Bh'ds of JSlortli-west Fohkien. 431 



colour is pure white and the texture smooth, with a decided 

 gloss. They measure 0-78 x 0-52, 077 X 0-52, 0*75 x 0*52, and 

 0-74 X 0-52 inch. Mr. Rickett has kindly sent me the 

 measurements of the eggs taken on the 15th May, which are 

 in his collection. These are 0-74 x 0-52, 0*73 x 0*51, and 

 0-70 x 0-51 inch. 



The natives and our collectors told us that these Martins 

 arrive early in the spring, and that another kind of Swallow 

 comes to these mountains in June ; but they are such swift 

 fliers that our men, on the only occasion that they saw them, 

 were unable to shoot a single specimen. They appear to 

 frequent the wooded summits of the mountains. 



108. Herpornis tyrannula Swinhoe. 



This pretty bird, which does not appear to be very rare in 

 Central Fohkien, was shot once in the mountains between 

 Shaowufu and Kuatun in December 1895, and I have a 

 specimen dated Kuatun, 11th April, 1897. We did not 

 procure any on this trip. 



109. ZosTEROPS SIMPLEX Swiuhoc. 



Several of these White-eyes were shot by the Kuatun 

 hunters on the 19th April, 1898. These men thought they 

 had got us a very rare bird indeed, and were much disap- 

 pointed when told that it was such a common bird at 

 Foochow. It seems, therefore, that only a few come up to 

 spend the breeding-season. 



We took one nest with four eggs on the 4th May on a 

 thin tea-bush just inside a bamboo-plantation in the Upper 

 Kuatun valley. The eggs are ovate, very pale greenish blue 

 in colour. The texture is rough in one of the eggs, the 

 others being smooth. They measure 0*59 X 0*48, 0*58 x 0"46, 

 and 0"57 x 0-45 inch (two). 



[To be continued.] 



2g 2 



