PETROCHELIDON. 243 



estate where all species of native birds are protected and encouraged to breed. Pctvochclidon 

 nigricans was unusually plentiful ; numerous nests were pointed out in all manner of situations, 

 and various receptacles put up for their use. In the stables many hollow limbs of trees, boarded up 

 at one end, long and thick pieces of bamboo with holes cut between the joints, were all availed 

 of by the birds ; if the entrance was too large it was narrowed by the birds with accumulated 

 pellets of mud. Deserted nests of Hiruudo neuxcna, built against the sides of the rafters, were 

 also utilized, but had a wide flange of mud pellets built around them, leaving only a narrow 

 space for the new tenants to enter between the top of the nest and the floor of the loft. The 

 newly added material could easily be distinguished by being of a darker colour. In and out of 

 most of these nesting places, which Mr. Mellor informed us were lined with the dried leaves of 

 Eucalyptus rostrata, the old birds were entering or leaving, and occupied in feeding their young ; 

 in others the birds were engaged in the task of incubation. Outside, under the eaves of the 

 house, were more hollow limbs tenanted by the Swallows. From a hook attached to the low 

 eaves of an outbuilding, Mr. Mellor carefully lifted down an old watering can with the spout 

 broken off, and the top covered with a piece of sheet iron, the sitting bird leaving it as he did so. 

 On lifting up the cover it was found that it was filled up to the level of the narrow entrance, 

 where the spout had been, with Eucalyptus leaves, intermingled with dried grasses, and resting 

 thereon were four partially incubated eggs. Close to this nest, from a stout nail in the wall, 

 Mr. Mellor lifted an old funnel, with the spout broken off, that had been backed up close to the 

 wall. This nesting place was similarly filled up with leaves and grass to a level with the 

 entrance, and young birds had just left it. Mr. Mellor informed me that the Starlings and 

 Sparrows sometimes drove the Swallows away from their nesting sites, when they resorted to 

 the hollow limbs of trees put up for them, unless the entrance had been narrowed by the Swallows 

 with mud, Petvochelidon nigricans was also breeding about the houses in the streets of Adelaide. 

 At Dr. Morgan's residence a pair had constructed their nest in a ventilator. 



In response to a request asking if these birds were migratory, Mr. Mellor kindly sent me 

 the following note under date 27th September, 1908 : — " Pctrochelidon nigricans is migratory, but 

 owing to putting up a number of nesting places, many remain with us all the year round. 

 Generally large flocks congregate, and are often seen on the ground, just prior to leaving in 

 the late autumn months, and they return again in large numbers about the end of July." 



Regarding the nidification of this species in Tasmania, Dr. L. Holden has kindly supplied 

 me with the following notes : — " Petrochelidon nigricans breeds at Circular Head in holes of the 

 cliff, facing the sea. I have seen them carrying in pieces of dry sponge, seaweed and straw. 

 The nest holes in the rock were out of reach, but in a tiny cave on the beach of a neighbouring 

 island, I found them only a few feet from the floor. On the i6th January, 1887, I caught one 

 in its nest in a hollow branch of a tree, containing three half fledged young ; the hole was seven 

 feet from the ground, and had the entrance to it partially blocked by a wall of dried mud, 

 constructed by the birds ; the hole was capacious inside, and the nest itself mostly rotten wood. 

 .At Bellerive, near Hobart, I found them breeding in the verandah of a large dwelling-house. It 

 was in an isolated situation, and had been untenanted for two or three years, save by a caretaker. 

 The nests were scanty arrangements of dirt and straw, placed on ledges, and had no architecture 

 about them." 



Mr. E. D. Atkinson also sends me the following note from Tasmania : — " Petrochelidon 

 nigricans arrives here about the same time as Hirundo neo.xcna. I have seen it in the north, south 

 and west coasts. I found it breeding abundantly in the crevices of Church Rock, near the 

 mouth of the Arthur River. It also breeds in holes of trees." 



The eggs are usually four, sometimes five in number for a sitting, oval in form, some 

 specimens being somewhat sharply pointed towards the smaller end, the shell being close-grained, 

 smooth, and usually lustreless. Theground colour varies from apinky-white to a very faint creamy- 



