the Birds of rjiilijistoirn. 17 



Sparrow-nests in holes in walls. Neither of these Swifts 

 remains at Philipstown durino- the whole of the winter. The 

 White-rinnped species disap[)ears altogether at the first 

 approach of cold weather; the other remains somewhat 

 longer, hut eventually disappears too. It is, however, only 

 a partial migrant, as I have known it to stay all through 

 the winter at Barkly West, and I also came across this bird 

 at Britstown, C.P., in the middle of winter (July). 



The Larger Stripe-breasted Swallow (Hirundo cucullata)^ 

 White-throated Swallow {H. albigularis), European Swallow 

 (i/. rustica), and S.A. Cliff-Swallow {Petrochelidon spilodera) 

 are all migratory species and very common during the summer 

 months. As mentioned above, a colony of the last-named 

 has established itself at the Reformed Church, where some 

 hundreds of nests, clustered together in places four and five 

 deep, may be seen. The nests have been constructed on two 

 sides of the building only, the sides not used being those 

 facing the quarters from which heavy rains always come. 

 I believe each pair of birds raises at least two broods during 

 their stay here. The colony presents a scene of feverish 

 activity when breeding is in full swing. They do not 

 migrate all together, but early in April begin drifting away 

 in small parties as soon as the broods of young are able to 

 fly. By the end of April all have disappeared. The entrance 

 to the nest of the Cliff-Swallow is very narrow — in fact, the 

 bird has often to regularly force its way into and out of the 

 nest. I once saw the dead bodies of two Swallows hanging 

 from a nest; they had obviously attempted to enter the same 

 nest at one and the same time, with the result that both their 

 heads had been firmly caught in the narrow opening. 



Two species of Martin are permanent residents, namely, 

 the S.A. Rock-Martin {Ptyonoprogne fnJig ala) and the S. A. 

 Sand-Martin ( Cotile paludicola) . 



Fly-catchers. — The Brown Fly-catcher {Bradi/ornis in- 

 fuscatus) is very beautiful. A clutch of eggs, four in number, 

 was taken from a nest placed in a bush about three feet 

 from the ground in October. I also found the nest with 

 eggs in Gordonia District during December of last year. 



