242 Mr. R. Ovveu on the Habits of the Sivallow-tailed Kite. 



twice that quantity. They were closely packed, not one straggling 

 for a moment from the rest, and reminded one of our English 

 Swifts [Cypselus apus) as they congregate in flight round an old 

 and lofty edifice. My companion was surprised, no less than 

 myself, to find so many of these birds in company ; for, accord- 

 ing to the experience of the Coban hunters, they generally go in 

 pairs, although three or four may be occasionally met with toge- 

 ther. A few yards of precipitous descent brought us imme- 

 diately under the birds, and into a swarm of bees upon which 

 they were feeding. The swarm was slowly skirting the hill in 

 compact order, its persecutors sweeping through and through it, 

 with wings extended, and their scissor-like tails widely opened. 

 Their flight was not at all rapid, but steady and powerful, no 

 movement of the wings being perceptible. Our intrusion upon 

 their feeding-ground did not cause them the slightest alarm. Not 

 even when my companion's delight at the novelty of the sight we 

 were witnessing began to manifest itself in hints and signs, which 

 I strove in vain to quell, did they seem to take the slightest 

 notice of us. 



At times birds would pass within four or five yards of us, giving 

 us time to observe their movements accurately. Every now and 

 then the neck would be bent slowly and gracefully, bringing the 

 head quite under the body, the beak continuing closed. At the 

 same time, the foot, with the talons contracted as if holding an 

 object in its grasp, would be brought forward until it met the 

 beak. This position was only sustained a moment, during. which 

 ihe beak was seen to open ; the head was then, with closed beak, 

 raised again, and the foot thrown back. This movement was 

 repeated very frequently, precisely the same actions being ob- 

 servable on every occasion, and this not only in the case of one 

 bird, but of all of them. The bees, so far as I could observe (for 

 [ could not catch one for examination), were about the size of 

 our English Hive-Bee, biit of a brilliant colour, between red and 

 yellow\ We stayed half an hour or more, when, the swarm 

 moving ofl" from the road, and the birds following closely upon 

 them, both were soon lost to us in the distance. Continuing our 

 joTU'iicy, I qviestioned my companion closely ; but, although bred 

 in the mountains, he had never seen more than two or three of 



