1869.] of Central, Western and Southern India. 169 



Family Capmmulgid^:. 

 The only species met with in the Nagpiir country were G. asiaticus 

 and C. monticolus. In the great forests about Sironcha, in the begin- 

 ning of May, the noise made towards morning, just before day-break, 

 by the nightjars, was incessant. The cry is most singular, and is well 

 described by Jerdon as resembling that made by a stone bounding 

 over ice and gradually striking at shorter intervals than at first. I am 

 not quite certain which species it was which made the noise, but I 

 suspect G. monticolus, which appears to be more common in those 

 forests than any other species. 



Family CYPSJELiDiE. 

 100. CypselUS AbySSiniCUS, Ehr., of which I obtained 

 several specimens in Abyssinia, is unquestionably identical with the 

 Indian species, and Ehrenberg's name is said by Tristram to have 

 priority. Blyth, Ibis, II. 339, places G. abyssinicus, Streubel, as a 

 synonym of G. affi-nis, but I am inclined to believe Mr. Tristram is 

 right. 



104. Dendrochelidon coronata, Tickeli. This fine swift 



is far from rare about Chanda, and I can fully confirm Jerdon's ex- 

 cellent account of its habits. Though it has a rapid flight, it is not 

 by any means equal in this respect to the Alpine swift, much less to 

 the Acanthylis group ; I almost doubt if it equals Gypselus apus. In- 

 deed it always appeared to me to afford an easy shot for a swift. 



95. Acanthylis sylvatica, Tickeli. Although I was on the 

 look out for this rare swift, I never had the good fortune to secure a 

 specimen, and I doubt if its range extends to Nagpur or Chanda. I 

 once saw a small swift flying past a hill near Ahiri on the Pranhita 

 which may have been this species, but it did not come within shot. 



In the Ibis for 1866, Vol. II. p. 78 — Mr. Tristram seems to doubt 

 Dr. Jerdon's assertion that the flight of Gypselus melba, though ele- 

 gant and rapid, is not nearly so powerful as that of the two spine- 

 tailed species. "If so," says Mr. Tristram "the speed of the latter 

 must be a considerable improvement on the greased lightning of 

 American imagination." On the latter point I cannot pronounce an 

 opinion, as I never saw any greased lightning, but it is equally cer- 

 tain that Mr. Tristram never saw the flight of Acanthylis. It is some 



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