434 Dr. R. B. Sharpe on Birds 
coursing high in the air. Having no white on the hinder 
part of the body, these cannot be Chetura stictilema, which 
is also sometimes seen. The only black Swift that I know 
here is C. batesi, of which the type specimen was obtained as 
stated before (‘ Ibis,’ 1905, p.91). It has not been secured 
since ; yet these Swifts are abundant, and I'wonder where 
they roost and nest, and why no one, even of the natives, 
ever finds them. 
One afternoon, immediately after a hard rain, a lot of 
Swifts were seen coursing near the earth. The rain had 
hardly ceased, and there had not been time for them to be 
attracted by insects rising from the ground after the rain ; 
so I think that they must have followed the insects which 
they had been pursuing in the upper air, as these were borne 
downward by the rain. The Swifts disappeared soon, and 
were seen going in the directicn in which the rain-clouds haa 
gone.—G. L. B.] 
116. CoLius NIGRISCAPALIS. 
Colius nigriscapalis Reichenow ; Sharpe, Ibis, 1904, 
p-. 612. 
No. 1148. dad. River Ja, Dec. 15, 1905. 
Nos. 1257, 1264. 9 ad. River Ja, Jan. 7, 1906. 
No. 1290. @ ad. River Ja, Jan. 11, 1906. Eggs 
beginning to form. 
Nos. 2068, 2092. ¢ 9 ad. Bitye, River Ja, Nov. 14, 
24, 1906. 
[These birds are unknown in the strictly forest-region 
about Efulen; they are common in the extensive old 
clearings of the Ja. They fly about in flocks of half a dozen 
or a dozen, feeding on the fruits of wild vines and bushes, 
and spending much of their time perched motionless. Their 
favourite place is a small tree that is bare of leaves. 
There one or more of them may be seen clinging to a 
perpendicular twig, against which the long tail is braced, 
something in the manner of a Woodpecker; but they 
cannot cling to a large tree-trunk in this way. Their tails 
soon become much worn, and it is rare to get a specimen 
