11 



and my sitting down on a rock in the midst of them to watcli their movements did not 

 appear to disturb them in the least. Their style of flight reminded me very much of that 

 of a butterfly or a bat — a sort of irresolute flutter, very unlike the rapid darts of the true 

 Ilirundo. They seemed also occasionally to require rest, often perching on the branches 

 of a fallen oak not far from the rock on which I was sitting. Thev are remarkablv 

 silent birds. The only note I heard Avas an occasional ch or chch, scarcely likely to 

 attract the attention of any one not listening for it. When I repassed the spot a few 

 hours afterwards not a bird was to be seen. "Whenever we descended low enough down 

 into the vallevs we met with these birds, but could not discover the least trace of their 

 breeding. In the mountain-gorges there were numerous caves, into which we sometimes 

 saw them fly; but it was not until the 16th ]May, at Beliza, that we saw any signs of 

 their having begun to build their nests. This little village is built at the entrance of 

 one of the most pictiu-esque gorges in the Parnassus. I strolled out one morning up 

 the gorge, and had not left the village more than five minutes, when I espied a group 

 of Swallows on the ground, round a puddle in the mule-track. I shot into the middle 

 of them, and picked up three specimens of //. rufula and one of Cotile rupestrls. They 

 had evidently commenced to build, as their beaks were full of mud, which they had 

 gone to tlie puddle to collect. AVhen Dr. Kruper passed through the village a fortnight 

 later, C. rupestris had fresh eggs ; but very few nests contained the full complement. It 

 is a verv unusual thing for a non-miOTatorv bird to breed so late ; and it has lieen suijo'ested 

 by my friend Mr. Howard Saunders, in his interesting papers in ' The Field ' on the 

 ornithology of Sjiain, that the June nests of this bird are for a second brood. I have 

 not, however, nor has my friend Dr. Kruper, been able to find the least evidence in 

 Greece in favour of this theory. In Asia Minor, in 1872, I met with tlie bird breedinu- 

 in exactly similar localities, at about the same elevation, in the last week in May. 

 Althousrh more or less s^rerarious when in search of food thev arc not so much so in 

 their nesting-habits, and you seldom find more than one or two nests in tlie same cave. 

 It is a very common thing to see a solitary bird perched for some time u[)on a ledge in 

 the cave. They prefer those that are lofty, and build near the roof, attaching the nest 

 to the rock immediately below an overhanging projection, but not quite touching it, 

 exactly as //. rustica does when it builds against a perpendicular surface. The nest 

 resembles that of tlic last-mentioned bird in simihir positions, bcini;' a sliallow cup of 

 mud, open at the sides ; liut it is scarcely so large in size. It is lined with Wdoi, iliistl(>- 

 down, and feathers. The eggs, five or six in number, exactly resemble pale varieties of 

 the eggs of //. runticn. The ground-colour is pure white, generally profusely spotted, 

 especially at the large end, witli pale greyish brown. Very rarely the spots are irregu- 

 larly round in shape. They are usually an irregular oval, soiuetimes running into 

 streaks. The underlying spots are very few and indistinct." 



The descriptions are from specimens in the British Museum, and the birds figured 

 are in the same collection. 



3 I -1 



