114 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



bottle-shaped nest is composed of mud or clay, and, like that 

 of our Common Martin, is only worked at in the morning 

 and evening, unless the day be wet or lowery. In the con- 

 struction of the nests these birds appear to work in small com- 

 panies, six or seven assisting in the formation of each nest, 

 one remaining within and receiving the mud brought by the 

 others in their mouths : in shape these nests are nearly round, 

 but vary in size from four to six or seven inches in diameter ; 

 the spouts of some being eight or nine inches in length. 

 When built on the sides of rocks or in the hollows of trees, 

 they are placed without any regular order, in clusters of thirty 

 or forty together, some with their spouts inclining downwards, 

 others at right angles, &c, ; they are lined with feathers and 

 fine grasses. The eggs, which are four or five in number, 

 are sometimes white, at others spotted and blotched with red ; 

 eleven-sixteenths of an inch long by half an inch broad. 



The sexes are alike in colour. 



Crown of the head rust-red ; back, scapularies, and wing- 

 coverts deep steel-blue ; wings and tail dark brown ; rump 

 bufly white ; upper tail-coverts brown ; under surface white, 

 tinged with rust-red, particularly on the sides of the neck and 

 flanks ; the feathers of the throat with a fine line of dark 

 brown down the centre ; irides blackish brown ; bill blackish 

 grey ; legs and feet olive-grey. 



Genus CHERAMOECA, Cabanis. 



In the " Introduction " to the folio edition, I remarked 

 that I Avas not fully satisfied of the propriety of placing the 

 White-breasted Swallow in the genus Atticora ; and that I 

 erred in so doing has since been shown by M. Cabanis having 

 deemed it necessary to make it the type of a new one, which 

 I here adopt. 



