2 



This Swallow is a permanent resident in Ceylon, where it was first found by Mr. 

 E. L. Layard, and he has given the following account of the species : — 



" I first discovered this species in November, 1849, at Ambepussa, on the road to 

 Kandy. I have since then seen them at Putlam, up the central road as far as the hills 

 extend, at Ambegamoa, and up the Caltura river from Perth sugar-estate to Ratnapoora 

 and Adam's Peak. They breed in caverns and under bridges, and build a nest of mud 

 attached to the roof. The general shape and size is that of a small basin, with a round 

 entrance-hole at the top. The lining is composed of fine hay and feathers, and the eggs 

 are laid in March. The late Dr. Gardner informed me that a pair built their nest on a 

 ring supporting a hanging lamp, nightly used in his sitting-room. They securely 

 hatched their eggs, unscared by the cleaning or lighting of his lamp, and the young 

 birds returned to the nest every night for about a month after being fully fledged." 



Colonel Vincent Legge has given an exhaustive account of the species in his ' Birds 

 of Ceylon,' which we transcribe herewith : — 



" Distribution. — This fine Swallow was discovered by Layard, who met with it in 1849, 

 near Ambepussa. It is widely distributed throughout all the low country, with the 

 exception of the extreme north, where I have not noticed it. In the forest-districts 

 lying between Dambulla and the latitude of Manaar it is local, being chiefly confined to 

 small tracts of cultivation in the vicinity of tanks ; in the Eastern Province, which is 

 equally wild, it is restricted to similar localities, and in the Western Province is found 

 principally in the interior. So plentiful is it, however, in the south-west of the island, 

 that it is the common Swallow of the town of Galle, and seems to affect the sea-coast 

 quite as readily as the interior, except during the wet windy weather of the south-west 

 monsoon, when it retires for shelter to the secluded vales away from the sea-board. 

 About Kandy, and in the Central Province generally up to 3000 feet, it is common, and 

 in Uva and Haputale is found much higher than that elevation, for I have known it to 

 breed at 4000 feet in the latter district. Mr. Bligh has seen it once at Nuwara Elliy^, ; 

 but it is rare on that elevated plateau, although in many of the coffee-districts it may be 

 seen hawking at higher altitudes than that of the Sauatarium. In the Morowak-Korale 

 district it is not uncommon. 



" Habits. — Our Ceylon Swallow frequents towns and villages alike with the country. 

 In the latter, marshes and paddy-fields, open glades in secluded valleys, and lonely tanks 

 in the wilds of the juugle are the places to which it is partial. It is found in the 

 Central Province about estate-stores and bungalows, and often consorts there with 

 the little Bungalow-Swallow, breeding in cattle-sheds and outhouses and permanently 

 frequenting their vicinity. It is a characteristic bird of the wild village tanks in the 

 Vanni, and its cheerful chirrup is often one of the first bird-sounds which meets the ear, 

 on the sportsman suddenly emerging from the forest and finding himself standing at the 

 brink of one of those interesting places. Several have perhaps been resting on a dead 

 log, half covered with weeds and water, or sitting on the dried mud of the bed of one of 

 these small reservoirs, and finding the solitude of their retreat suddenly invaded, glide oil' 



