Birds. 



6371 



immediately after my arrival here, which proved your beautiful 

 Hirundo euchrysea. I first saw it in the middle of October : it was a 

 dull overcast day, with drizzling rain ; but the beautiful iridescence of 

 the back and head, as it dipped and wheeled over the canes, made it 

 at once conspicuous. I did not see it again till a month after 

 (November 16lh), during rainy weather, and on the same day 

 Acanthylis appeared: they were then in great numbers over the 

 common attached to this * pen.' I made the following note in my 

 journal: — 'Their flight is much more like that of the English swallow 

 {Hirundo rustica) than any of the island hirundines I am acquainted 

 with. It darts, with arrowy swiftness low over the ground, its pearl- 

 white belly and lustrous green back showing by turns : or another 

 part of the flock will skim over a clump of bamboos, or whirl in rapid 

 circles with poised wings round the thick foliage of the bread-nuts. 

 The whole flock of perhaps two or three hundred constantly moved, 

 so that where there were numbers would be presently quite deserted 

 for another part of the valley. They seemed much more alarmed at 

 the discharge of my gun than is usual with swallows, the whole flock 

 rising and darting about in great alarm. The bird shot at generally 

 descended with a swiftness too great for the eye to follow, then sud- 

 denly checked its course near the ground, and joined the rest, with 

 the peculiar chattering of swallows.' 



" November 19. A brilliant day, after eight days' almost uninter- 

 rupted rain. On going out, soon after sunrise, two or three of the 

 great swifts were wheeling over the valley, and the little golden 

 swallows were very numerous, flocks skimming over every meadow 

 and sheltered corn -piece. The gleam of their heads and backs, as 

 the bright morning sun flashed from them, now ruddy, now green, now 

 bright golden, was one of the most lovely of the many beautiful sights 

 of the tropics. The play of light as they shot along in their rapid 

 skimming flight reminded me of the glancing lustre of flying fish as 

 they leap shining from the water. At a greater height they 'sailed' 

 more, as is usual with the Hirundinidae ; and, rarely, one would spread 

 its tail and wings to the utmost, the latter rather deflexed, and wheel 

 very slowly over a small space, as if toying, or perhaps it was a mani- 

 festation of that consciousness of their own gay attire, which is so 

 constantly observable in brilliantly coloured animals. It was at this 

 moment I tried to get a shot ; but my attempts were quite unavailing, 

 and they wheeled and skimmed in the most provoking security, within 

 a few feet of the muzzle of my gun : they appeared very constantly, 

 whatever the state of the w r eather, up at any rate to the 30th ultimo, 



