MORGAN— The Migration of Swallows in S.A* 121 



air or skimming' the water of the Torrens Lake or the ponds 

 in the Botanic Gardens. These swallows breed in companies 

 when the circumstances are favourable, such as a large gum 

 tree with many small hollows, a house with convenient holes 

 under the eaves, or where nesting places have been provided 

 for them, as at "Holrafirth," the residence of Mrs. Mellor. For 

 the most part these companies split up after the nesting 

 season, re-unite in larger groups, and leave the immediate 

 locality, which circumstance has given rise to the common 

 belief that they are migrating. The fairy martin, in my 

 experience, is a purely migratory bird in the southern parts 

 of South Australia. They arrive in September, the earliest 

 date I have record of is September 13th, 1914, when numbers 

 of them were busy building new nests and repairing old ones. 

 They had not returned on September 5th, 1915. I have no 

 exact record as to when they leave, but have never seen a 

 bird after the 1st April. I do not know of any breeding 

 place on the plains at the present time, though they are said 

 to have nested near Morphettville in days gone by, but they 

 breed in numbers in many of the gullies of the Mount Lofty 

 Range, wherever they can get water and suitable nesting 

 sites. At Laura they were purely migratory. However, they 

 did not visit that town every year, but at Wirra.ba.ra, 11 miles 

 north of Laura, they were regular visitors, and were there 

 purely migratory. Indeed, I think they would perish if they 

 remained through an average winter, for the late Mr. Malcolm 

 Murray informed me that he found dozens dead in their nests, 

 where they seem to have crowded for warmth, after a late 

 frost at the end of September in, I think, 1894. In the 

 Gawler Ranges in August, 1902, though there were plenty of 

 old nests, not a single bird was seen from Yardea to Port 

 Augusta, though I saw them near Mount Gunson on August 

 6, 1900, flying over a waterhole, but they had not yet started 

 nesting. 



The white-breasted swallow is at any time an uncommon 

 bird in the Adelaide district, so it is difficult to say whether 

 they are here migratory or not. I have never seen a bird in 

 this locality earlier than September or later than April. At 

 Laura, 140 miles north of Adelaide, they were purely migra- 

 ting, coming to breed in September and leaving in March. 

 At Port Augusta, about 60 miles further north, they are a 

 resident throughout the year. Laura is 700 feet above, sea 

 level, and has a very cold winter. Port Augusta is not so cold. 

 They were also said to be resident at Mount Gunson, but I 

 have no accurate winter observations for there. 



