THE INDIAN SAND-MARTIN. 309 
in Tenasserim in June. He states his belief that they were then migrating ; 
but I think this to be improbable, for Mr. Theobald found these Swallows 
breeding in Tenasserim in April_, and at other places where this bird occurs 
it appears to be a resident species. 
This Swallow, which is one of very wide range, will probably be observed 
in other parts of Burmah. It is a common and well-known bird in the 
south of India and in Ceylon, and it is found in the Malay peninsula, 
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippine Islands, Celebes and some of the 
further islands. 
The Tropical House-Swallow, or the Neilgherry House-Swallow as Dr. 
Jerdon terms it, appears to be as familiar in the localities it is met with 
as the Common Swallow is in Europe. It makes its nest in the verandahs 
of bungalows and in outhouses, occasionally in a cave or on the face of a 
well-sheltered rock. The nests which Mr. Theobald found in Tenasserim 
were attached to the underparts of snags about 4 feet above the water, but 
I should imagine this to be an unusual position for the nests ; they are 
constructed of mud, cup-like in shape and lined with feathers. The eggs 
are usually three in number, white speckled with reddish. 
Genus COTILE, Bote. 
294. COTILE SINENSIS. 
THE INDIAN SAND-MARTIN. 
Hirundo chinensis, Grai/ in Hardiv. III. Ind. Orn. pi. 35. fig. 3. Cotyle sinensis, 
Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 164 ; Bl. ^ Wald. B. Bunn. p. 127 ; David et Oust. Ois. Chine, 
p. 128; Anders. Yunnan Kxped. p. 651 ; Hume 8f Dav. S. F. vi. p. 45; Hume, 
S. F. viii. p. 84 ; Scully, S. F. viii. p. 234. Cotile sinensis, Hume, S. F. i. 
p. 164 ; id. Nests and Eggs, p. 82. Cotile obscurior, Hume, S. F. iii. p. 43. 
Description. — Male and female. Upper plumage greyish brown, most of 
the feathers, especially those of the tail-coverts, margined with paler brown 
or with whitish ; wings and tail darker brown ; chin, throat, breast, sides of 
the head and neck pale grey ; abdomen, vent and under tail-coverts white. 
Iris brown ; bill black ; legs dark brown. 
Length 4*2 inches, tail 1*8, wing 3*4, tarsus '38, bill from gape '45. 
The Indian Sand-Martin is common in Arrakan and Pegu in the neigh- 
bourhood of all the larger rivers. Mr. Davison states that it is rare in 
Tenasserim and confined to the northern portion of the Division, and Capt. 
Bingham has not observed it in the Thoungyeen valley. Wherever found, 
however, it appears to be a constant resident. 
