THE ALPINE SWIFT. 9 
towards the sea from the rocky hills near Madura about sunset. On another 
occasion I saw, at mid-day, an enormous flock of them flying eastwards from the 
same range, a little south of Madura; these, however, were probably merely taking 
their ordinary rounds of a few hundred miles, but the others flying seaward at 
sunset—where were they bound for? 
I discovered one roosting place of this Swift on the magnificent precipices at 
the falls of Gairsoppa. Here, especially on the cliffs on each side of the great 
fall, above goo feet perpendicular height, these Swifts were congregated in vast 
numbers, and from the way in which some of them remained about the cliffs at 
all times of the day, I have little doubt but that they breed here. Is it possible 
that all the Alpine Swifts that traverse the south of India, with such amazing 
speed, meet here nightly for roosting, and for breeding in their appointed season, 
or are there other similar places of resort for them along the chain of western 
Ghats? However this may be, my own impression, from long observation on the 
west coast of India, is, that such of these Swifts as have been questing at great 
distances from their roosting haunts, fly first towards the coast, and then make 
their way along the sea side, picking up stragglers from other regions on their 
way to the cliffs of Gairsoppa, or other similar precipices. At Tellicherry, I 
frequently saw them early in the morning along the sea coast, always flying 
southwards.” 
Speaking of the Swifts at Bern, W. Warde Fowler (Summer Studies, pp. 21, 
22) says:—-‘‘ The streets and squares resound with their shrill voices, and they 
nest under the eaves of the hotel I frequent. These are of the common species ; 
but if you stand anywhere near the cathedral and look up, you will see, generally 
higher in the air than the others, numbers of the splendid Alpine Swift, circling 
round with marvellous speed. You can tell this bird at once by his white belly, 
which almost glitters in the sunshine, and by the ease and dignity of his flight; 
he does not use his wings so rapidly as the other, but sweeps along almost without 
an effort; and he does not scream so wildly, but whistles to his sitting mate as 
he sails around the tower, or utters a crescendo chatter, which seems to end 
fortissimo as he comes near to you.” 
“‘ What can be happier for such an aerial bird than to be able to sweep round 
and round a lofty tower unimpeded by walls of rock? So it has come down from 
its mountains to the plain, and taken possession of the noble tower at Bern. 
There it builds a curious flat nest, formed of dried leaves, bits of paper, and of 
fir-bark, with a few feathers, on beams and ledges within the tower. Like the 
Chinese bird whose nest is eaten in the East, it secretes a saliva with which to 
glue these materials together; for in wind-swept caves and towers they could hardly 
Vor. III Cc 
