THE WIRE-TAILED SWALLOW 153 



this species H. filifera, an excellent name, but among 

 cabinet ornithologists the excellence or appropriateness 

 of a bird's name counts for nothing. Many years 

 ago a member of the Smith family made the ac- 

 quaintance of the bird, and it was named after him. 

 This name being the oldest is the one by which we 

 must call the bird until some bibliophile manages to 

 unearth some yet earlier name. 



The elongated shafts of the outer tail feathers are 

 brittle and easily broken, so that it is the exception 

 rather than the rule to see a bird with both the delicate 

 filiferous appendages complete. 



The habits of this swallow are similar to those of 

 other species,* except that it is probably not migratory. 

 It is found all the year round in the plains of North- 

 West India. It is rare in Lower Bengal, Assam, 

 Upper Burma, and in South India. Although it 

 occurs in the Madras Presidency, it is not often seen 

 as far south as the city of Madras. Since water is 

 always conducive to the presence of the small insects 

 on which swallows feed, these birds usually seek their 

 quarry in the vicinity of the liquid element, and 

 naturally roost near their feeding grounds. This 

 fondness for the neighbourhood of water doubtless 

 gave origin to the once prevalent belief that some 

 swallows did not leave England in the autumn, but 

 remained behind and hibernated underwater. This 

 idea is, of course, erroneous. 



Wire-tailed swallows like to roost in considerable 

 companies in the minarets of mosques or in other 

 lofty towers. Unlike swifts, swallows frequently 



