ALPINE SWIFT 431 



held together b}' saliva from the bird's mouth ; and in this are 

 deposited, usually in the early part of June, two, three, or occasion- 

 ally even four, pure white eggs of an elongated oval shape, with a 

 characteristicall}' rough shell. In due course the young are hatched 

 in a completely naked condition. Swifts migrate southwards in 

 immense flocks ; and on their return journey generally revisit their 

 old haunts. Unlike what occurs in swallows, albinism is very rare 

 among these birds, although a white swift was recorded in 1900. It 

 may be added that on the Continent an instance of a swift laying 

 spotted eggs is on record — a circumstance which may afford an 

 argument to those who believe in the affinity between these birds 

 and swallows. In the north of Scotland (as well as in the west of 

 Ireland) swifts only occur irregularly, and the fact of a pair having 

 bred on Lochnagar in 1903 has consequently been regarded as worthy 

 of record. 



... o -i... Few persons other than ornithologists are aware that 



Alpme Swift t- 1 1 • • • ■ ^ ^ 



ir, 1 ,v, \ Kngland is occasionally visited by a swift of much 



(Cypselus melba). ^ . .uj- • r r--i. 



larger size than the ordinary species, from which 



it is at once distinguished by the white abdomen. This Alpine, or 



white-bellied, swift (the Micropiis melba or Apus melba of some writers) 



measures as much as 9 inches in length, and may thus be distinguished, 



even when in flight, by this character alone from its smaller relative. 



The general colour of the upper surface is pale greyish brown, this 



tint extending on to the sides of the neck and thence across the fore 



part of the breast, so as to form a conspicuous band when the bird is 



seen from below during flight ; while the flanks and under tail-coverts 



are likewise similarly coloured ; on the other hand, the throat and the 



remainder of the under-parts are pure white. Young birds show 



narrow greyish-white edges to the dark feathers. 



Europe, as far north as the Alps, together with northern Africa, 



south-western Asia, the Himalaya, India, and Ceylon come within the 



ordinary range of this partially migratory species ; but a certain 



number of individuals not uncommonly stray beyond these limits to 



visit France and Germany, and of these a {q\\ extend their wanderings 



still farther north so as to reach the British Isles, where they have 



from time to time been observed, chiefly in the south, between the 



months of June and October inclusive. Between the years 1830 and 



1900 about twenty-seven instances of the occurrence of the Alpine 



swift have been recorded in England. In addition to this there are 



records of four Irish occurrences up to the same date, the last of which 



