78 



H1RUNDININ.E. 



different individuals, some being a greyer and more dove-brown, 

 others more rufous, but always more rufous on the coverts, and 

 generally palest or clearest on the tertiaries ; the exterior 

 scapulars with larger or smaller pure white bars, sometimes on 

 both and sometimes upon one web only, in some specimens 

 conspicuous even when the bird is at rest, in others only visible 

 by lifting the feathers ; the tertiaries are barred on both webs 

 with white ; the tail is pale grey, greyish-brown, or pale brown, 

 white at the extreme tip, with five regular, transverse, brown 

 bars, darker or lighter in different individuals, the basal one of 

 which is more or less completely hidden by the upper tail-coverts, 

 and which average about 0*4 inches in breadth ; the primaries, 

 their greater-coverts, and the winglet are generally somewhat 

 darker-brown than the rest of the wing, but the former are paler 

 on the outer webs ; all the quills are banded paler, somewhat 

 obsoletely towards the tips and on the outer webs, but very 

 conspicuously on the inner webs above the tip; the breast, 

 abdomen, sides, flanks, vent and lower tail-coverts are pure white 

 the breast with broad, rufous-brown stripes, and the flanks and 

 abdomen with large, more or less heart-shaped, spots of the same 

 color towards the tips of the feathers ; the lower tail-coverts 

 sometimes spotless, and sometimes with traces of a few pale-brown 

 arrow-head, transverse bars ; tarsal and tibial plumes mottled 

 white, pale fulvous and brown, one or other of these colors, in 

 some specimens the white, in others the fulvous or the brown, 

 greatly predominating ; axillaries white, or pale fulvous, more or 

 less imperfectly but broadly barred with brown, or pale fulvous- 

 brown ; edge of the wing just above the base of the primaries 

 white ; wing-lining mingled white, brown, and pale fulvous. 



The Brown Hawk Owl only occurs as an occasional straggler 

 in some parts of the Deccan. It may perhaps be rather more 

 common than is generally supposed, but owing to its very shy 

 nature it must often escape notice. 



ORDER, Insessores, rigors. 



Bill very varied in form ; feet either with three toes in front 

 and one behind, on the same plane, or with two before and two 

 behind ; in some few the hind-toe reversible, so that all four can be 

 brought to the front, and in a few cases one toe is wanting. 



FAMILY, Hirundinidae. 



Bill short, broad at the base, depressed, compressed at the tip, 

 more or less curved, not notched ; gape very wide ; wings long, 

 pointed; tarsi short ; feet feeble ; hind-toe short. 



SUB-FAMILY, Hirundininse. 



The bill is short, flat, nearly triangular, compressed at the tips, 

 with a slight emargination ; the culmen gently bent at the tip, 

 but not hooked ; the gape is large, without any jictal bristles-; 



