Birds of IlritisJi Guiana. 
51 
and in some cxanii)les even the toes are feathered. Their colora- 
tion is generally sombre, blacks and browns with sometimes 
white chins, breasts, or rnmps, and markings of rufous, being 
the prevailing tints. They range all over the world except in 
New Zealand and some other islands, and in snow-bound lati- 
tudes. Their tails are generally forked: and in flight they 
resemble a bent bow. Their note is a shrill scream uttered 
continuously. The CoUocaJia make their nests of secretions of 
their salivary glands and from them the Chinese concoct excel- 
lent soup! None of these species, however, belong to the New 
World. Others make their nests saucer-shape, of twigs, straw, 
feathers, etc., which they catch in the air as they fly, binding the 
material together with saliva, and selecting such sites as the face 
of a cliff, the open branch of a tree, palm leaves, ect. The 
Paiiy/^fila makes a huge nest entirely composed of seeds, glued 
together with saliva. The eggs are dull white like those of 
Humming Birds. They are in all nine genera and a hundred 
species, of which twenty-five belong to the New World. 
SwTFTS — (Colonial). Cypsclidac. 
*fTlic Belted Swift Clnicliini snnaris. 
""t ,, White-banded Swift ,. alhiciiicla. 
*t ,, .Spiny-tailed ,, ., spiiiicaiida. 
*t ,, Grey ,, (?) ,, poliura. 
*t ,, Ash-vented ,, ,, cincreivcvlris. 
*t ,, Gre3'-breasted ,, ,, yjuancnsls. 
t ,, Ruddy ,, (?) Cypseloides rutilus. 
*f , Black ,, ,, niger. 
., Smoky ,, „ futnigatus. 
,, Palm Swift (Scaly) Claudia sqitc.mala. 
,, Cayenne Swift (Downy) PatiyptUa caycimetisis. 
SWALLOWS AND MARTINS. 
These birds belong to the Order Passcriformcs and are 
jilaced next the Swifts in this collection for the sake of compari- 
son. Like Swifts they are cosmopolitan and their habits are 
generally the same, feeding on insects which they catch with 
open mouth. They will alight on the bare branches of trees and 
are sometimes seen on the ground collecting mud to build their 
nests which may be cup-shaped or like a retort with a tube for 
entrance. They often form colonies of nests and hunt in com- 
