564 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. Xlt. 



one, within a few feet, with a sound like the twang of a struck harp string ; 

 with rigid motionless wings and only a slight rocking or swaying motion 

 of the body they would glide at lightning speed down the mountain side 

 and ten seconds later be lost to sight far away over the water of the magni- 

 ficent harbour lying below. 



1 note that Mr. Daker says " legs and feet pale fleshy pink''; in all the 

 Andaman birds I examined, fifteen or so — they were either livid purple or 

 brownish purple, as also they are, I find, in Malayan examples. 



Some of these Swifts are infested with a large flat lick, nearly ^ of an 

 inch in length : from one bird I took over thirty which were clinging in 

 rows to the bases of the stiff tail feathers under the lower tail coverts j there 

 were no others on the bird and it struck me that the parasites possibly took 

 up this position to be as much as possible protected from the rush of air 

 during the hours when the bird was on the wing. 



Where the Spine-tails, which hawk over Port Blair in the evenings till dusk, 

 roost or breed, it is difficult to conjecture. Birds bhot in February, May, 

 and June, showed no signs of breeding. 



When winged this Swift utters a shrill squealing cry. Only one of ray 

 birds had the spot in front of the eye white, in the others it was mouse 

 colour. 



1083. CoLLOCALiA INNOMINATA, Hume, Blanf., Ill, p. 177 ; " Str. Feath.," 

 II, p. 160. 



Occurs in the Andamans, but must be fcarce. Mr. Hume's party only ob- 

 tained one example during their visit in 1873. 



1084. COLLOCALIA FKANCiCA, Gmel. Blanf., Ill, p. 178 ; "Str. Feath.," 

 II, p. 160. 



Very common in the Andamans, breeding in various caves on the coasts. 

 It also occurs more rarely in the Nicobars, though Mr. Hume says he did not 

 see it at all there. I did not see any in the Nicobars either, though linchi was 

 simply swarming. 



1085. CoLLOCALiA LINCHI, Horsf . and M. Blanf., Ill, p. 178 ; "Str. Feath.," 

 II, p. 157. 



This tiny little Swiftlet is extremely abundant in both groups, breeding 

 in caves along the coast and also at Port Blair nesting freely in occupied 

 barracks, buildings, etc. The nests are composed of moss glued together 

 with brownish white saliva. 



Davison has given a capital account of their actions when building ('' Str. 

 Feath,," II, p. 159). 



They have one rather curious trick which I have not seen noticed. Often 

 when one bird is clinging to the commencement of a nest its mate flutters 

 round unable to End a foothold. In this case the sitting bird catches the 

 other by the tips of the primaries and holds him suspended thus for some 

 little time. In a cluster of these birds at work building, I have sometimes 



