104 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 
red and brown spots; the clutch does not exceed four. 
The nest is usually placed under an arch, such as a bridge, 
but also on rocks near water, and I have found it in the 
verandahs of buildings at Dehra Dun, the only place where 
I have seen the bird. It has one note so exactly like the 
“‘tweet’’? of the Canary that the resemblance is most 
misleading, making one think that there is an escaped 
Canary somewhere about. In Bengal and Assam this 
Swallow is not common, if it is found at all. 
THE STRIATED SwALLow (Hirundo erythropygia), called 
Masjid ababil by the natives, is a well-known species 
which always resides in the plains of India, but is not 
found to the eastward, and is rare in Ceylon. It is rather 
smaller than. the House-Swallow, and has the upper parts 
entirely steel-blue, with the exception of a chestnut patch 
on the lower part of the back; underneath it is cream- 
colour, finely streaked with black. In young birds the 
streaks are not so well marked, but the reddish back at 
once distinguishes this species from our other common 
Swallows. 
It also builds a very different nest, this being shaped 
like a bottle with a neck, fastened by its side against 
a wall or rock. The eggs are pure white, and only 
three are laid, the breeding season being from April to 
August. A very similar but rather larger Swallow 
(Hirundo nipalensis) is found all along the Himalayas 
in summer, coming down to the plains in winter. It 
often breeds in verandahs; I found it doing so in the 
Hotel at Kurseong. The nest is like that of its relative, 
of the plains. There are some other species of red-backed 
