88 
British Birds. 
THE 
CHIMNEY-SWALLOW. 
(Hirundo rustica.) 
rivers and in the swamps near the sea-coast, and flocks of them may be seen 
in the autumn sunning themselves on the sand spits of our tidal harbours 
before commencing their migration. 
The Chimney-Swallow is easily recognised by its long 
forked tail and rufous forehead and throat, which contrast 
with the purplish-blue back and light under-surface of the 
bird. The Swallow moults in its winter quarters, while 
it is away from Europe, and on its return to this country the plumage is 
beautiful, and the male bird often looks quite rufous underneath as it turns in the 
sunlight. The old female is generally whiter below, and the young have shorter 
tails than the adult. They can, however, always be distinguished by their blue 
backs from the Sand-Martin ; and by their unfeathered toes, and by the absence of 
the white band on the rump from the House-Martin. 
Our Swallow winters in Africa and in India, and is found during the breeding- 
season throughout Europe and Western Siberia, even to the far north, as it has 
been seen on Jan Mayen, and Mr. F. G. Jackson tells me that he once saw one on 
Franz Josef Land. The nest is usually placed on a beam inside a shed, and is 
made chiefly of mud, with a little grass and straw, and is lined with feathers and 
dry grass. Unlike the two species of Martin, both of which lay white eggs, the 
Swallow’s eggs are white with reddish or purplish brown spots. 
PlCINE AND CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS .— Orders PlCIFORMES and 
Coccyges. 
The characters which separate the Piciformes from the Passeriformes are 
anatomical and need only be referred to here, as the Woodpeckers, which are 
the only Picine family occurring in Great Britain, are so easily recognised that 
external characters are sufficient for the reader to determine them. First of 
all there is the scansorial (climbing) or zygodactyle (yoke-footed) feature of the 
toes, which are arranged in pairs, two turned forwards and two backwards. The 
tongue is extensile, and capable of being projected to a considerable distance by 
means of its muscles, and the hyoid cornua are curved backwards over the skull. 
In this species, as in all the other members of the sub-family 
Picince, the tail is stiffened and remarkable for its spiny shafts, 
which are pressed against the tree as the bird climbs or clings 
to the trunk. The general colour is green, yellow below, and 
with the rump bright yellow, which colour shows very distinctly when the bird 
is flying. The male has a red head and a broad red moustache, the latter being 
THE GREEN 
WOODPECKER. 
(Gecinus viridis.) 
