152 GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS 



gentle twittering of the birds as they propel themselves 

 through the air sounds doubly sweet, since it recalls 

 scenes in our distant island. The swallows which 

 winter in India migrate to the Himalayas or Kashmir 

 or Afghanistan, where they rear up their families. 



But to-day I write of a more beautiful bird even 

 than Hirundo rustica, of the most beautiful of the 

 swallow kind, of a species on which Gilbert White 

 could not have set eyes. Like the common species, 

 the wire-tailed swallow (Hirundo smithii) is a glossy, 

 steel-blue bird. The forehead, crown, and nape 

 are chestnut, and all the lower plumage, including 

 the chin, is white. In this last respect it differs con- 

 siderably from the common swallow, which has the 

 chin and throat chestnut, a black pectoral band, 

 and the rest of the under parts pale reddish brown. 

 In both species there is a white spot on each of the 

 tail feathers, except the median pair. These white 

 spots are very conspicuous when the bird sits with 

 tail expanded. 



The chief characteristic of Hirundo smithii is the 

 great development of the shafts of the outer tail 

 feathers. In most swallows the shaft is elongated. 

 In H. rustica it extends 2\ inches beyond the other 

 tail feathers. In the wire-tailed swallow the shaft 

 of each of the outer tail feathers attains a length of 

 seven inches, and is thus more than twice as long as 

 the body of the bird. This swallow, indeed, looks as 

 though two pieces of wire had been inserted into its 

 tail ; hence the popular name, which is far more 

 appropriate than the scientific one. Jerdon called 



