430 Mr. J. D. D. La Touclie on the 



of April while we were staying tlicre^ and one even entered 

 our open sitting-hall and flew round, apparently looking for a 

 suitable corner on which to attach its nest. None, however, 

 remained to breed. I have two examples from Kuatun 

 dated 21st April, 1897, and 20th April, 1898. 



106. COTILE RIPARIA (LiuU.). 



The Sand-Martin is not uncommon on the River Min and 

 its affluents. We have nests and eggs taken in February on 

 the Yungfu river. Our collectors shot a few near Shaowufu 

 at the end of November 1895. 



107. Chelidon cashmirensis Gould. 



A colony of these Martins nests every year on a precipitous 

 rock on the S.W. slope of some mountains near Kuatun. I 

 visited the place on the 16th May, 1898. The colony was 

 not numerous, and many of the birds were busy feeding their 

 young, so that we only shot a few that we wanted for speci- 

 mens. Only one pair had built its nest within reach. This 

 had been taken and brought to me on the 27tli April, and a 

 scaffolding built up under the rock indicated the spot whence, 

 the day before, the nest of this unfortunate couple had been 

 again cut away for me by the owner of the cliff. The birds 

 had, however, not given up this particular spot, and were 

 still flying up to it, and evidently preparing to build again ! 

 While we were there small parties kept refreshing themselves 

 by hovering under the spray of a thin waterfall that fell from 

 the top of the rock. 



The nests, so far as we could see, were built under the 

 numerous brick-like projections on the face of the rock. The 

 two nests obtained are shallow cups interiorly, with the 

 entrance in the top corner of the nest. They are made of 

 mud and bits of moss, and are lined with grass-stems and a 

 few feathers. The nest taken on the 27th April measures 

 inside about 4^ inches in diameter by 1 inch in depth ; that 

 taken on the 15th May has a diameter of about 3^ inches by 

 4, the depth of the egg-cavity being about 2 inches. 



The four eggs of the nest taken on the 27th April were 

 fresh. In shape they are somewhat elongated ovate. The 



