Indian Birds 



perch on trees or wires or on the ground, 

 while the latter habitually seat themselves on 

 branches of trees and telegraph wires. 



A small bird that dashes with great speed 

 through the air, frequently changing its course, 

 flying now high up, now just skimming the 

 ground, and seeming never to tire, can be noth- 

 ing other than a swift or a sw^allow. By the 

 tests given above it is easy to determine 

 whether any particular bird is a swift or a 

 swallow, but having got thus far it is a 

 matter of greater difficulty to determine the 

 species. (lUus. F. II., p. 267 ; also B. B., p. 35.) 



Twenty-two species of swallow are found 

 in India ; of these the following are most 

 commonly seen : 



86. Cotile sinensis : The Indian Sand- 

 martin. (F. 809), (J. 88), (-1.) 



A tiny swallow, only about two-thirds the 

 size of the sparrow. Upper plumage greyish 

 brown. Chin and breast greyish white, rest of 

 lower plumage white. 



It nests in sandbanks, frequently in company. 



Occurs only in N. India. 



87. Ptyonofrogne concolor : The Dusky Crag- 

 martin. (F. 811), (J. 90), (-1.) 



Upper plumage dark brown. Some white 

 142 



