while others o f the flock attach themselves one to the other, in such numbers that they have been observed
nearly o f the size of a bushel measure.”
It was very numerous in the town of Perth until about the middle o f April, when I missed it suddenly, nor
did I observe it again until near the end of May, when I saw it in countless numbers flying in company with
the Common Swallows and Martens over a lake about ten miles north o f the town ; so numerous, in fact,
were they, that they darkened the water as they flew over it.
Its voice greatly resembles that o f the Common Swallow in character, but is much more harsh.
The stomach is muscular and capacious, and the food consists o f insects generally.
The season o f incubation is from September to December. The situation o f the nest is much varied ; I
have seen one placed in a thickly foliaged bough near the ground, while others were in a naked fork, on the
side o f the bole o f a tree, in a niche formed by a portion of the bark having been separated from the trunk,
&c. The nest is rather shallow, of a rounded form, about five inches in diameter, and composed of fine
twigs neatly lined with fibrous roots. I observed that the nests found in Van Diemen’s Land were larger,
more compact and more neatly formed than those on the continent o f Australia; and one which was shown
me by Mr. Justice Montague on his picturesque estate at Kangaroo Point, near Hobart Town, was placed
at the extremity of a small leafy branch, as represented in the Plate.
The eggs are generally four in number; they differ much in the disposition of their markings; their
ground-colour is dull white, spotted and dashed with dark umber-brown ; in some a second series o f greyish
spots appear as if beneath the surface of the shell; their medium length is eleven lines, and breadth eight
lines.
Head, neck, and the whole o f the body fuliginous grey; wings dark bluish black, the external edges of
the second, third and fourth primaries white; tail bluish black, all the feathers except the two middle ones
largely tipped with white ; irides dark brown ; bill blue with a black tip ; feet mealy lead-colour.
The sexes are alike in the colouring o f their plumage, and are only to be distinguished by the female
being somewhat smaller in size.
The young have an irregular stripe o f dirty white down the centre of each feather of the upper surface,
and are mottled with the same on the under surface.
The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size.