320 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



down" (agglutinated ?). "An opinion prevails that tlie presence of 

 these birds is injurious to the caverns, on which account they are 

 driven away as much as possible." Another writer in the same 

 volume of the ' Bataviaasch Genootschap ' (p. 248), mentions the 

 Momos or Boerong itam (thus bringing together M. Hooyman's 

 first two species), as a larger kind with plumed tarsi, indicating 

 thus a true C^jpselus, which is probably the constructor of the 

 nests assigned by Dr. Horsfield and others to the Linchi. 

 Assuredly, however, the C. fuc'ipharja (Thunberg), Linchi or 

 Lintye of the Javanese, identical upon comparison with Javanese 

 specimens, would appear to be the sole producer of the numerous 

 nests gathered on the rocky coasts of the Bay of Bengal ; and 

 the often-quoted notice by Sir G. Staunton, in his account of the 

 Earl of Macartney's Embassy to China, must refer either to 

 C.fuciphaga, or to an entirely new species (which is hardly to be 

 supposed in the locality). For he remarks that " The birds 

 which build these nests are small grey Swallows, ivith bellies of a 

 dirty white. They were flying about in considerable numbers; 

 but they were so small and their flight so quick that they 

 escaped the shot fired at them." * This was at an islet off" the 

 soutliern extremity of Sumatra, close to where M. Poivre also 

 observed them, who remarks tliat " leur taille etoit a peu-pres 

 celles des Colibris." t The birds may have appeared greyish on 

 the wing, but tlie white belly is characteristic of C. fuciphaga; 

 and this particular species occurs abundantly on parts of the 

 coast of the Malayan Peninsula, in the Nicobar Islands, and 

 Mergui Archipelago, and so high as on certain rocky islets off" the 

 southern portion of the coast of Arracan, where the nests are 

 annually gathered and exported to China. From all this range 

 of coasts we have seen no other species than fuciphaga, nor does 

 it appeiir that any other has been observed ; and we have examined 

 a multitude both of the adults and of young taken from the nests 

 collected in the Nicobars and preserved in spirit, all of which 

 were of the same species. Nevertheless, what appears to be 

 C. nidifca inhabits the mountains far in the interior of India, 

 though hitherto unobserved upon the coasts ; and it is worthy of 

 notice that C. fuciphaga does not appear to have been hitherto 



* Narrative of Macartney's Embassy, i. 287. 



t See also Valentyu, as quoted in the ' Bataviaasch Genootschap,' iii, 

 247. 



