Swift, Chimney 



One might infer that they had contracted their soot- 

 brown color by contact with chimneys for several genera- 

 tions, until it became ingrained. 



They are well named ''swifts/' as they are not surpassed, 

 and are rarely equalled, by any other birds in their power 

 of flight, sometimes covering a thousand miles in tw^enty- 

 four hours. 



Parkhurst. The Birds' Calendar.^^ 



Their wings are developed till they look Hke strips of 



cardboard more than [bunches of feathers On 



the other hand, their feet, like those of Chinese ladies, 

 are so little used that they are small and weak. They 

 serve merely as picture hooks, for the birds hook them 

 over the edge of the nest or into a crack in the chimney, 

 and proceed to go to sleep hanging hke pictures on a 



wall The tail comes in to act as a prop, being 



bent under the bird to brace against the wall. Doubtless, 

 by this habit, the end of the tail has gradually lost its 

 feathery character, the webbing being worn off, till now 

 only the stiff, bone-like quills of the feathers remain. These 

 they use Uke little awls, to stick into the bricks. 



Florence A. Merriam. Birds of Village and Field. ^ 



Major Bendire says that few birds are more devoted to 

 their young than the chimney swift, a case being recorded 

 where the parent was seen to enter a chimney in a burning 

 house, even after the entire roof was a mass of flames, 

 preferring to perish with its offspring rather than forsake 

 them. 



Florence A. Merriam. Birds of Village and Field. ^ 

 151 



