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Show 288 AVES. and external ones consist each of three phalanges like the internal one. f · The shortness of their humerus, the breadth o Its apophyses, their oval fourchette, their sternum not emarginate beneath, all in· dicate, even in the skeleton, their fitness for vigorous ~igh.t; but the shortness of their feet, together with the length of their wmgs, pre· vents them, when on the ground, from rising, ~nd cons~que.ntly they pass their lives, if I may so express it, in the air, purs~rng m flo~ks, and with loud cries, their insect prey through the h1ghest reg1ons f the atmosphere. They nestle in holes of w~lls, or fissures in ~ocks, and climb along the smoothest surfaces with great rap.idity. The common species, Hirundo apus, L., Enl. 541, I, 1sblack, with a white throat. That from high mountains, Hirundo melba, L.; Eclw. 27; Vaill. Afr. 243; Vieill. Gal. 121, is larger, brown above, and whitebe· neath, with a brown collar under the neck. ( 1) HxRuNno, Cuv. The Swallows proper have the toes and sternum disposed like those of the Passerinre generally. In some of them the feet are in· vested with feathers down to the nails; the thumb still exhibits a disposition to incline forward; the tail is forked, and of a moderate size. H. urbica, L.; Hirondelle de fenetre, Enl. 54~, 2. The Mar· tin.) Black above; underneath, and the rump, white. The substantial nest it constructs of earth, at the angles of windows, under eaves of houses, &c. is well known to every one.(2) Others have naked toes, and the forks of the tail very often ex· tremely long. H. rustica, Enl. 543, 1. (The Chimney Swallow.) Black above; forehead, eyebrows, and throat, red, all the remaining under part white. The name is derived from its usual placeof residence. H. riparia; Hirondelle de rivage; Enl. 453, 2. (The Sand Martin.) Above, and the breast brown; the throat, and under· neath, white. It lays in holes along the hanks of rivers. That (1) Add Hir. sinensis;-the Martinet d croupe blanche, Vaill. Afr. 244, 1'the Martinet velocifere, Id. lb. 244, 2?-the Martinet a moustaches (Cyps. my!IDceua, Less. and Garn. ), Voy. de la Coquille, No. 122 ;-the M coiffe (C. comatm, T. ), Col. 268 ;-the M.longipenne (Hir. longipennis, T. ), Col. 83, 1. [Add Cyp!· pelagicus, Wils. V, pl. xxxix, f. 1. .11m. Ed.] 1 (2) Add Rirundo cayennensia, Enl. 725, 2 ;-Hir. lutk>viciana, Nob. Enl. 725• ' and Catesby, 1, 51-Hir. montana;-the same as the rupestri•· PASSERINJE. 289 it becomes torpid during the winter, and even passes that season under water in the bottom of marshes, appears to be certain. Among. the Swallows foreign to Europe, we should remark, H~r. esculenta, L. A very small species from the Archipelago of India, .with ~ ~orked tail; brown a~ove; beneath, and the tip of the tall, wlutish; celebrated for Its nest, composed of a whitish g atine, arranged in layers, and constructed with a particular species of fucus which it previously grinds and macerates. The nutritious qualities attributed to these nests in China, have rendered them an important article in the commerce of that country.(!) There are some Swallows in which the tail is nearly square,(2) and others where it is short, square, and the quills terminating in a point.(3) CAPRJMULGus, Lin.(4) The Goatsuckers have the same light, soft plumage, shaded with grey and brown, that characterizes the nocturnal birds. Their eyes are large; the commissure of the beak extending still higher up than that of the Swallow, and furnished with stiff mustachios, is capable of engulphing the largest insects, which are retained there by a glutinous saliva; the nostrils, formed like small tubes, are at its base. Their wings are long; their feet, short, with feathered tarsi, (1) Here come: Hir. americana, Wils., V, xxxviii, 1, 2, or rufa, Vieill., Am. 3;-another Hir. rufa, Enl. 724, 1;-Hir. fulva, Vieill. Am. 32 ;-Hir. fasciata, F.nl. 724, 2;-Hir. violacea, Enl. 722, or H. purpurea, Wils., V, xxxix, 1, 2 ;~ r. ~y~rea~ Enl. 454, 2 ;-Hir. aenegalensia, Enl. 310 ;-Rir. capemil, En]. 723, 2,-~r. t~dzca, Lath. Syn. II, pl. lvi ;-Hir. panayana, Sonner. Voy. I, pl. IIXXV1;-H,r. subis, Edw., 120 ;-Hir. ambrosiaca, llriss., II, pl. lxv, fig. 4 ;--Hir. laptra, lb., fig. 3 ;-Hir. nigra, Id. pl. lxvi, fig. 3 ;-Hir. daurica ;-Hirondelle a froratrou.v,\Vaill. Afr.j245, 2 ;-Hir. de marais, ld. lb. 246, 2 ;-Hir. huppee, Id. lb. 247;-Cypa. aenex, T. 397 ;-Hir. fucata, Tern., Col., 161, 1 ;-Hir. jugularis, Pr. Max., Col., 209, 2;-Hir. javanica, Lath. Col. 83, 2 ;-Hir. melanolenca, Pr. Max., CoL .2~~· 2 ;-Hir. minuta, Pr. Max., Col. lb., 1 ;-Hir. bicolur, Vieill. Am. 31, or H.flirid&B, Wils., V, xxxviii, 3. (2) Hir. dominicencis, Enl. 545, 1 ;-Rir. torquata, Enl. 723, 1 ;-Rir. leucoptera fi Enl. 546, 1 ;-Hir. francica, Enl. 544, 2 ;-Hir. borbonica ,--H. americana ,·-Hir: IIUtlt, Vaill. Af. 246, 1. Vi(~) Hir. acuta, Enl. 544, 1 ;-Cypselus giganteus, Col. 364 ;-Hir. alhir.ollu, ltlll., Galer. 120, or Cyps. collaris, Pr. Max., Col. 195. th (4 ) ~ap~mulgus, Goatsucker, JEgothelm, names which derive their origin from C e whimsical idea entertained by the vulgar, of their sucking Goats and even ows. 1il N.B. M. Vigors and Horsfield make a genus (lEGOTIIELJ:s,) of the Caprimulgu6 uort-Holbzndia3, Philip., Bot. B., 270. Vat. I.-2M |
