specimens of 0. minor in Hie Britisli Museum, not having th e silvery.grey th ro a t
charaeteristio of th e la tte r spocies.
F o r th e geographioal distrib u tio n o f th is species and of C. paludicola, vide infra
P la te 32 [Map]. ’
A d d : - COTILE COWANI [™ftó, p. 7 9 ].
C o tik cowani, Sibree, Hiis,1891, p. A ll.
F o r th e geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, P la te 32 [Map].
A d d : - COTILE SINENSIS [« ,* « , p. 8I].
Ootile sinensis, Oates, ed. H um e 's Nests & Eggs Ind. B. ii. p. 178 (1S90); id Fau n
B n t. Ind., Birds, ii. p. 273 (1890).
'I'HE late Dr. Taczanowski states th a t he received from Mr. .Tanskowski five specimens of
this M a rtin from th e Sidemi lliv e r, in th e vicinity of Wladiowstock, near the frontie r
between th e Southern Ussuri co untry and China. As he mentioned th a t tho measurements
w ere larger th an those given by David and Oustalet, and spoke of a pectoral hand,
which is exactly the character which distinguishes C. riparia from O. sinensis, i t seemed
proliable th a t his specimens were a fte r all n o th in g b u t th e former species; aud this
has since proved to he th e case from a n examination of th e specimens in question, wliich
were kin d ly su bmitted to us by Dr. Stolzmann.
Tbe range of C. sinensis m u st also be extended to tbo Philippine Islands, a specimen
being in th e Cuming collection in th e British Museum.
The following additional notes on tho n esting of th e species occur iu Mr. Oates’s
edition of Mr. H um e ’s ‘ N ests and Eggs of In d ian B ird s’ :—
“ Major C. T. Bingham w rite s :—‘A t Allahabad an d a t Delhi I have found nests of
this little Sand-Martin in eig h t months o u t of th e twelve, viz. in Jan u ary , F ebruary
March, April, and May (one n e st a t Allahabad on the 3 rd May, containing two v e r l
bard-set eggs and two young birds), and again in October, November, and December
They lay m holes excavated by themselves in th e sandy banks of rivers and nullahs, these
being from 1 to 3 feet deep aud 2 inches in diameter, ending in a nest-chamher siiglitly
i a r p r th an th e tu n n el, lined with straw or grass-roots, with a layer o f soft feathers, on
which th e eggs, ordinarily fo u r or five in number, lie.’
“ T he la te Captain Cock sent me the following note many years ago ‘ I first foimd
th is Alartin breeding iu colonies in high sandbanks a t Nowshora during the niomh ot
F e b ru a ry ; th e place selected was the b an k of the river Cahul, and tho nests were often
placed so close to g eth er th a t hy enlarging one hole I could work laterally to the nest-
chambers of other nests, for th e nests were from two feet to th ree feet deep in the hank.
The nest-chamber was always lined with dry grass, stalks, and a few feathers, aud the
eggs were usually fo u r in number, p u re white. In digging o u t these eggs and similar
ones I use a narrow heavy trowel, and am invariably provided with a looking-glass to
flash in the lig h t to see what is in th e hole before p u ttin g in my hand, as I once touclicd
Bungariis fa scia tu s, and shall not fo rg e t it.’
“ Air. Doig took numerous nests in the E astern Narra, in Sind, on th e 17th F ebruary,
l i e himself writes ‘ Found numbers o f the nests of these little birds in lioles in the steep
sandy banks along th e Na rra on the 21st F e b ru a ry ; of some 30 nests the greatest number
of eggs in any one n e st was four. The holes were from 2 to 3 feet in the hank, and the
n e st consisted of grass, lined with a few feathers.’
“ Colonel B u tle r remarks ‘ T he In d ian Sand-Martin breeds in th e neighbourhood of
Deesa in th e cold weather. I found seven nests in th e hank of a river near Dcesa on the
23rd J a u u a iy , 1876, and dug them all o u t with the following re s u lts : No. 1 ,1 ^ feet from
entrance of th e hole, contained th re e eggs slightly incubated. No. 2, 2 feet from entrance,
contained four fresh eggs. Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 contained young ones nearly ready to leave
th e n e s t; others, young ones only ju s t hatched. Alost of the nests w'cro within 2 feet of
the entrance, h u t one was about 3 feet. The numbers of y oung birds varied from 3 to 4.
The nests, as a rule, were th ick pads of dry grass, fibrous roots, &c., thickly lined with
good-sized soft feathers, loosely placed a t th e bottom of the nest. Some nests were thick
and solid, others slight, small, and loosely p u t together. Quo n est was empty. I found
another n est on the 2nd Feb ru ary iu the same hank, containing one fresh egg. I took
another nest in a river-bauk on th e 15th Alarch, containing th ree fresh eggs; it was
composed exteriorly of coarse, dry, rushy grass, and lined with fine dark-coloun'd
fibrous roots, with one large solitary Kullum ’s feather a t th e bottom for the eggs to
rest upon.’ ”
F o r th e geographical distribution of this species, vide infra, P la te 32 [Alap],