palm within a mile of you. I have tested this. In Bombay the Brab is one of the commonest trees, and therefore the Palm Swift is one of the commonest birds. It is a slim bird, with long, narrow wings, and a thin, deeply-forked tail, which opens out whenever the bird turns suddenly in the air. Its colour is a brownish-smokey, rather lighter on the under-parts. As I have said, its flight is comparatively feeble, but it is a true Swift, spending the whole day on the wing without apparent effort, and flying much higher than the Swallows generally do. Its nest is a small, shallow cup, made of feathers worked up with a whitish substance like isinglass, which is really the saliva of the bird. All Swifts use this substance in the construction of their nests, and some use little else, producing those clear, semi-transparent, white structures which the heathen Chinee converts into toothsome soups. The Palm Swift lays three white eggs, which may be looked for in the hot season. You must secure the assistance of a toddy-drawer to obtain them.
The Common Indian Swift, (Cypselus affinis) as Jerdon calls our sixth species of this family, might rather be named the House Swift, for it comes nearer taking the place which the House Swallow fills in England than any other. It does not often build under the eaves of a private house, but the arched entrance to Messrs. Greaves, Cotton & Co.'s offices, the central hall of the Post Office, the porch of the old High Court, in short, any spacious porch, or verandah, or high-arched door- way, will do. The Indian House Swift is a sociable bird and will not build alone, but founds regular villages, which may consist of half a dozen nests or half a hundred. They are large and solid, generally
