PASSERINA. 261 
They are separated, like the birds of prey, into two divisions, the diur- 
nal and the nocturnal. The genus 
Hirunpo, Lin. 
Or the Swallow, comprehends the diurnal species, all of which are re- 
markable for their dense plumage, extreme length of wing, and velocity 
of flight. Among them we distinguish 
Cyesetus, Jiliger. 
The Martinets have, of all birds, the longest wings in proportion to their 
size, and the greatest powers of flight. Their tail is forked; their ex- 
tremely short feet have this very peculiar character, that the thumb is di- 
rected forward almost as much as the other toes, and the middle and ex- 
ternal ones consist each of only three phalanges like the internal one. 
The shortness of their humerus, the breadth of its apophyses, their oval 
fourchette, their sternum not emarginate beneath,—all indicate, even in the 
skeleton, their fitness for vigorous flight; but the shortness of their feet, 
together with the length of their wings, prevents them, when on the ground, 
from rising, and consequently, they pass their lives, if I may so express 
it, in the air, pursuing in flocks, and with loud cries, their insect prey 
through the highest regions of the atmosphere. They build in holes of 
walls, or fissures in rocks, and climb along the smoothest surfaces with 
great rapidity. 
The common species, Hirundo apus, L., Enl. 541, 1, is black, 
with a white throat. 
That from high mountains, Hirundo melba, L.; Edw. 27; Vaill. 
Afr. 248; Vieill. Gal. 121, is larger, brown above, and white be- 
neath, with a brown cellar under the neck (a). 
Hirunbo, Cuv. 
The Swallows, properly so called, have the toes and sternum disposed 
like those of the Passerine generally. In some of them the feet are in- 
vested with feathers down to the nails; the thumb still exhibits a dispo- 
sition to incline forward; the tail is forked, and of a moderate size. 
H. urbica, L.; Hirondelle de fenetre, Enl. 542, 2. (The Mar- 
tin). Black above; underneath, and the rump, white. The sub- 
stantial nest it constructs of earth, at the angles of windows, under 
eaves of houses, &c. is well known to every one*. 
Others have naked toes, and the forks of the tail very often extremely 
long. 
* Add Hirundo cayennensis, Enl. 725, 2;—Hir. ludoviciana, Nob. Enl. 725, 1, and 
Catesby, 1, 51—Hir. montana ;—the same as the rupestris. 
Kas" (a) Add Hir. sinensis;—the Martinet a croupe blanche, Vaill. Afr. 244, 1?— 
the Murtinet velocifere, Id. Ib. 244, 2?—the Martinet @ moustaches (Cyps. mystaceus, 
Less. and Garn.), Voy. de la Coquille, No. 122;—the M. Coiffé (C. comatus, T.), Col. 
268;—the M. longipenne (Hir. longipennis, T., Col. 83, 1. [Add Cyps. pelagicus, 
Wils. V. pl. xxxix. f. 1.—Ena. Ep. ] 
