CVPSELID.l-:, 



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THE ALPINE SWIFT. 

 CvPSELUS MELBA (LinnKus). 



This large Swift was first noticed as one of our occasional visitors 

 about midsummer 1S29, when one was shot off the coast of Ire- 

 land ; and since that time three or four more have been obtained, 

 at long intervals, in that island. Nearly a score of instances are on 

 record from various parts of England — mostly from the southern 

 half, but though one of them occurred as far north as Alnmouth in 

 Northumberland, no captures have as yet been made in Scotland. 

 With the exception of one taken near Dublin in March 1833, the 

 occurrences noted have been between June and October, and for 

 several reasons, coupled with the fact that I have obtained it in the 

 Bay of Biscay early in August, I think that most of our visitors are 

 from the Pyrenees or the Cantabrian range. 



The Alpine Swift is a very rare visitor to Heligoland, Germany, 

 and the north of France, although it breeds no further off than 

 the cliffs at Nolay on the western frontier of Burgundy ; also in the 

 Vosges and Savoy. Throughout Switzerland it nests annually, in 

 high crags and in lofty towers — notably in the cathedral at Berne ; 

 arriving at the end of April and leaving in September or October. 

 All the high mountain ranges of Central and Southern Europe are 

 frequented by it during the summer : while eastward we trace it, 

 through Asia Minor, Palestine, Persia and Turkestan, to many parts 

 of India. In the cold season, and indeed during a considerable 

 portion of the year, it is found in Ceylon ; also in suitable situations 



