308 BULLETIN 17 6, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



In Sakhalin, Marquis Yamashima describes nests found on the 

 rocky coast as being built of seaweeds, fallen leaves, and Usnea 

 longissima, stuck together with saliva and forming a dish-shaped 

 nest, 7 to 12 centimeters in outside diameter and 1 to 4 centimeters 

 in depth. 



In Siberia and Mongolia most of the breeding places appear to be 

 in cavities and recesses among rocks, not only in the lower zones, 

 but even at 12,000 feet or more. Madame Kozlova (1932) describes 

 the nests as sometimes placed in cavities and at other times built 

 openly under a prominent ridge. At Yakutsk, however, R. Hall 

 (Hartert and Hall, 1904) states that these swifts nest on beams 

 under the market-place verandas and among them but do not breed 

 in close company. The inhabitants have a superstitious fear about 

 disturbing them, so it was only through the good offices of the chief 

 of police that Mr. Hall was able to secure two specimens of adults and 

 two full-grown nestlings at dusk from a quiet corner of the market 

 place by the help of a local youth. The nest consisted of a few 

 straws and feathers cemented together by saliva, and the grasp of the 

 bird's claws was strong enough to pierce the fingers and draw blood. 



Eggs. — The clutch is composed of two or three eggs, which closely 

 resemble those of other species of swift, being "cylindrical-ovate" and 

 dull white without gloss. In the new work in course of publication on 

 the eggs of Japanese birds, by K. Kobayashi and T. Ishizawa, two 

 eggs of the Kobayashi collection are figured, taken on Mount Fuji, 

 Hondo. It is here stated that in Japan the normal clutch is two, 

 but that three have been recorded. The average of 17 Japanese eggs 

 is given as 26.76 by 17.44; maxima, 29 by 17.7 and 28.7 by 18.4; 

 minima, 25.2 by 18.2 and 25.5 by 17.6 millimeters. Twenty eggs 

 from Siberia, China, and Formosa (14 measured by the writer and 

 6 by Dybowski) average 26.06 by 16.61; maxima, 28.1 by 17.1 and 

 26.1 by 17.5 ; minimum, 23.5 by 15.6 millimeters ; Japanese eggs, there- 

 fore, seem to be slightly larger. The average weight of 10 Japanese 

 eggs is 4.4 grams (Kobayashi). 



Plumages. — R. Hall notes that in the two nestlings the feet were 

 reddish brown, and E. Hartert (1904) states that the juvenile plum- 

 age is similar to that of the adult. T. H. Shaw (1936) says the 

 upper parts are browner, feathers with whitish edges ; wing coverts 

 and inner webs of inner primaries bordered with white. 



Adult: Upper parts blackish brown; back, upper tail coverts, 

 almost black with faint gloss; chin, throat, and broad band across 

 rump white, with narrow black shaft stripes to feathers ; under parts 

 otherwise dark brown, each feather with broad white tips and sub- 

 terminal blackish band. Iris deep brown; bill black, feet purplish 

 black. Weight, 32-39 grams (Shaw). 



