The Birds of Hong Kong
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bird is a subspecies of the Swallow Hirundo r. rustica which visits England during the summer months and is very similar to it in its appearance, twittering song and habits.
Our
The Golden-Rumped Swallow has only been seen by us on three occasions, in each time in numbers but confined to a particular district and in all three cases in association with the Eastern House-Swallow. records are, April 9, 1932, Kam Tin, several hawking flies over flooded paddy fields; April 19, 1934, Pokfulam, several hawking flies over a hillside and April 6, 1935, again at Kam Tin over flooded fields. These dates and the fact that the birds were seen only once in the month makes us think that in April the species migrates across the Colony northwards, small parties stopping for a short time to rest and feed. We have a record from Nanking for April 28 when the species arrived there. This species nests in the Min Valley, the Yangtse Valley, Chefoo, and further north in Manchoukuo and Japan.
The Siberian House Martin has only once been seen by us, a party of birds, in the company of Eastern House-Swallows, hawking flies over a village pond at Sek Kong near Kam Tin on April 2, 1934. La Touche, I, p. 384 writes of this species that it "is not frequently seen on the China coast; the two specimens in my collection, one of which is from Shaweishan and the other shot by me at Chingwangtao, and a flock noticed by Vaughan and Jones on 16th March, 1907, at Hong Kong are about the only records. This species breeds in Siberia.
NESTING HABITS.
The Eastern House-Swallow has similar nesting habits to its European cousin. The nests are built of mud, mixed perhaps with a little straw or grass, in the form of a saucer or cup and lined with feathers, they are fixed under the eaves of a house or on a ledge of rock. Inhabited houses and old deserted ruins are equally favoured. Four or five eggs are laid; they are white with a pale mauve tint and with small purplish brown speckles mostly towards the larger end. Size 18 x 13 mm. (See plate I, Egg No. 11, H.K.N. IV, 1933). The breeding season in Hong Kong is from mid March to the end of June. We have records of nest building March 12, eggs April 8 and 28 and young in nest May 20. In England the birds have up to four briods in a season; Caldwell in "South China Birds" gives two for Fukien.
CROW-PHEASANTS, ADDITIONAL NOTES.
In the last issue of this journal on page 3 under Nesting Habits a reference was made on line 28 to a nest of the Chinese Crow-Pheasant found in a branch of a screw pine and built of course bladed grasses. The nest was made entirely of leaves of Pandanus odoratissinus and not of coarse bladed grasses as stated. This nest is illustrated in Plate 7 figure 2.
A
Just before the last issue went to press a note was added at the end of the article on page 4 about a nest of the Lesser Crow-Pheasant. photograph of this nest is reproduced here on Plate 7 figure 3.
July 1935.
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