332 BIRDS OF BRITISH GUIANA. 



The foniale described was collected on the Abary River in 

 September 1907. 



Breecliivi-seafion. March and April {Beehe). 



Nest. AI)out the eaves of houses and sheds {^Qnelcli)', composed 

 of sticks, straws, dried grass, string, cloth, etc. (J3eel>e). 



E<jgs. Undescribed from British Guiana. 



Range in British Guiana. Mazaruni River, Bonasika River, 

 Abarv River {McConneJl collection) ; Bartica {Whitehj) ; George- 

 town [Quelcli) ; Georgetown and Abary Savannas [Beehe). 



Extralimital Range. Trinidad, Venezuela, (Colombia, Ecuador, 

 Peru, Bolivia, Brazil to Central America. 



Habits, Mr. J. J. Quelch (Timehri (2) v. p. 76, 1891), who ob- 

 served this species in Georgetov^'^n, remarks : — " Perhaps some of 

 the commonest of our birds are the Swallows. Of these tliere are 

 four s])ecies about the city, one or more of wdiich may always be 

 seen flving aljout overhead or perching on the rools of the houses 

 and sheds, about the eaves of which they generally make their 

 m^sts. The commonest is the wdiite-breasted purple Swallow 

 {Frogne clial(/bea)." 



Mr. Quelch (Timehri (2) x. ]). 262, 1896), writing on the migra- 

 tory birds in British Quiana, says : — "The Purple Martin, on the 

 other hand, appears to be one of our true migrants. In the 

 case of the Swallows, all of them birds of great flight, and many 

 of them preferring the haunts of man, the question becomes- a 

 simpler one. In the White-breasted Purple Martin [Progne 

 c/ialgbea), and the (Common Martin (P. tapera), we know that the 

 birds are constant residents, being abundant throughout the year, 

 and nesting usually under the eaves or on the ledges and supports 

 of the houses." 



The following note has been copied from Beebe (Our Search 

 for a Wilderness, p. 245) : — "A pair of Grey-breasted Martins 

 accompanied us, and we found that they were nesting in an angle 

 between two beams of the main deck covering. Young birds 

 were in the nest, so the Martins must have accompanied the 

 steamer on many of the alternate day trips between Georgetown 

 and Bartica." 



The following notes are quoted from Beebe (Tropical Wild Life 

 in British Guiana, ])p. 328-341) : — "In all civilized districts from 

 Rio northwards this is the first bird to greet the traveller. As the 



