446 Letters, Announcements, ^c. 



whereby it may be distinguished from C. apus. Furthermore 

 the feet are smaller ; indeed the bird is altogether smaller in 

 bulk. 



I believe that C. apus seldom appears in Egypt. Of the 

 thousands of Swifts which I have seen in Egypt, I could never 

 detect a single dark specimen, although I paid particular atten- 

 tion to the species, in order to confute the opinion of several 

 naturalists at home, who were inclined to consider the Egyptian 

 species identical with C. apus. If, therefore, I saw any bird, 

 out of the hundreds flying round me, which appeared to be a 

 trifle darker than ordinary, I immediately shot it ; but on every 

 occasion the bird thus obtained turned out to be C. paUidus. 

 Mr. E. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1867, p. 56) has already noticed the 

 difference between the Swifts of Egypt and Europe. 



Again, several ornithologists were inclined at first to put 

 down any Egyptian specimens as the young of C. apus ; but it 

 is impossible for that opinion to be correct, since I have shot 

 C. paUidus as late as the 3rd of May and as early as the 12th 

 of February. Comparing my specimens also with a young 

 specimen of C. apus, shot on the 27th of August, the colour of 

 the latter is very much darker, and all the feathers have distinct 

 white margins. 



I have a further corroboration to adduce as regards the dis- 

 tinctness of C. paUidus, proving also its claim to a place in the 

 European avifauna. Major Irby lately brought from Tangiers a 

 specimen of a Swift which he had set down as not being the 

 common C. apus. He stated that it arrived long before the 

 latter species in Tangiers and Southern Spain, and from his ob- 

 servations he was convinced of their being distinct species. On 

 comparing his specimen with my Egyptian bird, the two were 

 found to agree exactly ; so that when we receive further evidence 

 as to the date of its arrival in Southern Europe, I think that 

 ornithologists will have no difficulty in according specific rank 

 to C paUidus. An opportunity of comparing the species will, 

 it is hoped, be given before long in the plates, which will accom- 

 pany the projected work on the Birds of Europe of Messrs. 

 Sharpe and Dresser. 



The second I will name 



