268 HIRUNDINID^. 



the mountainous parts to breed. In Spain this bird builds 

 among the high rocks about Aragon. In France, M. 

 Vieillot says, this species only shows itself in the countries 

 bordering on the Alps. It flies with still greater rapidity 

 than the Common Swift, and has in proportion a greater 

 length of wing, feeding almost exclusively on those insects 

 which live in the high regions of air. The bird appears to 

 have the general habits of our Common Swift, from which, 

 however, it is easily recognised, even when on the wing, by 

 its larger size, and its conspicuous white belly. High 

 rocks, and the loftiest parts of cathedrals and church spires, 

 are the places chosen by this bird, in the fissures of which 

 it forms a nest of straw and moss, and these are united by 

 a glutinous matter, which, when dry, makes the nest very 

 hard. M. Vieillot says the nest is small for the size of the 

 bird, and when fixed against a vertical surface is in the 

 form of a half circle. This bird lays four or five elongated 

 white eggs. 



The White-bellied Swift annually visits the rocks in the 

 Canton of Geneva ; the high steeple at Berne, the cathe- 

 dral at Fribourg, and other suitable places in the coun- 

 tries already named, and M. Vieillot says it is also found 

 at Constantinople. The Cypselus Africanus, or Le Mar- 

 tinet a gorge blanche of Le Vaillant's Birds of Africa, is 

 considered to be the same as this White-bellied Swift. 



The beak is black, and longer in proportion than in the 

 Common Swift ; the irides blackish brown ; the top of 

 the head, sides of the neck, and all the upper surface of 

 the body, wings, and tail, nearly uniform hair brown ; 

 chin, throat, breast and belly, white ; a band across the 

 upper part of the breast; the thighs, vent, and under 

 tail-coverts, hair-brown ; feathers on the legs brown ; toes 

 orange brown ; claws dark brown. 



