172 Ornithological Notes, chiefly on some birds [No. 3, 



pear to be the regular number. There is a peculiarity in all the nests 

 I examined which I do not think has been noticed. They all are 

 formed of mud and shaped like a saucer, open above. In the centre 

 of the bottom there is invariably a small hole left. What is the object 

 of this ? Can it be cleanliness ? 



During the breeding season, these birds hunt up and down the 

 stream keeping over the water or in its immediate neighbourhood. 



85. H- erythropygia, Sykes. (IT. daurica, L. apud Jer- 

 don). On February 23rd, close to Wun, in southeast Berar, I saw an 

 immense flock of these swallows flying about one spot on the ground 

 and constantly alighting. There was no flight of winged ants or 

 termites to attract them, and they might have been preparing to 

 migrate or resting during migration. I frequently met with this 

 species near Nagpur. 



86. H. fluviCOla, Jerdon. I met with this bird 1st, at the 

 marble rocks near Jabalpur, 2nd, on the banks of the Kolar, at 

 Saonair, a few miles north-west of Nagpur, 3rd, close to the village 

 of Gugus, west of Chanda, on the river Warda. I gave an account of 

 the nests, eggs and habits, in the Ibis for 1867, Vol. III. p. 462, and 

 as this has since been copied by Mr. Gould in his " Birds of Asia," it 

 is scarcely necessary to repeat it. The most curious point is, that the 

 birds evidently return to the same spot every year to build, and this 

 place is invariably beneath an overhanging bank over deep water. 

 Mr, Gould represents them as breeding against a high cliff. This 

 may occasionally happen, but is unusual. 



I found in one place on the Pern Gunga a deserted colony. Several 

 nests had been half built and abandoned. The cause was evident, the 

 place which in former years had been a deep pool had partially silted 

 up, and the nests were accessible, and doubtless no longer secure from 

 predaceous animals. Nevertheless a pair of Cotyle concolor had bred 

 in one of the deserted nests, which" contained two of their young. 



90. Cotyle (Ptionoprogne) concolor, Sykes. I have 



just mentioned this bird breeding in a deserted nest of Hirundo fluvi- 

 cola. The shape of the nest was unmistakable, it was only half 

 finished and open above. I obtained the eggs on two or three occa- 

 sions. They were more oval and more closely spotted than those of 

 H.fluvicola and H. ruficeps. 



