42. 
H I R U N D 0 H Y P E R T I A 
(THE CEYLOH SWALLOW) 
ADULT MALE AND FEMALE 
Length 6.5 to 6.8 inches; wing 4.6 to 4.9; tall 3.1 to 3.3; centre feat¬ 
hers 1.4 shorteh than the external; tarsus .5 to .6; middle toe and claw .6; 
bill to gape . 6 . 
DISTRIBUTION 
This fine Swallow was discovered by Layard, who met it in 1849 near Ambe- 
pusse. It Is widely distributed throughout all the low country, with the 
exception of the extreme North, where I have not noticed it. In the forest 
district lying between Dambulla and the latitude of Manaar it is local, be¬ 
ing chiefly confined to small tracts of cultivation in the vicinity of tanks; 
in the Eastern Province, which Is equally wild, it is restricted to similar 
localities, and In the Western Province is found principally in the interior. 
So plentiful Is it in the South-west of the island that it is the common 
Swallow of the town of Galle, and seems to affect the sea coast quite as rear 
dlly as the interior, except during the wet windy weather of the South-west 
monsoon, when it retires for shetler to the secluded vales away from the sea 
board. About Kandy and In the Central Province generally up to 3000 feet, 
it is common, and in Uva and Haputale It is found much higher than that ele¬ 
vation, for I have known it to breed at 4000 feet In the latter district. 
Mr Bligh has seen it once at -"Newer a Ellia, but it is rare on that eleva¬ 
ted plateau, although In many of the coffee districts it may be seen hawking 
at higher altitudes than that of the sanitarium. In the Morowak Korale 
s 
district it is not uncommon. 
HABITS 
Our Ceylon Swallow frequents towns and villages alike with the country. 
In the latter, marshes'and paddy fields, open glades in secluded valleys, 
and lonely tanks In the wilds of the jungle’are the places to which it is 
partial. It is found in -the Central Province a great deal about estate 
stores and bungalows, and often consorts there with the little bungalow swal¬ 
low, breeding in cattle sheds and outhouses, and permanently frequenting 
their vicinity. 
It is a characteristic bird of the wild village tanks In the Vanni, and 
its cheerful chirrup is often one of the first bird sounds which meets the 
ear on the sportsman suddenly emerging from the forest, and finding himself 
