6 



Tlie following account of the habits and uidification of the species in Ceylon is 

 given by Colonel Legge : — 



"To the resident in the beautiful mountains of Ceylon this little bird has much the 

 same interest as that which the Common Swallow possesses for the occupants of the 

 many English homes to which it is so welcome a visitor ; with this difference, however, 

 that it is a constant attendant about the Ceylon bungalow^ throughout the year, flitting 

 in and out of the rose-covered and trellised verandah, gliding over the spacious barbecues 

 bestrewn with the rich produce of the estate, or settling on the roofs of the pulpinf- 

 houses, from the tops of which it utters its merry little twitter while it prunes its glossy 

 2)lumage in the rays of the morning sun. No wonder, then, that it is a general favourite 

 Avith the planter, reminding him of scenes far away, and bringing back to hiin recol- 

 lections of those from Avhom he is so widely removed. In the mind of the author this 

 interesting bird is connected with pleasing memories, not easily forgotten, of much 

 kindness received, and, moreover, of the glorious mountain prospects viewed from the 

 verandah of many a hospitable bungalow, round which he has often seen it flying while 

 resting after the exertions of a long toil up the zigzag paths of the estate. It is found 

 about the villages of the Kandyans, and havyks for its food over patnas and cleared 

 hill-sides, as well as round the stores and buildings of tlie estates. On some bare STDot 

 or on a pathway in the open it may sometimes be seen resting, and I have occasionally 

 seen it perched on a dead branch or stake ; but its favourite jjost is the eave of some 

 building. Its flight is very buoyant, but not at all swift, and its twitter is not unlike 

 that of the Common Swallow. 



"The breeding-time of the Hill-Swallow is in April, May, and June; it nests in the 

 verandahs of bungalows and outbuildings of estates and under the eaves of native 

 houses, building sometimes beneath the ceilings of rooms Avithout evincing any fear of 

 the inmates. Such a nest I once observed in the sitting-room of the old Banderawella 

 P^esthouse. It is usually placed against the side of a beam or projecting baulk of timber, 

 and resembles in its construction that of H. erythropygki, though somcAAliat smaller. 

 It is composed of mud and lined AAdth feathers, thread, small pieces of rag, and such 

 materials as it may pick uj) about its adopted residence. The eggs are usually three in 

 number, stumpy ovals in shape, and of a white ground-colour, spotted pretty evenly with 

 brownish red. 



" I once found a Swallow's nest in a small cavern or recess in the face of a cliff in 

 Haputale, and it no doubt belonged to this species. In some eggs there is a tendency in 

 the markings to form a zone at the large end. They measure about 0'77 by 0"5 inch." 



The folloAving notes on the uidification of 11. jacanica will be found in Mr. Hume's 

 ' Xests and Eggs of Indian Birds' (2nd edition, edited by Mr. E. W. Gates) : — 



"The Nilghiri Ilouse-Swallow," says Mr. Davison, "breeds on the AA^estern side of 

 these hills from Eebruary to April, rearing (from what I have observed) two broods in 

 immediate succession. The nest is composed of pellets of mud, thickly lined Avith feathers, 

 open at the top, with the saucer-like depression rather deep ; it is usually placed in some 



