“The fishermen place their net zig-zag-ways in from eight to eighteen fathom water; at each angle they have several chambers, and over every angle they have a boat moored, with two or three fishermen in it, who are always watching the fish when they enter the chambers, and with a line, supported on the surface by a buoy, they draw a net across the chamber door.” Vide Jackson's Mediterranean Commerce, p. 103–4.
Note VI.—Page 18.
The diversity of opinion as to the substance of which these nests are composed, is such, that to this hour we are left on the wide field of conjecture, and without any clue which may be absolutely relied on for unravelling the mystery. The intelligent Sonnerat, as a judicious naturalist, is entitled to every attention on the subject, and he, by admitting into his work the following quotation from “Transactions philosophiques de la société Batave, établie dans l'isle de Java pour l'avancement des arts et des sciences, vol. iii.” gives us reason to suppose that he adopts the opinion of that writer. He prefaces his introduction of the subject by the following scientific description of the bird:
“La salangane (hirundo esculenta, Lath. sp. 26. Lin. Rumph. herb. vi. pag. 183. tab. 75. fig. 4. Forster.)”
And then proceeds with the extract thus:
“The salanganes are of a blackish grey colour, somewhat inclining to green; but on the back, down to the tail, as well as under the breast, the colour is mouse grey. The whole length of the bird, from the back to the tail, is about four inches and a half; and its height, taken from the beak to the extremity of the foot, three and a quarter inches: its girt is ten and a quarter inches: the longest feathers of the wing are about four inches. The head is flat; but the thickness of the downy feathers which cover it make it appear round, and rather large in proportion to the rest of the body. The beak is large, ending in a sharp point, but hooked like that of a nocturnal bird of prey; its size is augmented by the addition of a naked membrane, similar to parchment, which folds inwards when the beak is shut, but expands with the opening of it, and enables the bird, while on the wing, to seize with greater facility the insects which constitute its food. The eyes are black, and very large; and the tongue not forked, but of the form of an arrow. The ears flat and round, with a small oblong opening, and entirely covered by the downy feathers of the head. The neck very short, as are the legs, and bones of the wings. The thighs entirely covered with feathers; and the lower and more delicate parts of the legs, as well as the feet, provided with a black skin resembling parchment: each foot has four toes, three pointing forwards and one backwards; they are separated from each other even to the root, and the middle one, including the claw, is at least as long as the lower part of the leg; each toe is furnished with a black claw, pointed, hooked, and very long, by means of which it attaches itself, with great facility, to the juttings of the rocks. The tail is at least as long as the body, even including the neck and the head; when it is spread out it has the shape of a wedge, and has ten large feathers; the four first on each side are the longest, and when the tail is closed they extend beyond the others about an inch; the others diminish towards the middle of the tail, and nearly equal the length of the body. This bird is extremely light and delicate; ten of these swallows will only weigh about two ounces and a half. The inhabitants of Java call them lawit, and the mountaineers give them the names of berongdagæ or waled.
“There are two places in the neighbourhood of Batavia where they are found in great abundance; the one, Calappa-Nongal, is about ten miles to the south of the town; the other, Sampia, is a little more distant towards the south-west, but both lie in that elevated range which takes its direction by the sea coast, and which appears to be different from the great chain which pushes itself into the country, and traverses the whole island. Besides these principal places, there are many others, both in the same district, and at a very great distance from the coast, where these birds are found, though in fewer numbers; and there are even some which are carefully concealed by those of the inhabitants who are acquainted with them.
“There are two bird mountains, called Goa (caverns) by the inhabitants of Java, which are insulated rocks, hollow in the middle, and pierced by a great number of openings, for the most part of sufficient size easily to admit a man; others are more difficult of access, and some so small that nature seems to have intended them for the security of those little animals. These rocks are composed of a grey calcareous stone and white marble, and are covered with a multitude of lofty trees of different kinds. To the interior of these caverns the birds fix their nests in horizontal ranges, and so close to each other, that, generally speaking, they join; they build them at different heights, from fifty to three hundred feet, higher or lower as they can find a berth; there is not a single hole, or convenient spot sufficiently dry and proper, which is not occupied; but if the surface is in the smallest degree wet, or even damp, the birds immediately abandon it.
“At break of day the whole of the birds take wing with a great noise, and in the dry season immediately shoot up so high in the atmosphere, in search of their food, as to be soon lost to the sight: they return about four in the afternoon, and again take shelter in their holes, to which they confine themselves during the rest of the day, those excepted which are hatching. On the other hand, during the rainy season, it has been often remarked that they never ramble very far from their holes, particularly in the government of Java, where the rocks even border close on the sea.
“They feed on all the varieties of insects which are found hovering over stagnated waters, and they easily secure them by means of the extended opening of which their beak is capable. Their most formidable enemy is a bird of prey, which catches them in great numbers as they escape from their holes, and which the inhabitants are very careful to keep at a distance as much as possible by shooting them.