PASSERES. 
9 
common Wood-owl’s cry. Sir T. S, Kaffles, iiiliis “ Descrip- 
tion of the Birds of Sumatra ” (Transactions of Liim?ean 
Society, vol. xiii.), says that the name Burong Hantoo is 
given to Owls in general by the Malays. 
Order Passeres, 
Tribe Fiasirostres. 
Fam. Hirundinida3. 
Sub-flim. CypHeliiia’. 
Gen. Macropter}'^. 
Macropteryx IClecko. 
Cypselus longipennis (Temm. PI. Col, pL 83). 
Above, metallic green black with reflections of steel-blue, gra- 
dually passing into light gray at the upper tail-covers. 
Below, from the chin dusky gray, becoming lighter towards the 
lower tail-covers, which are white. 
Behind the eye and covering the ears is a patch of dark chesnut- 
coloured feathers. 
The covers of the wings are the same colour as the back \ quills 
steel-blue. 
Tail, steel-blue ; deeply forked. 
Total length, 8| inches. 
Length of bill from gape, 8^ lines. 
„ of bill from front base, 3 lines. 
„ of wings, G| inches, extending to the end of the tail. 
„ of tail, 4 inches. 
„ of tarsus, 2|- lines, 
„ of middle toe and claw, nearly 7-| lines. 
The female wants the patch of red on the ears, but in other 
respects resembles the male. 
The plumage of the young of this species is oddly mottled, the 
feathers of the upper parts being dusky brown at the base, passing 
into metallic green, and tipped with a sort of fringe of reddish brown 
and white ; on the head the brown predominates over the white in 
this fringe, and is of a much richer colour than that of the back ; 
the lower parts are light brown, each feather being tipped, a crescent 
of dark brown succeeded by another of white ; the wings are irre- 
gularly marked with brown of dilFerent shades and tawny "white. 
These birds are common in the island, flying very high, 
and screaming like the common English Swift ; they fre- 
quently perch upon dead branches of trees, but always at a 
great height; the young one which we have described 
above was caught alive and lived for several days upon grass- 
hoppers ; for want of room, however, it was put into a cage 
