3 J 2 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
Several species of swallows, while possessing little brilliancy of plumage, 
are rendered very attractive by an ostentatious display of feathers, such as the 
wire-tail ( hirundo jilifera ), which trails behind it 
two very long hair-like feathers, and the crested- 
swallow ( dendrochelidon longipennis) , that is re¬ 
markable for the large helmet-like crest with 
which its head is adorned. Some species of 
goat-suckers are similarly arrayed, such as the 
leona ( macrodiptex longipennis) , and long-winged 
(caprimulgus vexillarius ), both of which have 
a single feather in each wing equal to double 
the length of the body, which imparts a most grace¬ 
ful appearance to these swift-moving creatures. 
The long-tailed (C. lyra ), rivals the long-tailed 
bird of Paradise in the extraordinary length of 
two feathers of its tail which curve inward to 
give a resemblance to the shape of a lyre. 
The most interesting species, because most 
important from a commercial point of view, is 
the Esculent Swallow, of which there are four 
species, viz.: the linchi ( collocalia fuciphaga ), 
the white-backed (C. troglodytes) , and the gray- 
backed (C. francica ), all of which, however, are 
natives of the Malay Peninsula, Corea and some 
of the neighboring islands. The nests which 
these birds construct are most singular, in that 
they appear somewhat like lichens or some 
other fungous growth, and not at all like nests. 
Their shape is irregular, and the hollow hardly 
great enough to retain the eggs. They are in¬ 
variably built on the face of precipitous rocks, 
in places least accessible to man, as if the birds were conscious of the esti-. 
mation in which their nests are held. 
The only means of reaching them, is by 
attaching a strong rope to some support 
above the rocks, and by this the nest- 
gatherer must be lowered over the preci¬ 
pice, which is always a most laborious 
and dangerous undertaking. 
The nests when first gathered are 
most uninviting in appearance, but when 
washed thoroughly exhibit the shin¬ 
ing, glutinous substance of which they 
are composed. Nests which have served 
a brood are of little value, but those 
gathered before the eggs are hatched, barn swallow {Hirundo rustica). 
are so highly regarded that they 
bring a price equal to their weight in silver; or, to be more exact, this is 
the price which wealthy Chinese are prompt to pay, but other nationalities 
CRESTED swallows i Dendrochelidon 
longipennis). 
