14 INSEGTIVOROgS BIRDS 



-Two, three, or four to a sitting. One set may be 

 rich reddish-brown, with markings of a stronger colour ; a 

 second set may be nearly white, with brown spots upon it, 

 varying between olive and nutty brown. Length, 8 

 inch ; breadth, 0-6 inch. 



HOUSE-SWALLOW 



(Welcome Swallow), 



Hirundo neoxena, Gld. 



Hi-run do ne-o-zend. 



Hirundo, a swallow ; neos, new; zenos, strange. 



Hirundo neoxena, Gkl., "Birds of Australia," fob, vol. ii., pi. 13. 



Geographical Distribution. — Areas 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. 



Key to the Species. — Tail forked ; throat rust-red ; abdomen 

 white ; ear coverts glossy blue, like back ; nostrils lateral. 



This beautiful creature of the air was quite content, on 

 account of the moderately mild season, in 1896, to stay 

 in Victoria. In March the birds assembled in hundreds 

 in Elizabeth-street, Melbourne, and I was inclined to 

 conclude one contingent was preparing to make a journey. 

 These birds settled on the projecting mouldings of the third 

 floor of a five-storied building, each uttering a single note, 

 which collectively constituted a din of weak voices. Mr. 

 Frank Tate, M.A., has told me of a flock of several 

 hundreds entering a school building near Kerang, which he 

 believes to have been the arrival of the flock in their return 

 migratory journey. It is well for agriculturists in the 

 district that this flock kept the even tenor of its way. In 

 March there are three features observable about these birds. 

 At first, that they are combative. One pair for several 



