Descriptive List of the Common Birds 



spots on the tail. Lower plumage dark brown, 

 paler on the breast. The most dull-coloured 

 of the swallows. It builds a nest like that of 

 the common martin — a saucer of mud stuck 

 on to some vertical surface, usually a cliff or 

 the wall of a cave. 



88. Hirundo rustic a : The Common Swallow 

 (F. 813), (J. 82), (I, but with a deeply forked 

 tail 4i inches in length.) 



Upper plumage glossy steel blue, wings and 

 tail black ; some white in tail. Lower plumage 

 reddish yellow ; forehead, chin, and throat 

 chestnut red. 



89. Hirundo smithii : The Wire-tailed 

 Swallow. (F. 818), (J. 84), (-1, with the 

 two outer feathers of the tail, the ends of 

 which look like wires, 7 inches in length.) 



Head chestnut, upper plumage glossy steel 

 blue, lower plumage pure white. 



Not found in Madras or east of the U. P. 

 Builds cup-shaped nest of mud, usually under 

 a bridge or culvert ; sometimes in a verandah. 

 Eggs white with small red splashes. 



90. Hirundo erythrofygia : Sykes's Striated 

 Swallow, or the Red-rumped Swallow. (F. 

 823), (J. 85), (- 1, with a forked tail over 3 inches 

 in length.) 



143 



