COMMON BIRDS OF THE YANGTZE DELTA. 9 



summer the males also wear a dark brown collar, and the 

 forehead, face, and chin become black. Frequently the birds 

 come to us in the autumn before losing this summer plumage. 

 In this plumage the Chinese call them loo tsiah; most of 

 them, however, have already begun to moult when they arrive, 

 and we see them in all stages of ragged plumage, some 

 without tails, others with scarcely wings enough to fly. 



A winter visitor that most certainly attracts our atten- 

 tion is the black tailed or black headed hawfinch {Eophona 

 melaniira) the lah tseu, i.e. wax-bill, of the Chinese. 

 This same name also applies to the Java sparrow. The whole 

 body is fawn colour, the wings and tail black with white 

 tips and two white bars on the wing. The males have black 

 heads, the females fawn coloured. The most striking feature 

 is the grotesquely large waxy-looking yellow bill, short but 

 high and broad, out of all proportion to the size of the bird. 



These hawfinches come to us the last of October and stay 

 until late in April. By the middle of March they begin to 

 sing, and up to the time of their leaving their sweet whistling 

 notes can be heard all throughout the day. 



Two swallows are quite common witH us, both of them 

 going by the same name with the Chinese, ien-ts. The most 

 abundant is the Eastern house swallow {Hirundo guttur- 

 alis). They build in great numbers in Chinese houses in 

 city and country alike. Their presence is considered a good 

 omen, and very frequently pegs are driven into the roof 

 timbers to offer them better support for their mud nests. 

 So far as I know they are the only birdnests that a Chinese 

 boy has any respect for. The distinguishing marks of this 

 swallow are a rich irridescent chestnut brown throat and, 

 neck, and a row of white spots at the base of the deeply 

 forked tail. Otherwise he is rich irridescent purplish black 

 above and white below. 



The other swallow is the golden-backed or Hodgson's 

 ,striped swallow (Hirundo nipalensis) . Its distinguishing 

 marks are a fine dusky streaking on the under parts and a 

 rich reddish golden rump and lower back. It has the same 

 deeply-forked tail as the house swallow, but lacks the white 

 spots, and has no chestnut on the throat. In habitat the 

 golden-backed swallow is much more rural than the house 

 swallow, and prefers to build in country houses near the 

 hills. The young of both birds in the autumn lack the long 

 tails and the distinctive marks of the adults. 



The wagtails are another family of feathered friends 

 some of whom will come right to our doors in the winter. 

 They usually pick a wet rainy day to come, when the water 

 is standing all over the lawn and the little wet-weather 

 worms they love to feed on are available. There are two 



