PASSErUN.E. 261 



They are separated, like tlie birds of prey, into two divisions, the diur- 

 nal and the nocturnal. The genus 



HiRUNDO, Lhl. 



Or the Swallow, comprehends the diurnal species, all of which are re- 

 markable for their dense plumage, extreme length of wing, and velocity 

 of flight. Among them we distinguish 



Cypselus, Illiger. 



The Martinets have, of all birds, the longest wings in proportion to their 

 size, and the greatest powers of flight. Their tail is forked; their ex- 

 tremely short feet have this very peculiar character, that the thumb is di- 

 rected forward almost as much as the other toes, and the middle and ex- 

 ternal ones consist each of only three phalanges like the internal one. 



The shortness of their humerus, the breadth of its apophyses, their oval 

 fourchette, their sternum not emarginate beneath, — all indicate, even in the 

 skeleton, their fitness for vigorous flight; but the shortness of their feet, 

 together with the length of their wings, prevents them, when on the ground, 

 from rising, and consequently, they pass their lives, if I may so express 

 it, in the air, pursuing in flocks, and with loud cries, their insect prey 

 through the highest regions of the atmosphere. They build in holes of 

 walls, or fissures in rocks, and climb along the smoothest surfaces with 

 great rapidity. 



The common species, Hirundo apus, L., Enl. 541, 1, is black, 

 with a white throat. 



That from high mountains, Hirundo melha, L. ; Edw. 27; Vaill. 

 Afr. 243; Vieill. Gal. 121, is larger, brown above, and white be- 

 neath, with a brown collar under the neck (o). 



Hirundo, Cuv. 



The Swallows, properly so called, have the toes and sternum disposed 

 like those of the Passerinae generally. In some of them the feet are in- 

 vested with feathers down to the nails ; the thumb still exhibits a dispo- 

 sition to incline forward; the tail is forked, and of a moderate size. 



H. urhica, L. ; Hirondelle de fenetre, Enl. 542, 2. (The Mar- 

 tin). Black above; underneath, and the rump, white. The sub- 

 stantial nest it constructs of earth, at the angles of windows, under 

 eaves of houses, &c. is well known to every one*. 

 Others have naked toes, and the forks of the tail very often extremely 

 long. 



* Add Hirundo cayennensis, Enl. 725, 2; — Hit: ludoviciana, Nob. Enl. 725, 1, and 

 Catesby, 1, 51 — Hir. montana; — the same as the rupestris. 



^^ (rt) Add Hir. sinensis; — the Martinet a croupe blanche, Vaill. Afr. 244, 1? — 

 the Martinet velocifere, Id. lb. 244, 2? — the Martinet a moustarhes [Cyps. mystaceus, 

 Less, and Gam.), Voy. de la Coquille, No. 122;— the M. Coiffe {C. comatus, T.), Col. 

 268;— the M. longipenne (Hir. lons:ipennis, T., Col. 83, 1. [Add Cyps. pelagicus, 

 Wils. V. pi. xxxix. f. 1.— Eng. Ed.] 



