340 
Mr. Blythes Commentary 
“a permanent resident in the Jordan valley.” This non- 
migratory character is in favour of Dr. Sclater's opinion that 
these two Swifts form a peculiar section of the genus (P. Z. S. 
1865, p. 602). I have known C. affinis to construct its con¬ 
tinuous mass of nests in a low porch, so near the ground as to 
be reached by the hand; and I have also seen a huge cluster of 
the nests attached to the roofing of one of the lofty minarets of 
the mosque of Aurungzebe at Benares, and have noticed the 
species resorting to other elevated sites; but it very commonly 
breeds in the porticos of houses, and sometimes within reach of 
the hand in a crowded bazaar. 
101. Cypselus leuconyx, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xi. p. 886, xiv. 
p. 212 (not p. 218). 
This is a considerably less robust species than C. pacificus 
(Latham), to which Mr. Gould now adds as synonyms C. vit- 
tatus , J. & S., C. australis , Gould, and “ Hirundo apus var /3,” 
of Pallas, who expressly states that it has black claws; and there¬ 
fore his description will not apply to C. leuconyx . C. pacificus 
inhabits the Tenasserim provinces and Pinang. I observed it 
at Moulmein. 
102. Cpselus batassiensis. 
This and its African representative, C. ambrosiacus* , form 
another distinct section of non-migratory Swifts. The range of 
the Indian bird is probably coextensive with that of the Borassus- 
palm, extending over the whole Indian region. It attaches its 
remarkable nest to the under surface of a plait of the large fan¬ 
like frond, and may also resort to other high “ fan-palms,” as 
the Coryphee. Not unfrequently I have observed two or three 
pairs of this Swift resorting to a particular palm that was also 
tenanted by a colony of Ploceus baya-\. The natives of Bengal 
* Dr. Sclater (P. Z. S. 1865, p. 601) identifies this with C. parvus ; hut 
see Dr. Pucheran’s remarks (R. Z. 1853, p. 443). 
t The Borassus jiabelliformis is the most generally diffused palm of the 
Indian region, and it is the “palm,” par excellence, of Anglo-Indians. 
Sometimes, though very rarely, its stem divides. At the Artillery 
Station of Dumdum, near Calcutta, there is one of which the stem 
divides, and each branch divides again dichotomously, showing four 
contiguous “ heads ” or crowns of fronds. Among the drawings from the 
