Manchester Memoirs, Vol. Ixi. (iQi/), '^'o- '^■ 



VII. Observations on the Nesting Habits of the Palm 

 Swift, Tachornis parva (Licht.), made by Mr. Arthur 

 Loveridge in German East Africa. 



By T. A. Coward, F.Z.S:, F.E.S. 



{Received and read April 24th ^ 1917.) 



A skin and nest of the Palm Swift, Tachornis parva, were 

 recently sent to the Manchester Museum by Mr. A. Loveridge, 

 who is serving with the forces in the country which a short time 

 ago was German East Africa. A letter, telling me about the 

 specimens, contained some interesting notes on the nesting 

 habits of the bird, as observed at Morogoro, in January, 1917. 

 Certain details observed by Mr. Loveridge are, I believe, new 

 facts, whilst others confirm points in the extraordinary habits 

 of the species, which have apparently been doubted by some 

 writers on African birds. 



The Palm Swift has a wide range in Africa, occurring from 

 Nubia and Madagascar to the Gold Coast, and southward to 

 the Cape. It has long been known to nest in the leaves of the 

 palms, but apparently, as the bird is numerous wherever it 

 founds a colony, it has been sufficient for most people either 

 to take for granted statements copied from book to book, or 

 to omit any mention of habits which appeared to differ from 

 those of other birds. 



The following are Mr. Lov^eridge's notes. 



"Nest and Eggs. — When out collecting this morning I 

 came across a small colony of Swifts nesting in the banana 

 palms which line the sides of the road. The lowest nests were 

 12 to 15 feet from the ground, and were attached to the frond 

 of the leaf just below its union with the mid-rib of the leaf. 

 The inner side of the leaf being concave, a few downy feathers 

 are gummed to its surface over an area of 4A inches in length 

 and 2 inches in width, which is the width of the frond. At the 

 lower end of the patch the shallowest of cups is formed, and 

 the two white eggs rest upon this and are gummed to the back 

 of the nest. These eggs will not fall out though the nest be 

 turned completely topsy-turvy, and the branch that bears it 

 be roughly shaken. The eggs in the first nest could be seen 

 whilst standing directly underneath. 



Incubation — The incubating parent grasps the back feathers 

 of the nest with its claws, and presses itself against the eggs; 



May 17th, IQ17. 



