4 



not take possession of it. Though capable, from their length of wing, of great speed, 

 tliey 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 accompanying notes are taken from Mr. Hume's ' Nests and Eggs of Indian 

 Birds ' :— 



" The Dusky Crag-Martin breeds at least twice a year. In the plains of India 

 I have mostly found the eggs in January, February, and July, but I have seen them in 

 April ; and writing from the Nilghiiis, Miss Cockburn says : — ' These small Crag- 

 Martins build in the months of April and May. One nest was constructed in a small 

 cave which had been dug out of the earth where some pretty ferns and moss were 

 growing ; I admired the Martins' choice of a site for the abode of their young during 

 the few Aveeks they might require a dwelling-place. The nest was of clay and of a cup- 

 shape, lined with many feathers, and had two white eggs with minute dark spots all over 

 them, but particularly at the thick end.' 



" The nest is solitary, very like the Wire-tailed Swallow's, but deeper and smaller, 

 coming to a well-defined point below ; it is lined with feathers. 



" Mr. F. K. Blewitt says : — ' This species breeds in both the cold and hot seasons, 

 though I have obtained most eggs in July and August. It has its nest in holes of walls, 

 on j)rojecting eaves, and sometimes on the ledges of rocks, where convenient shelter is 

 afforded.' 



" ' The nest-lining is composed of soft flowering grasses and feathers, the latter 

 forming, as it were, the inner lining. The regular number of eggs appears to be four. 

 Strictly speaking, it does not breed in company, though at Talbehut I have seen two and 

 three pairs together, occupying as many holes in the old fort wall, near to each other. 

 Doctor Jerdon justly remarks of this Martin that it is scattered sparingly. I have 

 found it only in the vicinity of old forts and mosques, and but few in number. When 

 flying, or rather while feeding on the wing, two and three together, they alternately 

 chirrup to each other. It is a chit, chit, chit, rapidly uttered in a soft melodious 

 tone.' 



" Mr. R. Thompson writes to me that in the Central Provinces the majority, he 

 thinks, breed in March and April, but certainly, in Jhansie and Saugor, January and July 

 are the months. 



" The eggs of this species are intermediate between those of L. fluvicola and 

 II. filifera (H. smithii), so far as the character, extent, and intensity of markings go. 

 The ground-colour is white, and they are all more or less thickly speckled, spotted, and, 

 at times, though rarely, blotched with different shades of yellowish and reddish brown. 

 Unlike those oi L. fluvicola, which are as often pure white as not, these eggs are always 

 pretty thickly marked ; but these markings, though better defined and darker than those of 

 L. fluvicola, are neither so bold nor so bright as in II. filifera. As in both these species, 



