One, near Weston-super-Mare; Cecil Smith, “Birds of Somersetshire,” p. 287.
Several seen, Isle of Arran, July, 1866; H. Blake Knox, “Zoologist,” 1866, p. 456.
Several seen, Achill Island; H. Blake Knox, “Zoologist,” 1866, p. 523.
One, near the Lizard, Cornwall; Rodd, “List of the Birds of Cornwall,” 2nd ed. p. 23.
One, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, Sept. 8, 1870; Hele, “The Field,” Sept. 17, 1870.
One seen, Colchester, June 8, 1871; Dr. Bree, “The Field,” June 17, 1871.
One seen, South Point, Durham, July 24, 1871; G. E. Crawhall, “The Field,” Aug. 5, 1871.
In all the above instances the birds were shot, except where stated to have been seen only.
The term “Alpine Swift” is unfortunately a misnomer, since the bird is in no way confined to the immediate neighbourhood of the Alps. The name “White-bellied Swift” is not inappropriate, as indicating a peculiarity which distinguishes it from the common species. It is a migratory bird, like the last-named, and, like it, visits the Cape of Good Hope in winter, and penetrates into North-west India.
It is a summer migrant in Palestine, where Canon Tristram observed it nesting near Mar Saba, and in the tremendous ravine above the site of Jericho. It arrives at Constantinople from its winter quarters towards the end of April, and is common in Corfu from May to September, nesting annually in the Citadel Rock (Lord Lilford, “Ibis,” 1860, p. 234). It breeds in great numbers along the Etruscan coast, and is occasionally seen at Pisa (Dr. Giglioli, “Ibis,” 1865, pp. 51-52). It has been observed on passage in Tangier and Eastern Morocco, and Mr. O. Salvin remarked that it was common about the plains of the Salt Lake district, Eastern Atlas, and breeding in most of the rocks of that country (“Ibis,” 1859, p. 302). Mr. Howard Saunders saw hundreds at Gibraltar towards the end of March, and in June it was observed by Lord Lilford amongst the peaks of the Sierra near San Ildefonso. To England, as we have said, it rarely strays. In habits it is described, by those who have had opportunities for observing it, as resembling very much the Common Swift. Like this species, it nests in holes and crevices, and lays two white eggs of a similar shape to those of its congener, but much larger. Its cry is said to be very different. Its vastly superior size and white belly serve at all times to distinguish it from the smaller and more sable bird with which we are so familiar.