SPIN T:-T A. i i.i: n SWALLOW. 131 



i either singly or in pairs sweeping up the gullies, or flying 

 with immense rapidity just above the tops of the trees, their 

 never-tiring wings enabling them to perform their evolutions 

 in the capture of insects, and of sustaining themselves in the 

 air during the entire day without cassation.' These birds are 

 supposed to roost afc nights in the clefts of rocks and in 

 trees. 



Male; length, eight inches; bill, short, broad at the base, 

 and black; iris, hazel: in front of and over the eye is a line 

 of stiff black bristly feathers; forehead, greyish white; crown 

 and neck on the back, glossy brown, with purple and green 

 reflections; chin, white; throat, white; breast, brown, darkest 

 on the sides, which are spotted with white; back, greyish 

 brown, lightest in the middle. The wings extend three inches 



nd the end of the tail; the first and second quill feathers 

 are of nearly equal length, and the longest in the wing; 

 greater wing coverts, dull brown, with purple and green 

 reflections, the innermost feathers being more or less white on 

 the inner web; lesser wing coverts, dull brown, with purple 

 and green reflections; primaries, dull brown, lightest on the 

 inner web; secondaries, the same. Tail above, as the crown; 

 beneath, brown; it is square in shape, the feathers ten in 

 number, and the same colour as the wings; the shaft of each 

 feather projects beyond the web, forming a series of spines 

 about an eighth of an inch long from the middle feathers, and 

 gradually shortening on the side ones. Upper tail coverts, as 

 the crown; under tail coverts, white; legs, dark brown. The 

 toes, which are dark brown, are placed three before and one 

 behind, the latter rather on the inner side; claws, dark 

 brown. 



