88 British Birds. 



rivers and in the swamps near the sea-coast, and flocks of them may be seen 



in the autumn sunning themselves on the sand spits of our tidal harbours 



before commencing their migration. 



The Chimney-Swallow is easily recognised by its long 



forked tail and rufous forehead and throat, which contrast 

 CHIMNEY-SWALLOW. . , , 



,„. , ... with the purplish-blue back and light under-suriace of the 



bird. The Swallow moults in its winter quarters, while 

 it is away from Europe, and on its return to this country the plumage is 

 beautiful, and the male bird often looks quite rufous underneath as it turns in the 

 sunlight. The old female is generally whiter below, and the young have shorter 

 tails than the adult. They can, however, always be distinguished by their blue 

 backs from the Sand-Martin ; and by their unfeathered toes, and by the absence of 

 the white band on the rump from the House-Martin. 



Our Swallow winters in Africa and in India, and is found during the breeding- 

 season throughout Europe and Western Siberia, even to the far north, as it has 

 been seen on Jan Mayen, and Mr. F. G. Jackson tells me that he once saw one on 

 Franz Josef Land. The nest is usually placed on a beam inside a shed, and is 

 made chiefly of mud. with a little grass and straw, and is lined with feathers and 

 dry grass. Unlike the two species of Martin, both of which lay white eggs, the 

 Swallow's eggs are white with reddish or purplish brown spots. 



PiCINE AND CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS.— OnArs FiCIFURMES and 



Coccyges. 



The characters which separate the Picifonncs from the Passcriforiiifs are 



anatomical and need only be referred to here, as the Woodpeckers, which are 



the only Picine family occurring in Great Britain, are so easii}- recognised that 



external characters are sufficient for the reader to determine them. First of 



all there is the scansorial (climbing) or zygodactyle (yoke-footed) feature of the 



toes, which are arranged in pairs, two turned forwards and two backwards. The 



tongue is extensile, and capable of being projected to a considerable distance by 



means of its muscles, and the hj'oid cornua are curved backwards over the skull. 



In this species, as in all the other members of the sub-family 



Pic'nur, the tail is stiffened and remarkable for its spiny shafts, 

 WOODPECKER. , . , , ■ , 



,„ . • ■,■ , which are pressed against the tree as the bird climbs or clings 



(uectnus virtais.) r d o 



to the trunk. The general colour is green, yellow below, and 

 with the rump bright yellow, which colour shows very distinctly when the bird 

 is flj'ing. The male has a red head and a broad red moustache, the latter being 



