AVES. 373 



»£) 



'*24. Hirundo rustica. Fauna Brit. Ind., ii, p. 277. 



Several swallows appeared at Minikoi on Sept. 1, but were not seen subsequent to Sept. 4. 



*25. Hirundo xirhica. Fauna Brit. Ind., n, p. 269. 



At the end of January a number of Martins arrived at Hulule, and were to be seen 

 daily from about 4 to 6 p.m., circling over the village. During the whole of February also 

 they were ob.served over the neighbouring island of Male. 



26. Corvus splendens. Fauna Brit. Ind., i, p. 20. Maldivan "kalu." 



The Indian Crow is found in every inhabited island of the Maldives, but is curiously 

 enough absent from Minikoi. The birds are regular inhabitants and scavengers of the villages, 

 glutting themselves in the fishing season with the guts of the bonito. The natives state 

 that they are permanent residents and breed in the islands. Their breeding season must 

 then be between May and September, i.e. in the south-west monsoon, as we never saw any 

 trace of nesting in the other months. 



48—2 



