BANK SWALLOW. 605 



When fledged they are as follows. The bill is dusky, its soft 

 basal margins and the mouth yellow ; the iris greyish-black ; 

 the feet and claws light brown, the soles greyish-white. The 

 upper parts, wings, and tail are greyish-black, the feathers 

 margined with light brownish-red ; the primaries sind outer 

 secondaries without edginij. The throat reddish-white, with 

 small dusky spots ; a broad band of blackish-grey across the 

 lower part of the fore-neck, and extending some way down the 

 middle of the breast ; the rest of the lower parts pure white. 

 At this age they are much more beautiful than when adult. 

 The specimens from which this description is taken, seven in 

 number, were received from my friend Mr Weir, together 

 with a nest and two eggs, on the 4th July 1837. 



The nest I was anxious to obtain, because in my former ex- 

 aminations I had neglected to attend to the alleged glueing of 

 the straws by means of the saliva. I find not the slightest in- 

 dication of any such workmanship. It is composed of very 

 coarse straws, chiefly of oats, bent in an angular manner, but 

 not interwoven, with some finer stalks and blades of grass in 

 the interior, and a lining of about two dozen of feathers of the 

 domestic fowl and duck. 



