AVES HIKUNDINID^. 815 



lover of nature who is an early riser. An hour before sunrise and ere any 

 wild bird has broken the profound silence of night, multitudes of these 

 Swallows, as at the signal of a leader, begin their song, at the same time 

 mounting upwards into the still dusky sky. Their notes at this time are 

 different from the hurried twitterings they utter through the day ; they are 

 impressive, and, though soft, may be heard at a long distance ; sounding 

 far and near, up in the sky, from so many throats, they have a most charm- 

 ing effect that seems in peculiar harmony with the shadowy morning 

 twilight." 



Iridoprocne meyeni (Cabanis). 



Hiriindo leiicopyga Meyen, Nova Acta Acad. Leop. Carol, and Suppl. p. 73 



(1834) (Chile). 

 Petrochelidon meyem Cdhan'is, Mus. Hein, i. p. 48 (1850) (Chili). 



Description. — Adult male, P. U. O. C. 7523, Punta Arenas, Chili, De- 

 cember 13, 1897, J. B. Hatcher. Total length, 5.22 inches; wing, 4.40; 

 culmen, .28; tail, 2.20; tarsus, .41. Above glossy purplish blue, with a 

 broad rump band pure white, wings and tail blackish with a slight bluish 

 gloss ; a very narrow white supraloral line, area below the eyes velvety 

 black extending over on the sides of the throat; under parts white with a 

 wash of gray on the sides of the breast; bill and feet black. 



Female similar but duller and with the black under the eyes not ex- 

 tending onto the sides of the throat or only to a very slight extent. 



Geographical Range. — Bolivia, Chili, Argentina and Patagonia to 

 Straits of Magellan. 



Many specimens were obtained at Punta Arenas, December 13 to Jan- 

 uary 6, where it was breeding. 



M. J. Nicholl writes: "I saw some of these Martins flying round the 

 houses at Punta Arenas. The tarsi and toes are not feathered as in our 

 House-Martin, otherwise they might easily be mistaken for that species. 

 The cry is very similar." (Ibis, 1904, p. 42.) 



A. A. Lane says: "Common throughout Chile, and known as the 

 'Golondrina.' I believe it is found in Valdivia and Chiloe only in the 

 warm season. I observed it in June at Coronel, but on going to Maquegua 

 I found none at that date, though it became plentiful there at the end of 

 August." (Ibis, p. 15, 1897.) 



W. H. Hudson considers it migratory in the lower Rio Negro Valley 

 and Mr. Peters found it arriving at Huanuluan September 29 and dis- 



