BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 41 



Besides these two, the species was noted as follows : Hawash River, 

 January 26-Febriiary 23, not very numerous but noted everywhere; 

 Aletta, March 7-13, 50 seen; Loco, March 13-15, 50 birds; Gidabo 

 River, March 15-17, 50; Abaya Lakes, March 18-26, 250 seen; be- 

 tween Abaya Lakes and Gardula, March 26-29, 10 birds ; Gato River 

 near Gardula, March 29-May 17, 500 noted ; Lekiundu River, August 

 4-8, 22 seen ; Meru, August 10, 50 birds ; 20 miles east of Meru on the 

 trail to the Tana River, August 11, 50 seen; Tharaka district, August 

 12, 200 birds ; Tana River, August 23, 1 seen. 



It will be noted from the above dates that the last migrants to 

 leave in the spring were noted between the end of March and the 

 middle of May. Unfortunately, no exact dates are given in Mearns's 

 diary for the last birds seen. The first southbound migrants were 

 met with at the Lekiundu River, August 4^8. In his account of the 

 migration of this swallow in East Africa, Meinertzhagen ^® writes 

 that birds — 



* * * commence arriving in Abyssinia from early September and large 

 flocks were seen crossing the Red Sea just north of Port Sudan on 2.x. A few 

 winter in Abyssinia. Both adults and birds of the year arrive in Somaliland 

 towards the end of September. * * * 



In tropical eastern Africa my first autumn record is on SO.ix., and they 

 became numerous by 3.x. 



Judged by Mearns's observations of these birds in north-central 

 Kenya Colony early in August (unfortunately not supported by 

 specimens), it appears that the dates given by Meinertzhagen are 

 slightly inaccurate. 



Von Heuglin " records Ehmndo rustica as a summer bird along 

 the Red Sea and states that the autumn migration along that coast 

 and in the Nile Valley takes place between August and September. 

 Koenig^^ states that the summer birds are nonbreeding "left-overs" 

 and are not normal birds. 



Heuglin's birds may be transitiva. 



This swallow appears to migrate to a large extent down the Nile 

 Valley, from which it then wanders to the east and west. Thus, 

 Lynes ^^ writes that in Darfur it is a common migrant from east to 

 Avest, September 12 to November 8. None winters there. 



Grote^° states that in Ethiopia the migrants begin to arrive in 

 September, but that relatively few remain there for the winter. His 

 account of the African wanderings of this swallow is very detailed 

 and should be referred to bv all interested in this matter. 



5« Ibis. 1922, pp. 30-32. 



" Ornithologie Nordost-Afrika's, der Nilquellen- und Kiistengebiete des Rothen Meeres 

 und des Nordlichen Somal-Landes, vol. 1, p. 151, 1869. 

 ssjoui-n. fiir Orn., 1919, pp. 456-458. 

 68 Ibis, 1925, p. 127. 

 BOMitteil. Zool. Mus. BerUn, vol. 16, pp. 49-51, 1930. 



