SWALLOW. 297 



described, as that is represented smaller than a Wren, with a white 

 belly, and white spots at the end of the tail,* but no such marks are 

 to be found in the present Species; and we may hereafter find, that 

 even more than the two species above hinted may be concerned. 

 Will ugh by, Ray, Klein, and some others, call their' bird parti- 

 coloured, the meaning of which does not seem quite clear. De 

 Vries specifically says, it is as large as a Swallow, and black ; and 

 Sir George Staunton, in his short description, Small Grey Swallows, 

 with bellies of a dirty white; but he observes, they were so small, 

 and flew so quick, that they escaped the shot fired at them. The 

 way to reconcile these differences must be left to future observers. 

 The specimen from which the figure is taken, was presented to me 

 by Sir Joseph Banks, having been sent to him from Sumatra. 



I have also been able to give the figure of the nest, having been 

 not only furnished with an accurate drawing of one, but also the 

 nest itself, from Mr. Hay, jun. Portsea. 



I find, among the collection of drawings of Mr. Dent, a Swallow 

 of this kind, with the nest ; the bird about three inches and a half 

 in length, colour above greenish black, with here and there a whitish 

 mixture; and between the bill and eye a spot of white; beneath 

 inclining to blue, with a mixture of white on the breast, and a con- 

 siderable portion of white on the beginning of the belly; tail greenish 

 black, but does not appear forked ; the wings exceed it in length ; 

 bill a little bent, dusky; legs pale yellow, claws black. The nest 

 seems fabricated as usual, but the eggs not of half the size ; they are 

 white, and not larger than those of the Long-tailed Titmouse. 



Dr. Horsfield observes, that those found in Java are uniformly of 

 a blackish colour, without a white extremity to the rectrices, and 

 called by the Javanese, La wet. 



* Described by M. Poivre, and taken up by Brissou and Linnaeus, and afterwards 

 by Buffon. See also Gerin. Orn. Vol. iv. t. 411. f. 2. In all these figures the ends of the 

 wings reach but little farther than the rump, or not more than one-third on the tail. 



VOL. VII. Q Q 



