THE BIHDS OF MONGOLIA ETC. 161 



Mongolia, and breeds there on the huts and even inside the tents, especially 

 in the latter. It very patiently hatches its eggs in the nest, which is 

 fastened to the ceiling. The Swallow, however, is always patronized by the 

 Mongols; also the Chinese never destroy a Swallow's nest ; consequently they 

 get so tame that they breed inside the Chinese houses. In S.E. Mongolia 

 the first birds appear about the 23rd of April; but no large migrating 

 flocks were noticed by us. We did not find them in Kan-su ; and everywhere 

 in Ussuri country, near human habitations, we met with Hirundo rustica, 

 var. nifa, Gmel. It arrives about Lake Hanka in the end of April, and leaves 

 there in the early part of September ; some few individuals, however, 

 stop much later, and I once observed two as late as the 2nd of October 

 in Hun -Chun. 



31. Cecropis daurica, L. LastocMa daurshaya. 



Cecropis daurica, Gould^ Birds of Asia^ part xx. pi. 



The specimens obtained by us in S.E. Mongolia and Kan-su havehardly any 

 black streaks on the rust-coloured rump ; and these are scarcely perceivable. 

 At the same time, the black streaks are much narrower on the underparts 

 than is shown in Gould's plate, although they are somewhat wider than in C 

 erythropygia, Sykes, which also diff^ers from the present species by the absence 

 of all streaks on the rump and the wider rust-coloured patch on the nape. 



The Daurian Swallow is extremely common in S.E. Mongoha, Ordos, 

 and Ala-shan. In Kan-su it inhabits the median and low mountain-circles, 

 and hardly ever visits the Alpine zone. It breeds on rocks, as well as in 

 summerhouses, and even in tents. 



The shape of the nest is elongated-oval, about 8 or 10 inches long ; the 

 front portion is occupied by a narrow entrance. The eggs are pure white, five 

 or SIX in number, and are deposited in the wider part of the nest, which is lined 

 with hair, wool, and feathers. The young leave the nest about the middle of 

 summer; but in a single instance we found, on the 20th of September, in 



VOL. TI. 2 



