THE RED-RUMPED SWALLOW. 

 Hirundo rufula, Temminck. 

 Plate 15. 



Two examples of this very handsome Swallow have been obtained in Great 

 Britain, the first shot on Fair Isle, Shetlands, in June 1896, and recovered ten days 

 later, and the second on Romney Marsh in May 1909. 



It is found in the southern and south-eastern parts of Europe, in Asia Minor, 

 and over a great portion of Asia, as well as in Africa. 



Canon Tristram says {Ibis, 1867, p. 362): "The nest is a beautiful structure, 

 composed of the same materials as that of the House-Martin, but is invariably 

 attached to the flat surface of the underside of the roof of a cave or vault. It is of 

 the shape of a retort, with a bulb of the size of a Thrush's nest, large and roomy, 

 the neck or passage for entrance being sometimes a foot or more in length ; the 

 inside of the clay chamber is warmly lined with feathers." 



The eggs, four or five in number, are pure white, without spots. 



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