Order II. PASSERES. 



Tribe II. Eissirostres Diurn^e. 



Family II. Hirundtnid^;. 



The second Subfamily, 



HIRUNDININ^, or Swallows, 



have the Bill short, more or less depressed, with the gape very wide, and the sides gradually compressed 

 towards the tip ; the Nostrils basal, lateral, and rounded ; the Wings lengthened, with the first quill the 

 longest ; the Tail more or less forked ; the Tarsi short, generally naked and scutellated ; the Toes 

 usually long and slender ; and the Claw 1 moderate and slightly curved. 



Hirundo Linn.* 



Bill short, much depressed, with the gape very wide, and the sides gradually compressed towards the 

 tip ; the nostrils basal, small, oblong, and partly covered by a membrane. Wings lengthened, with the 

 first quill longest. Tail more or less forked, the outer feather of each side sometimes lengthened much 

 beyond the others. Tarsi shorter than the middle toe and scutellated. Toes long, slender, with the 

 lateral ones unequal ; the claws moderate, curved, and acute. 



The series of birds which belong to this genus are inhabitants of most parts of the Old and New Worlds, migrating to 

 different regions in search of their insect food. When about to remove to a country of more genial temperature, where 

 they can find a better supply of food, they collect in immense flocks, and may be observed thus congregating upon the 

 roofs of houses, and other high buildings, or trees, before their final departure. At other times they seem to prefer, in 

 small flocks, the neighbourhood of lakes, rivers, and ponds, over which they fly rapidly near the surface with extensive 

 sweeps, suddenly changing their course backwards and forwards, for a long time together ; being all the time busily 

 engaged in catching their food, which consists usually of insects, although some of the species are stated to feed 

 occasionally on myrtle berries. They do not entirely confine themselves to the neighbourhood of water, but are 

 sometimes seen in the streets of cities, plains, fields, and gardens, and are often noticed sitting in numbers on the top 3 

 of buildings, and on the branches of trees, resting from the fatigue of their usual occupations. Such is their dexterity 

 of flight, that they possess the power of drinking and washing themselves while on the wing. Their nests are mostly 

 composed of clay or mud mixed with straw, variously formed, but generally attached to a building either externally or 

 in holes. Other species form their nests in holes in the ground, in which case they are constructed entirely of loose 

 dry grass, lined with feathers. The eggs are usually five or six in number. 



1. H. rustica Linn. PI. enl. 543. f. I. — Hirundo domestiea 

 Pall, Gould B. of Eur. pi. 54. 



2. ? H. cahirica Licht. Cat. Dupl. Berl. Mus. 596. — Hirundo 

 Savignii Leach ; H. Riocouvi Savig. Hist, de l'Egypt, Ois. t. 4. 

 f. 4. ; H. Boissoneauii Temm. ; H. rustica orientalis Schl. 



3. H. rutila Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xiv. 530. 



4. H. javanica Sparr. Mus. Cars. iv. t. 100., PL col. 83. f. 2. — 

 H.jewan Sykes, Meyen, Nova Acta, 1834. t. 10. Suppl. 



5. H. pacifica Lath. Griff. An. Kingd. ii. pi. p. 95. — Hirundo 

 javanica Fig. 6$ Horsf. ; H. neoxena Gould, B. of Austr. pi. 



6. H. rufa Vieill. Ois. Amer. Sept. 1. t. 60. — H. americana 

 Wils. Amer. Orn. pi. 38. f. 1, 2., Audub. B. of Amer. pi. 173. 



7. H. erythrogaster Bodd. PL enl. 724. f. 1. — Hirundo rufa 

 Gmel. 



8. H. americana Gmel. 



9. H. frontalis Quoy & Gaim., Voy. de l'Astrol. Ois. t. 12. f. 1. 



10. H. rufifrons Vieill. Ency. Me'th. p. 524 v Le Vaill. Ois. 

 d'Afr.t. 245. f. 1. 



11. H. daurica Linn. — Hirundo alpestris Pall. Zoogr. t. 30. 

 f. 2. ; H. erythropygia Sylces ; H. nipalensis Hodgs. 



Established by Linnseus in 1735 (Systema Natural). It embraces Cecropis of M. Boie (1826), and Herse of M. Lesson (1837). 



