20 



observed the Swallow on the 19th of October. They were " much more numerous down 

 country, and large flocks were seen both at Richmond Road and Durban." 



The late Mr. Andersson l)elieved that the Common Swallow nested in Damara Land, 

 as several other European birds are similarly stated to do during their absence from their 

 northern habitat. He gives the following note : — " Pretty common in Damara and 

 Great Namaqaa Land during the rainy season, and I have found it very numerous at 

 Walvisch Bay and in other localities near the coast. In uncivilized parts of Africa 

 these Swallows affix tbeir nests to some projection of a rock or trunk of a tree, or 

 occupy cavities in rocks or banks." Mr. Seebohm, however, doubts the identification of 

 the species, and believes that the bird met with by Andersson was H. albirjularis. It is, 

 however, noteworthy that not a single specimen of the latter species was ever noticed in 

 Mr. Andersson's collection from Damara Land, whereas H. rustica was obtained by 

 him, and Mr. Andersson was further well acquainted with S. albigularis, of which he had 

 collected several specimens in the Cape Colony. Mr. Seebohm's note is as follows : — 

 " Andersson, in his ' Birds of Damara-Land,' remarks of Jlirundo rustica that it breeds 

 in that country ; but there can be little doubt that the Swallow which he supposed to 

 be our species was the White-throated Swallow (Ilirnudo albigularis), which he does 

 not mention, and which he probably mistook for the female of our bird. His further 

 remark that in consequence of the scarcity of houses it breeds in rocks and trees, adds 

 still more doubt to tlie accuracy of his observations. I have seen the Swallow breeding 

 under overhanging cliflPs in the Dobrudscha, but I never heard of its having been found 

 nesting in a tree." There is, doubtless, some mistake as to the species intended by 

 Andersson, as our Common Swallows are too much occupied with their moulting during 

 their stay in South Africa to feel inclined to breed. 



In West Africa the species is met with in Senegambia. Mr. De Rochebrune records 

 it as a migrant throughout the whole of the region ; but Dr. Bendall only noticed a 

 single bird in October, and we ourselves have never seen a specimen from any part of 

 Senegambia. Mr. Biittikofer has collected a large series in Liberia, mostly in changing 

 plumage. On the Gold Coast it is also plentiful during our Avinter, and some of the 

 specimens killed before the return journey are peculiarly rich in plumage. It has been 

 sent from Old Calabar and Gaboon. A specimen from the Camma River, collected 

 by Du Chaillu, is recorded by Cassin as H. cahirica, Imt was doubtless only a brightly 

 coloured H. rustica. Professor Barboza du Bocage states that Anchieta has obtained the 

 species at Novo Redondo in Angola, and refers to its occurrence at Landana and 

 Chinchonxo on the Low'er Congo. Anchieta has also met with it at Quillengues and 

 Caconda, in Benguela. 



The following excellent notice of the Swallow and its ways is given by Colonel 

 Vincent Legge in his ' Birds of Ceylon ' : — " Much might be written concerning the 

 habits of the favourite harbinger of our English spring ; but they are well known to 

 the most casual observer, and my space will not permit of any lengthened dissertation 

 on the economy of this interesting bird. Of late years, since the climate of old England 

 has undergone such changes, the saying that ' one Swallow does not make a summer ' 



