428 Dr. E. Hartert on Birds from 



I believe that Siberian specimens are lighter than Euro- 

 pean ; but more material would be necessary to decide this 

 question. 



.30. Asio accipitrinus (Pall.). 



Strix accipitrina Pallas, Reise Buss. Reielis, i. p. 455. 

 ? . Lena River, 14. vi. 1903. (No. 71.) 



31. Apus pacificus (Lath.). 



Hirundo pacifica Latham, Index Orn., Snppl. p. 58 (1801 : 

 " Habitat in Nova Hollandia "). 



$ ? ad., 2 young (full-grown) from nest. Yakutsk, 25, 

 27. vi., 2. viii. 1903. " Bill black ; iris blackish ; foot 

 reddish brown in the young, blackish in the old birds/' 

 (Nos. 134, 355, 356, 357.) 



[In Yakutsk (27. vi. 1903) these Swifts were nesting upon 

 beams under the market-place verandahs as well as amongst 

 them. They congregate in large numbers, but do not breed in 

 close company. They fly quickly, soar well, and have a single 

 shrill note. The bird has a strong grasp (with its four toes in 

 the same plane), which is enough to pierce the fingers and draw 

 blood. The nest consists of a few straws and feathers cemented 

 by saliva. The eggs were 2 or 3 to a clutch. There was 

 much difficulty in securing specimens of Swifts and Swallows. 

 The people have a superstitious fear about disturbing them. 

 The Chief of Police in Yakutsk, to whom I am indebted, 

 arranged for a youth to accompany me at dusk to the 

 quietest part of the market-place to obtain specimens. 



In the same place, on Aug. 1st, the young were just leaving 

 the nest. One fully-fledged bird was miserably thin. There 

 was scarcely any fatty tissue about its body and the sternum 

 was but covered with dwarfed muscles. A second young bird 

 was particularly fat. The parents occasionally worry the 

 Feather-toed Swallows which associate with them in nesting:. 



This species was not met further down the river than 

 Yakutsk.] 



