470 
SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 
propriety of removing the Swift from the Swallow genus, and assigning to it a 
new specific designation, cannot, therefore, be denied : but, respecting the manner 
in which this has been done, we have a “ Crow to plucky with our friend the 
Dutchman. Temminck’s new term Cypselus , taken from the of the 
Greeks, is, in our opinion, far less apposite and precise than the compound, 
Brachypus , introduced by the German ornithologists; and literally signifying Short- 
foot. His specific term, murarius , is, moreover, vague, if not perfectly unmeaning. 
The Wall Swift, of Temminck, and the Tower Swallow, of the Germans, are 
terms, in fact, almost equally objectionable. Our well-known Develin differs 
principally from the only other European species of the genus in the dusky colour 
of the whole inferior region of the body. Why, then, not designate it by the 
terms Brachypus (or Brevipes ) melanogaster , Dark-bellied Short-legs? The 
Common Swift is a Summer-visitant of the British islands; arriving about the 
end of May, and quitting, in August or Septemper, for more genial climes. The 
mode in which, without alighting on the ground, this truly aerial bird collects 
materials for the construction of its nest, is, at present, a subject of controversy. 
Our own observation leads us to believe that the object is principally accomplished 
by the fashionable process of “ spoliation/’ Are not the organs of Secretiveness 
and Acquisitiveness largely developed in the broad and depressed cranium of the 
Swift and of its Alpine congener ? 
Alpine, or White-bellied, Swift, C. Alpinus , Temminck, —Martinet a- 
ventre-blanc,jFV.—Bondine maggiore,/A—Alpen Schwalbe, G. —This fine bird has, 
of late, been twice or thrice captured in the British islands ; and is, consequently, 
now recognized as a British bird. A native of Southern Europe, the shores of 
the Mediterranean, the Archipelago, and Africa, it is larger than the preceding 
species, and distinguished from it by the pure-white colour of the lower parts of 
the body. Hence the French and English designation of White-bellied Swift is 
strictly applicable; and we should consequently propose the substitution of the 
scientific epithet leucogaster for that of Alpinus. Brachypus leucogaster , the 
White-bellied Short-legs. The only fault w T hich we can possibly find with Mr. 
Gould’s figures is that they are much too large. Bewick’s drawing of the 
“ Swift”—p. 296, Edition of 1826—is executed with admirable spirit and fidelity. 
Werner’s Livraison 22 of the Atlas —is sadly defective in colouring. 
A finely-drawn specimen of the male White Spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia , 
•—la Spatule blanche, Fr. —Pellicano volgare, It. —Weisser Loffler, G. —It is the 
only European species of the genus; and merely an occasional visitant of the 
British islands. We greatly prefer to leucorodia the specific designation nivea, 
applied by Cuvier to this elegant bird. 
The Dottrel, " Charadrius morinellus,—Sibiricus , Gmelin, — Tataricus , et 
Asiaticus , of Pallas,-— Pluvier Guignard, Fr. —Piviere de corrione, It. —der 
