76 



WHITE-COLLARED SWIFT. 



Head and beak black : upper parts of the body 

 black, with a violet tinge : greater wing-coverts, 

 nearest the body, brown, margined with white : 

 quills black : chin and throat white, which colour 

 passes round the neck, and forms a collar : between 

 the beak and eye is a divaricating white streak^part 

 of which goes above and part beneath the eye : 

 sides of the lower belly and top of the thighs 

 white : tail black and forked : legs black : length 

 five inches and a half. 



This species builds its nest in the shape of a 

 large truncated cone : it is composed of the down 

 of the dogs-bane, well twisted together ; and is 

 divided into two chambers by a partition running 

 obliquely down the middle, and spreading over 

 that part of the nest where the eggs are situated ; 

 there is also a sort of plug made of the same down 

 as the nest, to fill up the entrance so as to exclude 

 the atmospheric air : it is said to build this singu- 

 lar nest in the houses at Cayenne, where the bird 

 is found. 



