599 



March. C. pallidus appears usually a few days before C. unicolor. It breeds, both in the 

 Canaries and Madeira, in cliffs." Dr. Carl Bolle (J. f. O. 1857, p. 322) is "quite sure, however, 

 that it breeds on the towers of the cathedral of Ciudad de las Palmas. On the 10th July" he 

 " got some young birds, not quite fledged, which were caught there by some boys in St. Jose." 



In its habits the present species does not appear to differ from C. apus. So little, however, 

 is known or has been recorded respecting it, that I am fortunate in having obtained, besides the 

 information given by Colonel Irby, the following excellent field-notes from Mr. A. C. Stark: — 

 "In May 1874 I found these Swifts abundant at Casa Vieja, Andalucia, about equalling the 

 Black Swifts (Cypselus apus) in numbers, and always flying in company with those birds. There 

 appears to be nothing in the habits or flight of the Pallid Swift to distinguish it from its black 

 relative. It can nevertheless be recognized, even at a considerable distance, by its lighter 

 colour, and I never committed the mistake of killing one bird for the other. In the early 

 morning numbers of both the Black and Pallid and a few Alpine Swifts are to be found flying 

 in company over the marsh and river near Casa Vieja. As soon as the sun becomes hot they 

 retire to the Sierra. Here on the 6th of May I noticed numbers of these three species hawking 

 in front of some sandstone cliffs. They did not appear to be nesting in the rocks ; at all events 

 I could detect none leaving the holes or crevices. Although so common at Casa Vieja, the 

 Pallid Swift appears to be quite unknown at Algeciras, only twenty-five miles off. I could never 

 distinguish one among the myriads of Black Swifts that frequent that town and the old aqueducts 

 near. On the 17th of last May I stood under the aqueduct for over an hour ; during this time 

 thousands of Cypselus apus passed within a few yards of me, but not a single Cypselus pallidus 

 could I distinguish. A Spaniard, who was shooting Swifts for the market, did not know the 

 Pallid Swift; and his heap of victims was composed entirely of the common black species." 



Colonel Irby further informs me that he never heard any of these Swifts utter any cry or 

 scream like their congeners, though probably they do so. "As to its breeding-habits," he writes, 

 " I regret to be unable to give any personal information, not having had time to go to Vieja to 

 see if they nested there; but Favier, in his MS., states that at Tangier in July 1861 he found 

 a pair breeding in an old nest of the House-Martin which the Swifts had appropriated, and 

 whence he took two eggs of the usual elongated Cypselus type. The colour he does not mention, 

 probably because they were white." 



The specimen figured is an adult male from Egypt, in my own collection. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 



E Mus. H. E. Dresser. 



a,<3,b, $. Casa Vieja, Andalucia, May 1874 (L. H. Irby). c,6. Casa Vieja, Andalucia, May 5th, 1874 

 (A.C. Stark), d, S ■ Casa Vieja, Andalucia, May 6th, 1874 (A. C. Stark). e. Egypt, March 14th 

 (G. E. Shelley), f, ?. Keren, Bogos, August 1861 (Von Heuglin). g. Tangier (G. E. Shelley). 



E Mus. L. Howard Irby. 



a 6 , 6, ? . Casa Vieja, Andalucia, May 7th, 1874 (L. H. I.). 



4C 



