^S Allen's naturalist's lihrary. 



groups of Cypselidce^ as, in a work on "British Birds," only the 

 True Swifts concern us directly, the Spine-tailed Swifts very 

 little, and the Tree Swifts, which are exclusively tropical, not 

 at all. 



THE TRUE SWIFTS. SUB-FAMILY CYPSELIN^. 



The characters of this Sub-family, as detailed above, are 

 the feathered toes, and the presence of only three phalanges 

 in the outer and middle toes. 



THE TYPICAL SWIFTS. GENUS MICROPUS. 



Micropus, Meyer und Wolf, Taschenb. i. p. 280 (1810). 



Type, M. apis (L.). 



In this genus the toes are very strong, without feathers, and 

 all four are directed forwards, the same interval dividing each 

 toe from its neighbour. 



The typical Swifts are principally birds of the Old World. 

 Two species only occur in South America, in the Andes of 

 Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, and these species appear to 

 descend to lower levels in winter and to visit Argentina, but 

 over the whole of Brazil and Amazonia the genus is unrepre- 

 sented, while in North America its place is taken by the Pied 

 Swift {Aero?iantes). In Europe and Asia the Swifts are 

 summer visitors, not breeding far north, and leaving for their 

 winter quarters very early in the autumn. A considerable 

 number of resident species are found in Africa, which is also 

 the winter home of our two British species. 



L THE WHITE-BELLIED SWIFT. MICROPUS MELBA. 



Hirundo melba, Linn. S. N. i. p. 345 (1766). 



Cypselus melba, Macg. Br. B. iii. p. 611 (1840); Dresser, B. 



Eur. iv. p. 603, pi. 269 (1874) ; Newton's ed. Yarn ii. p. 



372 (1874); B. O. U. List, p. 74 (1883); Seebohm, Br. 



B. ii. p. 297 (1884); Saunders, Man. p. 253 (1889). 

 Micropiis vielba, Hartert, Cat. B. xvi. p. 438 (1892). 



Adult Male.— Distinguished by its large size and white abdo- 

 men. General colour above mouse-brown, darker on the 



