973 



SWALLOW TRIBE. 



SWALLOW TRIBE. 



974 



White-Bellied Swallow (Oinmdo fateiata'). (Swainson, ' Zool. 111.,' 2nd series.) 



Macropieryx. Tarsus remarkably short, naked. Anterior toes 

 long ; the outer scarcely shorter thau the middle ; the inner shortest ; 

 kinder toe very short. Tail long, forked. It is a native of India. 

 (Swainson). 



At. longipennit. Above obscure glossy-green ; throat, breast, and 

 lower part of the back, light-gray ; belly, spot on the scapulars, and 

 line over the eye, white ; ears rufous ; front with an incumbent crest. 



Mr. Swainson considers Afacropteryx intermediate between the 

 typical Swifts and the Swallows. To the first, he remarks, it is allied 

 by its strong scansorial feet ; to the latter by the length and fixed 

 position of the hind toe, and the depression of the bill. 



Head and Foot of Ifaeropleryx longipennii. 



Chattura, Steph. Feet as in Macropteryx, but the tarsus longer 

 than the middle toe. Tail short, even; the shafts prolonged into 

 acute points. (Sw.) 



tout. Winged Swift (Chcetura macrofttra). (Swalnion, 'Zoo'. 111.,' 2nd scries.) 



C. macroptera is browu, with the wings and tail glossed with 

 greenish-blue, the back being of a gray-white, the chin and under tail- 

 covers snowy, and the tail even. Mr. Swainson says that Ilirundo 

 albicollis and it aro two of the largest species yet discovered of a 

 very singular group of swifts; wherein the tail-feathers are spined 



Tail of Chalura. (Swainson.) 



and even more rigid than those of the woodpeckers : by this structure, 

 he remarks, the birds can remain for a considerable time in the moat 

 perpendicular situations. The expanded tail, he adds, thus acts as a 

 powerful support, which is further increased by the size and strength 

 of the claws, these last being much larger than those of ordinary 

 swallows. Most of the species are natives of America, but Mr. 

 Swainson does not say whether this is a native of that country. 



The Wood-Swallows of Australia and India are closely related to 

 the Hirvmdinidce, but differ in the structure of their bills and feet. 

 Mr. G. R. Gray arranges them under his sub-family Diyrwrinae amongst 

 the Ampelidce. They belong to the genus Artamus, which is often 

 placed in the Laniadas, and is thus defined : Bill gradually arched 

 from the base, where it is very broad. Culmeu thick and convex 

 without any ridge ; the base dividing the frontal feathers, and some- 

 what dilated. Rictus bristled. Nostrils wide apart, naked, small 

 without a membrane, and pierced in the bill. Feet short, strong. 

 Wings very long and pointed; the first quill longest. Tail short. 

 (Swainson.) 



A. leucwhynchos is the Lanlus leucorhynchos of Gmelin, Pigreische 

 Dominiquaine des Philippines of Sonnerat, and White-Bellied Shrike 

 of Latham. Size rather larger than a sparrow, and in shape much 

 more elongated. Head, neck, breast, back, wings, and tail black. Belly 

 and upper part of the rump white. Under part of the wings (which 

 are very long, and reach at least an inch beyond the tail) gray. Bill 

 grayish, conical, and very strong, slightly curved at its extremity, and 

 its base surrounded with stiff bristles directed forwards. Legs black. 



Sonnerat states that this bird flies with rapidity, poising itself in 

 the air like the swallows. It is, he adds, an enemy to the crow ; 

 and although much smaller, the wood-swallow not only dares to 

 oppose but to provoke him. The combat is long and stubborn, some- 

 times continuing for hall' and hour, and concludes with the retreat 

 of the crow. Perhaps, says Sounerat, the crow despies this too feeble 

 enemy, which only harasses him, and avoids hifl strokes oy his activity, 

 darting away and returning as he sees his opportunity. 



A. sordidiu, Sordid Thrush, is the Turdus sordidus of Latham; 

 Ocypterus albovitlatut of Cuvier, Valenciennes, and Gould's ' Synopsis ; ' 

 Artamui lineatut of Vieillot; A. albovittatua of Vigors arid Horsfield; 

 Leptopteryx albovittata of Wagler ; Be-wb'-weu of the aborigines of the 

 lowland and mountain districts of Western Australia ; and Worle of 

 the aborigines of King George's Sound. 



The head, neck, and the whole of the body, is fuliginous gray ; wings 

 dark bluish-black, the external edges of the second, third, and fourth 

 primaries white ; tail bluish-black, all the feathers, except the two 

 middle ones, largely tipped with white ; hides dark brown ; bill blue, 

 with a black tip ; feet nearly lead colour. Sexes alike in colour, but 

 the female rather the smallest. 



The young have a dirty-white irregular stripe down the centre of 

 each feather on the upper parts, and are mottled with the same on the 

 under parts. 



This species is a native of Australia, and breeds from September 

 to December, and the situation of the nest is very much varied. 

 Mr. Gould saw one placed in a thickly-leaved bough near the ground, 

 while others were in a naked fork, on the side of the bole of a tree, 

 in a niche formed by a portion of the bark having been separated 

 from the trunk. He describes the nest as rather shallow, of a rounded 

 form, about five inches in diameter, and composed of fine twigs neatly 

 lined with fibrous roots. He observed that the nests found in Van 

 Diemen's Laud were larger, more compact, and more neatly formed 

 than thoso on the continent of Australia. The eggs, which are 

 generally four in number, differ in the disposition of tlieir markings. 

 The dull white of the ground-colour is spotted and dashed with dark 

 umber-brown ; in some Mr. Gould found a second series of grayish 

 spots appearing as if from beneath the surface of the shell Medium 

 length 11 lines, and breadth 8 lines. 



Mr. Gould states that an extraordinary habit of this bird is that of 

 clustering like bees on the dead branch of a tree. " This feature was 

 not seen by me, but by my assistant, Mr. Gilbert, during his residence 

 at Swan River ; and I have here given his account in his own words : 

 ' The greatest peculiarity in the habits of this bird is its manner of 

 suspending itself in perfect clusters, like a swarm of bees ; a few birds 



