placed close together, and often some favourite site is apparently the bone of contention 

 between several pairs. 



" ' I once found, a few miles out of Ooty, several nests of this bird placed on tbe under- 

 side of a large overhanging rock, and although the breeding-season had long passed (it 

 was, I think, in the early part of November that I found these nests), I neverthe- 

 less climbed up to where they were, to see if there were any addled eggs. After 

 examining a few of the nests, I came to one which had the tubular entrance walled up, 

 and the mud perfectly hard and dry. On breaking away a part of the nest I found a 

 dead bird in it, which had come quite to the sealed end of the tubular neck, and had 

 there died ; the nest contained three old eggs, of which the contents had partially dried 

 up. I can only account for this bricking, or, I should say, walling up of the entrance 

 to the nest, by supposing that some of the other birds had coveted and failed to obtain 

 this site for their nests. It is only natural to suppose that more than one pair were 

 concerned in the business, as it would have taken at least one bird to keep the bird from 

 leaving its nest, and another to keep its mate away from the nest, and probably another, 

 or several other pairs, to close the entrance.' 



" Dr. Jerdon (who, however, did not discriminate this and the preceding species) 

 states that ' a few couples, at all events, breed in the south of India ; for I have seen 

 their nests on a rock at the Dimhutty waterfall on the Nilghiris, twenty or thirty 

 together. I have found one or two nests in deserted outhouses in Mysore ; and they 

 are said to breed very constantly on large buildings, old mosques, pagodas, and such 

 like ; hence the native name of Mosque-Swallow in the south of India ; but I rather 

 think there is a considerable increase of their numbers during the cold weather, and it 

 was no doubt at the time of their northward migration that Colonel Sykes saw them in 

 such vast numbers at Poona. The nest, as figured by Pallas and observed by myself, is 

 a spherical or oval-shaped mud nest, with a long neck or tubular entrance, of the kind 

 which is called a retort nest, and the eggs are white, faintly marked with rusty-coloured 

 spots.' 



" Miss Cockburn, writing from Kotagherry, says : — ' I only once found a nest, and 

 this was on the 9th April. It was constructed under a shelving rock, raised so high 

 from the ground as to allow of my walking under it. The cave, if I may so call it, was 

 in a wild, lonely locality, suggestive more of bears than Swallows. 



" ' The nest, which was built of clay, was about ^ foot long, the entrance being at 

 one end. It was warmly lined with feathers, and contained three pure white eggs, very 

 long in shape. As I wished to know if the number would be increased, they were left 

 for a couple of days. On visiting the spot again, I found the length of the nest had 

 been increased considerably, the eggs being left at the far end ; but as there were no 

 more than three, they were taken possession of.' 



" I also have noticed the birds (or one of them) still building, and yet found eggs 

 more or less incubated within. 



" The eggs are pure white, with scarcely any perceptible gloss ; generally a long 



3e 



