HIRUNDININ^, 157 



1st. — Hirundo. 

 A. With the tail loncf; and forked. 



82. Hirundo rustica, L. 



Bltth, Cat. 1194, — Gould, Birds of Europe, pi. 54 — H. 

 Panajana, Gmel. — HoRSF., Cat. 112 — H. Jewan, Sykes, Cat. 

 25 — and Jerdon, Cat. 258 — H. gutturalis Scop. — H. Javanica, 

 apud Hodgson, Gray, and Bonaparte — Abahil H. — TalU-illedi 

 kuravi, Tarn., i. e., Bird without a head. — Wanna kovela, Tel. — 

 Paras pitta, of the Mharis and Gonds.* 



The Common Swallow. 



Descr. — Above glossy blue black, the chin, throat, and a narrow 

 band on the forehead, deep ferruginous ; a slightly glossed black 

 pectoral band ; beneath, from the breast, rufescent white ; tail, 

 with all, except the mesial feathers, having a large white spot on their 

 inner web. 



Length to end of outer tail feathers 7^ inches, of which the tail 

 4^; middle tail feathers 2; wing 4|, extent 14. 



The female has the outer tail feathers shorter, and the imder 

 parts whiter. The young may be known by the pale ferruginous 

 hue of the throat, and by the dull color of the upper plumage, as 

 also by the shorter outer tail feathers. 



Col. Sykes named this species as distinct from the English 

 Chimney Swallow, but it had previously been described as such by 

 the older Naturalists. It is, however, so exceedingly like the 

 European bird, that Mr. Blyth, in his Catalogue, considered 

 them the same ; and on carefully comparing specimens from 

 England and Algiers in the Museum at Calcutta, witli Indian speci- 

 mens from various parts of the country, I can detect no difference. 

 In one specimen from Malacca, and in another from Southern 

 India (collected by myself), the ferruginous hue of the throat ex- 

 tends to the breast, but is of a lighter tint ; and in both these speci- 

 mens the bill appears to be somewhat wider and larger than in 

 other specimens ; in all the others, however, there is no apparent 



* These native names are applied to all swallows. 



