SWIFT SWALLOW. 97 



stout and brown : upper parts of the plumage 

 black, with a steel gloss: quills and tail obscure 

 black, the latter forked : under parts white : legs 

 brown : it lays its eggs in the hollows of trees 

 without any nest : fond of perching on dead trees. 



SWIFT SWALLOW. 

 (Hirundo Velox.) 



Hi. nigra, capite alts caudaque cceruleo nitente. 



Black Swallow, with th head, wings, and tail, shining with 



blue. 



Le Martinet velocifere. Le VailL Ois. d'Afric. 5. 147. pi. 244. 

 f. 2. male. 



THE velocity with which this species flies is 

 wonderful, going, according to Le Vaillant, at the 

 rate of one hundred toises in the space of five se- 

 conds; which rapidity, if continued for one minute 

 without alteration, would enable the bird to travel 

 the distance of half a league in that time. 



The whole plumage of this bird is black, chang- 

 ing to blue on the top of the head, the wings, 

 and the tail ; which latter is much forked, and is 

 nearly two inches shorter than the wings, when 

 the bird is at rest : the eyes are reddish : the feet 

 and beak are brown. 



This species inhabits the forests, and builds in 

 trees in the country of Auteniquois, and the Cape 

 of Good Hope : it is small, measuring only four 

 inches in length. 



v. x. P. i. 7 



