THE PALM SWIFT. 229 



grinders in this country. Assailing and bickering at the mon- 

 keys are several other species of Weavers. Some of the Spotted 

 Weavers are defending their homes, and are aided by three other 

 species, Ploceus subaureus, known by its lighter hue ; Hj/phantor- 

 nis texior, distinguished by its dark bill ; and Textor erythrorhyn- 

 chus, known by its light bill. 



Bather in the background, and in the centre, are some nests 

 of Ploceus Capensis, woven with a palm-leaf. In the left-hand 

 lower corner is the long, retort-shaped nest of the pretty Yellow 

 Weaver ; in the corresponding right corner is the Taha Weaver ; 

 and hanging over the water at the bottom of the illustration is 

 the habitation of the Yellow-capped Weaver. 



In Jamaica there is a bird which would not allow any illustra- 

 tion of its size and beauty, but is nevertheless a most interesting- 

 species. This is the Palm Swift (Tachornis phcenicolia), easily 

 known by the broad white belt on its black body, something like 

 the white band on the common house-martin. 



As is implied by its generic name, the Palm Swift is celebrated 

 for its very great speed, which it exhibits by its darting flight 

 over the grass savannas. As, moreover, it resides in Jamaica 

 throughout the whole year, it gives every opportunity for ob- 

 serving its habits. 



The nest of this bird is very curious, and always pensile ; and, 

 though it can never be mistaken for that of any other bird, it is 

 built after a very diverse fashion. Usually it is fastened to the 

 spathe of the common cocoa-nut palm, being cemented to the leaf 

 so firmly, that if it be pulled away by force, the outside integu- 

 ment of the leaf comes away also. The nest is ingeniously hid- 

 den in the leaf, so that it would not be noticed by an ordinary ob- 

 server, were it not that in some cases the bird is so very liberal 

 of its materials that their superabundance betrays its presence. 

 The nest is made of cotton and feathers, the cotton forming the 

 exterior and the feathers the lining. The walls of the nest are 

 very strong, though flexible, and something like felt, being firm^ 

 compacted, and containing an enormous mass of downy feathers, 

 in the middle of which the eggs are laid. 



The cotton is of a very short staple, and is not the substance 

 used in commerce, but the produce of the silk-cotton-trees belong- 

 ing to the genus Bombax. These trees are of very great size, the 

 trunks running nearly a hundred feet in height without a branch, 



