NEEDLE-TAILED SWIET.
ACANTHYLLIS CAUDACUTA {Lath.).
Hirundo caudacnta, Lath. Synops. Suppl. ii. p. lvii (1801).
Acanthyllis caudacuta, Yarr. ed. 4, ii. p. 371; Dresser, iv.
p. 613.
I find only two records of the occurrence of this
species in Great Britain: the first at Great Horkesley,
near Colchester, on July 8th, 1846, and the other
towards the end of July 1879, near Ringwood, Hants ;
in this latter instance the bird had been observed flying
over the river Avon, with a companion of its own species,
for a few days before its capture. Mr. H. Saunders,
from whose work I am quoting, states that at the time
of the publication of his ‘ Manual ’ this bird had not
been noticed in any other part of Europe ; that during
the summer it inhabits South-eastern Siberia, Mongolia,
Manchuria, Japan, and the mountainous regions of
China and Tibet, also the Eastern Himalayas, migrating
as far southwards as Eastern Australia and Tasmania in
the cold season. As this is a species which would
probably be impossible to keep alive for any length of
time in captivity, I hold that the well-authenticated
instances of its occurrence in England above mentioned
fully entitle it to a place amongst British birds.