PASSEKINE BIRDS OF CEYLON, 163 



HmUNDO JAVANICA. 



The Nilgiri^House Swallow. 



Hirundo javanica (Gates, Vol. II., p. 279 ; Legge, p. 597). 



Description. — A broad forehead, chin, throat, upper breast, 

 ear coverts, and cheeks rusty -red ; lores blackish ; upper 

 plumage and lesser wing coverts black with a greenish-blue 

 gloss ; wings and tail rusty-black ; all the tail feathers, except 

 the middle pair, with a white spot on the inner webs ; lower 

 plumage ashy-brown, paling on the centre of the abdomen; 

 under tail coverts blackish, tipped with white. 



In young birds the upper plumage is without gloss, and 

 some of the secondaries have rufous margins ; the lower parts 

 are paler. 



Bill black ; iris dark brown ; legs and feet brown. 



Length 5 ; wing 4 • 05 ; tail 1 • 8 ; tarsus ' 35 ; bill from gape 

 •63 ; tail only slightly forked. 



Distribution. — Resident in the hills, where it is common at 

 the higher elevations, but seldom descends as low as 2,000 feet. 

 It is found in the South Indian hills as far north as the Nilgiris, 

 also in the Andamans, Tenasserim, and Malaya, including 

 the Archipelago. 



Habits. — The most familiar Swallow in the higher lulls. 

 The flight is easy, but not very swift. The birds often have 

 a regular beat, and are fond of the steep-sided railway cuttings 

 through cabook (laterite), which are so common on the up- 

 country line. They are fearless of man, and frequently build 

 their nests in the eaves of verandahs, or even inside rooms. 

 They are, however, equally ready to breed on the little ledges 

 on the face of rocks, or in cabook cuttings, and I have found 

 the nest in the entrance of a railway tunnel. The breeding 

 season is from April to June, and again in September. The 

 nest is a little half cup of mud, firmly glued to the perpendi- 

 cular surface, against which it is built, and lined with feathers 

 or occasionally small scraps of rag, &c. The two or three 

 eggs are rather broad ovals, slightly pointed at the smaller 

 end. The ground colour is pinkish-white, with dull purple 

 and reddish-brown markings, chiefly at the larger end. 

 Average size '66 by 'SO. 



