CHAPTER HI 

 VALLEY OF THE BLACK RIVER 



STILL a lingerer in the hospitable shade of 

 the Mission House, my chief pleasure during 

 th~e early days of February was in observing the 

 autumnal muster of the purple swallows Progne 

 furcata a species which was abundant at this 

 point, breeding in the cliffs overhanging the river ; 

 also, like so many other swallows in all places, 

 ander the eaves of houses. It is a large, beautiful 

 bird, its whole upper plumage of a rich, glossy, 

 deep purple hue, its under surface black. No such 

 large swallows as this, with other members of its 

 genus, are known in the Old World ; and a visitor 

 from Europe would probably, on first seeing one 

 of these birds, mistake it for a swift; but it has 

 not got the narrow, scythe-shaped wings of the 

 swift, nor does it rush through the air in the 

 swift's mad way; on the contrary, its flight is 

 much calmer, with fewer quick doublings than 

 that of other swallows. It also differs from most 

 members of its family in possessing a set song of 

 several modulated notes, which are occasionally 

 warbled in a leisurely manner as the bird soars 

 high in the air : as a melodist it should rank high 

 among the hirundines. 



31 



