214 THE SWALLOWS AND SWIFTS OF BERAR. 



The Dusky Crag Martin, {Cotile concolor.) 



The natural habitat of this Swallow is amongst rocks, 

 and on the faces of cliffs, and in such situations it may 

 always be found, but it readily avails itself of the windows and 

 porches of houses, even nesting among the two-storied houses 

 in native towns. I have also known it make its nest on the 

 side of a well. The nest is open all round, merely attached 

 to the wall by one side, and is very neatly lined with feathers. 

 The eggs are more round than those of any of our other Swallows, 

 and are minutely speckled with brown, especially about the thick 

 end ; the usual number is, I think, three. They are persecuted 

 while building, and occasionally driven away by the Sparrows, 

 but their open nest not being adapted to the wants of these birds, 

 they do not take possession of it. Though capable, from their 

 length of wing, of great speed, they are no travellers, but may 

 generally be found flying about their chosen cliff or building 

 in a very leisurely manner ; the young continue about the spot 

 for some time, but I never saw the old ones feed them upon 

 the wing after the manner of the Wire-tailed Swallows. 



The Indian Swift, (Cypselus affinis.) 



This bird is of course abundant, and its rushing flight and 

 shrill cry often strongly recall summer evenings at home. Its 

 habits are indeed but a feeble copy of those of the English 

 bird, the same circling near their nests, always screaming as 

 they pass them, and the same, assembling in numbers high in 

 the air in the evening, though they fly low much more frequent- 

 ly. They breed once in February, and again during the monsoon. 

 The nests are probably better known than those of any other 

 Indian Swift or Swallow ; they are generally built under roofs, 

 sometimes in a crevice between the wall and the roof, but often 

 attached to the roof itself. In the latter case the straws of 

 which the nest is composed are so firmly agglutinated that it 

 tears like a piece of matting ; and it is generally ornamented 

 without, as well as lined within, with feathers. Two or three 

 long, white eggs are laid. The young, like those of the English 

 Swift, never become perchers, but take boldly to the wing when- 

 ever they leave the nest, returning to it when fatigued until 

 they acquire their full powers. Numbers take possession of the 

 porches and verandahs, where these are high enough, of the 

 cutcherries and other large buildings now erected all over the 

 land, and fly backwards and forwards, building their nests, or 

 tending their young, totally regardless of the crowd that may 

 be moving below. It is no uncommon thing to see the top of 

 an archway covered with their nests, all closely packed together ; 

 but where there is ample accommodation, as in a cutcherry 

 verandah, each nest usually stands apart. 



