spittle with which the members of this family are provided; whilst others excavate deep holes for the reception of the young, the same nests being employed for many successive years. The females alone brood, and lay from two to six eggs. [Illustration: THE CHIMNEY SWALLOW (_Cecropis-Hirundo-rustica_).] * * * * * The TRUE SWALLOWS (_Cecropis_) are characterised by their slender and powerful body, wide flat head, broad but very slightly curved beak, long wings, extending beyond the deeply-forked tail, moderate sized foot, and lax plumage, which upon the upper parts gleams more or less with metallic lustre. THE CHIMNEY SWALLOW. The CHIMNEY SWALLOW (_Cecropis-Hirundo-rustica_) is seven inches long and twelve broad, the wing measures four and a half and the tail about three inches. The upper part of the plumage is glossy blueish black; the brow and throat are chestnut brown, a broad line upon the head black, and the other parts of the body reddish yellow. The five outer feathers of the tail are adorned with round white spots upon the inner web. The female is not quite so dark as her mate, and the young are still paler. This species breeds throughout the whole continent of Europe, if we except its extreme north. In the northern parts of Asia and Africa it is replaced by a very similar species--the RUST-RED SWALLOW (_Cecropis cahirica_, or _Cecropis Boissoneauti_), which is very numerous in Egypt. The NORTH AMERICAN HOUSE SWALLOW (_Cecropis Americana_), the SOUTH AMERICAN RED SWALLOW (_Cecropis rufa_), and the _Cecropis neoxena_ are also very nearly allied species, but somewhat less in size than their European relative.