Identifier: guidetogalleryof00brit (find matches)
Title: Guide to the gallery of birds in the Department of Zoology of the British Museum (Natural History)
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors: British Museum (Natural History). Dept. of Zoology Ogilvie-Grant, W. R. (William Robert), 1863-1924
Subjects: British Museum (Natural History). Dept. of Zoology Birds -- Catalogs and collections England London Birds -- Great Britain Catalogs and collections
Publisher: London : Printed by order of the Trustees
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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migrates to Australia, is specially interesting,having occurred in Britain on more than one occasion. The American genus Cypseluides (\2^\^) calls for no special remark;but the species of Collocalia (1244-1247), ranging from the Indo-Malayan countries to Australia, are interesting on account of theirnests, whicli furnish the birds-nest soup so much esteemed by theChinese. As may be seen by the various specimens exhibited in theCase, the nests vary greatly in texture; the best, termed white or first quality, are entirely glutinous and highly prized, while the brown nests, largely mixed with foreign substances, are consideredhardly worth collecting. These birds breed in dark caves in hugecolonies, sticking their nests close together on the rocky walls, or evenjoining them in masses. The last subfamily includes only the handsome Crested Swifts(Macropteryx) (1243), ranging from India to Papuasia. Their peculiarnesting habits have been bricHy referred to above. The nest is a half- w►J 3j
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PICAIUAN BIRDS. 95 saucer made of bark and feathers gummed by saliva to a branch, andis so small that the sitting bird entirely conceals it. Only one eggis laid. Family XIII. Tuocuilid.i-:. Humming-bikds. Tlie Humming-birds or Hummers, so called from the sound often pro- La>e t;2.)duced by their vibrating wings, are exclusively a New World Group, andmust not be confounded with the Passerine group of Suubirds (Xec-tar/niidd), v,\ik\i inhabit the Indian and African regions, and somewhatresemble them in outward appearance and habits. About five hundredspecies are known ; and of these the majority inhabit Central and SouthAmerica, but some are found in the southern United States, andSdasphoriLs nifns (1318) migrates northwards in summer to Canadaand eveu Alaska. Eustcphanns (/akritus (1273 a) frequents Tierra delFuego even in snowy weather; while Ureotrochilas chbnboruzu (1304)and O. pichlndiu (1303) are natives of the Andes of Ecuador, close toperpetual snow, at a height of 16,000 fee

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