8 



0-5 to 0'57 inch ; but the aA^erage struck from a large number of measurements I find to 

 be 0-72 by 0-5:3 inch." 



In his Notes on the Swallows and Swifts of Berar, Mr. Aitken observes : — " This 

 species supplies in Berar the place of S. rustica which it so strongly resembles in its 

 liabits. It seems to be even fonder of water ; indeed it rarely leaves it, skimming over 

 the surface with a speed matching that of the Swift, its metallic colours flashing in the 

 sun. It is a permanent resident, and breeds from Eebruary to June. The nest is a mere 

 shallow saucer built under a rock or wall, sometimes even on earthy bank at the water- 

 side, and it exhibits in the construction all the forethought and patience of its English 

 relative. The first nest I watched took four weeks to complete, a narrow layer of mud 

 being added cautiously each day, and left to dry. When this part of the business was 

 complete, a lining of fine gjass was added, then one of feathers, and on this were laid 

 three long-shaped eggs, of a white colour, well spotted with dark reddish brow^n. I 

 confess to having been guilty of the cruelty of taking tAVO of these for my collection, but 

 the faithful little bird continued still to sit, and I had afterwards the satisfaction of 

 seeing the remaining egg hatched and the young one fledged. Long after they are able 

 to fly, the young are fed in the air by the old birds exactly after the manner of the 

 English Swallow, parents and young circling rouad and round and then with a com- 

 placent twitter, clinging together for an iastant, during which tlie mouthful of insects is 

 transferred from the one to tlie other." 



With respect to the migrations of this species, a letter is quoted by Professor Ball, 

 which had been addressed to him by Mr. Lewin, concerning the species in Chota 

 Nagpur :— " I was strolling along the banks, or rather sands, of the Koel, a few days 

 before Christmas, when I noticed a long flight of S. jilifera (I shot one to make sure). 

 They were proceeding in small parties of 8 to 10 or 15 steadily to westward, and I am 

 sure at least 200 must have passed during the short time I looked on. They are by no 

 means common here, and I never saw more than six or eiglit at a time before. I got a 

 nest last April in a cleft in a rock on the Koel near here." 



Dr. Jerdon says that tiie Hindustani name of " Leishra " is given to this species, from 

 a supposed resemblance of the thin tail-feathers to the rod used for catching birds with 

 bird-lime, which is called " Leishra." 



The adult male figured is in Mr. Wyatt's collection, and is from Malabar, and the 

 female and young are drawn from specimens in the Hume collection. 



