190 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 



70. MuscicAPA ATRicAPiLLA (Liuii.) . " Papa moscas/' 

 Oporto. 



Abundant in autumn on passage, arriving and departing 

 at the same time as M, grisola. This is a somewhat livelier 

 bird, and occasionally utters a monosyllabic note. 



The European lists mention M. coUains as found in Portugal, 

 without naming the authority, but no specimen of M. coUaris 

 exists in the Coimbra or Lisbon Museums ; and although I 

 have been on the watch for it for some years, so far as I can 

 learn it has not yet been obtained in this country. 



71. HiRUNDO RUSTiCA, Linn. " Andorinha,^^ Portugal and 

 Galicia. 



Usually arrives at Oporto between the 8th and 15th of 

 March, but sometimes a stray individual or two may be seen 

 at the end of February, and I once saw some as early as the 

 13th of January, 1878. In the south of Portugal they 

 arrive in February. The departure southwards from the 

 neighbourhood of Oporto generally takes place from the 

 middle of September to the middle of October, but some 

 remain for a few days, or even weeks, longer. I saw one as 

 late as November 20th (1883) ; in fact, December is the only 

 imonth of the year in which I have not seen them in this 

 country. In the province of the Douro this Swallow nests 

 in the subterranean galleries which are cut into the hill-side 

 to obtain water — a rather unexpected situation for Swallows 

 to choose. Dr. Carvalho has furnished me with a table of 

 observations respecting the Swallow, as observed by him at 

 Coimbra during the last fifteen years, showing that the 

 average date for arrival is the 10th February, and for de- 

 parture the 13tli October. 



73. CoTiLE RUPESTRis. " Audoriuha brava," Melres. 



Resident in this country all the year round, but partially 

 migratory within it. The Crag Swallow makes its nest in 

 the precipitous cliffs of the inland serras, and I found one on a 

 cliff of the Abitureira, above Melres, on the right bank of 

 the Douro. In shape it resembles that of the House Swallow ; 

 it was built of mud and had a few feathers in it. At the 



