on the Birds of South-eastern China. 179 



was taken to Mr. J. C. Kershaw, who gave it to the 

 writers. 



]\lr. J. C. Kershaw has occasionally seen it whilst passing 

 along the coast on migration at, or near, Macao. 



Cypselus pacificus. 



Except on a mountain-top at Howlik, these Swifts have 

 not been observed away from the coast. 



The birds are summer visitors, and the earliest date on 

 which they were noticed at Hong Kong was March 26, 

 but most arrive in April, and leave again for the south early 

 in September. The greater number of the birds, however, 

 pass on to regions further north. 



This species shews a strong partiality for rocky precipitous 

 islands and for barren mountaiu-tojjs, where it flies round 

 and round in the same manner as the European Swift, and, 

 like it, is only to be seen on certain days and chiefly in 

 the morning and evening. 



Whether these birds ever breed in the neighbourhood of 

 Hong Kong was not ascertained. 



Cypselus subfurcatus. 



This is a fairly common summer visitor to the West 

 River, but it does not occur on the coast. The first arrival 

 came in on April 3, but the bulk of the birds did not 

 appear until some weeks later. They leave for the south 

 again during the third week of October. 



At Kwei Hsien, in Kwang Si, numbers were found 

 breeding in limestone-caves, and as some nests contained 

 incomplete clutches of fresh eggs and others fully fledged 

 young on July 20, two broods are evidently reared. The 

 full clutch is four. At Samsliui about twenty-five pairs 

 breed on the beams inside the roof of a small temple. On 

 October 22 the birds were still sleeping in the nests used 

 during the past summer. 



When the nest is made in a cave it is placed in a crevice 

 or under the roof, and is difficult of access. In a temple it 

 is usually fixed on a beam under the roof. 



SER. X. VOL. I. O 



