EAST AFRICAN BIRDS. . 907 



HlRUNDINIDiE. 

 RiPARIA FULIGULA RUFIGULA Fiscll. & RcllW. 



A nest of the Brown-throated Rock-Martin built under the 

 eaves of a liouse contained two very bad eggs on wliich the 

 bird was sitting on 17. ii. 22. On 17. iii. 22 the nest was again 

 examined and a clutch of two fresh eggs found and taken. On 

 4 & 5 iv. 22 the birds had but one egg in the nest ; this was left. 

 On l.v. 22 the bird was again sitting on three eggs measuring 

 19x8 mm. "White with brownish or reddish speckles over the 

 whole surface, with a marked tendency to grouping round the 

 larger pole (Kilosa, l.v. 22). In iv. 23 the nest was examined 

 several times and the bird found to be sitting on a single 

 infertile egg. 



HiRUNDO SMITHII SMITHII Leach. 



A "Wire-tailed Swallow's nest containing young under eaves 

 of my house (1. xii.20). After a night and morning of heavy 

 rain I found a newly-fledged Wire- tailed Swallow Happing wearily 

 on the ground. After a few hours' drying in the house it was 

 able to Hy away (13. iii. 21). I notice a pair of these swallows 

 have neatly trimmed off the broken edge of a nest of H. puella 

 abyssinica which contained young in January and have laid two 

 eggs (27. iv. 22) ; this was the full clutch (28. iv. 22). Bird just 

 Ijegun to sit on clutch of three eggs (31. iv. 23). Three nests each 

 with three young (Kilosa, 6. v. 23). 



Of nests examined to-day one was ready for eggs, a second 

 held three fresh eggs, a third three hard-sat eggs, two nests held 

 newly-hatched young, and one three fledglings almost ready to fly 

 (FrereTown, 30.V. 23j. 



HlRUNDO PUELLA ABYSSINICA Guer. 



Northern Stripe- breasted Swallows nesting iti bath-room ; young 

 fledged to-day (13. iii. 21). Commenced building on verandali 

 (26. xi. 21). Fea,thering nest ; each of the three adjacent houses 

 has also a nest (26.xii. 21). I saw one swallow on entering nest 

 break ofT the entrance tunnel, which had but a poor base of attach- 

 ment in the enamelled ceiling-boards (5. i. 22). As I was passing 

 beneath the nest three-qviarters of an eggshell was ejected. I 

 therefore investigated tAvo other nests, and found one to contain 

 incubated white eggs without markings, the other young (6. i. 22). 



The first heavy rain falling since the catastrophe of the 6th 

 inst. set the swallows to work at repairing the damage. It i.'> 

 interesting to see the patchiness of the building materials, both 

 grey and, red mud in alternating ■patches accoi'dilig to the source 

 from whence fetched (10. i. 22). Another eggshell was found 

 beneath the nest mentioned on the 6th. Ihese swallows ai-e' 

 having trouble with a third, which sometimes succeeds in entering 

 their nest (1:7. i. 22). 



