r KALE'S SWIFTLET. 9 



Length 4'7 inches, tail 2, wing 4*6 to 5, tarsus "35, bill from gape '45. 



This species may be recognized by its ashy white rump-band. In C. in- 

 nommata there is no band, the whole upper plumage being uniform in 

 colour. 



Peale's Swiftlct was procured by Mr. Davison in the southern portion 

 of Tenasserim, where, he says, it is extremely common throughout the 

 year, and it breeds largely in the islands of the Mergui archipelago from 

 Tavoy Island southwards. 



It appears to be a permanent resident in the Andaman Islands, where 

 Mr. Hume observed it. 



In the British Museum there are specimens from Malacca and from the 

 Mauritius. It appears to have an immense range, for I have also examined 

 specimens from Australia, the Fiji and Friendly Islands and other localities 

 in the Pacific Ocean. Dr. Tiraud states that it breeds on the coast of 

 Cochin China. 



Neither Mr. Hume nor Mr. Davison note any thing special about the 

 general habits of this species. I presume they differ in no essential parti- 

 cular from those of C. innommata. 



Mr. Hume found this Swiftlet breeding in caves in the Andaman Islands. 

 It is this species which makes the edible nests of commerce. He says : 

 " I found the eggs in a cave on Little Button Island of the Andaman 

 archipelago on the 21st of March, but I do not know whether they have a 

 second brood. The nest, except just at its junction with the rock (where 

 it is brownish), is composed of the most exquisitely silvery-white gelatine. 

 Exteriorly the surface is compact and somewhat roughened in laminae; 

 interiorly it is a network of the finest and whitest threads, reminding one 

 of the Euplectella. The true nest, which is pure white, and in shape 

 rather more than half of a shallow cup, is from 2 to 2J inches broad, stands 

 out from 1J to nearly 2 inches from the wall, and varies interiorly in depth 

 from little more than J to a full inch. The attachment films and foundation 

 below the true nest, both of which are brown, vary excessively according 

 to the site chosen for the nest : in some they are almost wanting ; in others 

 the film extends for an inch on either side beyond the nest, and the foun- 

 dation below the most projecting point of the true nest may be 1^ inches 

 in depth/' Sometimes the nests are joined together. The eggs are white, 

 and appear to be two in number. 



