HIRUNDINIDE, a family of birds of t order Insessores, tribe Fissirostres, comprising t sub-family Hirundinimu, with the genera Hirune Cotyle, and Chelidon, and the sub-family Cyrn line, with the genera. Cypselus, Acanthylis, Col calia, and Dendrochelidon.
Hirundo rustica, the rustic swallow of Europe, A: Africa • is migratory, and common in the plains India Africa; the cold season; chiefly seen o' water.
H. domieola, Jerdon, is the Neilgherry house mall of S. India, Penang, Malacca and Java.
H. filifera. This is a beautiful wire-tailed swan( with prolonged middle tail feathers, and is for throughout India, N.W. Himalaya, and Kashmi H. daurica, mosque swallow or_red-rump swallow, found in N. and Central Asia, over all India Nepal to Ceylon, and N. China.
. tlavicolla, Blpth, belongs to the group of republican swallows (Petrochelidon of the prince of Canino), and has similar habits to the II. fulva of N.
. Japonica, striolata, occur In Japan.
. hyperythnt, Layartf, Ceylon.
otyle Sinensis, the ordinary Indian sand martin, occurs together with II. riparia.
I. urbica, the martin of Europe, Africa, Asia, andri Siberia, is somewhat rare or local l' in India, and migratory..
. ripana, the sand martin of Europe, Asia, Africa, N. America, is migratory in India, and local, and mostly replaced by IL Sinensis.
. rupestns of S. Europo, is common in the high moun tains of India, and there is a diminutive of it also in the II. concolor of Sykes.
C. subsoccata, Hodus., the dusky martin of Kashmir, Ladakh, Nepal, and in the cold weather, Panjab. C. concolor, Sykes, the dusky crag martin of all India. Chelidon urbica, Linn., the English house martin, has been found in the Neilgherries.
Ch. Cashmiriensis,Coug the house martin of Kashmir, where it is abundant.
Ch. Nipalensis, Hodis., the little Himalayan martin. Ch. dawns, Bonap., of Borneo.
Sub-Fait. Cypselina, Swifts.
Acanthylis sylvatica, Tirkell, the white-rumped spine tail of all India, inhabits the jungles.
, A. leucopygialis, .Blyth, of Japan.
A. co•acinus, Mull., of Borneo.
A. gigantea, Tenint., brown-necked spine-tail of Neil ' glierries, Wynad, Malabar, and Ceylon. It is a magnificent swift.
A. caudacuta, Lath., white-necked spine-tail, a splendid powerful swift of the Himalaya, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, and China.
Cypsclus melba, Linn., tho alpine swift of Southern , India.
Cy. itinis,Linn.,the European swift,is found throughout W. Asia, N. Africa, and Europe ; is common in Afghanistan, Kashmir, and visits the Panjab in the rains.
Cy. affinis, Gray, the common Indian swift of the Pan jab, Sind, all India ; breeding in colonies.
1'y. lcuconyx, Myth, the white-clawed swift of all India, but rare.
i 'y. vittatus, Jard. and &Up, of all China, Malayan.
Cy. Batassicnsis, Gray; the palm swift, abounds in all the districts of India, Ceylon, Assam, Burma, wherever the palmyra and cocoanut palms grow ; nest very small, and always placed on the leaf of the palmyra.
of China.
irundo nidifica, Lath., H. unicolor, Jerdon. Myth., Horsf. Cypselus unicolor, Jevdon.
II. brevirostres, M'Clell. C. concolor, Myth.
This, the Indian edible nest swiftlet, is found in the Neilgherries, Ceylon, Western Ghats, Coorg, Wynad, Malabar, Sikkim, Himalaya, Assam, Java, Malay Peninsula, Andaman, Siam, Cochin-China, • and other islands of the Archipelago. The nest, when pure and of the first make, is composed entirely of inspissated mucus from the large salivary glands of the birds. It is very small. When these first make nests arc removed, the second make are inferior.
'• Co. linchi, Jerdon C. fuciphaga, Hirundo nest swift of the Nicobars, on the rocky coast of the Bay of Bengal from Laken south to Java. Its nest is more valuable than that of the C. nidifica.
Other species of Collocalia arc found in the g Eastern Archipelago as far as New Guinea, one from the Mauritius, and one or more front the " Pacific islands.—.Terelon , pp. 155-185.