40 
P1CARIAN BIRDS. 
Tree-Swifts. 
manager of which informed us that he had manured one hundred acres of coffee 
O 
with it during that season.” 
A third subfamily ( Macropterygince ) is represented by the five 
species of the genus Macropteryx, which ranges from India, through 
Burma and the Malayan Archipelago, to the Solomon Islands. They present 
such marked differences from the rest of the swifts that they have been 
separated as a distinct family. 
The plumage is much softer than 
in the majority of the swifts, and 
thus shows an approach to that of 
the goatsuckers. The sexes are 
different in colour, and the young 
very distinct from the adults; 
whereas in the other swifts there 
is very little difference between 
the plumage of the young and the 
old birds. The head is generally 
crested, and some of the species 
have elongated whisker-streaks of 
white. The metatarsus is shorter 
than the third toe, which is not 
the case in other swifts, while the 
hinder margin of the breast-bone 
has two distinct perforations; in 
addition to which the nesting- 
habits are quite peculiar. Writing 
on this subject, Mr. K. Thompson 
observes that “ it is not in the 
high or deep forest that the bird 
breeds, but in scattered jungle, 
usually covering low stony hills 
and ridges. The nest in this 
particular case was in a tree quite 
by itself, with only a few others 
in the neighbourhood scattered 
about here and there. My attention 
was directed to the male bird, who 
was trying his best to dislodge a 
dove from a tree near to the one on which I ultimately found the nest. I 
knew that there must be a nest somewhere near, and soon caught sight of the 
female sitting transversely across a thin dead bough, the tiny nest, glued on to 
the side of this branch, being as usual scarcely perceptible from below. I 
have seen two other nests of this swift in this neighbourhood, each containing a 
tolerably well-fledged young one. The nests in these instances also were placed on 
Boswellia trees. To the best of my belief they never lay more than one egg in the 
nest.” Mr. Hume adds that “ the stem to which the nest was attached is about 0 - 8 
LONG-WINGED TREE-SWIFT (i liat. size). 
