the Habits of Micropiis melanolencus. 155 



position to try for them. My success on this occasion far 

 exceeded my most sanguine expectations, for in a little more 

 than an hour I bagged ten beautiful specimens out of just a 

 dozen shots. These fifteen birds are now before me, and 

 about them I would offer a few remarks. 



Dr. Heermann, in the Report I have already quoted above, 

 gives the original description of the specific characters of 

 this Swift in the following words : — ''Head dusky brown; 

 body, tail and wings, dusky black; throat, breast, and a band, 

 half inch in breadth from breast to vent, white; ends of 

 larger coverts tipped with white ; a large white patch on the 

 flanks, a faint white line over the eye and the outer edge 

 of the first primary white. Length 5^ inches." Coues 

 {he. cit.) says : — '' Black or blackish ; chin, throat, breast, 

 and middle lines of belly, tips of secondaries, edges of outer 

 primary and lateral tail-feathers, and a flank-patch, white. 

 Forehead and line over eye pale ; a velvety black space before 

 eye. Bill black ; feet drying yellowish. The purity of the 

 colour varies with the wear of the feathers, some specimens 

 being a dull sooty brownish, others more purely and even 

 glossy blackish. The extent of the white along the belly is 

 very variable. The flank-patches are conspicuous in life, 

 sometimes almost meeting over the rump. Length 6'50-7'00 ; 

 extent about 14"00 ; wing the same as total length ; tail 

 about 2*66, forked, soft.'"' 



Now judging from the fifteen specimens of Micropus in 

 my hands at the present time, these descriptions are more 

 or less faulty. In the first place I find by careful measure- 

 ments that none of these birds measure 5^ inches (Heer- 

 mann), nor so long as 6 (5-50-7*00, Coues). They all fall 

 between 5^ and 6 inches, while in total alar extent they 

 measure about 13^ inches. I find further that it is the 

 females only wherein the black parts are a dusky blackish 

 brown, and the crowns of a much lighter grey, the feathers 

 being edged with lighter in the latter situation. The black 

 parts in the old males become very dark, and in their vernal 

 plumage show a dark green sheen in certain lights. 



Instead of a " velvety space before the eye,'' as described 



