THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 431 



This species is distinguished from the Common Swallow by 

 the whole of its underside being of a very beautiful ferruginous 

 colour. Its breeding range appears to be restricted to Egypt and 

 Palestine (Tristram, Western Palestine, p. 60). 



235. Red-rumped Swallow [ALPENSCHWALBE]. 

 HIRUNDO RUFULA, Temminck. 



Hirundo rufula. Naumann, xiii. ; Blasius, Nachtrage, 209. 



Red-rumped Swallow. Dresser, iii. 487. 



Hirondelle rousseline. Temtninck, Manuel, iii. 298, iv. 652. 



During the last days of May 1855, in fine weather, and with 

 light south-easterly winds, a very powerful migration took place. 

 An exceptionally large number of Dotterels and Golden Plovers, in 

 the most handsome breeding plumage, were killed on the 29th, and 

 several examples of Sterna anglica and 8. minuta, which are 

 reckoned among rare occurrences here, were observed. I had, how- 

 ever, a specially pleasing surprise in seeing on the same day a flock of 

 Tringa platyrhyncha = Limicola pygmcea, a species not till then 

 met with on the island, nor seen since. There were about fifteen 

 of the birds, five of which I brought down at the first shot. Among 

 other common occurrences, an extraordinarily large number of 

 Swallows were also observed on the same day. On the next day, as 

 the east wind freshened, these latter congregated in masses the 

 numbers of which were beyond computation, the birds evidently 

 having a presentiment of the bad weather which set in to their 

 destruction shortly afterwards. 



On the afternoon of the same day i.e. the 30th I walked to 

 the northern point of the island, the temperature falling at the 

 time, and the east wind having considerably increased in force. 

 All the insects had already gone under shelter, and the birds were 

 evidently greatly in want of food, for they flew backwards and for- 

 wards about my feet so closely, for the purpose of catching the flies 

 roused by my footsteps, that in advancing I continually kept draw- 

 ing back my foot for fear of kicking the poor creatures. Thousands 

 of them were, however, already so much exhausted, that they sat 

 about close under the leeward edge of the rock on every available 

 somewhat sloping surface, in densely-crowded companies of from 

 twenty to fifty and more individuals, with their heads stuck under 

 their wings. Among one of these bands I suddenly espied some- 

 thing never seen before viz. an individual with a light rust- 

 coloured rump. The bird was sitting about two feet below the 



