28 CTPSELIDJi. 



Collocalia unicolor (Jerd.). The Nilghiri Swiftlet. 



Collocalia nidifica (Lath.), Jerd. E. Ind. i, p. 182. 



Collocalia unicolor (Jerd.), Hume, Rough Draft N. $ E. no. 103. 



The Nilghiri Swiftlet breeds on all the hills of Southern India 

 and Ceylon. 



Mr. Davison tells me that "there are several places on the 

 Nilghiris where the Hill Swiftlet breeds largely ; one is a large 

 rave above the main road from Coonoor to Ooty, close to the last 

 toll-bar, before the cantonment of Ooty is reached : another is a 

 cave below the Hooker Chinchona Estate at Pykarra, near the 

 footpath loading from Pykarra to Musnagoodie, The birds build 

 in company, the nests often being placed in regular tiers one above 

 the other, and often so close that they touch each other. The nest 

 is never composed entirely of saliva, but always consists chiefly of 

 a long grey thread-like lichen (so common on all trees on the 

 Nilghiris) firmly agglutinated together with the saliva. The nest 

 is a small shallow semi-saucer-like structure glued to the rock. 

 The normal number of the eggs appears to be two ; they are quite 

 white, very elongated, and are nearly the same thickness at both 

 ends. They breed in April, May, and the early part of June." 



Mr. A. G. Cardew, C.S., also writing of the Nilghiris, says : 

 " This bird breeds at several places on the Nilghiris during May and 

 June. The nests occur in the darkest parts of caves, generally in 

 complete darkness, and are small but compact cup-shaped struc- 

 tures, strongly made of lichen which is fastened together and the 

 nest glued to the wall by the mucous secretion of the bird. The} r 

 measure about 2^ inches by 2 and are very shallow, the egg-cavity 

 not exceeding l| inches in the largest, while in many the walls 

 are less than an inch above the bottom of the nest. No lining of 

 feathers is used, and the amount of inspissated mucus is very 

 small, the structure being wholly of lichen. The number of eggs 

 is invariably two. On visiting one of the most populous caves on 

 the Gth May, I found 40 nests, among which three or four had 

 young birds and an equal number were empty ; every one of the 

 remainder contained two eggs. At a later visit on the 20th of 

 June, the number of nests was about 25, and of these the majority 

 were already empty, three having eggs and four young birds. The 

 eggs, which are pure glossless white, are remarkable for their 

 slightly cylindrical shape, and measure from 0*82 to 94 in 

 length, and from 0*52 to 0'55 in breadth." 



Dr. Jerdon makes the following remarks : " In 1846, I paid a 

 visit, in company with Mr. Ward, M.S.C., to Pigeon Island, some 

 miles out at sea to the south of Honore, which was said to be the 

 resort of these birds. ~V\ r e found a large cave at one end of the 

 island with a few of the nests, but of the second-make and 

 inferior to the first, being mixed with feathers and extraneous 

 matter. There were no eggs at this season (the end of December), 

 and we did not see any of the birds to identify the species. A 



