102 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 
have rarely been got successfully through the moult in 
confinement. Their cages must be large, at least two or 
three feet long, and have but two perches, which should 
be covered with cloth, as the birds’ feet are tender. The 
food should consist of insects mixed up in a paste of 
hard-boiled egg and satoo, which they can be taught to 
eat by giving them insects only at first. Swallows gener- 
ally are called Ababil in Hindustani. 
Of the rather numerous species found in India, three 
may be noticed here. 
Tue Hovuse-Swattow (Hirundo rustica) is the best 
known of the whole family, being found all over Europe, 
and Africa and a large part of Asia; it is very common in 
England in summer, and in India breeds all along the 
Himalayas at moderate elevations, coming down to the 
plains in winter. To distinguish this familiar bird from 
other Swallows it may be described ; the plumage is steel- 
blue above and cream-coloured below, with the forehead 
and throat chestnut-red, followed by a blue-black band 
across the breast; on the tail is a row of white spots, and 
the outer feathers are very long, especially in the male, 
forming the proverbial ‘‘swallow-tail’’ fork. 
Young birds are very dull in colour, showing but little 
blue gloss, and with the face a sort of dull buff tint. A few 
birds in this plumage may turn up in the plains at any 
time of the year. 
This description applies to the House-Swallow in its 
pure form, but many specimens show traces of a cross 
with the Eastern House-Swallow (Hirundo gutturalis), 
which inhabits Eastern Asia, migrating south in winter, 
