J O
ahvays be seen seated upo n twigs and tru n k s of tre es rising to some b e ig h t above the
water, whence th ey b u n t a fte r flics and o th er insects, re tu rn in g after a sho rt flig h t to
th e same spot, where in small cavities th e ir nests can bo found.”
Specimens a re in th e B ritish Museum from th e Ancobra E iv e r, obtaiued by Capts.
B u rto n and Cameron, from th e river P rah , presented h y -Mr, Godfrey Logden, and from
th e neighbourhood of Axim, where th ey were procured hy J fr . Swanzy’s eolleotors. I ts
d istrih u tio n ou th e u p p e r Gold Coast seems to he, therefore, considerable. Dr. de Eoche-
h ru n e sta te s th a t i t is decidedly ra re in th e Senegambian region, as i t was only found by
him a t K ita, Bakcl, on th e banks of th e Faliime, Bakoy, and Baling rivers, a t Ponta-
kouro aud in th e in te rio r of Gangaran, localities said hy him to ho n o t fa r from th e river
Xiger. On th e last-named riv e r i t was discovered originally by Capt. Allen d u rin g th e
ill-fated N ig e r Expedition ; th e late Mr. W. A. Eorbes also saw it ab o u t 200 miles up
th e Niger, an d he alludes to th e Swallow ho m e t with as “ A ttico ra fa sc ia ta (?),” meaning,
no douht, th a t i t was a Swallow lik e A . fa s c ia ta , which he bad n o t long before seen in
Brazil. No specimens were procured by him, b u t h e can have referred only to the
p resent bird. Dr. Eeichenow obtained it on th e Cameroon and IViiri rivers. Specimens
from Gaboon a re in th e B ritish Museum, and M. DuCha illu procured th e spocies
on th e Ogowo E iv e r ; M. Marche likewise met with it on th o Upper Ogowe a t Lake
Sile, in Dcccmhcr 1875, and a t Lope in F eb ru ary of th e following year. I t extends as
ia r so u th as th e Congo, where M. P e tit obtaiued specimens.
Tlie following accoimt of th e species in th e Cameroons has been published by
Dr. Eciohenow “ This Swallow seems to he ooiiflned to the rivers, over th e waters of
which i t chases its prey, res tin g on floating tru n k s or pro jectin g stumps of trees, on the
la tte r o f which it builds its nost. 'Wherever we found old treo-stumps s tan d in g in the
river, th e re wo in variably saw th is Swallow, and wherever th e re wore none, th e Swallow
was also absent. The nests exactly resemlilod in form those of our Chimney-Swallow,
and were fixed to th e tre es a few feet above th e water, in such a m an n er th a t th ey are
protected above by a k n o t o r tho stum p of a branch. The in te rio r was lined with some
stems of grass, and two or th re e eggs co n stitu ted tho s it tin g ; th e la tte r agreed with
those of o ur Chimney-Swallow in th e colouring, b eing spotted with brown an d violet ou
a white g round, and were 0'05 iuoh long by O'o in ch broad.
A t one time we considered th a t th is Swallow differed geuerieally from th e o th er
members of th e genus H ir u n d o ; h u t tho form of the ta il aud style of coloration a re so
v ariable in th e la tte r genus, th a t every grad atio n seems to occur betwooii typical
H . rustica .and th e a b e rra n t spocies, such as H . nigrita, H. sniilhii, aud others ; so tluat
we now p re le r to keep a ll th e fork-tailed Swallows u n d e r one generic heading.
TTie descriptions .are copied from th e ‘ Catalogue of Birds,' and aro taken from
specimens in th e B ritish Museum. The figure in th e P la te is drawn from an example
in tho collcotioii of Copt. "Wardlaw Ramsay.