A NEW SWIFT 87 



The grey-headed lovebird* is not uncommon 

 on the cultivated land near the seashore. This 

 small green parroquet, the males of which have a 

 grey head and neck, is an inhabitant of Madagascar, 

 and possibly owes its presence in the Comoros 

 to human agency. It is a common cage bird, 

 and great numbers are imported from Madagascar 

 to Europe. 



On one occasion we visited a small island situated 

 in the middle of the harbour. This island, which 

 is marked on the charts as " Buzi," was thickly 

 covered with vegetation, and in some places it 

 was impossible to force a way through the prickly 

 clumps of acacia trees. The heat was intense, 

 and I have never felt the sun so much as I did 

 on Buzi. 



A number of swifts were flying over the island, 

 and after I had waited for some time they flew 

 near enough to be secured. These birds, which 

 somewhat resembled our common swift, proved to 

 belong to an undescribed species which I have 

 named Cypselus mayottensis.^ 



This little island was tenanted by a large colony 

 of fruit bats.J They were, however, in the thick 

 trees on the inaccessible side of the island, where 

 it rises straight up from the sea. Every evening 

 numbers of them flew across to the main island, 



* Agapornis cane*. 



f " Bulletin Brit. Orn. Club," Vol. XVI., p. 104, June, 1906. 



% Pteropu* comorensia. See Preface to 2nd Edition. 



H2 



