CECROPIS DAURICA. 



Daurian Mosque-Swallow. 



Hirundo daurica, Linn. Mant., p. 528.— Id. Syst. Nat., Gmel. edit. torn. i. p. 104. — G. R. Gray, Gen. of Birds, 

 vol. i. p. 57.— Id. Cat. of Birds in Coll. Brit. Mus., part. ii. sect. i. p. 23.— Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., 

 torn. i. p. 339, Hirundo, sp. 14. 



alpestris, Pali. Itin., torn. ii. App. p. 209. no. 9.— Id. Zoog. Ross.-Asiat., torn. i. p. 534, pi. 30. fig. 2. 



Dauurica, Lath. Gen, Ind , vol. ii. p. 576. 



(Cecropis) daurica, Less. Compl. Buff., torn. viii. p. 498. 



Cecropis daurica, Boie, Isis, 1844, p. 174. 



Dauurian Swallow, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. iv. p. 570.— Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x, part i. p. 95.— Lath. Gen. Hist., 

 vol. vii. p. 289. 



Hirundo daurica, Swinh. in Ibis, 1863, p. 255.— Id. Proc. of Zool. Soc. 1863, p. 287. 



I am indebted to the Rev. H. B. Tristram for the very fine examples of this species from which my figures were 

 taken. The representation of the nest is a modification of the drawing published by Pallas in the first 

 volume of his ' Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica.' It will be seen that the rump of the Daurian Swallow is darker 

 and more uniform in colour than that of the western Cecropis nifula, and, as noticed in my account of that 

 species, the striae on the breast are bolder and more clearly defined on a lighter ground ; as Pallas expresses 

 it " subtus corpus lutescente vel sordide albet, rhachibus lineariter nigris striatum." Striae are also faintly 

 indicated on the feathers of the wings. In size the two birds are very similar ; but I have seen examples 

 collected by Mr. Svvinhoe that are much smaller than those I have figured. Pallas states that the Daurian 

 Swallow inhabits the Altaian Alps, Dauria, Thibet, and China. Mr. Svvinhoe adds to this range by stating 

 that he found it in Southern China and the island of Formosa ; he remarks, however, that the Formosan 

 bird presents some peculiarities. "It is found," says this gentleman, "in the extreme north of China as a 

 summer resident only; but in the south, where the winter climate is more genial, it stays all the year, 

 roaming about in small parties during the cold weather, and merely shifting its haunts from exposed to 

 sheltered localities according to the severity of the season. In Southern China it is by no means so 

 common as the Chimney-Swallow, and far more locally distributed; but in Formosa, both north and south, 

 it abounds in almost every homestead. Being a resident bird, and not subject to distant migrations, we 

 should naturally expect to find it liable to some variation through its insular position ; and this we do 

 observe, in the larger form, longer wings and almost entire absence of the red nuchal collar in our bird. The 

 same facts are observed and indirectly admitted in the variety prevalent in Japan by Professor Schlegel, who 

 was so struck with the differences offered by the Japanese bird as to make it a subspecies under the name 

 of Hirundo alpestris Japonica. The variations in the Formosan bird, however, are too trivial to found on 

 them a new species ; and were not the triple nomenclature held in such objection by the majority of modern 

 naturalists, we could not do better than employ it in this instance. On taking possession of our native house 

 at Tamsuy, I observed a nest of this Swallow under the rafters in the central hall. It was exteriorly built 

 of specks of mud, like the nests of the Martin, but had a neck-like entrance, giving the whole the form of a 

 French flask flattened against the roof; the inside was amply lined with feathers. Pallas's figure gives a very 

 good idea of its structure; the mouth, however, does not always point upwards, but is adapted in form and 

 direction to the shape of the spot against which it is placed. The pair to which the nest belonged returned 

 at the close of March, and in April began to repair it. Towards the end of the latter month the female was 

 sitting on three white unspotted eggs. The male and female shared the duties of incubation ; but the female 

 usually sat for the longest time. For the sake of science we let the birds have it all their own way, though 

 they made a great mess about our small house, and nearly drove us wild with their loud discordant twittering. 

 "In a ramble one spring morning, at dawn, I saw large numbers of these Swallows perching on some 

 high bamboos. The sun was fast dispelling the thick night-fog that still hung low and heavy, and the birds 

 seemed in high spirits at the return of fine weather. They fluttered from branch to branch, and, as they 

 regained a footing, rocked backwards and forwards before recovering their balance. It was in April, and 

 they were all paired, the male being always distinguishable by his larger size and longer tail. In pairs they 

 sang, or rather twittered, their notes kee-wee-kee, like sounds that might be produced by some metal 

 instrument sadly out of tune. The male loudly sang his bar, and the female followed in a lower key; the 

 male then fluttered his wings and began again; the female followed suit. In this manner the whole clump 

 of tall graceful bamboos looked alive with these birds, and resounded with their strange notes. Some pairs 

 \\ould start away and pursue one another, at first with a smooth, skimming flight ; then in an excited manner 

 they would stagger along, and, fluttering their wings, sing lustily their notes of love." 





