4^ TtiE SWALLOWS AND SWIFTS. 



palm within a mile of you. I have tested this. In 

 Bombay the Brab is one of the commonest trees, and 

 therefore the Palm Swift is one of the commonest 

 birds. It is a slim bird, with long, narrow wings, 

 and a thin, deeply-forked tail, which opens out when- 

 ever the bird turns suddenly in the air. Its colour is 

 a brownish-smokey, rather lighter on the under-parts. 

 As I have said, its flight is comparatively feeble, but 

 it is a true Swift, spending the whole day on the wing 

 without apparent effort, and flying much higher than 

 the Swallows generally do. Its nest is a small, 

 shallow cup, made of feathers worked up with a 

 whitish substance like isinglass, which is really the 

 saliva of the bird. All Swifts use this substance in 

 the construction of their nests, and some use little else, 

 producing those clear, semi-transparent, white struc- 

 tures which the heathen Chinee converts into toothsome 

 soups. The Palm Swift lays three white eggs, which 

 may be looked for in the hot season. You must secure 

 the assistance of a toddy-drawer to obtain them. 



The Common Indian Swift, (Cypselus affinis] as 

 Jerdon calls our sixth species of this family, might 

 rather be named the House Swift, for it comes nearer 

 taking the place which the House Swallow fills in Eng- 

 land than any other. It does not often build under the 

 eaves of a private house, but the arched entrance to 

 Messrs. Greaves, Cotton & Co.'s offices, the central hall 

 of the Post Office, the porch of the old High Court, in 

 short, any spacious porch, or verandah, or high-arched 

 door- way, will do. The Indian House Swift is a soci- 

 able bird and will not build alone, but founds regular 

 villages, which may consist of half a dozen nests or 

 half a hundred. They are large and solid, generally 



