorderman states that it breeds at Batavia. Mr. Wallace also procured the species in the island of Flores. During the Steere Expedition to the Philippines, Mr. Moseley shot two specimens in the islands of Luzon and Masbate at the end of April. Our next habitat for the species is the island of Formosa, where, according to Mr. Swinhoe, it abounds in every homestead. The species is doubtless found throughout Southern China, and it possibly migrates to Assam, as Mr. J. R. Cripps procured a specimen at Dibrughur in November. ‘Two examples were procured in the Karen Hills in January, by Major Wardlaw Ramsay, at a height of 8000 feet, and the same naturalist also obtained a specimen at Karen-nee on the 29th of March, at a height of 2600 feet. Swinhoe thus describes the nesting of the species in Formosa :— *“On taking possession of our native house at Tamsuy, I observed a nest of this Swallow under the rafters in the central hall. It was exteriorly built of specks of mud, like the nests of the Martin, but had a neck-like entrance, giving the whole the form of a French flask, flattened against the roof; the inside was lined amply with feathers. Pallas’s figure gives a very good idea of its structure. The mouth, however, does not always point upwards, but is adapted in form and direction to the shape of the spot against which it is placed. At the close of March the pair to which the nest belonged returned, and in April began to repair the old nest. Towards the close of this month the female was sitting on three white, unspotted eggs. The male and female share the duties of incubation, the female usually taking the longest spell. For the sake of science, we let the birds have their own way, though they made a great mess about our small house, and nearly drove us wild with their loud discordant twittering. “In a ramble one spring morning, at dawn, I saw large numbers of these Swallows perching on some high bamboos. The sun was fast dispelling the thick night-fog that still hung low and heavy, and the birds seemed in high spirits at the return of fine weather. They fluttered from branch to branch, and as they regained a footing, rocked backwards and forwards before recovering their balance. It was in April, and they were all paired, the male being always distinguishable by his larger size and longer tail. In pairs they sang, or rather twittered, their notes see-wee-keé, like sounds that might be produced by some metal instrument sadly out of tune. The male loudly sang his bar, and the female followed in a lower key. The male then fluttered his wings and began again; the female followed suit. In this way the whole clump 3 of tall, graceful bamboos looked alive with these birds, and resounded with their strange notes. Some pairs would start away and pursue one another, at first, with a smooth, skimming flight; then in an excited manner they would stagger along and, fluttering their wings, sing lustily their notes of love.” The description is copied from the British Museum ‘ Catalogue of Birds,’ and is drawn up from the typical specimen in the Leyden Museum. The Plate represents a very strongly marked individual from Karen-nee in the 'weeddale collection. The majority of the specimens examined are whiter underneath, and have not such a pro- nounced black patch on the ear-coverts. ac 2 > i = : : ees os - A a aah ie as - Sa : ose eee oo oe D2 =S kt S258 eter oem pub ecs es OSPR TET eae we oe ee o ere : . “e - pate a = - ae ea ee ee eo =-+ . = ~— + - + 7 7 _ ay : : “ 4 i - = = i . » A 7 - - ' ‘ ’ a a - - oa ‘ we i= v 7 rd : . - fe, on os ee A imp. Mintern Bros . W.W. del C NSIS a NIPALI HIRUNDO HIRUNDO NCE ARES iS. Hodgs. HODGSON’S MOSQUE-SWALLOW. Hirundo nipalensis, Hodgs. Icon. ined. in Brit. Mus., Passeres, pl. vi. fig. 1 (no. 329); id. J. A. 8. Beng. v. p. 780 (1836); id. in Gray’s Zool. Misc. p. 82 (1844) ; Hume & Davison, Str. F. vi. p. 44 (1878); Hume, Str. F. vill. p. 84 (1879) ; Scully, t.c. p- 233; Bingham, Str. F. ix. p. 148 (1880); Hume, t. c. p. 246; Oates, Handb. B. Br. Burm. i. p. 806 (1883) ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 160 (1885) ; Hume, Str. F. xi. p. 27 (1888); Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genov. (2) v. p. 576 (1888) ; Oates, ed. Hume’s Nests & Eggs Ind. B. ii. p. 195 (1890); id. Faun. Brit. Ind., Birds, ii. p. 282 (1890). Hirundo daurica (nec L.), Gray, Cat. Fissir. Brit. Mus. p. 23 (1848); Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. p. 198 (1849) ; Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E, I. Co. 1. p. 92 (1854, pt.); Swinh. Ibis, 1861, p. 328; Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 160 (1862, pt.); Swinh. Ibis, 1863, pp. 89, 255; id. P. Z.S. 1863, p. 287; id. Ibis, 1870, p. 90; Beavan, Ibis, 1865, p. 405; Tytler, Ibis, 1868, p. 196; Pelz. t.c. p. 807; Brooks, Ibis, 1869, p. 46; Beavan, t.c. p. 404; Hume, Str. F. i. p. 468 (1874). Hirundo alpestris japonica, Temm. & Schl. Faun. Japon., Aves, p. 33, pl. 11 (1850). Hirundo japonica, Bp. Consp. i. p. 840 (1850); Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 69, no. 809 (1869); Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 162 (1885). Cecropis japonica, Cass. Cat. Hirund. Philad. Mus. p. 4 (1853); Swinh. P. Z.S8. 1871, p. 486; id. Ibis, 1874, p. 346; Blakist. Amended List B. Japan, pp. 25, 45 (1884) ; Tristr. Ibis, 1885, p. 194. Tirundo erythropygia (nec Sykes), Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 69, no. 806 (1869, pt.) ; Cock & Marsh. Str. F. i. p. 350 (1873); Hume, Str. F. iii. p. 318 (1875); Godw.- Aust. J. A. 8. Beng. xlv. pt. 2, p. 68 (1876); Cripps, Str. F. vil. p. 76 (1878); Bingham, Str. F. viii. p. 192 (1879). Cecropis daurica (nec L.), Jerd. Ibis, 1871, p. 352; Tacz. P. Z. 8. 1887, p. 599, 1888, p. 462. Cecropis arctivitta, Swinh. P. Z.S8. 1871, p. 346. Lillia daurica (nec L.), Hume, Nests & Eggs Ind. B. p. 78 (1873). Cecropis nipalensis, Hume, Str. F. iii. p. 42 (1875). Hirundo (Cecropis) nipalensis, Brooks, Str. F. iii. p. 230 (1875). . 2 Cecropis eryihropygia (nec Sykes), Blyth, B. Burm. p. 127 (1875); Blakist. & Pryer, B. Japan, p. 189 (1878). . Lillia arctivitta, Hume, Str. F. v. pp. 261, 266 (1877). Lillia japonica, Hume, Str. F. v. p. 261 (1877). Lillia nipalensis, Hume, Str. F. v. p. 262 (1877). Hirundo arctivitta, Oates, Handb. B. Br. Burm. i. p. 306 (1883). Hirundo alpestris, B. nipalensis, Secbohm, Ibis, 1883, p. 169. Hirundo alpestris, Seebohm, Birds of Japan. Emp. p. 142 (1890). Hirundo alpestris nipalensis, Seebohm, t. c. p. 143 (1890). H., similis H. daurice et subtis paullo rufescens, sed multo minor, ala breviore: subtus distincté striata. Hab. in insulis Japonicis et in China, in montibus Himalayanis: in peninsuld Indic&é et in regione Indo-Burmanica toté hibernans. Adult male. General colour above dark purplish blue, streaked with white where the white bases show through; the wing-coverts like the back; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills blackish, glossed externally with steel-blue ; rump and upper tail-coverts cinnamon-rufous, with distinct narrow black shaft-lines, the long coverts dark purplish blue, with light rufous bases ; ‘tail- feathers black, glossed with steel-blue ; crown of head dark purplish blue like the back ; over the eye a few rufous feathers ; sides of the hinder crown deep rufous, converging towards the nape, but not forming a distinct collar, the nape-plumes being blue edged with rufous; lores whitish, tipped with dusky ; ear-coverts smoky brown, slightly tinged with rufous and broadly streaked with dusky brown ; cheeks and throat dull white, broadly streaked with blackish, more distinctly on the latter ; remainder of the under surface pale rufescent buff, very distinctly streaked with black; sides of upper breast purplish blue; thighs rather white; under tail-coverts like the abdomen, the lower ones blue-black with pale rufescent bases and black shaft-lines ; lateral under tail-coverts white, with black shaft-lines and a distinct oval spot of blue-black near the tip ; axillaries and under wing-coverts rufescent buff, all with distinct black shaft-lines, broader on the outer under wing-coverts ; quills below dusky, paler along the inner web: “ bill black; feet dusky; claws black; iris blackish brown” (J. Scully). Total length 7-4 inches, culmen 0:4, wing 4°55, tail 4, tarsus 0°65. Adult female. Similar to the male in colour. Total length 7°3 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 4°5, tail 3°7, tarsus 0°6. Young. Differs from the adult in its duller blue plumage, and in having narrow whitish edges to the inner secondaries: “ bill black, the base of the lower mandible and gape fleshy yellow; feet dusky brownish ; claws yellow ; iris brownish black ” (J. Scully). Hab. Southern Islands of Japan, China, Himalaya Mountains. Wintering in the Peninsula of India and the Burmese countries. In this species the length of the wing varies from 4°3 to 4°75 and even 4:8 inches, so that in this respect it attains to the dimensions of ZZ. daurica, from which, indeed, it is difficult to separate the species specifically. The streakings of the underparts are 3 sometimes almost as strongly indicated as those of Z. striolata, while the slightly rufescent colouring of the under surface allies it to H. dawrica. It can, indeed, only be considered a small race of the latter species, though some examples are as pale below as H. striolata. It was first discovered by Mr. Hodgson in Nepal. He says that it is “ the Swallow of the Central Region, a household creature, remaining for seven or eight months in the year.” Dr. Scully also writes :—‘ This Swallow is even more common in the valley of Nepal than ZZ. rustica, and is much more familiar in its habits than that species, constantly flying about houses and often entering into the room. It lives in the valley for about eight months in the year, migrating to lower levels in winter. It was not uncommon in the Nawakot district about the end of November. “This species breeds in the valley from April to the end of July, some birds certainly producing two broods in the season. The nests are made of pellets of fine light-coloured clay, and are usually fixed between the rafters of verandahs or of rooms which are little used. The shape of the nest is a rather irregular half-retort; the entrance being long and narrow. The usual number of eggs laid is four, and these rest on a beautiful cushion of soft feathers—often those of the Chikore, Black Partridge, and Pigeon. The eggs are well known; pure delicate white, in shape long oval, smaller at one end.” It likewise occurs throughout the Western Himalayas, though Mr. Brooks did not observe itin Kashmir. At Murree it breeds, and, according to Colonel C. H. T. Marshall, it is the “ House-Swallow ” of the place. He found eggs in June. Stoliezka found it at Nachar in the Sutle] Valley, and Mr. Hume states that it is far from rare there. It nested regularly at Rothney Castle, Mr. Hume’s beautiful house at Simla; and Captain Beavan writes :—‘ Noticed at Simla about the end of April, now and then about the house, as if in quest of a place to build in; but apparently it does not build until much later. I observed this species at Simla up to Sept. 15th, when I noticed that it was almost the only species visible, and still common.” Mr. Brooks records this Swallow as common both at Nynee Tal and Almora, as well as at Binsur, which is twelve miles further north than Almora. Specimens from Mussoorie are in the Hume collection, and Mr. Brooks records it as met with on the march from Mussoorie to Gangaotri. Between Simla and Mussoorie, Colonel Tytler also says that the species was common and at considerable heights. In the winter it is met with in the plains of India, and Mr. Hume’s collection con- tains specimens from Oudh and Etawah; it has been met with as far south as Mam- bhoom, where Captain Beavan found it “ tolerably common.” Mandelli procured the species in the Bhutan Dooars in April, and there are speci- mens in the Hume collection from this locality, as well as others from Faridpur in Eastern Bengal, obtained by Mr. J. R. Cripps, while Mr. Inglis procured it at Dilkusha in Cachar, Colonel Godwin-Austen has specimens from the Dafla Hills. Mr. Hume writes :— Though not common, I met with this occasionally both in the hills and plains 4 of Manipur. I found this species about Karimganj in Sylhet, and have received it from N.E. Cachar, but (though it doubtless occurs) from no other place in the valley of Assam.” Mr. Hume considered that he also obtained H. japonica and H. substriolata in Manipur, but all his specimens must be referred to H. nipalensis. Major Wardlaw Ramsay procured an example in the Karen Hills in March. Specimens from Pegu are in the British Museum, and Mr. Oates says that it is found in winter over the whole of British Burmah and is the only Swallow which is common. In Tenasserim it is sparingly distributed in suitable localities. Mr. Davison says:—‘‘I only saw these Swallows in the extreme north and south of the province. They affect open grassy slopes, and these are not common elsewhere.” Mr. Davison’s localities for the species are :—Pahpoon, Moulmein, Pakchan, Bankasun, and Malewun. Fea met with it at Kaukaryit. According to Dr. Tiraud it is found also in Cochin China. . As far as we know, the present species is spread over the greater part of China. Dr. McKinlay has sent it from Shanghai, and Mr. Swinhoe has procured it at Amoy and Chefoo. He states that it breeds in China, and he believes that it inhabits Hainan also. The following is his note on the species :~—“‘ A few passing flocks speud a day or two in Amoy during winter. It is found in the extreme north of China as a resident only ; but in the south, where the winter climate is more genial, it stays all the year, roaming about in small parties during the cool weather, and merely shifting its haunts from exposed to sheltered localities according to the severity of the season. In Southern China it is by no means so common as the Chimney-Swallow, and far more locally distributed.” The Tweeddale collection has likewise two specimens from the Island of Pootoo. Mr. Swinhoe separated the Pekin bird as Z. arctivitta, but we cannot allow that this is different from HZ. nipalensis. It is a summer visitant to the north of China, but was frequently seen in flocks by Mr. Swinhoe in August and September. In Japan it is, according to Mr. Seebohm, ‘‘a summer visitant to the southern islands, but has not yet been recorded from Yezo.” There are four skins in the Pryer collection from Yokohama. Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer have given the following note in their ‘ Birds of Japan’ :—* It is common about Tokio, where it builds a long bottle- shaped nest under the eaves of buildings. Eggs six; white. Not yet found in Yezo. Specimen in Hakodate Museum from Tokio; specimens also in the museum there. It has only lately been discovered at Yokohama, although there have long heen many suitable places for it to breed. The first was noticed in 1878.” Captain Blakiston says that, to his surprise, he also once observed this Swallow on the 28rd of January. It has also been found in Corea by Dr. Kalinowski. With regard to its nesting-habits in India, we quote the following from Mr. Oates’s edition of Mr. Hume’s well-known work on the ‘ Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds’ :— “This, the larger of our Indian Mosque-Swallows, although visiting during the cold season the plains of India, breeds, so far as I know, exclusively in the Himalayas——I mean, of course, within our limits. 5 “Tt is very familiar about the houses of most of our hill-stations, but I think that it constructs its nest by preference under the eaves and in the verandahs of empty houses and staging bungalows, which are seldom in the hills occupied for many successive days in any month. At the same time its nest is often to be seen under projecting ledges of cliffs, and occasionally, where these occur, in ruined buildings. «The breeding-time, according to my experience, is from April to August; but I have taken a dozen eggs in July to one in any other month. The nests are very similar to those of its plains congener, long and retort-shaped, very neatly built with clay pellets, as a rule very waruily lined first with grass or fibres and fine roots, and then with various-sized feathers, of which there is often quite a large bunch. They average, how- ever, much larger than those of H. erythropygia, and one I recently measured had the tubular entrance 13 inches in length and the chamber more than 7 inches in diameter exteriorly. “ Mr. Brooks remarks :--‘ The nest is always a half-retort, fixed to the underside of an overhanging rock or cave, generally with only one entrance; but a friend of mine, Mr. Horne, gives me an account of one fixed to one of the verandah rafters of a house where the nest has two entrances. “*Tn the hills about Almora I found the nest several times, sometimes in open exposed places, at other times where the rocks were overgrown with wood. The eggs resemble those I took in the plains. The plains bird does not breed till the hot winds are over, at the end of June or beginning of July; but in the hills I found eggs nearly hatched in May. Others at Binsur, Mr. Horne informs me, have only just laid in the middle of July, when I write. The hill-bird breeding in the verandahs of houses, as well as in eaves, accords with the habit of the Chinese bird, which Mr. Swinhoe remarks ‘breeds under the roof-tops.’ ’ “Captain Hutton says :--‘ This is the common Swallow of the Doon and _ hills, arriving in the latter locality in March, and building its retort-shaped nest of mud beneath the eaves of houses, against window-frames, at the side of verandah beams, and other suitable situations ; the lining is of feathers. Some eggs taken on the 29th of May were hard-set, but other broods were still earlier, as a nest placed against the window of my room had then contained young ones for some days previously. During the heavy mists of the rainy season these nests often fall by their own weight from the quantity of moisture imbibed. ** When far removed from houses, these birds resort to lofty rocks, beneath the ledges of which the nest is placed. Its shape is flattish hemispherical, with some varia- tion, being at times more globose, with a long neck forming the entrance passage, and thus giving the nest a retort shape. When the bird has selected the spot on which it intends to build, it usually deposits a white chalky substance, by way of cement, against the wall or beam as the case may be, as an adhesive foundation for the subsequent wall of mud. Without this precaution the weight of the material would cause it to part from its foundation. This same whitish earth may also be seen in the narrow neck of 3D 6 the nest, more especially at the mouth, where strength is required to resist the constant abrasion that would otherwise ensue from the frequent entrance and exit of the bird. Generally speaking, this chalky cement is applied to any part that may from circum- stances appear to require strengthening, as it likewise gives consistency to the mud. Sometimes, if the situation affords sufficient room, the long neck projects in a straight line from the body of the nest, but where the space is confined, or an obstacle interposes, the neck is turned off at an angle, and in such cases there is pretty sure to be a layer of the chalky cement at the point of deviation from the previous direction. When, how- ever, the material is of a sufficient consistency to be adhesive without the cement, none is applied. In the construction of the nest the mud is laid on in small rounded lumps, which gives a rude and knotty appearance to the surface. The lining is abundant and is composed of fine grass and feathers. «There are frequently two broods from the same nest in the same season, the first in the end of May and beginning of June, the other in July and August. The birds that built against my window reared one brood in June, and, as soon as the young were able to fly, they were escorted by the old birds during the day and were initiated in the art of fly-catching, returning to the nest about sunset or earlier if the rain was heavy. This continued for about ten days, when the young birds disappeared, and the old ones laid again in the same nest towards the end of July.’ “The late Captain Beavan mentions that he ‘found a nest which was built in the verandah of the dik bungalow at Fagoo on the 2nd August, 1866. It was then but just finished, and the female had not yet begun to lay her eggs. The nest is like that of H. rustica, made of mud, but has a funnel-shaped entrance, some 4 or 5 inches in length, continued from the top of the nest along the angle caused by the meeting of the wall and the roof. The female keeps inside the nest, and from the continued twittering which she made when visited by the male, I thought at first that the nest contained young; and it was not until I drove her out that I discovered my mistake.’ «The eggs of this species are similar to those of H. erythropygia, except that they are slightly larger. They are long ovals, slightly compressed towards one end, pure white, the shell of exquisite fineness, and somewhat, but not very, glossy. “Tn length they vary from 0°81 to 0°89 inch, and in breadth from 0°55 to 0°6 inch, but the average is 0°85 to 0°55 inch.” The descriptions are copied from the British Museum ‘Catalogue. The specimen figured is in the Hume collection. The drawing, taken by Mr. Wyatt during his visit to the Himalayas, represents the snows of Nepal and Mount Everest. YTHRO PY GIA. Be aT in Nil Mintern Bros. imp. HIRUNDO ERYTHROPYGIA, Sykes. SYKES’S MOSQUE-SWALLOW. Hirundo erythropygia, Sykes, P. Z. 8. 1832, p. 83; Jerd. Madr. Journ. xi. p. 237 (1840); Blyth, Ibis, 1866, pp. 237, 337; G. King, J. A. S. Beng. xxxvii. pt. 2, p. 215 (1868); Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 69, no. 806 (1869); Brooks, Ibis, 1869, p- 46; Blanf. J. A. 8S. Beng. xxxviii. p. 172 (1869); Blyth, Ibis, 1870, p. 161; Blanf. J. A. S. Beng. xl. p. 27 (1871); Stoliczka, op. cit. xli. p. 231 (1872); Adam, Str. F. i. p. 870 (1873) ; Brooks, J. A. 8. Beng. xliii. pt. 2, p. 243 (1874) ; id. Str. F. iii. p. 280 (1875); Aitken, t.c. p. 212; Hume, t.c. p. 318; Butler, | t.c. p. 451; Wald. Ibis, 1876, p. 388; Butler, Str. F. v. p. 226 (1877) ; Davidson & Wenden, Str. F. vii. p. 76 (1878); Murray, t. c. p. 118; Legge, B. Ceylon, p- 594 (1879); Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 84 (1879); Butler, Cat. B. Sind, &c. p. 10 (1879); id. Cat. B.S. Bomb. Pres. p. 14 (1880); Wardlaw Ramsay, Ibis, 1880, p. 48; Vidal, Str. F. ix. p. 48 (1880); Butler, t. c. p. 377; Reid, Str. F. x. p. 18 (1881); Davidson, t. c. p. 292 (1882); Davison, t. ce. p. 345 (1883); Seebohm, Ibis, 1883, p. 169; Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 164 (1885); Taylor, Str. F. x. p. 457 (1887); Terry, t. c. p. 469; Oates, ed. Hume’s Nests & Eggs Ind. B. ii. p. 197 (1890); id. Faun. Brit. Ind., Birds, ii. p. 283 (1890) ; Seebohm, B. Japan. Emp. p. 148 (1890). Hirundo daurica (nec Pall.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. p. 198 (1849, pt.); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. xii. p. 170 (1853); id. & Kelaart, Prodr. Cat. App. p. 58 (1858); Cass. Cat. Hirund. Mus. Philad. Acad. p. 4 (1853); Horsf. & Moore, Cat. B. E.I. Co. Mus. i. p. 92 (1854, pt.) ; Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 160 (1862, pt.); Bulger, P.Z.S. 1866, p. 568; Holdsw. P. Z. 8. 1872, p. 419; Murray, Vertebr. Faun. Sind, p. 103 (1884). Cecropis daurica, Cass. Cat. Hirund. Mus. Philad. Acad. p. 4 (1853). Cecropis erythropygia, Gould, B. Asia, i. pl. 29 (1868); Jerd- Ibis, 1871, p. 352; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 127 (1875); Fairb. Str. F. iv. p. 254 (1876). Lillia erythropygia, Hume, Nests & Eggs Ind. B. p. 76 (1878); id. Str. F. v. p. 255 (1877). H. similis H. daurice, sed multo minor: subtds albicans: striis pectoralibus obsoletis distinguenda. Hab. in peninsula Indica. Adult male. General colour above deep purplish blue, with white striations where the bases of the feathers show through ; the wing-coverts like the back ; quills blackish, externally glossed with dull blue ; rump and upper taii-coverts deep ferruginous, the longer coverts deep purplish blue ; 3 D2 2 tail-feathers blackish glossed with dull blue; crown of head like the back, from which it is almost separated by a nuchal collar of deep ferruginous, the sides of the hinder crown and sides of the neck being of the latter colour and converging on to the nape, the nuchal collar being only interrupted by a few dark-blue plumes in the form of spots; a narrow frontal line and a streak over the eye deep ferruginous ; lores whitish, tipped with dusky ; ear-coverts pale rufous with dusky shaft-streaks; cheeks, throat, and under surface of body whitish, slightly marked with fulvous on the breast and flanks; the whole of the underparts narrowly streaked with dusky blackish shaft-lines, disappearing on the under tail-coverts, the long ones of which are deep blue- black with whitish bases; under wing-coverts and axillaries rather deeper fulvous than the breast, with nearly obsolete dusky shaft-lines, which are, however, more plainly developed on the small wing-coverts near the edge of the wing ; quills dusky below, paler along the edge of the inner web: “bill, legs, and feet black ; iris brown” (W. V. Legge). Total length 6:2 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 4°45, tail 3-1, tarsus 0°5. Adult female. Similar to the male in colour. Total length 6-0 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 4°25, tail 2°95, tarsus Q°5. Hab, The greater part of the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon. Tuts is the smallest of the four Indian Mosque-Swallows, and is distinguished not only by its lesser dimensions, the wing not exceeding 4°5 inches, but by its pale under surface and the narrow striations of the breast, which, as Mr. Oates remarks, are hardly broader than the shafts of the feathers themselves. It is the Swallow of the plains of India, and does not extend its range into the Himalayas, where its place is taken by H. nipalensis. My. Brooks says that in Kashmir he found it as far up as Chungus on the Tami River. A specimen from Naoshera, obtained on the 6th of May, is in the Hume collection. According to Colonel Butler it is found in Sind, Cutch, Kéthiawar, Gujarat, and Mount Aboo. “Rare in the plains in the hot weather. Common in the cold weather throughout the region, except Sind, where it is rare.” A specimen procured by Mr. Murray at Sehwan on the 15th of December is in the Hume collection, and he also procured it at Lakki. In Cuteh it is very common, according to Dr. Stoliezka. <‘*A few birds,” writes Colonel Butler, ‘remain in Deesa the whole year, but most of them retire to the hills during the hot weather, leaving about the 30th of April, and returning about the 25th of June. It is not very common near the Southern Lake, but breeds there.” He also observes :—~‘ Very abundant at Aboo, where it breeds during the rains in June and July, fixing its curious retort-shaped nest usually to the roof of a cave, and laying two or three pure white eges. Iam doubtful whether it occurs in the plains during the hot weather, but I am inclined to think it does not. My opinion is that most of them pass the hot weather on the hills, where they abound at that season, and breed in the rains, returning to the low country again about the end of September, soon after which they disappear entirely on the hills, and become very common all over the plains.” * 3 In the Hume collection are specimens from Agra (June), Bundelkund (Dee. 8), and Etawah (December), and the Tweeddale collection contains an example from Dehra Doon. Dr. King also met with it in Kumaun Bhabur on the 2nd of March. Mr. George Reid writes in his paper on the birds of the Luckuow Civil Division :— “The Red-rumped or Mosque Swallow is probably a permanent resident, though it is only in the cold weather that it is at all abundant, the majority migrating to breed either in the hills or in suitable localities in the plains, though I do not see why Lucknow should not suit it as well as most places. A few most likely do breed in the old mosques and minarets about the city, but on every occasion I have either failed to find their nests or to see the birds. “ During the cold weather, as already remarked, it is, however, very common about Lucknow, frequenting the deep cutting known as Hyder Ali’s Canal, as well as the mosques and minarets in the city, in vast numbers. In the district I have occasionally come across great flocks basking in the sun on the ground, generally in ploughed fields, and sanding themselves like Sparrows; while at other times I have seen them on the telegraph wires, sitting in rows and keeping up an incessant chattering or twittering. They occasionally perch on bare trees, and probably pass the night in mango topes in the absence of more suitable nesting-places. In no other way can I account for their presence in localities, remote even from villages, where I have seen them often in great numbers at the break of day.” ; Mr. B. H. Hodgson procured this species in Behar. Mr. Brooks has the following note :—“ H. erythropygia breeds near Chunar, and in most places in the North-west Provinces where there are old buildings or quarries suitable. The eggs are laid at the commencement of the rains.” The Hume collection contains specimens from Mogul- seral (November) and Dinapur (December), obtained by Mr. Brooks, and another from the neighbourhood of Calcutta. Myr. W. T. Blanford noticed it in the Wardha Valley, and he also writes :— “On February 23, close to Wun, in South-eastern Berar, I saw an immense flock of these Swallows flying about one spot on the ground and constantly alighting. There was no flight of winged ants or termites to attract them, and they might have been preparing to migrate, or resting during migration. I frequently met with this species near Nagpur.” Dr. Jerdon’s note is as follows :—* This Swallow in general prefers the proximity of jungles. I saw it in Goomsoor, in the jungles round the Neilgherries, and also on the summit of the hills, in various other parts of the west coast and in the Carnatic, at the Tapoor pass. In the northern part of the tableland, however, I have seen it occasionally in the cold weather only, both in the neighbourhood of water and on dry open plains.” In Western Khandesh Mr. Davidson records this species as a permanent resident, common throughout the district and breeding in the rains; and, according to Messrs, Davidson and Wenden, it is common and breeds in the Deccan. 4, The species was first named by Colonel Sykes, who writes :—‘ This species appeared in millions in two successive years in the month of March on the parade-ground at Poona; they rested a day or two only, and were never seen in the same numbers afterwards.” Colonel Butler states that it is a resident throughout the Southern Bombay Presidency and common throughout the region. In the South Konkan, according to Mr. Vidal, it is common and generally distri- buted, breeding in the hot weather on the cliffs and under eaves of houses. The Rev. 8. B. Fairbank procured the present species near Ahmednuggur in November, and Mr. Taylor says that he found it fairly common in the hill tracts of Manzeerabad in Mysore. Mr. W. Davison states that this species is abundant on the Nilghiris, and is a resident, breeding in the same places as Hirundo javanica, fixing its nest against the roof of some deserted building or under some shelving rock, the nest, of course, being retort-shaped. They generally breed several together, but not always, and sometimes three or four nests are joined together. This species is common not only on the Nilghiris and their slopes, but also occurs commonly through the Wynaad and the Mysore country abutting on the Nilghiris. Captain Terry states that it was noticed by him at Pulungi in the Palani Hills in April. Colonel Vincent Legge writes :—* This little Swallow only finds a place in the avifauna of Ceylon as a strageler, and but two instances of its occurrence in the island have been brought to my notice. Layard, the first to get it in Ceylon, writes thus concerning it :—‘ I found one of these birds in the village of Pt. Pedro in December ; it had probably been driven over from the opposite coast by stress of weather ; it was hawking about the street. I fired at and wounded it, but it flew away. Next day it was again in the same place, and I succeeded in killing it.’ At this season of the year the north wind, styled at Colombo the ‘longshore wind,’ brings many Indian birds to our shores, and doubtless was the means of driving the present species southward of its natural habitat; but as it is an inhabitant of the Nilghiris and other parts of the south of India, it is strange that it does not more frequently visit Ceylon. In the second instance it was procured by Mr. Bligh on the Catton Estate in April 1877.” The following account of the nesting-habits of the present species is copied from . Mr. Oates’s edition of Hume’s ‘ Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds’ :— “ Sykes’s Striated Swallow, which is, as a rule, a permanent resident of the plains, breeds, according to my experience, from April to August. “Typically the nest, which is usually affixed to the under surface of some ledge of rock, or the roof of some cave or building, and which is constructed of fine pellets of mud or clay, consists of a narrow tubular passage, like a white-ant gallery on a large scale, say some 2 inches in diameter, and from 4 to 10 inches in length, terminating in a bulb-like 5 chamber from 43 to 7 inches in diameter externally. These nests have heen aptly described as retort-shaped, and I do not think any lengthy description will convey a clearer idea of the typical shape. They are not always, however, of this shape. Indeed (though I am bound to say I cannot agree with him) Mr. F. R. Blewitt, who has probably taken more of their nests than any one else in India, is disposed to believe that the long retort-shaped nests are commonly built as residences, and the less-developed ones as breeding-places. He says:—‘ Eccentric to a degree is this Swallow in the selection of a suitable place for its nest. I have obtained it on the ground, at the base of a rock, having for protection just a small overhanging ledge; in a hole in any old wall; affixed to the roof-top of a pucka house; to the under ledge of a high rock; the arch of a culvert or bridge, &c.; but never, though they may occur there, ‘in mosques and pagodas ;’ and ‘twenty and thirty together,’ as stated in Jerdon. I have always found the nest single. The form and material of the nest depend mainly on the locality chosen for it. Sometimes a simple collection of feathers answers the purpose; at others, as when attached to a roof-top, ledge of rock, &c., it is more or less dome-shaped, the exterior of fine clay, the inside lined with feathers. The opening for egress and ingress is invariably made above the centre of the nest. Frequently have I seen the ‘spherical or oval-shaped mud nest with the long neck or tubular entrance,’ described by Jerdon, but only once with eggs init. This peculiar-shaped nest is also constructed at times by H. jilifera, and from frequent observations I have sometimes fancied that it is intended more for a winter residence than for breeding purposes. I have recently observed many of both species actively employed in the construction of these nests, long after the breeding-season was well over. In the beginning of August I robbed a nest of HI. erythropygia, found attached to the roof of an outhouse: and in the identical place from whence I had removed the former nest, the same pair of birds have now nearly completed a new nest, ‘oval-shaped, with the tubular entrance,’ for, as I suppose, a winter retreat. The birds only occupy it at night. The eggs are pure white, and four appears to be the greatest number.’ “During the breeding-season the old birds fly round about their nest, morning and evening, uttering quite a variety of rather pretty, somewhat musical notes. During the day they remain near, and one of them generally in the nest, or the pair may be seen perched on some stone below the nest, sitting for an hour at a time preening their feathers, the male every now and then singing a few notes. Old quarries, like those near Futtehpore Sikri and Chunar, are favourite breeding-haunts of this species; and so are the old Moslem ruins that abound so in Upper India. “The nest-chamber is lined, sometimes thickly, sometimes thinly, with feathers only, as a rule, but occasionally with a mixture of these and fine grass. “They are not easily driven away once they have made a nest. I have broken into nests twice running, to see if any eggs were laid, and each time the birds have repaired the nest, in which, despite these repeated burglaries, they have finally laid. “ Major C. T. Bingham remarks :—‘ Breeds at Allahabad in March, April, May, and 6 June, and at Delhi I have found their nests also in September. They build long retort- shaped nests made of pellets of mud, plastering them against the roof of culverts under- neath, against the top of caves, in banks of rivers, and in ruins, against the roof of any deserted mosque. Three, I think, is the ordinary number of eggs laid; these are pure white, and rather cylindrical in shape.’ “ Colonel Butler writes :—‘ The Red-rumped Swallow breeds in the neighbourhood of Deesa in June and July. The nest is usually stuck to the roof of caves or holes in rocks, and, like that of other Swallows, is built of mud externally, and lined with dry grass and feathers. It is of a peculiar form, being completely closed up, of an oval shape, terminating at one end with a tubular passage about 7 or 8 inches long, by which the birds enter. During the period of incubation, the female sits very closely, suffering a great noise to be made without flying off the nest. It is not uncommon to find both birds in the nest during the time the hen is sitting. I have taken nests in April at Mount Aboo, but these were exceptional instances, as they do not as a rule commence building before the middle or end of May. In the plains they often build under bridges, archways across nullah culverts, &c.’ “Mr. Benjamin Aitken mentions that ‘Between the 20th and 31st May, 1871, Jerdon’s Red-rumped Swallow was observed to be in possession of nests, in similar places to those of Cottle concolor, at Kliandalla, a hill-station on the top of the Bhore Ghat.’ “Mr. James Aitken says: — ‘This is one of those birds which seem highly to appreciate the advantages of civilization, and to think, like Cowper’s cat, that men take a great deal of trouble to please them. In Berar they have almost discarded the mosques which gave them their name, and have betaken themselves to the culverts of the roads, which are now being constructed all over the country. Wherever a road is made some of the culverts are sure to be taken possession of, as soon as the rains commence, by pairs of these Swallows, which may be seen darting in at one end and out at the other, or hawking about for flies over the pools of water at the road-side; their flight has, however, nothing of the extreme rapidity of that of the Swifts or Wire-tailed Swallows. During the cold season the young often assemble in large flocks, but these all disperse, or perhaps migrate, as the weather gets warmer, and only a few pairs remain to breed during the monsoon. The nest is of mud, with a prolonged entrance running along the wall, and is lined with coarse grass and feathers. ‘The eggs are long shaped and pure white, without spot of any kind. In the subterraneous situation in which the nest is so often placed, and with the air still further excluded by the long neck, it.is a marvel how the young escape suffocation.’ “My. Davison remarks :-——‘This species breeds on the Nilghiris about the com- mencement of April. The nest, as usual with Swallows, is composed externally of mud, and thickly lined with feathers; it is shaped like the half of a Florence flask. It is placed generally against the roof of a cave or overhanging rock. The eggs are generally three in number, pure white, and of rather an elongated form. Several nests are often i placed close together, and often some favourite site is apparently the bone of contention between several pairs. “ e@ do 8 3 8 : a Cpa aces 5 oa ‘QOUTAOA WELUIYIST : : : : fa al ea a o a oo Bele fe os Me 3 a2 5 .-I ¥ H rm) < e © @ & # a qa FE Eg € 5 ie ‘QOUIAOL WOIXOTT : c ae 2 ! 3S 6 « A E 3 \ A § 4 ‘MOaY-qng uvoy[yUy : a : 5 i : : {> Oa 4 ee : = = Y y g ‘ooUTAO.T-qng : : : F : . i 5 uvzouog : 2 : ; 3 2 oe = — Sef - - a _ 2 a ae jaoutvorg-qug : 4.98 22 | uvitysadueg : : Ew ——— - - a ea soe —— ——— = = = — = Sin S | a3 EB ooursotg-quyg 3 : ‘ ; : a2 | 5 juetivdny-o.ysay : : é : : : . — iol 8 ae Ay — = = a ——————<< = ) “Eb 3 “9OUIAOTT-Guy 5 : , : : : 5 uvrpoupeddy : . k : 3 G a ——— ° B . . . S ‘QOUTAOLT ULINOTY : 2 5 ; > E ; bt 8 3 ss ee Se ——— — set o ~ 2 a Bee, ‘QIULAOLY ULHBG : d Fe eS ee eee cas am . . . . . . . mye ‘AOUIADAT UVIPVUED : : : : E 5 on | | _ _ _ _ = ee = _— = _ o i . “QOTITAOA ULIUOSPUFT | : i a . . = : ga | *OOUTAOM : e : : : 3 : 2° oIjoIy Uvysely BC 4 ee ee a : = —- pao] ; 4.6 ‘QOUIADL OAV R = oe ry = S 3 3 _ 3 _ s a s > § 8 “3 g = 3 S = 5 = s S a) S = S = = % = > S s : a : 2 yy ea X y ry | ize el > cS DB ery S od a i] i N Nn ine) lan) | (continued). mae GENUS HIRUNDO phesting. . | | ) Generally In colonies Guest. “UOISaYT-qng UCVUCMTTT uotsey-quyg uel ty 3 : 3° S —OO—— Y “UOLDOYT-Gng piueprag-are xt [==] : Me | a Ss Woy-qng uvlyperjsny Bt OT H : = *uolsoy-qng urendeg i=} a a ‘UOLBOY-qug URdonTOP “WOLSoY-qng Uvaqatag | “WOIBayy-qng SOUL) -O[vUEET | A i en a =e ash “WOI5OYT-qng uvdvleyy-opeuyy * o oo) ee — os a ee ——_——————— a os} m a 0 A a i I UOLsog-qug wedvpeyy-opuy Cy x oO 3 i 7 [ae] | La Oa “UOLDa YY - qug WUTUSUTUS TF UvIpPuy | : i OC “MOLsayy- qng uelmuay | x és A ‘MOLsay-qug uw i | Q . : C) A cj . he “OOULAOL 9SOTRIL AT : : : 3 ‘oouraoag adedg : z i ; | zi ee a | 454) ‘ToMoy-qng uvolayy-yynog , as | RS oOoCr_— a Ss WOT Y-qng urolty y-seqy : : ; 5 5 ‘4 | Pe *WOLsoy-qng uerursshqy 7 5 ; O : “UWOLRayy-qng WUILAPY-9S9 AA 7 : < 5 : | he a “WOIDay-qng esauepnog 3 G | “MOLFoY-qng ueavreg 9 a : : : : “UOIseY-qng UVISVINVL -OTVUITET | S S P i & “OOULAOAT ULTpOFUOP, HH : : 3 5 a eae - Gk =e eae! = —_ fo} QM gion. "OOTITAOI T ine ial 7 a 7 > _ - sae a - a ’ : C.W W. del Mintern Bros. imp. HIRUNDO HYPERYTHRA. HIRUNDO HYPERYTHRA, Blyta. CEYLONESE CHESTNUT MOSQUE-SWALLOW. Hirundo hyperythra, Blyth, J. A. 8. Beng. xviii. p. 814 (1849); id. Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. p. 198 (1849); Kelaart, Prodr. Cat. p. 118 (1852); Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. xii. p. 170 (1853); Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 806; Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 69, no. 798 (1869); Holdsw. P. Z.8. 1872, p. 419; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 592 (1879) ; Hume, Str. F. 1879, p. 84; Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 167 (1885). FHerse hyperythra, Bp. Consp. 1. p. 840 (1850). Cecropis hyperythra, Gould, B. Asia, i. pl. 30 (1868); Jerd. Ibis, 1871, p. 352; Hume, Str. F. 1877, p. 266. H. similis H. badie, sed minor, et subtis magis distincte nigro lineata. Hab. in insula Ceylonensi. Adult. General colour above purplish blue or deep steel-blue, a little streaked on the hind neck and mantle with fulvous, the feathers having a concealed fulvous edging, which becomes evident when they are disarranged; wing-coverts like the back; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills blackish, externally glossed with steel-blue ; feathers of lower back steel-blue, tipped with rufous like the adjoining rump and upper tail-coverts, the longest of the latter being steel-blue ; tail- feathers blackish glossed with steel-blue ; crown of head like the back; lores dusky, surmounted by a narrow line of rufous from the base of the forehead, extending over the eye, and forming a scarcely perceptible eyebrow ; sides of hinder crown, ear-coverts, cheeks, sides of neck, and entire under surface of body deep chestnut, very plainly marked with narrow blackish shaft-hnes, a little broader on the ear-coverts and on the throat ; thighs and under tail-coverts chestnut, the longer under tail-coverts tipped er subterminally spotted with blue, the longest entirely blue ; the under wing-coverts and axillarics chestnut, with distinct blackish shaft-lines near the edge of the wing; quills below dusky black: “ bill deep brown, in some specimens blackish, the base of the lower mandible reddish; legs and feet vinous brown; iris sepia-brown” (IV. V. Legge). Total length 6:4 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 4°55, tail 2°95, tarsus 0-50. Sexes alike in plumage. Immature birds have the hue of the under surface paler than the adults and the shaft-streaks not so clear (W. V. Legge). Hab. Ceylon. THE present species and its ally, H. badia, constitute quite a peculiar section of the genus Hirundo, having the rufous band across the lower back and rump like the Mosque- Swallows, but having at the same time a deep chestnut under surface, with little or no indications of streaks. 2 This Swallow is a permanent resident in Ceylon, where it was first found by Mr. E. L. Layard, and he has given the following account of the species :— “T first discovered this species in November, 1849, at Ambepussa, on the road to Kandy. I have since then seen them at Putlam, up the central road as far as the hills extend, at Ambegamoa, and up the Caltura river from Perth sugar-estate to Ratnapoora and Adam’s Peak. They breed in caverns and under bridges, and build a nest of mud attached to the roof. The general shape and size is that of a small basin, with a round entrance-hole at the top. The lining is composed of fine hay and feathers, and the eggs are laid in March. The late Dr. Gardner informed me that a pair built their nest on a ring supporting a hanging lamp, nightly used in his sitting-room. They securely hatched their eggs, unscared by the cleaning or lighting of his lamp, and the young birds returned to the nest every night for about a month after being fully fledged.” Colonel Vincent Legge has given an exhaustive account of the species in his ‘ Birds of Ceylon,’ which we transcribe herewith :— “ Distribution.——This fine Swallow was discovered by Layard, who met with it in 1849, near Ambepussa. It is widely distributed throughout all the low country, with the exception of the extreme north, where I have not noticed it. In the forest-districts lying between Dambulla and the latitude of Manaar it is local, being chiefly confined to small tracts of cultivation in the vicinity of tanks; in the Eastern Province, which is equally wild, it is restricted to similar localities, and in the Western Province is found principally in the interior. So plentiful is it, however, in the south-west of the island, that it is the common Swallow of the town of Galle, and seems to affect the sea-coast quite as readily as the interior, except during the wet windy weather of the south-west monsoon, when it retires for shelter to the secluded vales away from the sea-board. About Kandy, and in the Central Province generally up to 3000 feet, it is common, and in Uva and Haputale is found much higher than that elevation, for I have known it to breed at 4000 feet in the latter district. Mr. Bligh has seen it once at Nuwara Elliya ; but it is rare on that elevated plateau, although in many of the coffee-districts it may be seen hawking at higher altitudes than that of the Sanatarium. In the Morowak-Korale district it is not uncommon. « Habits.—Our Ceylon Swallow frequents towns and villages alike with the country. In the latter, marshes and paddy-fields, open glades in secluded valleys, and lonely tanks in the wilds of the jungle are the places to which it is partial. It is found in the Central Province about estate-stores and bungalows, and often consorts there with the little Bungalow-Swallow, breeding in cattle-sheds and outhouses and permanently frequenting their vicinity. It is a characteristic bird of the wild village tanks in the Vanni, and its cheerful chirrup is often one of the first bird-sounds which meets the ear, on the sportsman suddenly emerging from the forest and finding himself standing at the brink of one of those interesting places. Several have perhaps been resting on a dead log, half covered with weeds and water, or sitting on the dried mud of the bed of one of these small reservoirs, and finding the solitude of their retreat suddenly invaded, glide off 2 J oO on the wing, uttering their curious guttural notes, at the same time that, from the same cause, half a dozen lazy-looking but watchful crocodiles rush, with a mighty splash, into the muddy pool. Such haunts as these literally teem with insect-life; and I have seen scores of these Swallows hawking about a small water-hole of about half an acre in extent, which was all that remained of what was, in the wet season, a fine sheet of water. Its flight is slower than that of most Swallows, and it often sails along on out- stretched wings, now and then making a sort of circle in its course. In the south it is fond of frequenting paddy-fields made in the narrow glades lying between the low wooded hills characteristic of that part. “ Nidification.—The Red-bellied Swallow breeds in the north, west, south, and centre of the island from March until June, constructing a Martin-like nest in outhouses, open dwellings, or under culverts and bridges. The nest is composed externally of mud and lined with feathers ; it is large, and the entrance is situated usually at the end of a spout, running from 3 to 6 inches along the planks at the top of the nest; some have merely a circular orifice at the top. One which I frequently observed during the course of its construction was built in a merchant’s office in Galle, the familiar little architects taking no notice whatever of the clerks who wrote at their desks just beneath ; it was completed in about three weeks, the spout being added last, and after this was finished, one of the pair took up its position inside the nest and received the feathers brought by its mate to the entrance. The eggs are either two or three in number, and some brought to me as belonging to this bird were pure white and pointed lengthy ovals in shape, much re- sembling those of Cypselus affinis; they measure 0°85 inch by 0°56 inch. I have not taken the eggs myself.” The descriptions are taken from specimens in the British Museum, and the figure in the Plate from one procured by Mr. Wyatt near Kandy. HIRUNDO BADIA (Cass). MALAYAN CHESTNUT MOSQUE-SWALLOW. Cecropis badia, Cass. Proc. Philad. Acad. 1858, p.371; id. Cat. Hirund. Mus. Philad. Acad. p. 4 (1853). Hirundo badia, Gray, Wand-l. B. i. p. 69, no. 804 (1869) ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 166 (1885). Cecropis archetes, Hume, Str. F. 1877, p. 266. Hirundo archetes, Hume, Str. F. 1879, p. 47; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 592 (1879). H. uropygio rufo : capite dorso concolore: subtis castanea. Hab. in peninsulé Malayensi. Adult. General colour above glossy steel-blue; hind neck and mantle slightly streaked with reddish on disturbing the feathers; lesser and median wing-coverts like the back; greater coverts, bastard- wing, primary-coverts, and quills blackish, externally washed with steel-blue; rump and upper tail-coverts deep chestnut, the long upper tail-coverts steel-blue; tail-feathers black glossed with steel-blue; crown of head like the back; lores dusky; a narrow line of red commencing at the base of the forehead and extending over the eye, forming a narrow and scarcely perceptible eye- brow ; sides of hinder crown, ear-coverts, cheeks, and under surface of body deep chestnut, with indistinct blackish streaks, very tiny on the ear-coverts and throat, but a little larger on the breast, abdomen, and flanks ; a patch of steel-blue feathers on the sides of the upper breast ; thighs and under tail-coverts chestnut, the long ones of the latter with steel-blue ends, the longest entirely steel-blue ; under wing-coverts and axillaries chestnut, the latter slightly mottled with dusky bases and narrow blackish shaft-lines; quills below dusky brown: ‘bill black, fleshy white at gape; legs and feet black or purplish black ; claws black; iris deep brown” (W. Davi- son). Total length 6 inches, culmen 0°4, wing 4°95, tail 2°7, tarsus 0°6. The following are the measurements of the series in the British Museum :— Total length. Wing. Tail. in. in. in. a-c. ¢ ad. Kuroo. 7°4-7°8 4°8-5°3 3°6-3'9 d. 9 ad. e 72 51 35 e. gad. Selangore (fe 5i2o 38 f-l. 3 ad. - 68-72 5:0-5°2 3°5-3'9 m. g Juv. Kossoum 6:2 5°05 31 n,o. ¢ ad. Poongyah T5-77 5:2 38 p. ad. PF A oer ae Yano en ee HAD) 5'1 35 @reg ad. Girbd. . . . . . » « » » « » « « 6O(moulting) 5°1-5°2 (moulting). The adult female is similar in colour to the male. 2 A young male from Kossoum is much duller and more purplish black above, and has rufous tips to the upper tail-coverts and inner secondaries ; underneath the rufous is not of so deep a chestnut as in the adult, and the chest and sides of the breast are mottled with dusky black spots. Hab. Malayan Peninsula. Tuts beautiful Swallow takes the place in the Malayan Peninsula of Hirundo hyperythra of Ceylon, to which it is very closely allied. It is, however, a much larger and finer bird, and has scarcely any indication of black streaks on the under surface. The present species appears to be confined to the Malayan Peninsula, the first example having been described by Cassin from a Malaccan specimen in the Philadelphia Museum. A specimen in the Tweeddale collection, and another in the British Museum, were all the specimens recorded as existing in collections, until Mr. Davison procured the types of Cecropis archetes of Hume. The Hume collection contains a fine series of this Swallow, showing that its range is pretty extensive. From Malacca itself specimens shot in March and July are repre- sented, and four examples were obtained in October, 1875, by Mr. Davison in Kuroo, a native State 26 miles distant from Malacca. Several specimens were procured by Mr. Davison in Selangore in March and August, and it extends as high as the Tonka district, for in the Hume collection are specimens collected by Mr. Darling at Kossoum in May, Poongyah in August, and Girbu in September. No notes have been published on the habits of this species. The descriptions are taken from the series in the British Museum, but we have not figured the species, as it so closely resembles the Ceylonese H. hyperythra. HIRUNDO« SEMIRUFA Mintern Bro's. mf HIRUNDO SEMIRUFA, Sund. RED-BREASTED SWALLOW. Hirundo semirufa, Sundey. Gifv. K. Vet.-Akad. Férh. Stockh. 1850, p. 107; Sharpe, Ibis, 1869, p. 188; Ayres, t.c. p. 290; Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 69, no. 802 (1869) ; Sharpe, P. Z. 8. 1870, p. 317; id. Cat. Afr. B. p. 46 (1871); Ayres, Ibis, 1880, p- 260; Sharpe, in Oates’s Matabele Land, App. p. 812; id. ed. Layard’s B. 8. Afr. p. 370, pl. ix. fig. 1 (1882); Shelley, Ibis, 1882, p. 260; Ayres, Ibis, 1884, p. 227; Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 167 (1885). H. wropygio rufo; pileo dorso concolore ; subtts unicolor, haud striata; guld alba. Hab. in Africéd meridionali. Adult. Above dark blue, inclining to indigo; rump chestnut ; upper tail-coverts dark blue ; wing-coverts like the back, the inner greater coverts fulvous on their inner web, forming a spot; quills black, brownish underneath, glossed above with dark blue; tail black, glossed with blue above, every feather, except the two centre ones, having a very large white spot on the inner web; space between the bill and the eye velvety black ; cheeks and ear-coverts deep blue-black ; entire under surface chestnut, very deep on the flanks and abdomen, the under tail-coverts paler rufous- buff; under wing-coverts isabelline buff; edge of wing fulvous mottled with black: “ bill black ; legs dusky; iris dusky” (7. Ayres). Total length 8°8 inches, culmen 0°7, wing 5:2, tail 5:3, tarsus 0°55. Mr. Gurney describes a supposed immature specimen as being “ paler rufous below, with the upper surface brownish black instead of dark blue with a metallic lustre as in the old bird.” —-' This description better suits the worn breeding-dress of the adult than that of the immature bird, which ought to show rufous tips to the inner secondaries. Hab. South Africa; from Natal through the Transvaal and Matabele country to Mashoona Land. THIS is a large species, entirely confined to the southern province of the Ethiopian Region. In the ‘ Catalogue’ we were inclined to separate the present bird from the West-African H. gordoni on account of the paler under tail-coverts ; but a further examination of the series in the British Museum and in Capt. Shelley’s collection convinces us that this character is not a constant one, and there is scarcely any specific difference between these two Swallows. ZH. semirufa is merely a large deeply-coloured race of the West-African species with a perceptibly longer wing; but both in intensity of coloration and in size the Congo and Gaboon specimens of H. gordoni are intermediate. In Natal and Transvaal examples the wing measures 4°95-5:25 inches, a Congo specimen (immature) 45, a B 2 - Gaboon bird 4:7, and the Fantee and Senegal specimens 4°5-4°6. The South-African specimens are rather paler under the wing, on the under wing-coverts and axillaries, but even in this respect they only differ to a slight extent from H. gordoni. But little has been recorded of the habits and nidification of this species. It was discovered by the late Prof. Wahlberg in Natal, and was afterwards obtained by Mr. T. Ayres in the Transvaal, where, however, it is scarce. It appears near Potchefstroom in the spring of the year, in September, and remains throughout the summer. It was found by Mr. Ayres to be “ much more plentiful in the warmer Rustenberg district than in the open and colder country around Potchefstroom.” A specimen in the British Museum was obtained by Mr. F. A. Barratt between Pretoria and Lydenburg; and the late Mr. Frank Oates met with the species at Tati in the Matabili country in October, and further north at Inchlangin in December. It was scen during Mr. Jameson’s expedition by Mr. Ayres in the Mashoona country in September, October, and December. Mr. T. Ayres found the nest of the present species in an old brick-kiln on the outskirts of the village of Rustenberg, and he says that it much resembled that of H. cucullata. Mr. Frank Oates found many small beetles in the stomach of one which he shot at Inchlangin. The figure in the Plate has been drawn from a specimen in Capt. Shelley’s collec- tion, the description being copied from the British-Museum ‘ Catalogue.’ HIRUNDO GORDONI, Jara. GORDON’S SWALLOW. Hirundo melanocrissa (nec Riipp.), Jard. Contr. Orn. 1849, p. 4. Hirundo gordoni, Jard. Contr. Orn. 1851, p. 141, 1852, p. 47; Hartl. Orn. W.-Afr. p. 27 (1857); id. J. f. O. 1861, p. 103; Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 69, no. 799 (1869) ; Sharpe, Ibis, 1869, p. 188; id. P. Z. 8. 1870, p. 8317; id. Cat. Afr. B. p. 46 (1871); Shelley & Buckley, Ibis, 1872, p. 288; Ussher, Ibis, 1874, p. 63; Reichen. J. f. 0. 1875, p. 21; Bocage, Orn. Angola, p. 182 (1881); De Rochebr. Faun. Sénég., Ois. p- 219 (1884); Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 168 (1885). Cecropis gordoni, Cass. Proc. Philad. Acad. 1859, p. 38. H. similis H. semirufe, sed minor. Hab. in Africa occidentali. Adult. Above glossy indigo-blue, duller on the wing-coverts; quills brownish black, glossed above, especially on the secondaries, with dark blue; rump sienna-rufous; upper tail-coverts dark indigo; tail brownish black, washed with dull indigo above, the inner webs of all but the six central feathers having a large white patch; entire under surface of body sienna-rufous, a little paler on the throat, thighs, and under wing-coverts ; bill black ; feet dark brown. Total length 6°5 inches, culmen 0°35, wing 4°5, tail 4, tarsus 0°55. Hab. West Africa, from Senegambia to Angola. We have already, under the heading of H. semirufa, given our reasons for regarding Gordon’s Swallow as a small race of the latter species, which it represents in West Africa. Its range is rather extensive, as it is found from Angola northwards to Sene- gambia; but how far it ranges in the interior, we are at present uninformed. In Senegambia, according to Dr. de Rochebrune, it is not common, but he records it from the following localities—Gambia, Casamence, Mélacorée, Zekinkior, Sedhiou, Sainte-Marie, and Albreda. Mr. Biittikofer did not meet with the species in Liberia, but on the Gold Coast, where it was originally obtained by Dr. Gordon. Capt. Shelley and Mr. T. E. Buckley state that it was “ plentiful throughout the district, and generally met with in pairs perched on the top of some low bush or on the coarse grass of the plains.” The late Governor Ussher writes as follows :—‘ Tolerably common in the eastern or Accra district of the Gold Coast, and now and then met with in the Fantee districts. It is a bold handsome bird, fond of building about houses, and much resembling H. rustica in its habits, especially in its low swooping flights over level open ground. It D 9 a is frequently to be found basking in the open roads and rolling itself in the dust, or, as the natives express it, ‘ washing itself.’ ” ; The late Mr. L. Fraser obtained this Swallow at Abomey, and MM. Verreaux received specimens from Gaboon, where Mr. DuChaillu met with it on the Ogowe River. Dr. Lucan procured one specimen on the Congo; and in the Lisbon Museum there is a single example from Angola, collected by Dr. Welwitsch. Prof. Barboza du Bocage thinks that although no ticket is attached to the specimen, there can be no doubt of its authenticity, and that it was doubtless obtained to the north of the Quanza. The description is copied from the British-Museum ‘ Catalogue of Birds,’ and is taken from a specimen in the national collection. ‘ OOo Dt spate au 4 (Aaa . xiv Mintern B: HIRUND( HIRUNDO SENEGALENSIS, 2. GREAT AFRICAN MOSQUE-SWALLOW. Hirondelle a ventre roux de Sénégal, Daubent. Pl. Enl. vii. pl. 310. Hirundo senegalensis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 345 (1766); Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 72, pl. 6 (1837); Gray, Gen. B.i. p. 58 (1845); id. Cat. Fissir. Brit. Mus. p. 23 (1848); Jard. Contr. Orn. 1849, p. 4; Bp. Consp. i. p. 389 (1850); Hartl. Orn. Westafr. p. 27 (1857); Dubois, Ois. Eur. pl. 35 (1862); Hartl. J. f. O. 1869, p. 103; Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 69, no. 796 (1869); Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 156 (1869); Sharpe, P. Z.S. 1870, p. 316; Sharpe, Ibis, 1872, p. 71; Shelley & Buckley, t. c. p. 288; Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. iv. App. p. lvii (1874); Ussher, Ibis, 1874, p. 62; Reichen. Corresp. Afrik. Gesellsch. Berlin, 1875, no. 178; id. J. f. O. 1875, p. 21; Sharpe & Bouv. Bull. Soc. Zool. France, i. p. 37 (1876) ; De Rochebr. Faun. Sénég., Ois. p. 219 (1884); Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. (2), i. p. 120 (1884); Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 168 (1885). Hirundo rufula, Gould, B. Eur. ii. pl. 55 (1837, nec Temm.). Cecropis senegalensis, Less. Compl. Buff. viii. p. 498 (1887); Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 174; Riipp. Syst. Uebers. p. 22 (1845); Cass. Cat. Hirund. Mus. Philad. Acad. p. 3 (18538); Heugl. Syst. Uebers. p. 16 (1856); Bouvier, Cat. Ois. Marche &e. p. 9. Hirundo melanocrissus (nec Riipp.), Heugl. J. f. O. 1862, p. 297. Cecropis melanocrissus, Antin. Cat. descr. Ucce. p. 25 (1865); Salvad. Atti R. Accad. Torino, 1870, p. 728. H. uropygio rufo; pileo dorso concolori; subttis unicolor, guld albidai; rectricibus non minimé albo maculatis. Hab. in Africé occidentali et in Africé septentrionali-orientali. Above purplish blue; sides of the head and back of the neck, almost forming a nuchal collar, as well as the entire rump, deep sienna; quills dull black slightly glossed with blue; upper tail-coverts dull purplish blue; tail-feathers black, unspotted; throat and cheeks buffy white, as also are the under wing-coverts ; rest of the underparts deep chestnut; bill black; feet very dark brown. Total length 9 inches, wing 5:7, tail 4°2. We have not seen any indications of an approach to H. monteiri, though both this species and H. sene- galensis occur on the Congo. The specimen of H. senegalensis from Landana, in Capt. Shelley’s collection, is rather whiter on the throat than others from the Gold Coast, and thus somewhat D2 2 resembles H. monfeiri, but there is not a sign of the white spots on the tail which are so strongly characteristic of the latter species. Hab. West Africa; occurring in suitable localities from Senegambia to the Congo. North-east Africa; Central Abyssinia and Kordofan, Shoa, and the sources of the Gazelle River. Tuts large Swallow belongs to the red-rumped section of the genus Hirwndo. It is distinguished by its large size from all its allies in this section, as well as by its uniform under surface, without any dark striations. Tt was originally described from Senegal, and we have seen several specimens from this part of Africa. Dr. de Rochebrune states that it is common there, and enumerates the following localities where he has met with it—Salde, Dagana, Podor, Thionk, Sorres, M’Bao, Ponte, Albreda, and Bathurst. It was not seen by Mr. Bittikofer in Liberia, but it reappears on the Gold Coast. Mr. Blissett sent us a specimen from Ekraful, and Capt. Shelley and Mr. T. E. Buckley found it near Accra, and more especially at Quamin-fio. The birds “ were paired in February, and probably breeding in the large hollow trees, the topmost boughs of which they usually frequented.” The following note is from the pen of the late Governor Ussher :—‘‘ This handsome Swallow has only been observed by me on the plains of Accra, in the eastern districts of the Gold Coast. I never saw it in the forest. They are generally to be found in small companies of eight or ten perched on the tops of high decayed cr leafless trees, and occasionally leave their posts for food, uttering a peculiar and pretty cry. Water- pools attract them much in this sparsely watered district. Their flight is powerful and graceful beyond that of other Swallows. The natives hold them in some veneration, and eall them ‘ God’s children,’ and appeared scandalized at my shooting them, although they were satisfied when I explained the purpose for which I was collecting their skins, and that I was not impelled to do so from any wanton or inhumane motive.” A specimen was obtained by Mr. Petit at Landana on the Congo, and is now in Capt. Shelley’s collection. This seems to be its southern limit on the west coast. Dr. von Heuglin writes as follows :—‘ Z. senegalensis is a migratory bird in North- eastern Africa. We found it from May to January in Kordofan and Central Abyssinia, at a height of from 5000 to 9000 feet ; but near the sources of the Gazelle River only towards the end of the rainy season. Riippell also received it from Shoa. These Swallows are often seen in large flocks settling on the bare tops of trees, or flying backwards and forwards, both high and low, in the meadows and grass-land, especially after thunder- storms. The call is very loud and strong, and sounds plaintive and whistling, like ¢é-ér, or huéd, huéd. According to Brehm it is even found on the Red Sea. «“ Verreaux’s statement that this Swallow occurs in Nubia is probably incorrect, as in North-eastern Africa it does not seem to cross the 14th meridian.” The late Marquis Antinori mentions this species under the name of Cecropis melano- crissus, and states that it arrives in the Djur country towards the end of March, but o 3 does not stay after the first few days of April. After this time it appears to go both to the east and west into the mountainous parts of the White Nile. He noticed that it arrived at the same time as Eurystomus afer, the African Roller, and frequented the same marshy places. At sunrise they settle on the tops of the trees, after a few short turns, and there remain motionless for some time, when one will suddenly start off afresh, upsetting the resting-place ; and as they are accustomed to sit close together on a branch, there is great contention for a place, those that are driven off having to find another perch. From the trees they descend to the water, over the surface of which they hunt for insects; but after about an hour’s exercise, they rise into the air and disappear, not returning to the place till the next morning. The same naturalist met with the species in the Adda Galla country during the late Italian expedition to Shoa, where the native name was ‘* Tobbisa.” The description is taken from an adult bird in the British Museum, the figure in the Plate being drawn from a specimen in Capt. Shelley’s collection. Mintern Bros imp- G.W.W. del HIRUNDO MONTEIRI. HIRUNDO MONTEIRI, Aart. MONTEIRO’S SWALLOW. Hirundo monteiri, Hartl. Ibis, 1862, p. 340, pl. ii.; Gurney, Ibis, 1863, p. 116; Kirk, Ibis, 1864, p. 8320; Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 69, no. 808 (1869) ; Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1868, p. 40, 1869, p. 339; Finsch & Hartl. Vég. Ostafr. p. 189 (1870) ; Sharpe, P. Z. 8. 1870, p. 316; id. Cat. Afr. B. p. 46 (1871); Gurney in Anderss. B. Dam. Ld. p. 49 (1872); Sharpe, P. Z. 8. 1878, p. 718; id. & Bouvier, Bull. Soc. Zool. France, i. p. 38 (1676); Reichen. J. f. O. 1877, p. 21; Cab. J. f. O. 1878, p. 222; Fischer & Reichen. t.c. p. 257; Fischer, t. c. p. 280; id. J. f. O. 1879, p. 344; Bocage, Orn. Angola, p. 181 (1881); Shelley, P. Z.S. 1881, p. 565; Bohm, J. f. O. 1883, p. 178; Schalow, t.c. p. 352; Sharpe, ed. Layard’s B. 8. Afr. p- 868 (1883); Fischer, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. i. p. 858 (1884); Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 169 (1885); Fischer, J. f. O. 1885, p. 128; Matschie, J. f. O. 1887, p. 152. H. major: uropygio rufo: pileo dorso concolore: subtis fere unicolor, minimé striata: gula albicante : rectricibus albo notatis. Hab. in Africé ovientali (a proy. Zanzibarica usque ad fl. Zambesianum), in Africa occidentali in proy. Congensi usque ad terram Damarensem septentrionalem. Male. Above glossy blue-black, the head capped and united to the nape by a broad interrupted band of blue-black feathers ; a narrow line of feathers from the base of the nostrils to the eye dusky ; the sides of the neck very bright rufous ; shoulders and sides of the chest dark blue-black like the back ; breast and under tail-coverts deep rufous, with a black spot near the tip of the longest feathers of the latter; thighs white; bill and feet black; iris brown: “inside of mouth yellow” (Fischer). Total length 8:5 inches, culmen 0°45, wing 5°75, tail 4°75, tarsus 0°65. Young. Above blue-black, but not so rich oer so glossy as in the adult; quills and tail dusky brown, with scarcely any perceptible gloss on the upper surface ; lower part of the back pale rufous ; throat, cheeks, and under wing-coverts pure white; sides of the neck and breast rufous, but not so rich as in the adult; under tail-coverts rufous, the basal half of the longer feathers black. Dr. Reichenow, writing about specimens of this Swallow from the Loango Coast, and Dr. Cabanis, in his account of the late Dr. Hildebrandt’s collection, both refer to the variability of the amount of white marking on the tail-feathers, and they are inclined to regard H. monteiri as nothing more than a race of H. senegalensis. Dr. Reichenow remarks :—“ The white spot on the tail-feathers, which Dr. Hartlaub considered to be characteristic of the species, is sometimes strongly, sometimes feebly developed. One specimen, moreover, in spite of its white tail-spot, shows a reddish-brown 2 riape-band, which should by rights be a character of H. senegalensis ; and, lastly, in one specimen with entirely black tail-feathers, the reddish-brown nape-band is altogether wanting; so that it would be possible to establish four varieties.” Our experience of the specimens in English museums has not confirmed the variations in character detailed by Dr. Reichenow, and at present we keep the two species distinct. From the observations given by the above-named naturalist it is evident, however, that, on the northern limits of its range, H. monteiri shows a tendency to coalesce with H. senegalensis, and the two forms may interbreed on the Congo. Hab. West Africa from the Loango Coast to Ondonga; East Africa from the Zanzibar district to the Shiré river. Tuts fine Swallow, as big as H. senegalensis, and therefore one of the largest members of the family, is confined to Africa, where it occupies a more southern area in that continent than its near ally. It was described by Dr. Hartlaub from a specimen brought from Angola by the late Mr. J. J. Monteiro, one of the many true naturalists who have lost their lives in the Dark Continent. It appears to extend along the west coast of Africa as far as the Congo region, for Dr. Falkenstein sent specimens from the Loango coast, which Dr. Reichenow has described as showing a great tendency to develop the characters of H. senegalensis. Both species have been procured by Dr. Lucan and M. Louis Petit at Landana, on the Congo, and it is quite possible that they interbreed in this locality. Monteiro’s Swallow also extends its range into the provinces of Benguela and Mossa- medes, where it has been procured by Senhor Anchieta at Biballa and Capangombe, and the same explorer has procured it on the River Cunene. The late Mr. C. J. Andersson met with the species at Ondonga in Ovampo Land, and a specimen in the British Museum was shot by him at Elephant Vley. He observes :—* To the best of my knowledge this fine Swallow (of which I first obtained a few individuals on the river Okavango in 1859) never extends its migration so far south as Damara Land proper; and, indeed, very few individuals come much further south than the Okavango.”’ On the eastern side of the continent this Swallow probably does not cross the Zambesi. Sir John Kirk observed it “on the banks of the river Shiré, away from dwellings, flying near the water, and alighting on the clay banks, where it was observed entering holes; but whether these had originally been formed by Bee-eaters was not ascertained.” It would appear to be more plentiful to the northward. The late Dr. Béhm says that it was common in the neighbourhood of Kakoma. He procured it in December, February, and March, at this piace, and specimens were in his last collection from Qua Mpavra, where he met with it in July in the mountain-forests, and also at Marungu, to the westward of Lake Tanganyika. Sir John Kirk has procured it at Pangani and in the Usambara Hills, and it goes as far north as Mombasa, having been met with here by the Rev. Mr. Wakefield. Dr. Fischer states that he often saw it in the neighbourhood of Mombasa, mostly in pairs. In the beginning of August he fell in with eight specimens sitting on a dead tree, some 3 of them being young birds. Dr. Hildebrandt found the species rarer near Mombasa and in Ukamba than H. puella. Dr. Fischer notes its occurrence near Malindi in May and June, breeding there in the latter month. In December some were seen at the mouth of the Tana, and he likewise states that he collected this Swallow in small numbers near Pangani in December, and near Little Aruscha Lake in March. He also obtained a specimen at Komboko, in the Kilima Njaro district, on the 1st of April. His other locality for the species is Bagamoyo. The late Dr. Béhm also mentions having shot a Swallow, which he believed to be this species, at Konko in Ugogo. Mr. Andersson observes :—“ Those that came under my notice were always found in large open forests, flying high above the tree-tops in pursuit of their insect prey, or occasionally perching on lofty, isolated, and aged trees, and they were in consequence by Dr. Bohm states that it is more often found in the clearings 99 no means easy to procure. of the forests and open spaces, and he has often noticed it flying over the swamps, like our European Swallow, with its wings touching the water. In the latter half of February the birds were in great numbers, in pairs, frequenting the bare trees and stumps, especi- ally in the vicinity of the low-lying wet rice-fields. Twice, on the 9th and 22nd of February, he shot a female bird with some small lumps of earth in her mouth, and he fancied that they must nest on the trees. Dr. Fischer also noticed a curious habit of this Swallow, that they would descend suddenly from a great height, and rest on a dead bough, a favourite position, which they appeared to affect for a long time. The descriptions are taken from specimens in the British Museum, and the figure ts drawn from one in Captain Shelley’s collection. a) - = HIRUNDO EUCHRYSEA. Mintern Bros. imp. HIRUNDO EUCHRYSEA, Gosse. JAMAICAN SWALLOW. Hirundo euchrysea, Gosse, B. Jamaica, p. 68, pl. 12 (1847); Gray, Cat. Fissir. Brit. Mus. p. 26 (1848) ; March, Proc. Philad. Acad. 1863, p. 295; Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 72, no. 849 (1869); Scl. & Salv. Nomencl. Av. Neotr. p. 14 (1873); Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 170 (1885). Herse euchrysea, Bp. Consp. i. p. 34 (1850). Petrochelidon euchrysea, Sclater, P. Z. 8. 1861, p. 72; id. Cat. Amer. B. p: 39 (1862). Callichelidon euchrysea, Baird, Review Amer. B. p. 304 (1865); A. & E. Newt. Handb. Jamaica, 1881, p. 107. Tachycineta euchrysea, Cory, Auk, ili. p. 58 (1886); id. B. West Indies, p. 72 (1889). H. metallicé aureo-viridis : uropygio dorso concolore: subtus alba. Hab. in insula “ Jamaica” dicta. Adult. General colour above metallic golden green, greener on the head; wing-coverts like the back ; greater coverts, bastard-wing, and primary-coverts blackish, externally washed with golden bronze ; quills black, with a slight bronzy shade on the outer edge ; tail-feathers blackish washed with golden bronze; lores velvety black; ear-coverts, fore part of cheeks, and base of chin metallic golden green like the upper surface ; throat and remainder of under surface of body pure white; thighs black ; under tail-coverts pure white ; axillaries and under wing-coverts metallic golden green, with dusky bases ; quills sooty black below: “bill black ; feet purplish black ” (Gosse). Total length 5 inches, culmen 0:3, wing 4°2, tail 2°2, tarsus 0-4. Young. Differs from the adult in having the feathers of the throat and breast obscured with dusky g 5 J subterminal bars. The metallic plumage is also duller and greener, with not such a strong golden lustre. Hab. Jamaica. Tats is one of the most distinct of all the Swallows, being remarkable for its metallic plumage. Although it is to be seen in many Museums, it is by no means common in collections, and little has been recorded of its habits. In fact we have not been able to find any record since the date of Mr. Gosse’s well-known work on the ‘ Birds of Jamaica.’ There he writes :— «This exceedingly lovely little Swallow, whose plumage reflects the radiance of the 3 B2 2 Humming-birds, is found, as 1 am informed by Mr. Hill, in the higher mountains formed by the limestone range of the very centre of the island, as in Manchester and St. Ann’s. It is not until we ascend this central.chain that we meet with this sweet bird, occasionally in the more open dells, but principally confined to the singular little glens called cockpits.” The figure is taken from a specimen in the Salvin-Godman collection, and the descriptions are copied from the British Museum ‘ Catalogue of Birds.’ — . , Mintern Bros. mip. CW W. del HIRUNDO SCLATERI. ~HIRUNDO SCLATERI, Cory. SCLATER’S SWALLOW. Hirundo euchrysea, var. dominicensis, Bryant, Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H. xi. p. 95 (1866). Hirundo sclatert, Cory, Auk, 1884, p. 2; id. B. 8. Domingo, p. 45, pl. 5 (1884); Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 171 (1885). H. supra metallicé viridis, chalybeo nitens, vix cuprescens: fronte chalybeo lavaté: subtis alba. Hab. in insulaé Dominicensi maris Caribbei. Adult male. General colour above glossy steel-blue, with a very little reflexion of golden-green under certain lights ; lesser wing-coverts like the back; median and greater coverts black, edged with the glossy shade of the back ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills black, externally edged with golden green, the secondaries with purplish blue, the primaries with duil green ; upper tail- coverts glossy steel-blue with golden reflexions ; tail-feathers black, edged with steel-blue or dull green; crown of head golden green with steel-blue reflexions, the forehead decidedly steel-blue ; lores black ; sides of face and ear-coverts like the head, as alsoa spot on the chin; cheeks, throat, sides of neck, and under surface of body pure white; some of the flank-feathers internally golden green; thighs blackish ; under tail-coverts white; under wing-coverts and axillaries dull steel-blue, edged with glossy green ; quills below dusky, more ashy along the inner webs. Total length 5 inches, culmen 0°25, wing 4°45, tail 2:0, tarsus 0°35. The sexes are alike, according to Mr. Cory. Hab. San Domingo. WE are indebted to our friend Mr. C. B. Cory for the loan of a skin of this beautiful Swallow, described by him from San Domingo. In its brilliant glossy plumage it approaches HH. euchrysea of Jamaica, but the prevailing colour is green instead of golden bronze, and there is a pronounced gloss of steel-blue, of which there is no trace in the Jamaican bird. Mr. Cory writes :— This species was quite abundant in the vicinity of La Vega, San Domingo, during July and August; none were taken elsewhere, although a small flock of Swallows were observed a few miles east of Gonaives, which I believe were tie present species.”’ The description and figure are both taken from the above-mentioned specimen, lent to us by Mr. Cory. . 7 7 } ed ‘ ~ ‘ ‘ . . _ ' ’ \ . ' ° APPENDIX TO THE CENUS TEEN DO: HIRUNDO SAVIGNII [antea, p. 237]. Add :— Chelidon savignit, Stejn. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. v. p. 31 (1882). Hirundo savignii, KH. C. Taylor, Ibis, 1886, p. 379; Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xi. (1889). Hirundo rustica savignit, Hartert, Kat. Vogels. Senck. Mus. p. 99 (1891). Hirundo cahirica, Gitke, Vogelw. Helgol. p. 485 (1891) ; Seebohm, Ibis, 1892, p. 19. SupposeD to have been seen on Heligoland on the 20th and 21st of May, 1891, but doubtless only a fine-coloured HT. rustica. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 44 [Map]. HIRUNDO GUTTURALIS ([antea, p. 241). Add :-- For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 45 [Map]. HIRUNDO TAHITICA [anteda, p. 275). Add :— ; Hirundo tahitica, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xv. (1892). For the geographical distribution of this species, vide supra, Plate 44 [Map]. HIRUNDO JAVANICA {antes p. 279). Add :— Hirundo javanica, Hartert, J. f. O. 1889, p. 8354; Sharpe, Ibis, 1890, p. 280; id. & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xv. (1892); Hose, Ibis, 1593, p. 399. Mr. C. Hose says that this is the common Swallow of the Baram district, building under the eaves and floors of the bungalows, which, we must remind the reader, are raised off the ground on piles. On page 285, line 17, for “Sula” Islands read “Sulu.” Mr. A. H. Everett has procured the species on Sibutu Island. Mr. Hartert informs us that the species is apparently not rare in Deli and Lankat in N.E. Sumatra, where the birds were also seen building nests under the houses. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide supra, Plate 44 | Map]. i) ‘ HIRUNDO NAMIYELI [antea p. 287). Add :— Hirundo namiyei, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xv. (1892). For the geographical distribution of this species, vide supra, Plate 44 [Map]. HIRUNDO NEOXENA [antea, p. 289). Add :— Hirundo neoxena, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. vi. (1887); North, Cat. Nests & Eggs Austr. B. p. 30 (1889); W.J. Campbell, Proc. Austr. Assoc. Se. 1890, p. 498. Mr. Nortu writes:—“ A set of the eggs of this species in the Australian Museum collection measure as follows :—Length (4) 0°73 x 0°5 inch; (B) 0°74 x 0°59 inch; (c) 0°72X058 inch; (D) 0°76X0°6 inch; (£) 0°73 X 0°58 inch.” Noticed by Mr. Camp- bell on Houtman’s Abrolhos, flying near Pelsart Island. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide supra, Plate 44: [Map]. HIRUNDO ANGOLENSIS [antea, p. 293}. Add :— Tirundo angolensis, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. i. (1885); Bocage, Jorn. Sc. Lisb. (2) no. viii. p. 258 (1892). SENHOR ANCHIETA procured this species at Quissange, and Quibula in Benguela. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide supra, Plate 45 [Map]. aa HIRUNDO AROCTICINCT AN lentes, py. 2901 Hirundo rustica (nec L.), Emin, J. f. O. 1891, p. 340. Hirundo angolensis (nee Bocage), Reichen. J. f. O. 1892, p. 31. TMirundo areticincta, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xv. (1892). FounpD by Emin Pasha on the Victoria Nyanza, at Bussisi in October, and at Bukoba in December ; and by Dr. Stuhlmann on Sesse Island in December. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide supra, Plate 45 [Map]. HIRUNDO LUCIDA ([antea, p. 297). Add :— Hirundo lucida, Bittik. Notes Leyd. Mus. vii. p. 159 (1885); Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. i. (1885) ; Biittik. Notes Leyd. Mus. viii. p. 248 (1886); id. Reiseb. Liberia, i. p. 478 (1890); Rendall, Ibis, 1892, p. 218. OBraINeD by Mr. Stampfli about fifteen miles from Monrovia, in Liberia, on the Mes- surado River, in October. Mr. Biittikofer found a nest on the 2nd of April, on an old window-seat of the Dutch factory at Monrovia: it was constructed in the same way as the nests of Hirundo rustica, and contained three half-fledged nestlings. On the River Gambia, Dr. Rendall says it is “‘common and fearless of man; its low sweet song is sustained for a minute or more, and bears a resemblance to that of a Canary, but is always subdued in tone. Its builds a cup-shaped nest of mud, lined with fine grass and feathers, and lays from three to five eggs.” For the geographical distribution of this species, vide supra, Plate 45 | Map]. HIRUNDO ALBIGULARIS. [entec, p. 303). Add :— Hirundo albigularis, Fischer, J. f. O. 1885, p. 128; Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. x. (1889); Bocage, Jorn. Sc. Lisb. (2) viii. p. 258 (1892). BesipeEs the Malindi record, Dr. Fischer also notices this species from Bagamoyo. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 78 [Map]. HIRUNDO ATHIOPICA {[anted, p. 307). Add :— Hirundo ethiopica, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. ii. (1885); Fischer, J. f. O. 1885, p. 128; Oustalet, Bibl. Ecole Hautes-Etudes, xxxi. art. x. p. 5 (1886); Hartert, J. f. O. 1886, p. 590; Salvad. Ann. Mus. Genov. (2) vi. p. 230 (1888). THE present species was not met with by the Marquis Antinori in Shoa, but Dr. Ragazzi procured a young bird at Gascid, Mulu on July 31st. Dr. Fischer’s localities for the species, as observed by him in East Africa, are as follows :—Mombasa, Malindi, Pangani, Maurui, Little Aruscha, Komboko, and Mossiro. Dr. Oustalet records this Swallow as found by M. Révoil in Somali Land. Mr. Hartert found it common at Loko on the Benue River, in July. It was breeding in the houses of the negroes, at the highest point of the roof. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 78 | Map]. ee HIRUNDO LEUCOSOMA [anted, p. 311]. Hirundo leucosoma, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. i. (1885); Reichen. J. f. O. 1891, p. 382. SENT from Togo Land by Dr. Biittner. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 78 [Map]. HIRUNDO DIMIDIATA ([anéea, p. 313}. Add :— Hirundo dimidiata, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xi. (1889); Bocage, Jorn. Se. Lisb. (2) viii. p. 258 (1892). For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 79 [Map]. HIRUNDO NIGRITA [anted, p. 317). Add :— Hirundo nigrita, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. iv. (1886); Biittik. Notes Leyd. Mus. x. p. 68 (1888), xi. p. 180 (1889); Shelley, Ibis, 1890, p. 163; Reichen. J. f. O. 1890, p. 117; Biittik. Reiseb. Liber. ii. p. 400, cum fig. (1891). Waldenia nigrita, Reichen. J. f. O. 1875, p. 21; Hartert, J. f. O. 1886, p. 590. Dr. RetcHEenow found the present species common on the Lower Wuri and Camaroons. In Liberia My. Biittikofer obtained the eggs. He gives a picture of the nest, built of mud and attached to the bough of a tree overhanging the river. He gives the following interesting note :—“< Frequently found in pairs with nest and eggs on the Du Queah, from its mouth upwards to the first falls, and on all other rivers I happened to visit on my journey to Cape Palmas. The beautiful River-Swallow is not easily got to leave the place which it once has chosen as nesting-place, and will always keep within some hundred yards from it. On one of my first trips up the Du Queah, on the 8rd of January, I found a nest with two fresh eggs in a hollow of a log, projecting about six feet above high water. The nest consisted of small stems of grass, small pieces of bark, and a few feathers, without any earthy substances, and contained two eggs. As it was a very fine nesting-place I sawed the end of the log down when passing a few days afterwards and carried it off with nest and eggs, which were then * four in number. About two weeks afterwards I happened to pass the same spot again and found a new nest in the remaining part of the hollow, probably built by the same pair of Swallows, but this time constructed of clay and mud in the way of our House-Martin, and stuck to the wall of the hollow. It was lined with some stems of grass and other soft materials, and a few feathers of a Pigeon, and contained three eggs. I again carried off the nest and eggs without troubling the birds, which had disappeared for a moment. Some time afterwards I visited this spot and was not a little astonished to find a new nest, built like the last one, and containing one single egg; but this time I found it too cruel to carry off the nest again, and therefore ordered my boys to pull on and leave to the twice-tormented birds the pleasure of their breeding business. The eggs are thickly spotted and speckled with reddish brown, on a rosy-white ground. Their shape is oviform, the size 19 mm. in length and 13 mm. in width.” According to Dr. Hartert, this Swallow was not rare on the Lower Niger, building its nest on the huge dead trees in the stream. Mr. Jameson procured it at Yambuya, on the Aruwhimi River. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 79 [Map]. 7 HIRUNDO ATROCARULEA ([antea, p. 319]. Hirundo atrocerulea, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. ili. (1886); Seebohm, Ibis, 1887, p. 340. Tw his paper on the Birds of Natal, Mr. Seebohm writes as follows :—* By far the most interesting of the Swallows that came under my notice in Natal was the Blue Swallow (Hirundo atrocerulea). A few pairs of these charming little birds were almost always to be seen hawking diligently for flies over a small field which led from the garden of my friend Mr. Mark Hutchinson’s house down to a little stream that flowed at the foot of the bush. Graham Hutchinson told me that they were seldom seen in the open veldt, and always chose sheltered nooks near bush and water. Early in the morning they often used to perch on the wire fence that enclosed the garden. He told me that they were never seen in winter. They associated freely with the other species, but were often alone.” For the geographical distribution of this species, vide supra, Plate 45 [Map]. ada HIRUNDO NIGRORUFA ([antea, p. 325). AO SS Hirundo nigrorufa, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. iii. (1886) ; Bocage, Jorn. Se. Lisb. (2) viii. pp. 257, 258 (1892). For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 78 [Map]. HIRUNDO SMITHII [antea, p. 327]. Add :— Hirundo filifera, Fischer, J. f. O. 1885, p. 128; Matschie, J. f. O. 1887, p. 141; St. John, Ibis, 1889, p. 155; Reichen. J. f. O. 1891, p. 153; Rendall, Ibis, 1892, p. 219. Hirundo smithii, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. ii. (1886) ; Shelley, P. Z.S8. 1888, p. 40; Salvad. Ann. Mus. Gen. (2) vi. p. 231 (1888); Oates, ed. Hume’s Nest & Eggs Ind. B. ii. p.188 (1890); id. Faun. Brit. Ind., Birds, ii. p. 280 (1890) ; Emin, J. f.O0. 1891, p. 59; Sharpe, Ibis, 1892, p. 305; Bocage, Jorn. Sc. Lisb. (2) viii. p. 258 (1892) ; Reichen. Jahrb. Hamb. Wiss. Anst. x. p. 16 (1893). Count Satvapori records a fine adult male of this species obtained at Malcogebdi, in Shoa, by Dr. Ragazzi, on the 19th of February. It was procured by Emin Pasha at Wadelai in September. Mr. F. J. Jackson met with it in the Kikuyu country in August. Dr. Fischer’s localities for the species are the town of Zanzibar in August, Lindi, Tschara, and Wapokomoland. Dr. Stuhlmann met with the species at Zanzibar in November, Emin Pasha at Mrogoro in Ugogo in May. Dr. Bohm has sent specimens from Karema. According to Dr. Rendall, the species is rare on the Gambia. He found a nest with three eggs on the 7th of November, 1889, the nest being exactly like that of Hirundo lucida. The late Sir Oliver St. John, in his paper on the birds of Southern Afghanistan and Kelat, remarked :—“ Somewhat to my surprise I found this bird on several occasions in the Arghandab valley, and on one occasion near Kelat-i-Ghilzai, 5000 feet above the sea. It was not common, and I observed it nowhere else. Mr. Murray notices its occurrence at Quetta, but I have not seen it there.” The following additional notes on the nesting of the species have appeared in Mr. Oates’s edition of Mr. Hume’s ‘Nest and Eggs of Indian Birds’:—‘ Major ©. T. Bingham says :—‘ I have found many nests of this beautiful Swallow under the bridges on both the eastern and western Jumna canals at Delhi. They are half-saucers of mud lined with straw and a few soft feathers. On the 27th May eleven nests that I took 7 contained three eggs each, and more than half of them hard-set, so that I should say the bird breeds about Delhi in April and May.’ “Mr. Benjamin Aitken tells us that he has ‘ observed the nidification of the Wire- tailed Swallow only on the river at Akola. One pair had a nest on the 23rd December, 1869, but I did not examine it. On the 7th of January (1870) another pair were building a nest. Three eggs were taken from a nest in the beginning of February, 1870. The birds at once began a new nest against a rock a few yards off from the first place, and successfully reared three young. On the 26th July, 1870, I made a note that the Wire-tailed Swallow had almost disappeared from Akola; they had been common on the river in the dry season.’ “Colonel Butler says :—‘ I found a nest of the Wire-tailed Swallow at Deesa on the 10th August, 1875, fastened to the brickwork of a well, but could not ascertain its contents, as I could not induce any of my coolies to go down and take it. I took another nest out of the same well on the 11th August the following year (1876) contain- ing two eggs very slightly incubated. It was a half-cup, built of mud and thickly lined with feathers, and fastened to the brickwork under an overhanging ledge of stone. I have often found the nest under bridges overhanging the water, and in holes of rocks with a similar aspect.’ Writing subsequently from Sind, he further says :—\Hydrabad, Sind, 9th June, 1878. A nest under an archway over a canal, containing two fresh eggs. Another nest in a well on the 12th June, containing three fresh eggs. Two more nests under archways over canals on the 20tb, each containing three fresh eggs; and any number of other nests in the same neighbourhood, and in the Eastern Narra in similar situations.’ “Messrs. Davidson and Wenden, writing from the Deccan, remark :—‘ Common and breeds.’ “Tieut. H. E. Barnes, writing of Rajputana in general, says:—‘‘The Wire-tailed Swallow, to my mind the handsomest of the Hirundines, breeds from the latter part of February to April, and again in August and September.’ ” For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 80 [Map]. HIRUNDO GRISEOPYGA [antea, p. 335}, Add :— Hirundo griseopyga, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. iv. (1886); Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, p. 62; Emin, J. f. 0.1891, p. 340; Bocage, Jorn. Sc. Lisb. (2) vill. p. 258 (1892) ; Reichen. J. f. O. 1892, p. 31. Dr. Fiscuer, on his last journey to the Victoria Nyanza, procured this species at Waschi, on the east side of the lake, on the 20th of January. Emin Pasha also met with it at Bussisi in Cetober. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 81 [Map]. 4b 2 HIRUNDO CUCULLATA ([antea, p. 337). Add :— Hirundo cucullata, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. iil. (1886); Bocage, Jorn. Se. Lisb. (2) viii. p. 258 (1892). For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 80 [Map]. HIRUNDO PUELLA ([anted, p. 341). Add :— Hirundo puella, Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, p. 62; Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xi. (1889); Shelley, Ibis, 1890, p. 163; Emin, J. f. O. 1891, p. 59; Reichen. J.f. O. 1891, p.153; Emin, t.c. p. 345; Hartl. Abhandl. nat. Ver. Bremen, 1891, p. 30; Bocage, Jorn. Se. Lisb. (2) viii. p. 258 (1892); Reichen. Jahrb. Hamb. Wiss. Anst. x. p. 16 (1898). ProcurEeD by Dr. Fischer, during his last journey to the Victoria Nyanza, at Msin- euissua. Emin Pasha procured the species at Bukoba in November. Dr. Stuhlmann obtained a nestling near Mbusiné in Usegua, on the 28th of August, and Emin met with the species at Tabora, in Unianembe, in August. The present bird was represented in a collection from the Quanza River, received by Mr. Henry Whitely of Woolwich ; and Anchieta has collected specimens at Quissangue, Quibula, Quindumbo, Caconda, and Humbe. Mr. Jameson procured it on the Lower Congo. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 82 [Map]. HIRUNDO RUFULA [antea, p. 347}. Add :— Hirundo rufula, Giglioli, Avif. Ital. p. 184 (1886); id. I. Resoc. p. 812 (1889) ; id. op. cit. ii. p. 653 (1890); id. op. cit. iii. p. 512 (1891) ; Pleske, Mém. Acad. Imp. St. Pétersb. (7) xxxvi. p. 41 (1888) ; Guillem. Ibis, 1888, pp. 100, 112, 116; Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. x. (1899); Lilford, Ibis, 1889, p. 329; Brusina, Orn. Croat. p. 58 (1890) ; Oates, Faun. Brit. Ind., Birds, ii. p. 284 (1890); Gatke, Vogelw. Helgol. p. 486 (1891); Seebohm, Ibis, 1892, p. 19; Koenig, J. f. O. 1892, p. 365. PRocURED by the late Mr. Russow at Tschinas in Central Asia. According to Dr. Koenig the present species is a very rare visitor to Tunis, and he has only heard of two examples having been obtained in that country. Dr. Guillemard, in his account of the birds of Cyprus, writes as follows :—‘ At one place I noticed a solitary Hirwndo rufula, a-species which I did not again come across until long afterwards. Although it is, perhaps, to be found in each of the Districts of the island, it is very local. It occursat Famagusta, at the ruins of Bellapais, at Kyrenia, in the pass above Lanarka tou Lapethou, and near the village of Poli; but at all these places it seemed to frequent the immediate neighbourhood of its home, and never go far a-field.... On the battlements of the fortress of Famagusta I shot Hirundo rufula, and found its nest in a rock-hewn cavern, attached to the smooth flat roof. In general this is the situation adopted, but sometimes the back of the nest is built against a beam, or against a wall where it joins the ceiling. The entrance is a short tunnel, with a slightly covered lip. The eggs are pure white, and, in this case, were six in number.” He further observes:—‘ I camped below the ruins of Bellapais, a magnificent semimonastic building of the Lusignan period, with a great part of the beautiful cloisters still standing, and spent most of the following day in photographing it. Hirundo rufula was in great abundance here, and in a large hall, which was doubtless the refectory, there were many nests. Most of them were inaccessible, but from one I took some eggs, no doubt of a second clutch. The Commissioner of the Kyrenia district, with whom I was staying later, informed me that a pair had raised three broods of young ones in one season in a nest built in his bedroom.” Lord Lilford also noticed the species in Cyprus, and writes as follows :—‘ Very common in certain localities and, as Guillemard states, seldom to be met with at any considerable distance from its breeding-haunts. I only met with this very beautiful and conspicuous Swallow at a certain spot amongst the hills not far from the south coast of the Horn of Cyprus and at Famagusta; but Guillemard found it in many other localities, notably at the ruins of Bellapais; he mentions having noticed a solitary individual of this bird on March 6th, 1887, between Pera-Khorio and Tochui.” For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 81 [Map]. HIRUNDO DAURICA [antea, p. 357). Add :— Hirundo daurica, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xiv. (1890). Cecropis daurica, Tacz. P. Z. 8. 1587, p. 599, 1888, p. 462; id. Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Pétersb. (7) xxxix. p. 182 (1891). Dr. TACZANOWSKI says that this species is widely spread over Western Siberia, from the Irtisch river in Dauria, through the Amoor and Ussuri countries as far as the sea of Japan. Mr. Godlewski states that directly it arrives in Dauria it at once begins to construct its nest, over which it spends a great deal of trouble, as it is large in 10 preportion to the size of the bird and is composed of mud; it is fixed to the roofs of verandahs of houses and other buildings, or on rocks which have protuberances similar to a ceiling. In July it lays five or six eggs, and in August the young leave the nest, and quit the country in September. In Corea, according to Mr. Kalinowski, it is rare in summer, and does not seem to come every year. In 1888 it nested, but in 1889 not one was seen. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 78 [Map]. HIRUNDO STRIOLATA [anted, p. 361]. Add :— Hirundo striolata, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. i. (1885). For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 79 [Map]. HIRUNDO NIPALENSIS [antea, p. 365} Add :— Hirundo nipalensis, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xiv. (1890); Sclater, Ibis, 1891, p. 44; De la Touche, Ibis, 1892, p. 408. ? Hirundo daurica, St. John, Ibis, 1889, p. 155. Hirundo alpestris (nec Pall.), Styan, Ibis, 1891, pp. 323, 351. Iv is probably to this species that the following note by the late Sir Oliver St. John refers :—“ In 1881 I saw a small flock of Red-rumped Swallows near Kach, but failed to procure a specimen. Which of the many forms of H. daurica they belonged to I cannot therefore say.” Mr. Styan says that in the Lower Yangtse Basin it arrives rather later than H., gutturatis, and leaves about the same time; it is not nearly so common as the latter, but still is numerous enough; it also breeds in the natives’ houses. He adds :—“ I can throw no light on the vexed question of the various subspecies of this group, and all the specimens I have examined appear to be of one species.” Mr. De la Touche writes :—“< At Swatow both H. gutturalis and H. nipalensis are residents, the former being of course far more abundant in summer than in winter. At Foochow the Swallows are migratory or else summer visitants. On one or two occasions only in winter I noticed there a stray House-Swallow.” For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 81 [Map]. eS SE . : SS ee aaes eo ee eee iil HIRUNDO ERYTHROPYGIA [antea, p. 371}. Add :— Hirundo erythropygia, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xiv. (1890). “For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 82 [Map]. HIRUNDO MELANOCRISSA [antea, p. 379}. Add :— Hirundo melanocrissa, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. iv. (1886); Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. (2) vi. p. 231 (1888). ProcureED by Dr. Ragazzi in Shoa, at Gasciamult in April, at Let-Marafia in May and November, at Buscofttt in June, and at Dens in July. In the latter month young birds were obtained, which Count Salvadori describes for the first time. He says that the three specimens had only just left the nest; they were much smaller than the adults, with the black of the upper parts less intense and having a greenish reflection, the inner secondaries having a reddish tip, the rump of a duller rufous than the adults, but the under surface of the body brighter, more or less variegated on the breast with blackish. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 79 [Map]. HIRUNDO DOMICELLA [aatea, p. 381). Add:— Hirundo domicella, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. ii. (1885). Hirundo rufula togoensis, Reichenow, J. f. O. 1891, p. 382. HI, TOGOENSIS was discovered by Dr. Biittner in Togo Land, in February. Two spe- cimens were obtained on the 16th and 21st of that month, and Dr. Reichenow points out that the species is very like H. rufula, but is distinguished by its smaller size, shorter wings, by the entire absence of stripes underneath, and by the deeper chestnut- red colour of the nape. Dr. Reichenow, in answer to our inquiries, tells us that he was at first inclined to refer the Togo-Land specimens to Z. domicella, but he points out that in this species the under tail-coverts are described as ‘glossy steel-blue” in the ‘Catalogue of Birds.’ In his examples of H. togoensis, he says, the under tail-coverts have only the tips blue, but the base pale, as in H. rufula, of which he considers 1. togoensis to be a race. The rump, however, is described by him as uniform rufous, not shading off paler as in 12 H. rufula. We find, however, that our description of the under tail-coverts in H. domicella is wrong, and that recent specimens in the British Museum with more perfect feathering show that the under tail-coverts are blue at the ends, with whitish bases, so that there can be little doubt that H. togoensis is H. domicella, and we must apologize to Dr. Reichenow for having misled him. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 83 [Map]. HIRUNDO HYPERYTHRA (anted, p. 389]. Add :— Hirundo hyperythra, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xi. (1889); Oates, ed. Hume’s Nest & Eggs Ind. B. ii. p. 201 (1890); id. Faun. Brit. Ind., Birds, ii. p-. 284 (1890). For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 81 [Map]. HIRUNDO BADIA ([anted, p. 393}. Add :— Hirundo badia, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xi. (1889); Hartert, J. f. O. 1889, p. 854; Oates, ed. Hume’s Nest & Eggs Ind. B. ii. p. 186, note (1890). Mr. Harter states that the Berlin Museum possesses a specimen of this Swallow from Sumatra. He found it breeding in Perak, and has given us the accompanying interesting account of the nesting-habits as observed by him :—‘‘ I myself have never seen this species in Sumatra, and do not think that it occurred in those parts of the island which I have visited: it is such a striking species that it could scarcely have escaped my notice. “In the stomachs of those which I procured in Perak were some somewhat large Cicade, flies, and mosquitoes. It was near the Kampong ‘Padang Ringas,’ in the interior of Perak, that I first saw this fine Swallow, as I was hunting for butterflies and beetles in the burning mid-day sun. It was flying over the rice-fields, catching insects, and soon disappeared; but I could not make out where the birds came from or whither they went, and, having no gun in my hand at the time, I could not procure a specimen, though I at once recognized that it was a Swallow I had not seen before. I met with the species again, however, some weeks after, further in the interior in the district of Kinta, where it was breeding in the beginning of July, as I found the nests under one of the houses erected, as usual, on piles. The nests were very peculiar, and were constructed in the same way as those of our Common Martin, and lined with feathers. * 13 The nests were very large, being quite a foot or morein length. The two under the house were constructed in the interval between two beams, so that they rested on the lower beam. In the middle they were more slender, for each consisted of two nests, as it were, connected bya broad passage about two inches long. There was an entrance to one nest only. One of them contained two eggs, but the other was empty. “Later on I became acquainted with what I suppose to be their original mode of nesting. I noticed several birds flying above the trees in the dense primzeval forests in Kinta, and saw them entering the caves which are to be found in the limestone hills which are scattered about in this district. In one of these limestone caves, which was very damp, I found a number of the nests; but all were empty, so that I suppose that the proper laying time would be in May and June, and that I had happened upon a late breeding pair, when I discovered the before-mentioned eggs under the house, as narrated above. “The nests in the cave were less distinctly divided into two portions. The further they were in the cave, the broader and longer were the nests, while those nearer to the entrance varied in shape according to the accommodation afforded by the crevices or shelves of the rocks. All these empty nests were soft and friable, and easily broken, while those I found beneath the house, and indeed all those recently constructed, were very strong. “The eggs were longish ovals, pure white, with little gloss. They are larger than those of H. daurica, to unspotted specimens of which they are very similar. The grain, however, is much coarser in the eggs of H. badia, and shows very distinctly the rough cross-lines which are characteristic of the eggs of many Swallows. They measured 23°0 mm. x 15:6, and 23°9 mm. x 15:9. Weight 17 cgs.” The following note occurs in Mr. Oates’s edition of Mr. Hume’s ‘Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds’ :—‘ Mr. J. Darling, Jun., records the following note regarding the nidi- fication of Hirundo badia: ‘The first bird of this species I shot in Kossoom was one of a flock that appeared from the east and flew straight away westwards. I afterwards found them in considerable numbers in a large limestone cave, in which they were breeding later on. “* Again, in Poongah, I saw numbers flying about the limestone hills that surround the town. Their habits and voice are almost similar to those of H. javanica. The nest is built of pellets of mud stuck to the under surface of some rock in the shape of a half- goblet with a very long neck, and is lined with coarse grass-roots and feathers.’ ” For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 81 | Map|}. 14 HIRUNDO SEMIRUFA ([antea, p. 395}. Add:— Hirundo semirufa, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. i. (1885); Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, pp. 808, 309; Shelley, P. Z. 8. 1888, p. 40. Tur differences between H. semirufa and H. gordoni are so slight that it will probably be found that the two forms intergrade, and will have to be treated as one species, of which H. semirufa is the larger southern form. The specimens procured by Emin Pasha at Wadelai on the 12th of October have been referred to the latter by Captain Shelley. Mr. Bohndorff procured this race at Kassongo, on the Upper Congo, about 4° 30’ S. lat., and at Kibongo, between Kassongo and Lake Tanganyika. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 84 [Map]. HIRUNDO GORDONII [antea, p. 397]. Add :— Hirundo gordoni, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. ii. (1885); Hartert, J. f. O. 1886, p. 590; Shelley, Ibis, 1890, p. 163; Reichen. J. f. O. 1891, p. 382; Bocage, Jorn. Sc. Lisb. (2) viii. p. 258 (1892). Wirundo semirufa, Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, pp. 308, 309. Dr. REICHENOW records the present species from Togo Land. Mr. Hartert observed it at Loko, on the Benue. It was not seen in the villages but on the edges of the forests, and was not very common. The late Mr. Jameson procured it at Yambuya, on the Aruwhimi River. A mistake has occurred in our account of the present species, where it appears that Mr. Buttikofer had found this Swallow on the Gold Coast, which he has never visited. The sentence (line 26) should read as follows:—“On the Gold Coast it was originally obtained by Dr. Gordon, &c., &e.” For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 84 [Map]. 15 HIRUNDO SENEGALENSIS [antea, p. 399}. Add :— Hirundo senegalensis, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. ii. (1885); Hartert, J. f..O0. 1886, p. 590; Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, p. 62; id. J. f. O. 1890, p. 117; Rendall, Ibis, 1892, p. 218. Dr. RENDALL states that he only procured this species at Combo, on the River Gambia. Dr. Hartert, during his expedition up the Niger and Benue Rivers, only found it at the King’s Kraal, at Anassawara. It was apparently breeding in the neighbouring rocks. Dr. Reichenow noticed it on the Camaroons and Wari Rivers. Dr. Fischer, during his last journey to the Victoria Nyanza, procured this Swallow at Kawanga, to the north-east of the lake, on the 15th of January. He also noticed it in Ussuriand Usukuma. Mr. F. J. Jackson states that it was plentiful in Uganda in May, and was evidently about to breed there, as one of the birds he shot was carrying a feather in its bill. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 85 [Map]. HIRUNDO MONTEIRI [antea, p. 403}. Add :— Hirundo monteiri, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. x. (1889); Emin, J. f. O. 1891, p. 59; Reichen. J. f. O. 1891, p. 153; Hartl. Abhandl. nat. Ver. Bremen, 1891, p. 31; Bocage, Jorn. Sc. Lisb. (2) vill. p. 258 (1892) ; Reichen. J. f. O. 1891, p. 153, 1892, p. 30; Sharpe, Ibis, 1892, p. 305. Hirundo senegalensis (nec L.), Bohm, J. f. O. 1882, p. 134, 1883, p. 178, 1885, pp. 47, 58; Emin, J. f. O. 1891, p. 340. Sennor ANCHIETA has obtained this species in many localities in Angola and Benguela, at Ambaca, Quissangue, Quindumbo, Galanga, and Caconda. Mr. F. J. Jackson also met with it in the Teita district. Emin Pasha sent specimens from Niangala and Mssanga in Ugogo, procured in June. Dr. Stuhlmann met with Monteiro’s Swallow on the Victoria Nyanza at Njakamaga and Buanga, in October. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 85 { Map]. Lr? 16 HIRUNDO EUCHRYSEA (antea, p. 407}. Add :— Hirundo euchrysea, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xiv. (1890); Cory, Cat. West Ind. B. p. 115 (1892). Tachycineta euchrysea, Scott, Auk, x. p. 181 (1893). “THIS species,’ says Mr. Scott, “seems to be of very local distribution. During the months spent by me in Jamaica it was not even noted. From all that can be learned it is confined to the higher altitudes, where it is resident and only common locally.” For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 80 [Map]. HIRUNDO SCLATERT [anéea, p. 409). Add:— Hirundo sclateri, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. vii. (1888); Cory, Cat. West Ind. B. p. 115 (1892). For the geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, Plate 80 [Map]. 7 . . Migratory. Bird of passage. Remains locally during the winter. Transplanted. Winter resident. 34. | Qn Ol. 39. Nearctic Region. Neotropical Region. Cold Temperate Warm Temperate Humid Province. Arid Province. = = a D < Aloutian Proyince, Ifudsonian Province. Canadian Province. Aretie Province. | Sitkan Province, 2. H. hyperythra 3. H.badia....| H, semirufa.. . H. senegalensis . A. euchrysea . (Central America Sub-Region. | Sub-Andean Sub-Region. an Sub-Region, an Sub-Region, 3 = a Mexiean Province, an Sub-Region. Provinee. Arctic Sub-Region, Huropean Province. Central Siberian | Patago GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTIGOI Sub-Region. } THE GENUS HIRUNDO (continued). >nesting. | y | | Wanderer. Generally Guest. Rarely In colonies EH Australian Region. Region. iopian Eth “UOLsey-qng UBLIVALTT | “uoLsayy-qug uurltyy | “LOTSOY-Gug puL[LVoZ-Aro NT | ‘TOMBayY-qng wurpuaysny ‘WOLsoy-qng uundug “uoTseyy-qng uvoon [OTN “UOTsoy-qug Uvaqo[aQ “MOTTOY-qug osoury~-opecuryy ‘uOLdoy-qug untepeyy-opucarpy ‘uoIDoy-qng uefupeyy-opuy ‘WoLdeyy-qug AVpNsuIMOg UeIpUT MOLsOYT-qug uUTTANUAT LOLdaYy-qug weruotouredg OOULAO.LT OSaTVIU NY saoutrorg odey "WODay-qug ULolyy-yyNog “uoTsayy-qug UVOLL V- SUIT “WOLday-Gng werurss a eae, flea; ae SV aty di Sul a sew va 7 : rk c wz. Bo My Pee 7 age 5 i WLaAosSs ? 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H | NOILO3POYd SYOLYINIW NO AT Pr Bir ¢ tir oN — Nos a3 Je ta Ih. na, JS, ity _ ‘tog = . | “ppm ya] “ponajountio yr [| “ntaquout 77 [__] H ‘sisuaqpbouas FF ir 4d0H 009» 2n i iy Tum acy | N W209 O Pe pore NV 490 va : : S\N « i 04 JIINVILY = 3 I sengraung Ss | rane | oO p \ LOOT] PGI ‘ Ye pice Y et “ ae feet ~ wtb nee Thur) Hy F t is Eon bee WA Winds. wh 2 amare: is ee o ae | A mavneng 4 v LR end OY oo uadnyy ay ‘4 iH c + » red "s 4 aN ‘ \ aS % Lo fos eS eOR 9 “30 ugaT Ne? t L | H | ! 1 —-- - - Ce 7 7: Cherameca, Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. p. 49 (1850). 7 _ Range. Confin ed to Australia, Genus VIL. CHERAMGCA. Type. C. leucosternwn. Mintern Bros CHERAMCECA LEUCOSTERNUM (Gout). WHITE-BREASTED SWALLOW. Hirundo leucosternus, Gould, P. Z. 8. 1840, p. 172. Atticoru leucosternon, Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 58 (1845); Gould, B. Austr. fol. pl. 12 (1848); Cass. Cat. Hirund. Mus. Philad. Acad. p. 6 (1853); Diggles, Orn. Austr. pl. 21. fig. 2; Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 73, no. 863 (1869). Atticora leucosterna, Bp. Consp. 1. p. 337 (1850). Cherameca leucosterna, Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. p. 49 (1850); Gould, Handb. B. Austr. i. p. 115 (1865). Cherameca leucosternon, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. W. ii. p. 179 (1878). Cherameca leucosternum, Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. p. 171 (1885); Ram- say, Tab. List Austr. B. p. 3 (1888). C. pileo albo, plumis basaliter brunneo variegatis: subtus alba. Hab. in Australia. Adult. Upper surface particoloured; crown of head white, with brown centres to the feathers; nape and hind neck as well as the sides of the neck brown; mantle and upper back white, the lateral feathers blackish along the outer web; scapulars, lower back, rump, and upper -tail-coverts blue- black ; least wing-coverts brown; remainder of the wing-coverts, bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills blue-black, browner on the inner webs of the feathers; tail-feathers blackish ; lores blackish brown; ear-coverts brown; cheeks, throat, fore neck, and breast white, extending slightly dawn the flanks; centre of lower breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts blue-black ; thighs white; axillaries and under wing-coverts white, with a slight wash of smoky brown : quills dusky brown: ‘bill blackish brown ; legs and feet greenish grey ; iris dark reddish brown” (J. Gould). Total length 5°5 inches, culmen 0°25, wing 3°95, tail 3, tarsus 0°5. Young. Differs from the adult in having the whole head brown, with only a streak of white across the forehead extending backwards above the eye; the quills edged with white. Total length 46 inches, wing 3°8, tail 2°15, tarsus 0°5. Hab. Confined to the Southern, Interior, and South- western portions of Australia. Tuts peculiar species of Swallow was first discovered by Mr. Charles Coxen, who sent a specimen shot on the banks of the Namoito Mr. Gouldin 1840, Dr. E, P. Ramsay gives its habitat as New South Wales, the interior of the Continent, Victoria, South Australia, West and South-west Australia. It appears occasionally in collections from the Swan River, but is by no means a common species in museums. 20 2 Mr. Gould has given the following account of the species in his ‘ Handbook,’ and we cannot find that any additional information respecting it has been published since that date :— “The White-breasted Swallow is a very wandering species, never very numerous, and is generally seen in small flocks of from ten to twenty in number, sometimes in company with the other Swallows. It usually flies very high, a cireumstance which renders it very difficult to procure specimens. In Western Australia this bird chooses for its nest the deserted hole of either the Dalgyte (Peragalea lagotis) or the Boodee (a species of Bettonyia), but more generally drills holes in the sides of banks, like the Sand- Martin of Europe. The holes are perfectly round, about two inches in diameter, run horizontally for three feet from the entrance, and then expand into a chamber or receptacle for the nest, which is constructed of the broad portions of dried grasses and the dry dead leaves of trees. Mr. Johnson Drummond informed Gilbert that he had frequently found seven, eight, or nine eggs in a single nest, from which he inferred that more than one female lays in the same nest: the eggs are white, somewhat lengthened, and pointed in form. It would seem that the holes are not constructed exclusively for the purpose of nidification, for upon Gilbert’s inserting a long grass-stalk into one of them, five birds made their way out, all of which he succeeded in catching; upon his digging to the extremity, in the hope of procuring their eggs, no nest was found, and hence he concludes that their holes are also used as places of resort for the night. * Since this information was transmitted, I have received notices of this bird from many other sources, which enable me to state with tolerable certainty that it is spread during summer at least over the whole of the southern portion of the interior, from Queensland to Swan River. Strange to say, however, I have never seen examples of this species in any collection formed out of Australia; yet the occurrence of a bird whose wing-powers are so great might naturally be expected in New Guinea or some of the adjacent islands.” The figure of the bird is drawn from a specimen in the Tweeddale collection, and the descriptions are taken from examples in the British Museum. APPENDIX TO THE eENUS CHERAMCCA CHERAMGCA LEUCOSTERNUM ({antea, p. 433}. Add :— Cherameca leucosternum, Sharpe & Wyatt, Monogr. Hirund. pt. xi. (1889); North, Nests & Eggs Austr. B. p. 33 (1889). Me. Norte writes:—“This species of Swallow is the only one with which I am acquainted that is not migratory, being found in this locality (Mossgiel, New South Wales) and to the same extent as regards numbers all the year round. It is widely distributed throughout the timbered or ‘ back ° country, but is never found on the plains, and is generally seen in small flocks of five or six in number. It breeds here during the month of October, in holes in the sides of the entrances to the burrows of either the Bettongia or Peragalea, whether inhabited by these animals or not. I have never found more than four eggs in a nest. “Three eggs taken by Mr. Bennett on October 19th, 1885, at Mossgiel, are pure white, and measure as follows:—(a) 0°64X0°48 inch; (B) 0°63x0-48 inch; (c) 0°64 x 0°47 inch. “Specimens in my possession, taken by Mr. Gardner in South Australia, give the Same measurements.” For the geographical distribution of this species, vide supra, Plate 80 [Map]. yENus VIII. PROGNE. Type. Progne, Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 971 : a P. purpurea. Pheoprogne, Baird, Review Amer. B. p. 283 (1864) oe & « « » Pu taperd, Range. The greater part of North and South America; Antilles; Galapagos. Clavis specierum. a. Supra purpurascenti-nigre. a’. Subtis purpurascenti-nigree. Fascia celata alba ad latera dorsi postici posita: fascia altera alba { 1. purpurea, p. 439. celata ad latera hypochondriarum posita : 2. hesperia, p. 455. b", Fascia unica ad latera dorsi postici posita: fascia altera hypo- chondriaca nulla. . . . 56 Ss 6 8 6 4 8 6 See Bhai eiy . Fascia alba dorsalis et fascia alba hypochondriaca nulle . . . . 4. concolor, p. 468. v. ae et abdomen alba. d", Guttur et preepectus purpurascenti-nigra, notzo concoloria . . . 5. dominicensis,p.465. e". Subtis albe. . Major: cauda 3°3 poll. ee eee te Os domestica, p. 469: bo", Minor: cauda 2°4-2°7 poll... 2... Se ee ee 7. Chalybea, p. 473. 6. Supra brunnea: subtis alba: fascia longitudinalis iraanen: in medio pectoris posita 8. tapera, p. 479. WW. del C A JRE PURPI DGNE PRO PROGNE PURPUREA, L. PURPLE MARTIN. Purple Martin, Catesby, Nat. Hist. Carol. i. pl. 51 (17381). The Great American Martin, Edwards, Nat. Hist. B. ii. pl. 129 (1750). Le Martinet de la Caroline, Briss. Orn. i. p. 515 (1760). Hirundo purpurea, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 344 (1766, ex Catesby); Wilson, Amer. Orn. v. p. 58, pl. 39. figs. 2, 3 (1812); Audub. B. Amer. pl. 22 (c. 1830); Swains. & Rich. Faun. Bor.-Amer., Aves, p. 3835 (1831); Audub. Orn. Biogr. i. p. 115 (1831); id. B. Amer. i. p. 170, pl. 45 (1839); D’Orb. in Ramon de la Sagra’s Cuba, Ois. p. 94 (1840); Yarr. Brit. B. ii. p. 282 (1843); Jones, Nat. Bermuda, p. 34 (1859). Hirundo subis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 344 (1766, ex Edwards); Maynard, B. Florida, p- 71 (1874). Hirondelle de la Louisiane, Daubent. Pl. Enl. vii. pl. 722. Purple Swift, Pennant, Arctic Zool. p. 431 (1785). Purple Swallow, Lath. Gen. Syn. ii. pt. 2, p. 575 (1783). Canada Swallow, Lath. tom. cit. p. 575 (1783). Violet Swallow, Lath. tom. cit. p. 574 (1783). Hirundo violacea, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 1026 (1788). Hirundo cerulea, Vieill. Ois. Amér. Sept. i. p. 27, pls. 26, 27 (1807). Hirundo versicolor, Vieill. N. Dict. d’ Hist. Nat. xiv. p. 509 (1817). Hirundo ludoviciana, Cuv. Regne Anim. i. p. 374 (1817). Progne purpurea, Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 971; Bp. Comp. List B. Eur. & N. Amer. p.§ (1838); Gray, Gen. B.i. p. 59 (1845); id. Cat. Fissir. Brit. Mus. p. 27 (1848); Bp. Consp. i. p. 387 (1850); Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 50 (1850); id. J. f. O. 1856, p- 3; Burm. Th. Bras. iii. p. 140 (1856); Cass. Ill. B. Calif. p. 245 (1856); Brewer, N. Amer. Ool. i. p. 103, pl. iv. fig. 47 (1857); Baird, in Baird, Cass., & Lawr. B. N. Amer. p. 314 (1860); Gundl. J. f. O. 1861, p. 328; Sclater, Cat. Amer. B. p. 38 (1862); Blakist. Ibis, 1862, p. 4, 1868, p. 65; Gray, Cat. Brit. B. p. 34 (1863); Degl. et Gerbe, Orn. Eur. i. p. 594 (1867); Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 74, no. 886 (1869); Cooper, B. Calif. p. 113 (1870, pt.) ; Pelz. Orn. Bras. pp. 16, 402 (1871); Coues, Key N.-Amer. B. p. 114 (1872); Scl. & Sulv. Nomenel. Av. Neotr. p. 14 (1873) ; Coues, B. N.-West, p. 91 (1874); Newt. ed. Yarr. Brit. B. ii. p. 361 (1880); A. & E. Newton, Handb. Jamaica, 1881, p. 107; Salvin, Cat. Strickl. Coll. p. 158 (1882); id. & Godm. Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, i. p. 223 46 2 (1883); B. O. U. List Brit. B. p. 45 (1883); Sharpe, Cat. B. in Brit. Mus. x. * p. 178 (1885); Salvin, Ibis, 1885, p. 205; id. Ibis, 1888, ‘p. 255. Progne subis, Baird, Review Amer. B. p. 274 (1864); Sumichr. Mem. Bost. Soc. N.H1.i. p. 547 (1869) ; Lawr. op. cit. ii. p. 271 (1874) ; Baird, Brewer, & Ridgw. Hist. N.-Amer. B. i. p. 329, pl. 16. figs. 7-10 (1874); Hensh. Rep. Expl. 100th Mer. p- 218 (1875); Ridgw. U. 8. Geol. Surv. 40th Par. pt. ili. Orn. p. 439 (1877); Merrill, Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus. i. p. 125 (1878); Coues, B. Color. Vall. p. 445 (1878); id. Bull. U. 8. Geol. Surv. iv. p. 572 (1878); Cooper, Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus. ii. p. 247 (1880, pt.) ; Ridgw. op. cit. iil. p. 175 (1880); Stearns, New Engl. Bird-Life, i. p. 189 (1881); Hoffman, Bull. U.S. Geol. Surv. vi. p. 222 (1881); Coues, Key N. Amer. B. 2nd ed. p. 325 (1884) ; Drew, Auk, ii. p. 15 (1885); Merriam, t.c. p. 57; Agers- borg, t. c. p. 279; Cory, Auk, ii. p. 56 (1886); Brewster, t.c. p. 111; Anthony, t. c. p. 169; Everm. t. c. p. 1838; Fox, t. c. p. 317; Seton, t. c. p. 324; A. O. UE Check-l. p. 292 (1886); Towns. Proc. U. 8S. Nat. Mus. x. pp. 221, 236 (1887); Ridgw. Man. N. Amer. B. p. 459 (1887) ; Beckh. Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus. x. pp. 638, 640 (1887); Langdon, Auk, iv. p. 1381 (1887); Lloyd, t.c. p. 294; Beckh. t. ¢. p. 802; Richm. Auk, v. p. 23 (1888); Scott, t.c. p.31; Faxon & Allen, t. ¢. pp. 150, 152; Chapm. t. c. p. 275; Brewst. t. c. p. 389; Cory, B. W. Ind. p. 70 (1889); Everm. Auk, vi. p. 25 (1889); Rives, t.c. p. 53; F. H. Allen, t. c. pp: 77, 78; Pindar, t. ce. p. 315; Kimball, t. c. p. 889; Loomis, Auk, vii. p. 125 (1890); Mearns, t. c. p. 261; Thompson, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. xii. p. 608 (1890); Brewst. & Chapm. Auk, viii. p. 188 (1891); Dwight, Auk, ix. p. 138 (1892) ; Coombs, t. c. p. 205; Scott, t. c. p. 218; Ridgw. t.c. p. 307; Attwater, t.c. p. 840; Lawr. t. c. p. 3856; Hatch, B. Minnesota, p. 350 (1892); Rhoads, Auk, x. p. 17 (1893); White, t.c. p. 226. Progne elegans, ad., Baird, Review Amer. B. p. 275, note (1864). Progue cryptoleuca, Baird, t. ¢. p. 277 (1864); Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 75, no. 894 (1869) ; Ridgw. Man. N. Amer. B. p. 459 (1887) ; Scott, Auk, ix. p. 218 (1892). Progne subis, var. cryptoleuca, Baird, Brewer, & Ridgw. Hist. N.-Amer. B. i. p. 332 (1874). Progne subis cryptoleuca, Ridgw. Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus. iii. p. 175 (1880), iv. p. 210 (1881); Scott, Auk, vi. p. 325 (1889). Cecropis violacea, Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 316; Less. Compl. Buff. viii. p. 498 (1837). Cecropis subis, Less. Compl. Buff. viii. p. 498 (1837). P. purpurascenti-nigra ; fasciis albis celatis binis, und ad latera dorsi, alteré ad latera hypochondri- arum positis. Hab, in America septentrionali zstivans, in Americé meridionali hibernans. Adult male. General colour above glossy dark purplish blue, with a concealed spot of silky white on the sides of the lower back; lesser and median wing-coverts like the back but rather duller; greater 3 coverts, bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills blackish, externally glossed with dull blue ; tail- feathers also blackish with a dull blue gloss ; lores blackish ; sides of face, ear-coverts, cheeks, and entire under surface of body dark purplish blue like the back, with a second patch of silky white feathers on the sides of the flanks ; axillaries and under wing-coverts like the breast ; quills ashy black below, rather lighter along the inner web: “ bill deep brownish black ; feet purplish black ; iris dark brown ” (dudubon). Total length 7:5 inches, culmen 0°55, wing 5°85, tail 3:05, tarsus 0°55. Adult female. Differs from the male in not being blue below. General colour above dark purplish blue, not so brilliant as in the male; the head like the back, the forehead browner, the feathers slightly mottled with purplish-blue centres; lesser and median wing-coverts like the back ; greater coverts, bastard-wing, primary-coverts, quills, and tail-feathers black, glossed externally with dull blue; lores black ; ear-coverts dull blue; cheeks, throat, and breast light ashy brown, extending on to the sides of the neck ; feathers of the throat with narrow dusky shaft-lines, those of the fore neck blacker, obscured with hoary whitish tips; sides of upper breast with a few feathers tipped with purplish blue like the back ; centre of breast and abdomen whitish, the feathers with more or less distinct dusky shaft-lines ; in the centre of the breast a longitudinal spot of dusky blackish ; sides of body and flanks dark smoky brown, with ashy-whitish margins to the feathers ; thighs brown externally, white internally ; under tail-coverts white, with dusky centres to the feathers, becoming darker before the tips ; axillaries and under wing-coverts dark sooty brown or blackish, the coverts near the edge of the wing glossed with steel-blue and distinctly edged with white ; quills dusky below, more ashy along the inner web. Total length 7°5 inches, culmen 0:55, wing 5°65, tail 2°85, tarsus 0°55. Young. Resembles the old female, but is browner above, with scarcely any blue gloss, excepting on the head ; the secondaries narrowly fringed with white near the ends ; sides of neck brown, with an ill-defined crescent of ashy white; throat, breast, and under surface of body brown, with hoary margins to all the feathers ; lower breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts pure white, with a few brown shaft-streaks on the former; under wing-coverts dark brown, those near the edge of the wing with white edges. A young bird from Sing Sing shows scarcely any dusky shaft-streaks on the under tail- coverts. Such a specimen is very difficult to distinguish from P. chalybea, as the dusky centres to the under tail-coverts of the immature of P. purpurea are the chief character by which the latter may be distinguished from P. chalybea. The male in the second year still greatly resembles the adult female, but is whiter below, with very distinct shaft-streaks of dark brown on the breast and abdomen ; a few bright blue feathers are observable on the throat and chest; mesial under tail-coverts streaked with brown, the lateral ones externally brown. A male in the second year from Washington, D.C., in the Henshaw collection has the dusky centres to the under tail-coverts well marked, but has the grey on the forehead and on the sides of the neck, reminding one of P. hesperia, as we have remarked in our account of the latter species. With regard to P. cryptoleuca, Mr. Ridgway says (Manual, p. 459) that it is smaller than P. pur- purea, with narrower tail-feathers and, relatively, a more deeply forked tail. The adult male is said by him to have the feathers of the ventral region marked, beneath the surface, with a broad spot, or bar, of white. The adult female and immature male have the whole under portion, and the sides of the head and neck, chest, sides, and flanks, uniform sooty greyish brown, in 4 marked contrast to the white of the belly, anal region, and under tail-coverts. He adds: “ Six Cuban and two Floridan specimens of this well-marked species are before me. The adult females and immature males (of which there are four from Cuba and two from Florida in the N. M. collection—the latter from Cape Florida and Clearwater) are exceedingly distinct in plumage from those of P. sudis [i. e., P. purpurea]. In fact, they resemble so closely corresponding plumages of P. dominicensis, that I am unable to state how they can be distinguished.” In the face of this strong testimony from the pen of so great an authority as Mr. Ridgway, we can only suppose that we have not yet had a specimen of the true P. cryptoleuca before us. A specimen sent by Mr. Scott as the hen of P. cryptoleuca from Tarpon Springs, and procured by him on the 17th of April, is identical with the female bird from Halfday, Illinois, in the British Museum. Hab. North America, not ranging into the extreme north, but generally distributed. Wintering in South America. Tar Purple Martin is widely distributed over North America, but does not go so far north as some of the other Swallows. It does not find a place in the different works on the ornithology of Alaska. Professor Coues says that “The breeding-range of the species coincides with the whole distribution in North America wherever suitable nesting-places can be found, and the bird is, moreover, resident in some portions. Our birds are known to come over the border very early in the spring or in February, and gradually spread over the country, reaching the highest latitudes by the middle or latter part of May. Such early appearance subjects them to painful vicissitudes of the weather, large numbers having been known to perish in sudden storms or cold snaps.” Dr. C. Hart Merriam, writing on the migration of birds in the spring of 1884, refers to the present species as follows :—‘‘ The common Purple Martin is a species by which to trace migration, for it is well known and widely distributed, and its habit of occupying boxes erected for its use in towns and villages renders its movements far easier of observation than in the case of forest-dwelling birds. In winter the Martin visits South America, but the last of the fall migrants rarely leave our southern border before December. Returning, the advance guard usually enters the Gulf States towards the latter part of February. During March, the great army arrives and spreads over the whole of the Southern States, the van appearing in many parts of Virginia, Kentucky, Southern Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas, some enterprising individuals reaching even as far north as latitude 40°. If not retarded by cold, the first week of April finds them pushing swiftly northward, and by the end of the month they have distributed themselves over nearly the whole of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and are already common in some parts of Canada. The exact time of their appearance at any given locality in the Northern States varies as much as two weeks from year to year. During the spring of 1884 they were recorded from Water Valley, Miss., March 1; Gainesville, Texas, March 5; Caddo, Indian Territory, and Newport, Arkansas, March 9; St. Louis, Mo., March 24; Manhattan, Kansas, March 25; Southern Iowa, March 80. During April they move through Northern Iilinois and parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota, arriving at latitude 45° about the end of the month. May 19 they reached Portage la rs 5 Prairie, in Manitoba. East of the Mississippi Valley they were seen in Jessamine County, Kentucky, March 18; at Buffalo, West Virginia, March 22; Camden, Indiana, March 28; New Lexington, Pa., April 16; Columbus, Ohio, April 15; Niagara Falls, April 18; Auburn, New York, April 20; Belleville, Ontario, April 22; Ottawa, Canada, April 27. In New England the returns show them at Saybrook, Conn., April 19; Greenfield, Mass., April 27; Moosehead Lake, Maine, April 28. They were seen at St. Johns, New Brunswick, May 2; Chatham, N.B. (Mirimichi Bay, facing the Gulf of St. Lawrence), May 10; and at Cape Breton Island, north of Nova Scotia, June 1. “Turning now to the other side of the Continent, their progress is found to have been much affected by the unfavourable weather. In California Mr. L. Belding has records from San Diego, April 28; Stockton, March 1; Marysville, March 17; Poway, May 1; San José, May 3; Olema, May 8; and Chico, May 22.” Sir John Richardson states that the Purple Martin arrives within the Arctic Circle earlier than any other of its tribe; it makes its first appearance at Great Bear Lake on the 17th of May, at which time the snow still partially covers the ground, and the rivers and lakes are still fast bound in ice. The late Captain Blakiston records the species from the Forks of the Saskatchewan on the 11th of May, 1858. Mr. Ernest Thompson sends us the following note :—‘* The Purple Martin arrives in Manitoba about the 15th of May, frequenting the half-open country in much the same degree as the White-breasted Swallows, but also manifesting a strong liking for town-life, for in Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie it is a very abundant bird. When it nests thus in towns it selects for occupation any convenient crevice or cavity about a building, caring only that it be well away from the ground, but the majority of those we see during the summer have their homes in some deserted Woodpecker-hole. On the banks of the Pembina River, near Pelican Lake, I found a small colony of Martins inhabiting a scattered grove of old and dying scrub oaks. In most instances the Martins were indebted to the friendly offices of the Golden-winged Woodpecker for their homesteads. This was on the 17th of May, and the birds had apparently arrived but recently. By the third week in August the species usually has disappeared from the ‘ Big Plain.’ ”’ The same gentleman has also kindly sent the following note on the distribution of the species in Canada :-— * Distribution in Ontario: “ London and vicinity. Common in every city, town, and generally every village through Western Ontario. A few pairs breeding and scattered through the country, probably in hollow trees, as I find old and young together hanging about some dead trees (WW. #. Saunders). “ Hyde Park. Summer resident (John A. Morden). “ Listowel. Common in town (WW. LZ. Kells). “ Hatchley. Occurs (W. Yates). * Hamilton. The Purple Martin arrives in Southern Ontario abcut the 10th of 6 May, and, though generally distributed, is nowhere abundant (7. MeLtwraith in ‘ Birds of Ontario’). “ Toronto. Common and breeding about here. “ April 16, 1887. Purple Martins arrived. « April 20, 1888. Purple Martins arrived. “ Ellora. Summer visitant in some localities (Hon. Chas. Clarke). “ Bruce Oo., central region. Summer resident (W. A. Schoenau). « Galt. I found this species very abundant here in 1878. “ Millbrook. Summer resident, tolerably common ; noted first arrival 15th April, 1885 (G. Sootheran). “ Coboconk. Noted by myself as common there in June 1885. “ Peterboro. Common (Rev. Vincent Clementi). “ Yarker. Summer resident, common April 8th to May 1st (John G. Ewart). “ Kingston. Common (Dr. C. K. Clarke). “ Distribution in Province of Quebec : “ Montreal. Summer resident, tolerably common (W. W. Dunlop). “ County of Quebec and north to Lake St. John. Summer resident, rare (John Neilson). “ Distribution in Manitoba and the North-west : “ Carberry. Common, breeding; noted only where there is large dead timber. “ Winnipeg. Summer resident, common (2. H. Hunter). * Portage la Prairie. Somewhat common (C. W. Nash). * Lake Manitoba. Occurs (Prof. J. Macoun). “ Pembina River in Southern Manitoba. Here on 17th May, 1882, I found a hollow tree about which several pairs were flying.”’ Professor Coues writes:—‘I was rather surprised to find Martins breeding on Turtle Mountain, having observed none at Pembina. In this locality, where there is, of course, no artificial convenience for the purpose, they must nest in Woodpeckers’ holes and similar cavities of trees, as they do in other parts of the West where I have observed them. ‘This was the only locality where the species was observed, though it is known to extend to the Saskatchewan region.” In South-eastern Dakota Mr. Agersborg says: “ Common every summer ; it is fund only in our towns, and not met with in the country.” My. Rhoads has included the present species as an inhabitant of British Columbia, but it does not occur in Mr. Chapman’s paper, nor does Mr. J. K. Lord appear to have met with it. Mr. Fannin states that the Purple Martin is a summer resident to the east of the Cascade Mountains. Mr. Belding believes that the bird referred to is Progne hesperia and not P. purpurea. It would therefore probably be P. hesperia, which is recorded by Mr. Lawrence in his paper on the birds of Gray’s Harbour, in Washington County, as i breeding at Olympia, but the range of P. hesperia, in relation to P. purpurea, is not yet sufficiently worked out. Dr. P. L. Hatch gives the following note on the present bird in Minnesota :—‘* When the long winters of Minnesota have gone, so that the snows have disappeared from the thickets and corners of the fences, and tiny Coleopterous insects begin to appear in the air, even then still chilly, the Purple Martin may appear any forenoon approaching twelve o’clock. It usually does so in company with greater numbers of the White- bellied Swallows. In 1870 they both came on the 17th of April, and after skirmishing vigorously about for an hour, and finding no food along the river, departed as abruptly as they came. On the 22nd they returned in augmented numbers, and went no more away for that season. The species is nearly universally distributed over the State. It leaves the whole country almost simultaneously between the 20th and 25th of August, in company with the White-bellied Swallows. Years of record show that they have left the vicinity of Minneapolis either on the 23rd or 24th of that month.” Mr. Washburn, when referring to this species in his notes gathered on his second trip to the Red River Valley, says :—‘This species occurs about Mille Lacs, where the farmers provide boxes for them. The great majority, however, nest with the Gulls on an island called Spirit Island by the Indians, lying about two miles from the south-eastern shore of Lake Mille Lacs. Here large numbers lay their eggs in the sand—in the crevices and fissures of the rocks, and serve as allies in driving away the Ravens and other birds disposed to prey upon the eggs and young of the Gulls.” Throughout Illinois and Indiana it is plentiful in summer, and the same may be said of all the New England States. Mr. Stearns, in his ‘New England Bird- Life,’ writes as follows:—“ A common summer resident, almost universally nesting nowadays in the boxes provided for its accommodation, or equivalent retreats about buildings. The distribution of the species, though in nowise dependent upon faunal considerations, is influenced by other conditions which cause the bird to be irregularly dispersed in New England, and rare or even wanting in many localities where one would expect to find it. I am inclined to think that here and elsewhere in the United States the Martin is not, on the whole, so very numerous as we suppose. Wherever it occurs, the size of the bird, its striking colour, the noise it makes, and its activity and domes- ticity conspire to render it an object so conspicuous that we unconsciously acquire an exaggerated idea of its general abundance. It, moreover, appears to be somewhat on the decrease in New England, from some cause not well understood. Its loquacity is an annoyance to many persons, and hospitality is frequently denied; though the bird is certainly a serviceable one in the work of holding insects in check—vastly more so than its inveterate enemy, the European Sparrow. The Martin originally built in hollows of trees, as the White-bellied Swallow still does, but is now seldom, if ever, known to nest except in artificial receptacles. It reaches us late in April or early in May, and leaves early in September. ‘Two broods are commonly reared, the first set of eggs being laid in 4 8 May, the other in July. The nest is built of hay, sometimes with twigs intermixed, and is lined with feathers.” In the District of Columbia Mr. Richmond says it is rather common. There are several nesting-sites where the Martins still “hold the fort,” despite the English Sparrows, notably the Masonic Temple and the Post Office Department building. In his paper on the summer birds of the Pennsylvania Alleghanies, Mr. Dwight says that some of these birds were nesting at Altoona, and there is every likelihood of its being found on the mountains. In Foulton County, Kentucky, according to Mr. Pindar, it is a common summer resident, and the same is recorded of Roane County, Tennessee, by Mr. Fox. Mr. Langdon says that in the Chilhowel Mountains, of Tennessee, he only noticed it at Knoxville and Marysville in August. Mr. Brewster says that in Western North Carolina the present species is common in most of the towns and villages, building chiefly, if not wholly, in the Martin-boxes ; and Mr. Loomis states that in the parts of South Carolina he visited, the birds nested wherever gourds were put up for their accommodation. Mr. Coombs, writing from the Calumet plantation, in the parish of St. Mary’s, Louisiana, says that the Purple Martin was common from April to August, breeding wherever gourds or boxes were prepared for the birds. He states that they generally disappeared quite early in the autumn, the last brood being usually fledged by the middle of August. Writing of the birds of Bayou Sara, Mr. Beckham says that the Purple Martin was abundant in the towns, but was seen nowhere else. Many of the western localities for the species will require verification, as the distri- bution of Progne purpurea and P. hesperia is by no means satisfactorily determined, and the whole subject requires strict examination. Myr. Mearns says that in the Arizona mountains the Purple Martin is ‘an abundant summer resident throughout this high region, especially near water. It usually builds its nest in holes in the largest dead pines, several pairs living in the same tree. The Martin of this region, while differing somewhat from the Eastern bird, is not the subspecies P. hesperia recently described by Mr. Brewster, to whom I am indebted for the means of making the comparison.” My. Scott states that it was rather uncommon about Tucson. In Colorado, according to My. Drew, it breeds from 6000 to 8000 feet. Mr. Henshaw, in his ‘ Report of the Exploration of the 100th Meridian,’ writes as follows :— “‘This species is universally distributed throughout the United States, and in the West its abundance is fully as great as in the East. It occurs throughout Utah, being found in the vicinity of towns, and breeding plentifully in boxes placed for its con- venience, as at Salt Lake City, or retiring in large colonies to the solitudes of the mountains, where it rears its young in the abandoned Woodpeckers’ holes. Wherever found, it is never content to remain isolated in pairs, but associates together in colonies of greater or less number. Farther south, in New Mexico and Arizona, they are of no less common occurrence, but seemingly are more confined to the mountains, though this, 9 perhaps, is due to the lack of timber in the lowlands, and a consequent want of the necessary facilities for rearing the young, rather than to any natural preference for high regions. About the middle of August, while in extreme South-eastern Arizona, I noticed each evening immense numbers of these birds and the Cliff-Swallows flying swiftly over- head, their course leading them directly south. They only paused now and then to catch an insect, immediately resuming their onward flight. All the actions of these birds seem to indicate that the migration at this early date had begun, yet I have found in quite a number of instances the parents feeding the just-fledged young as late as August 22nd.” A specimen from Mount Shasta, in the British Museum, seems to us to be true P. purpurea, and the following note by Mr. Townsend appears to refer to this species :— “Martins were not common in the localities where I collected. A few were noticed about some buildings at the west base of Mount Shasta in midsummer. A colony of a dozen or more was found established in a large dead pine on the edge of the forest at the eastern base of Mount Lassen, on June 6, ©The only nest I could reach occupied a large decayed cavity twenty feet from the ground. It contained four fresh eggs. There were other nests higher up.” In Western Texas Mr. Lloyd says that the Purple Martin is plentiful in summer in suitable places. It breeds in colonies, arriving towards the end of February and departing about the Ist of November. At San Antonio it is common in summer, according to Mr. Attwater. At Fort Brown, in Southern Texas, Dr. Merrill only observed the species during migration, but he noticed their arrival as early as the 20th of January. In Florida the resident species is supposed to be Progne cryptoleuca. Mr. Scott has forwarded several specimens from Tarpon Springs, but after a careful examination we have been unable to discover any specific characters for the recognition of this supposed species. We add Mr. Scott’s note on the Purple Martins :— “Tt seems to me probable that all Martins found breeding on the Gulf Coast of Florida, at least as far north as Tarpon Springs, are referable to P. eryptoleuca, and though the material that I have before me is limited, yet one of the maie birds is fairly intermediate between P. subis proper and what I think will ultimately have to be considered as the subspecies P. swbis cryptoleuca, though the latter is now given specific rank. I have submitted material collected in the vicinity of Tarpon Springs to Mr. J. A. Allen, who concurs in the above views and from whose letters on the subject I quote as follows :—‘ The Martins I should refer to Progne subis cryptoleuca, of which the single female and two of the males are fairly typical. The other male I should consider av intermediate between P. subis and P. subis cryptoleuca, which latter I believe at least only a geographical race of P. subis.’ As the birds are abundant in the breeding-season in the town of Tarpon Springs, and as I am expecting additional representatives from at least two points of the south on the Gulf Coast, as well as from Key West, I hope at an early date with more abundant material to deal conclusively with the subject. At 4H 2 10 Tarpon Springs it is difficult to obtain birds, as they are almost confined to the town limits, where shooting of all birds at any season is prohibited. At this point the first Martins to arrive are seen as early as the first week in March, but I suspect these are representatives of true P. subis on their way north, as the birds that frequent the Martin- boxes in the town do not seem at all common until the first week in April, and do not nest until the middle or last of that month. Mr. Atkins noticed the first Martins at Punta Rassa on March 20, 1886, and saw them frequently during the summer ‘at a point on the beach near the pine-trees. Evidently breeds.’ He has also noted Martins as rather common migrants at Key West, but has not found them breeding at that point.” Mr. Chapman states that at Gainsville, Florida, the Purple Martins arrived on the 3rd of March. The species was a common summer resident, breeding where boxes and gourds were erected for their accommodation. Messrs. Brewster and Chapman record the ordinary Purple Martin from the Suwanee River, so that they apparently do not recognize the distinctness of P. cryptoleuca, which Mr. Scott believes to be the resident species in Florida. The latter gentleman states that in the Caloosahatschie Region P. cryptoleuca is a migrant and breeds, while P. purpurea is a migrant only. Mr. Maynard gives the following note :— «The first time I ever met with the Martins in Florida was on Biscayenne Bay. I was rowing along the shore north of Miami, in company with Mr. Henshaw, when we observed two of these birds flying about a dead stub in the pine woods, which at this point came down to the shore uninterrupted by a hummock. This was in April, and they were evidently searching for a breeding-place. In May 1872, Mr. E. C. Greenwood found them nesting abundantly on the western bank of Indian River, near Fort Capron. This style of building appears to be usual with these birds while in the wilderness, but in the more settled portions of the South, as well as in the North, they prefer boxes erected for their benefit.” The Purple Martin occurs in the Bermudas on migration, as Mr. Jones mentions that, like Tachycineta bicolor, they were numerous during the great flight of Swallows in September, 1849. The late Colonel Grayson writes :—“I found it breeding in Tepic, in the month of May, also in Guadalajara; they were nesting under the eaves of houses or in water- spouts. It is seldom seen in the locality of Mazatlan, and then only accidental and migratory, flying very high.” Professor Sumichrast says that the species is resident in the alpine region of Vera Cruz. In the ‘ Biologia Centrali-Americana,’ Messrs. Salvin and Godman have the following remark :—‘ Referring to its Mexican range, it seems not improbable that this is merely an extension of the area it inhabits during the summer months in North America, and that the Mexican birds accompany the more northern ones in their winter migration. Against this theory is Professor Sumichrast’s observation that the bird is resident in the higher parts of Vera Cruz.” dL Several specimens were procured by Mr. Gaumer in the Island of Cozumel in May, and Messrs. Salvin and Godman state that they have received a specimen from British Honduras from Mr. Blancaneaux. They did not procure the species in Guatemala, and we believe that the above records constitute all the occurrences in Central America. Nor does it appear to visit the Antilles, unless we except the island of Cuba, where, according to Mr. Cory, P. eryptoleuca is found. We have, however, never ourselves seen a specimen from this island. The Purple Martin of North America winters in the continent of South America, apparently in Brazil. It has never been found in British Guiana, but specimens are in the British Museum from Bahia and Para, while Natterer met with the species at Barra do Rio Negro, from December to February, again at Manaqueri in December, and also at Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro. What the species recorded by Tschudi as common on the coast of Peru (cf. Tacz. Orn. Pérou, i. p. 236) can be, we are unable to say. The following is Dr. Brewer’s account of the habits of the Purple Martin, as given by him in the ‘ History of North-American Birds’ :— “The Purple Martin is emphatically a bird common to the whole of North America. It breeds from Florida to high northern latitudes, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is very abundant in Florida, as it is in various other parts of the country further north, and the large flocks of migrating birds of this species which pass through Eastern Massachusetts the last of September attest its equal abundance north of the latter State. It occurs in Bermuda, is resident in the Alpine region of Mexico, and is also found at Cape St. Lucas. Accidental specimens have been detected in England and in Ireland. It is abundant on the Saskatchewan. Burmeister states that this species is common in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, and that it is distributed in moderate abundance through the whole of tropical South America. Von Pelzeln also cites it as occurring on the Rio Negro and at Manaqueri through the three winter months, nesting in old buildings and in holes in the rocks. It is, however, quite possible that he refers to an allied but distinct species. “Tn a wild state the natural resort of this species, for nesting and shelter, was to hollow trees and crevasses in rocks. The introduction of civilized life, and with it other safer and more convenient places, better adapted to their wants, has wrought an entire change in its habits. It is now very rarely known to resort to a hollow tree, though it will do so where better provision is not to be had. Comfortable and convenient boxes, of various devices in our cities and large towns, attract them to build in small communities around the dwellings of men, where their social, familiar, and confiding disposition makes them general favourites. There they find abundance of insect food, and repay their benefactors by the destruction of numerous injurious and noxious kinds, and there, too, they are also comparatively safe from their own enemies. These conveniences vary from the elegant Martin-houses that adorn private grounds in our Eastern cities to the ruder gourds and calabashes which are said to be frequently placed near the humbler 12 cabins of the southern negroes. In Washington the columns of the public buildings, and the eaves and sheltered portions of the piazzas, afford a convenient protection to large numbers around the Patent Office and the Post Office buildings. The abundance of this species varies in different parts of the country, from causes not always apparent. In the vicinity of Boston it is quite unusual, though said to have been forty years since quite common. There its place is taken by the H. bicolor, which occupies almost exclusively the Martin-houses, and very rarely builds in hollow trees. “Sir John Richardson states that it arrives within the Arctic Circle earlier than any other of its family. It made its first appearance at Great Bear Lake.as early as the 17th of May, when the ground was covered with snow, and the rivers and lakes were all ice-bound. «Tn the Southern States it is said to raise three broods in a season; in its more northern distribution it raises but one. Their early migrations expose the Martins to severe exposure and suffering from changes of weather, in which large numbers have been known to perish. An occurrence of this kind is said to have taken place in Eastern Massachusetts, where nearly all the birds of this species were destroyed, and where to this day their places have never been supplied. “Within its selected compartment the Martin prepares a loose and irregular nest. This is composed of various materials, such as fine dry leaves, straws, stems of grasses, fine twigs, bits of string, rags, &c. These are carelessly thrown together, and the whole is usually warmly lined with feathers or other soft materials. This nest is occupied year after year by the same pair, but after each new brood the nest is thoroughly repaired, and often increased in size by the accumulation of new materials. “The Martins do not winter in the United States, but enter the extreme southern portions early in February. Audubon states that they arrive often in prodigious flocks. On the Ohio their advent is about the 15th of March, and in Missouri, Ohio, and Penn- sylvania about the 10th of April. About Boston their appearance is from the 25th of April to the middle of May. Mr. Audubon states they all return to the Southern States about the 20th of August, but this is hardly correct. Their departure varies very much with the season. In the fall of 1870 they were to be found in large flocks, slowly moving southward, but often remaining several days at a time at the same place, and then pro- ceeding to their next halt. Their favourite places for such spots are usually a high and uninhabited hillside near the sea. “The Martin is a bold and courageous bird, prompt to meet and repel dangers, especially when threatened by winged enemies, never hesitating to attack and drive them away from its neighbourhood. It is therefore a valuable protection to the barnyard. Its food is the larger kind of insects, especially beetles, in destroying which it does good service to the husbandman. ‘The song of the Martin is a succession of twitters, which, without being musical, are far from being unpleasant; they begin with the earliest dawn, and during the earlier periods of incubation are almost incessantly repeated. rs 13 The eggs of the Purple Martin measure ‘94 of an inch in length by 79 in breadth. They are of an oblong-oval shape, are pointed one end, are of an uniform creamy-white, and are never spotted. They are quite uniform in size and shape. Eggs from Florida are proportionally smaller than those from Northern States.” Dr. Hatch’s notes from Minnesota are as follows :—‘‘ These birds soon build their nests in various places, but manifest a strong preference to have them near dwellings. Their readiness to occupy boxes, artificial houses placed on poles, on the eaves of out- houses, is a matier of the commonest observation, doubtless from no sentiment toward our species, but because our habits and our habitations attract the larger quantities of insects upon which they feed; yet, like the Chimney-Swallow, they frequent the forests, and employ holes in old dead trees in many places familiar tome. They habitually enter the State at the southern border early in April, as Dr. Hvoslef of Lanesboro’ has the 3rd of that month in his record for several years in succession. He also observed the circumstances of their disappearing again for a few days—once eleven—and then invariably remaining upon their return. The nest consists of fine straw, hay, dried leaves, and feathers which are employed to line it. They lay four pure white eggs, that are almost indistinguishable from those of the White-bellied Swallow. ‘The first brood is brought out by the 10th of June and another one late in July. “Asa fighter, the courage of this bird has but one approximation, and that is the Kingbird. Crows, Ravens, Hawks, and Eagles are instantly put to flight by them, and, in the words of Wilson, ‘so well known is this to the lesser birds, that as soon as they hear the Martin’s voice engaged in fight, all is alarm and consternation. To observe with what spirit and audacity this bird dives and sweeps upon and around the Hawk, or the Eagle, is astonishing. He also bestows an occasional bastinadoing on the Kingbird, when he finds him too near his premises, though he will at any time instantly co-operate with him in attacking the common enemy.’ The value of the Purple Martin to the general or the special agriculturist is so well understood and so universally accepted on account of their destruction of noxious insects, that, for an exception, no argument is needed with that class of producers to defend it.’ For the following account we are indebted to the kindness of our friend Mr. Ernest Thompsom :—‘ Its nest is usually placed in situations similar to those selected by the White-breasted Swallow, a favourite location being the joist-holes left in the end of a house, when it is intended that at some future period another building will be conjoined. The material of the nest proper is, as in most of the Swallows, straw and the large curling feathers from the flanks of Geese or other barn-fowl. “My friend Mr. C. W. Nash communicates some interesting observations on this species, as follows :—‘I take the following extract from an unpublished paper of mine on this bird, written in 1878: From my notes on migration kept from the year 1573 I find that this bird usually arrives in the Province of Ontario about the middle of April, the earliest date I have recorded being April the 15th and the latest May 4th, dependent 14 somewhat, I presume, upon the season, although, from observations made in the county of Wentworth in 1874, the birds can take care of themselves even when caught by the most severe weather after their arrival here. In this year (1874) the birds arrived in the town of Dundas on the 15th day of April and took possession of their usual nesting- places in boxes which had been put up for and used by them for some years, and in certain holes under eaves that they also were in the habit of occupying, and they devoted themselves as usual to hawking for insects about the streets. The weather on this day was mild, but that night it turned cold and we had hard frosts and snow until the 22nd of April, when it became warm and the birds reappeared, having been in the meantime six days closely huddled up in their old nests—not torpid, for they chirped and would slightly move if their box was touched or opened. They, however, lived through this, and on this 22nd of April came out and flew about as hungry and lively as usual for a day or two, when another cold snap occurred and they again betook themselves to their boxes until after the 27th of April, when they again came out and were not further troubled by the weather for that year.’ “T will only remark on this account that it appears to have been accurately made and that it unites with a class of circumstances which give rise to the exploded theory of the hibernation of Swallows to indicate that they are possessed of some habits and powers of which we have as yet but slight knowledge, and which are deserving of a careful investigation.” The accompanying note is from the pen of Mr. Maynard :—‘‘ They invariably flock to places where accommodations are provided for them and avoid all others. The offspring of those which have inhabited a certain locality will also return and take up their abode there, so that a number of apartments in one box will be constantly occupied. If other domiciles are erected quite near the same spot they will be inhabited, but it is extremely difficult to induce these birds to enter a new house if it stands a mile or more from those occupied by the colony; they, therefore, are extremely local in their distribution. I know of localities where Martins have bred for years, while they could never be induced to remain in another section which was but a mile distant, although I erected houses in suitable situations. They frequently appeared there in spring, but after examining the place and flying about for a day or two, invariably returned to the old locality. Although fond of any particular spot they may be easily driven from it. If a few birds are shot in early spring upon their arrival, the survivors will disappear and cannot be persuaded to reinhabit the house from which they have been expelled, even after the lapse of many years. Accidents occurring, which are detrimental to them, although not caused through the agency of man, appear to produce the same effect. Some years ago the Purple Martins, which bred in many boxes in Cambridge, arrived from the south quite early, induced by unusually warm weather, and took possession of their respective domiciles, but unfortunately the instincts which prompted them to come north so soon were at fault, for they were scarcely established in their summer houses when a prolonged cold snap came on and many of the poor Martins were frozen 15 to death in their houses. The remainder left at once and there have been no birds of this kind found nesting in that section of Cambridge since. “The Purple Martin is the only Swallow with which I am acquainted that will readily perch on trees which are covered with foliage, alighting amid the leaves after the manner of nearly all the Passerine birds, but they never hop from twig to twig. The song of the Martin is loud and cheerful; in autumn, when they are more generally dis- tributed than at other times, these clear notes frequently reach the ear when the birds are almost invisible, as they sail high in the air with a strong and graceful flight. Early in September these birds migrate south, but do not remain in Florida all winter, and not one is to be seen in the State after the Ist of November.” The figures in the Plate have been drawn from specimens in the Salvin-Godman collection, and the descriptions are taken from examples in the British Museum. For the geographical distribution of this species, vide supra, Plate 81 | Map]. Minter 1. Bros imp er PROG NE ESP ERIA, Brewster. WESTERN PURPLE MARTIN. Progne purpurea et Progne subis, auct. ex California. Progne subis (nec L.), Belding, Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus. i. pp. 391, 394 (1878); id. op. cit. v. p. 547 (1882). Progne subis hesperia, Brewster, Auk, vi. pp. 92, 93 (1889); A. O. U. Check-l. 2nd Suppl. Auk, vii. p. 63 (1890); Belding, Occ. Papers Calif. Acad. Sci. ii. p- 188 (1890); Fisher, N. Amer. Fauna, no. 7, pt. 2, p. 109 (1898). Mas similis mari P. purpurea. Foem. tamen a femina P. purpurea, fronte et collo postico canescentibus distinguenda. Hab. in America boreali occidentali. Adult male. Not to be distinguished from the male of P. purpurea. Total length 7 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 6°65, tail 2:9, tarsus 0°55. (Mus. W. Brewster.) Adult female. Similar to the female of P. purpurea, but differing in the hoary white shade on the fore- head and hind neck; the sides of the neck silvery white like the throat; entire underparts hoary white, faintly mottled with brown bases to the feathers of the throat and chest; under Que tail-coverts pure white like the abdomen. Total length 7 inches, culmen 0°5, wing 5°4, tail 2°75, tarsus 0°6. (Mus. W. Brewster.) Hab. California, and probably the whole Pacific coast of the United States and British Columbia. THis western race of P. purpurea was described in 1889 by Mr. William Brewster, from specimens procured by Mr. M. Abbott Frazar in the Sierra de la Laguna in Lower California. The males are not to be told apart from those of Progue purpurea, and the distinctness of the race depends upon the characters of the female bird. Mr. Brewster thus summarizes the differences :— Described in general terms, the female of P. hesperia may be said to have the forehead, fore part of crown, nuchal collar, and entire under- parts ashy white, the darker markings and shades being only apparent on a critical examination.” He has very kindly lent us a pair of this new race for purposes of examination, and we find that they bear out the title to separation which he claims for the Purple Martin of Lower California; at the same time it should be noted that in certain stages of plumage the true P. purpurea approaches very closely to the female of P. hesperia, and 412 2 an example from Bahia in Brazil shows the characteristic hoary forehead and whitish sides of neck which are among the chief features of P. hesperia. A male in the second year from Washington, killed on the 380th of May (Henshaw collection), also closely approaches P. hesperia in the above-named particulars. Both these specimens, however, are true P. purpurea, as they are not so white on the throat, are more dingy on the breast and abdomen, and have the long under tail-coverts very distinctly centred with brown; this last character seems to be a very well-marked one for distinguishing P. purpurea. Besides the typical specimens from the Sierra de la Laguna, Mr. Brewster says that he has seen others in Mr. Batchelder’s collection from the Ojai Valley, in California, and Mr. Xantus’s birds from Cape St. Lucas are also P. hesperia, as is shown by a specimen in the British Museum. It is extremely difficult for us to determine the exact range of this western race of Purple Martin owing to lack of specimens, but we have some doubts whether the distinctive characters of P. hesperia will be upheld by future observers. Judging from the small series at our disposal, P. purpurea is at certain seasons very similar to P. hesperia, and the latter can be nothing but a western race, which, indeed, is all the status that Mr. Brewster claims for it. The British Museum possesses a young male from Big Trees, obtained by Mr. Forrer, which is certainly referable to P. hesperia, but amongst the series in the Museum there are several birds which seem to connect the two races entirely. Mr. L. Belding, in his paper on the Birds of the Pacific District, claims for the western race a range reaching even into British Columbia, but we believe that the Purple Martin from several of his more northern localities must be P. purpurea. ‘This, however, is a question which the American ornithologists alone can settle. We subjoin Mr. Belding’s note :— «¢ A dozen or more of both sexes were temporarily sojourning at San Diego, April 28, during a cool rain-storm. It does not appear to breed on the coast about San Diego (iB): “ Poway, twelve miles from the coast. First seen May 1, 1884, a few only ; common in the spring of 1883 (Blaisdell). “‘ Little Santa Maria Valley, April 4, 1884, one only (merson). « Julian, April 4, 1884 (1. S. Goss). “San Bernardino. Rare summer resident in the mountains; rare migrant in the Valley (#. Stephens). “Santa Cruz, common (Joseph Skirm). “San José. First seen May 3, 1884, two or three; they did not remain. Arrived April 9, 1885 (A. L. Parkhurst). “Contra Costa County. Rare summer resident (WV. HL. Bryant). “Olema. First seen May 8, 1884; breeds (4. IZ. Ingersoll). “Stockton. Common summer resident here and in many localities in Central California below fir-forest, where it is very rare (L. B.). 3 “Marysville. Arrive in March (W. F. Peacock; Frank Manning). “Chico. First seen May 22,1884 (W. Proud). “‘T never saw this bird in Washington Territory (Cooper). “‘T obtained at Fort Steilacoom a specimen of Progne (Suckley). “‘ Colonies encountered at numerous localities among the pine-woods of the mountains, where they are quite local (Henshaw). “Rare, east of the Sierra Nevada. In Carson it was common, while in Virginia City but a single individual was seen June 18, 1868 (Ridgway). “Stockton, March, common (J. J. Snyder) “Murphys, March and April (J. P. Snyder). “Sebastopol. First seen in April; rare; breeds (7. H. Holmes). “ Marysville, March; common and breeds (W. F. Peacock). “Sierra Valley, June 18-21, common, breeding ; several little Martin-houses recently erected for their use ; not known to do so elsewhere on the Pacific coast. “ British Columbia. Summer resident east of Cascades (J. Fannin). “Camp Harney. One of the most abundant summer residents (Bendire). “ Hoffman. Usually abundant in the vicinity of rivers, streams, and even large springs. “Ridgway. Noticed along every portion of our route across the Great Basin, especially in the vicinity of rivers or lakes, or at settlements whether great or small. “Cooper, 1870. In June I saw a flock of these birds busily catching young grass- hoppers on the dry hillside, where these insects were swarming. “ Salt Spring Valley (Calaveras County). Sept. 18, a few about the reservoir (Z. B).” In the account of the birds obtained during the Death Valley Expedition, Dr. A. K. Fisher writes :—“ A colony of Martins was found breeding at Old Fort Tejon, in the Canada de las Uras, California, June 28, 1891, by Dr. Merriam and Mr. Palmer. They were nesting in Woodpeckers’ holes in large oaks in front of the old fort, where three were killed. Mr. Belding noted the species at Crocker’s, 21 miles north-west of the Yosemite Valley, in May.” Dr. Cooper has given the following interesting note on the Purple Martin in his ‘Ornithology of California,’ and it no doubt refers principally to P. hesperia:—*