THE ALPINE SWIFT. 7 
Family—CVYPSELIDA. 
THE ALPINE SWIFT. 
Cypselus melba, LINN. 
EEBOHM gives the following as the distribution of this species :—‘‘ breeds 
in the alpine districts of Europe south of the Baltic, in the Ural Mountains 
its range extending up to lat. 55°, South of the Mediterranean it breeds in the 
mountains of North Africa and Abyssinia. Eastwards its range extends through 
Asia Minor, Palestine, West Turkestan, the West Himalayas, and the mountain 
ranges of West India and Ceylon. In Abyssinia, India, and Ceylon, it is said to 
be a resident; but further north it is only a summer visitor, leaving in autumn 
to winter in Damara Land, the Cape Colony, and Natal. In the cold season it is 
occasionally seen in most parts of India as far east as Calcutta; and it has 
occurred more or less accidentally on migration in Denmark, Heligoland, and 
various parts of the plains of Germany as far north as Berlin.” Messrs. Butler, 
Feilden, and Reid (Zoologist, 1882, p. 206) express their conviction that this species 
breeds in South Africa, Capt. Reid having shot a female with eggs very much 
enlarged on the Incandu River: as specimens were seen in August, November, 
and April, it would almost seem as if this species might be resident in the South. 
In the British Islands the first recognized specimen of the Alpine Swift was 
shot off the South coast of Ireland; several others have since been obtained from 
the same island, whilst in England about a score have occurred, but in Scotland 
hitherto it has not been met with. 
This species has the upper parts, a broad belt across the breast, the flanks, and 
under tail-coverts mouse-brown, the back and tail with a slight purple gloss; lores 
blackish; chin, throat, and abdomen pure white: bill and feet black; iris deep 
brown. The sexes are alike in plumage. The young have well-defined pale 
margins to the feathers, rather more white on the throat, and dark shaft-lines to 
all the white feathers. In the autumn the plumage is deeper in colour, and in 
spring it is said to become iridescent.* 
* Seebohm claims that the Swifts moult twice in the year, on (as it seems to me) very slender evidence, 
viz:—That two examples of this species in his collection shot on the 3rd August and 12th April respectively 
are ‘moulting’ a quill-feather in each wing. Naumann states positively that they only moult once. 
