•8 



vegetable down, attached to the under part of snags projecting some four feet above the 



water." 



The eo-o-s of this species closely resemble those of //. rustica, but are decidedly 

 smaller, and are, we think, somewhat less glossy. They are moderately broad ovals, 

 slightly compressed towards one end, have a pinky-white ground, and are very finely 

 speckled and spotted, thinly at the small end, more densely at the large end, where there 

 is a tendency to form a zone, with different shades of dull purple and brownish red. In 

 some all the markings are comparatively large and coarse, in others excessively minute, 

 and the intensity of the colour of the markings varies much in different specimens. 



In length the eggs vary from 0-64 to 0-77 inch, and in breadth from 0-48 to 

 0-57 inch ; but the average size is about 07 by 0-5 inch. 



Mr. Rhodes Morgan also observes : — 



" Breeds in the Neilgherries in the roofs of houses and verandahs, also on large rocks 

 and cliffs. In shape the nest resembles a pocket or the half of a teacup. It is formed 

 of small clay pellets agglutinated together with the saliva of the bird, and is very firmly 

 cemented to the face of the rock. The lining consists of feathers. The eggs are generally 

 two in number, minutely speckled with claret-coloured spots on a whitish ground, the 

 spots being gathered together in a zone at the larger end. Average length "77 inch, 

 breadth -5." 



In Northern Borneo Mr. John Whitehead says it is often found " nesting under the 

 verandahs of houses, but I once saw a nest in an old tree-stump, which was standing up 

 in the middle of a river. The nest is made of mud and grass, and contains two eggs 

 in May and other months. The eggs are w^hite, spotted and marked like those of 

 S. rustica." 



The following note was sent by the late Governor Ussher from Labuan : — " Is seen 

 everywhere ; affects the sea-shore, and even the open sea at times ; builds about houses, 

 but also in old trees ; frequently perches on old stumps on the sea-beach ; and is fond of 

 swampy localities towards evening, when it flies very low." According to j\Ir. Treacher, 

 the native name is " Layang layang kuckie." Sir Hugh Low sent a quantity of eggs 

 taken in May 1873 in Labuan. He says that it also breeds in fissures of rocks. The 

 eggs are white, covered with small reddish-brown and purple spots, chiefly near the 

 thicker end ; one of the eggs is very thickly clouded near the thicker end with reddish 

 and purple ; axis 0-7-0-75, diam. 0-5-0-55. Some of the eggs are much less thickly 

 spotted than others, tlie spots being quite tiny in many of them ; in most the reddish 

 shade predominates ; but in a few the dots are nearly all pale purple, with some tiny 

 specks of red. 



The descriptions are from specimens in the British Museum, and the figure is taken 

 from an individual procured by Mr. Wyatt in Johore, in the Malay Peninsula. 



