104 . GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



red and brown spots ; the clutch does not exceed four. 

 The nest is usually placed under an arch, such as a bridge, 

 but also on rocks near water, and I have found it in the 

 verandahs of buildings at Dehra Dun, the only place where 

 I have seen the bird. It has one note so exactly like the 

 " tweet " of the Canary that the resemblance is most 

 misleading, making one think that there is an escaped 

 Canary somewhere about. In Bengal and Assam this 

 Swallow is not common, if it is found at all. 



THE STRIATED SWALLOW (Hirundo erythropyyia), called 

 Masjid ababil by the natives, is a well-known species 

 which always resides in the plains of India, but is not 

 found to the eastward, and is rare in Ceylon. It is rather 

 smaller than the House-Swallow, and has the upper parts 

 entirely steel-blue, with the exception of a chestnut patch 

 on the lower part of the back ; underneath it is cream- 

 colour, finely streaked with black. In young birds the 

 streaks are not so well marked, but the reddish back at 

 once distinguishes this species from our other common 

 Swallows. 



It also builds a very different nest, this being shaped 

 like a bottle with a neck, fastened by its side against 

 a wall or rock. The eggs are pure white, and only three 

 are laid, the breeding season being from April to August. 

 A very similar but rather larger Swallow (Hirundo 

 nipalensis) is found all along the Himalayas in summer, 

 coming down to the plains in winter. It often breeds in 

 verandahs ; I found it doing so in the Hotel at Kurseong. 

 The nest is like that of its relative of the plains. There 

 are some other species of red-backed striped Swallows 



