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range of Western Ghats from Honore to Cape Comorin, extending its' daily flights often to the 

 western sea-coast, and occasionally eastwards to Salem, Madura, and Madras even. At times 

 they are very abundant on the Neilgherries, and during the cold weather may generally be seen 

 on the Malabar coast. I saw, on several occasions, large flocks of them flying eastward towards 

 the sea from the rocky hills near Madura about sunset. On another occasion I saw, at midday, 

 an enormous flock of them flying eastwards from the same range, a little south of Madura : these, 

 however, were probably merely taking their ordinary rounds of a few hundred miles ; but the 

 others flying seaward at sunset, where were they bound for 1 I discovered one roosting-place of 

 this Swift on the magnificent precipices at the falls of Gairsoppa. Here, especially on the cliffs 

 on each side of the great fall, above 900 feet perpendicular height, these Swifts were congre- 

 gated in vast numbers ; and from the way in which some of them remained about the cliffs at all 

 times of the day, I have little doubt but that they breed here. It is possible that all the Alpine 

 Swifts that traverse the south of India, with such amazing speed, meet here nightly for roosting, 

 and for breeding in their appointed season ; or are there other similar places of resort for them 

 along the chain of Western Ghats'? However this may be, my own impression, from long 

 observation on the west coast of India, is that such of these Swifts as have been questing at 

 great distances from their roosting-haunts, fly first towards the coast, and then make their 

 Avay along the seaside, picking up stragglers from other regions on their way to the cliffs of 

 Gairsoppa or other similar precipices. At Tellicherry I frequently saw them early in the morning 

 along the sea-coast, always flying southwards." In his supplementary notes (Ibis, 1871, p. 354) 

 he further says that he has occasionally seen it at Darjeeling. Herr von Pelzeln (J. f. O. 1868, 

 p. 25) found it at Kotegurh during the winter ; and Captain Elwes (Ibis, 1870, p. 527) says that 

 he met with it in the Cardamum Hills of Travancore, where it was numerous at the highest 

 elevations. It occurs in Ceylon, where Mr. Holdsworth (P. Z. S. 1872, p. 419) states that it is 

 " probably a winter visitor. It is found in some abundance on the hills at that season, but is 

 rather local in its distribution. I have seen it at Nuwara Eliya in the cold season ; and it 

 remains there several months, particularly frequenting some precipitous cliffs overlooking the 

 plain on which the little town is built. In the afternoon fifty or sixty of these birds might any 

 day be seen on the wing dashing past the hill-sides in pursuit of insects, or sweeping in wider 

 circles at a considerable elevation." Mr. Swinhoe does not include it in his list of the birds of 

 China ; but Pere David observed a large Swift in the highest mountains of Mongolia, which he 

 believes to be this species, though he did not secure specimens. 



The breeding-haunts of this Swift are in the mountains and rocky districts of the lower part 

 of Central and in Southern Europe. They usually arrive from the south in April, and soon 

 commence repairing their old nests or constructing fresh ones. The nest, which is placed in an 

 old building, most frequently in a church-tower, or in a suitable cavity in the rocks, is con- 

 structed of small bents, leaves, and any thing that they can pick up without having to alight on 

 the ground, and is worked together with the spittle of the bird itself, which secretes a sort of 

 viscous semifluid spittle in considerable quantities, and like the rest of its allies uses it to glue or 

 fasten together the various substances used in the construction of its nest. This latter is extremely 

 small compared with the size of the bird. Dr. Girtanner (Ber. St. Gall, naturw. Gesells. 1867, 

 p. Ill) gives the size of the nest as 10-12 centimetres diameter, 4-6 centimetres height outside, 



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