DENDROCHELIDON COMATUS. 



Hooded Tree Swift. 



Cypselus comatus, Temm. PL Col. 268. 



Dendrochelidon comatus, Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 166.— Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., p. 66, Dendrochelidon, sp. 4.— lb. 



Rivista Contemporanea, Feb. 1857, p. . — Horsf. and Moore, Cat. of Birds in Mus. East Ind. Comp., 



vol. i. p. 110. 

 Macropteryx comatus, Swains. Class, of Birds, vol. ii. p. 340.— Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 54.— Cat. 



of Birds in Brit. Mus., part ii. sect. 1. Fissirostres, p. 17— Blyth, Cat. of Birds in Mus. Asiat. Soc. 



Calcutta, p. 87. 

 Apas comatus, Less. Traite d'Orn., p. 268. 

 QPallestre) comatus, Less. Compl. Buff., torn. viii. p. 491. 



1 





Of all the known species of the genus Dendrochelidon, the present is perhaps the most ornamental, — its 

 colouring being more diversified than that of any of its allies, and its snow-white eye-stripes and moustaches 

 giving it an air of great elegance and beauty. The specimens from which my drawings were made were 

 procured in Manilla, whence I received them direct. The usual chestnut ear-mark occurs in one of my 

 specimens, in the other it is wanting ; judging from the labels appended to Mr. Wallace's specimens of 

 D. mystaceus, this chestnut marking indicates that the former is a male and the latter a female. 



In Mr. Blyth's " Catalogue of the Birds in the Museum of the Asiatic Society at Calcutta," this gentle- 

 man gives " Eastern Malasia and Sumatra ?" as the habitats of this bird ; while the specimen in the Museum 

 at the East India House is from Siam, where it was procured by Mr. Finlayson. 



The male has the crown of the head, sides of the centre of the throat, the wings, and tail rich steel- 

 blue, with a greyish-brown tint pervading the shorter primaries and some of the secondaries ; some of the 

 tertiaries white, forming a conspicuous spot on this portion of the wing ; lores black ; upper part of the 

 throat and stripes above and below the eye white, continued in lengthened pencilled plumes ; back, rump, 

 chest, and abdomen deep olive-brown, with reflexions of light green ; a bright chestnut spot on the ear- 

 coverts ; lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white ; bill and feet olive-brown. 



Total length, 6i inches; bill, tV ; wing, 5-f; tail, 3~; tarsi, i. 



The female differs only in having the ear-coverts steel-blue instead of chestnut. 



The figures are of the size of life. 





