29G JO URNAL, BOMB A Y NA TUBAL EISTOR Y SOCIETY, Vol. X. 



fan -shaped leaves of a single tall Palmyra palm at Madigama in 

 April, but I had no opportmiifcy to examine their nests. 



53. Collocalia francka^ Gmel., the Indian Swiftlet.— Very com- 

 mon. A small colony breed annually in a fissure of a precipice near 

 here ; I procured som.e eggs from this spot on April 22nd. All the 

 nests of this species I have seen have been at least half composed of 

 moss, lichen, etc. Does the bird ever make a nest of saliva only ? All 

 the nests contained two eggs or two young. 



54. Dendrochelidon coronatus, Tickell, the Indian Crested Swift. — 

 Common. I have the following notes on nests found : — May 1st, 1895. 

 Riding up the steep zig-zag road to Lunugala this morning, I noticed a 

 Tree-swift sitting across a thin dead bough of a tree below me on the 

 hillside. When I returned in the evening it was in exactly the same 

 position. Going closer I saw it was a hen bird. I commenced to climb 

 the tree, and after raising itself very upright and staring at me with its 

 crest straight on end, it flew off and commenced circling round. I 

 climbed to a higher branch, and looking down saw the tiny nest on the 

 side of the bough, quite filled by one long whitish egg. This was a 

 very difficult nest to reach, the branch it was on being very thin and 

 perfectly rotten. I sent up my horse -keeper, who is a light weight, and 

 by holding with one hand to the bough from which I had looked into 

 the nest and resting his feet on a mere twig, he could just touch the 

 edge of the nest with the very tips of his fingers. I told him to come 

 down and get a spoon from the bungalow, but the beggar said, " J^o, 

 I can get it," and in trying to get hold of the egg between the tips 

 of his fingers he managed to push it over the edge of the tiny nest^ 

 and of course it went into fragments on the ground below, to my 

 intense disgust. The remains showed that the egg had been beautifully 

 fresh ; the fragments were pale grey rather than white. 



The nest is a tiny shallow semi-circular bracket fixed on one side of 

 the upper surface of the branch, and is composed of small flakes of 

 bark and a few of the bird's own feathers, the whole glued firmly 

 together with saliva. A rupee placed over the nest almost entirely 

 hides it. 



Having found one nest of this species I kept a keen look-out for 

 others, and the next day spotted another; but this was quite inaccessible. 

 Three days later I found a third nest. The bird was sitting on it, 

 apparently secreting saliva, and kept bending its head down to apply 



