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are remarkably silent birds. ‘The only note I heard was an occasional ch or chch, scarcely likely 
to attract the attention of any one not listening for it. When I repassed the spot a few hours 
afterwards not a bird was to be seen. Whenever we descended low enough down into the 
valleys we met with these birds, but could not discover the least trace of their breeding. In the 
mountain-gorges were numerous caves, into which we sometimes saw them fly; but it was not 
until the 16th May, at Beliza, that we saw any signs of their having begun to build their nests. 
This little village is built at the entrance of one of the most picturesque gorges in the Parnassus. 
I strolled out one morning up the gorge, and had not left the village more than five minutes 
when I espied a group of Swallows on the ground, round a puddle in the mule-track. I shot 
into the middle of them, and picked up three specimens of Hirundo rufula and one of Cotyle 
rupestris. ‘They had evidently commenced to build, as their beaks were full of mud, which they 
had gone to the puddle to collect. When Dr. Kriiper passed through the village a fortnight 
later Cotyle rupestris had fresh eggs; but very few nests contained the full complement. It isa 
very unusual thing for a non-migratory bird to breed so late; and it has been suggested by my 
friend Mr. Howard Saunders, in his interesting papers in ‘The Field’ on the ornithology of 
Spain, that the June nests of this bird are for a second brood. I have not, however, nor has my 
friend Dr. Kriiper, been able to find the least evidence in Greece in favour of this theory. In 
Asia Minor in 1872 I met with this bird, breeding in exactly similar localities, at about the 
same elevation, in the last week in May. Although more or less gregarious when in search of 
food, they are not so much so in their nesting-habits, and you seldom find more than one or two 
nests in the same cave. It is a very common thing to see a solitary bird perched for some time 
upon a ledge in the cave. ‘They prefer those which are lofty, and build near the roof, attaching 
the nest to the rock immediately below an overhanging projection, but not quite touching it, 
exactly as Hirundo rustica does when it builds against a perpendicular surface. The nest 
resembles that of the last-mentioned bird in similar positions, being a shallow cup of mud, open 
at the sides; but it is scarcely so large in size. It is lined with wool, thistle-down, and feathers. 
The eggs, five or six in number, exactly resemble pale varieties of the eggs of Hirundo rustica. 
The ground-colour is pure white, generally profusely spotted, especially at the large end, with 
pale greyish brown. Very rarely the spots are irregularly round in shape. They are usually 
an irregular oval, sometimes running into streaks. The underlying spots are very few and 
indistinct.” 
The food of the Crag-Martin consists exclusively of insects. Its note is said to differ 
altogether from that of any other Swallow; and when Dr. Kriiper first heard it he thought it 
proceeded from some species of Finch. Its flight is swift and light ; and when it is found living 
in a colony of House-Martins it is much bolder than they are, and approaches close to an 
intruder. I have several eggs of the present species from Switzerland, obtained through Mr. 
Fairmaire, which resemble the eggs of Hirundo rustica, but are a trifle smaller in size, and have 
the spots smaller, duller and paler in tinge, and not so clearly defined. In size they measure 
$3 by £8 inch. 
The specimens figured are an adult bird on the right-hand side and a young bird on the 
left, they being the specimens described. 
