158 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA : 



It is a singular fact that, although this bird is supposed 

 to be known so far back as Pallas, both nest and eggs are, 

 according to Mr. Campbell, as yet undescribed. Mr. 

 Jerdon, the late well-known ornithologist, states that the 

 Spine-tailed Swift breeds amongst the huge wall-like crags 

 of the Himalayas, and Mr. Campbell, in quoting Mr. Allen 

 Owston, of Yokohama, says that it breeds under the Kegon 

 waterfalls near Nikko, Japan, and that the rock under the 

 falls consists of alternate hard and soft layers, making a 

 series of shelves, and the Swifts breed in the recesses 

 between the shelves. The outer edges of these shelves or 

 ledges are so rotten that they will not bear the weight of 

 a man, and therefore the place is practically inaccessible. 



Swifts, like the Swallows, are the faithful friends of the 

 rural public at any rate, and should be fully protected. 



The Spine-tailed Swift has been found in Australia and 

 Tasmania, also South-eastern Mongolia, Eastern Siberia, 

 China, and Japan, and, according to Mr. Campbell, reported 

 as a straggler twice to Great Britain. 



