35 



Fig. 31. CHIMNEY SWIFT ON NEST. 



A little blurred because the bird jumped when the light was 

 flashed on her. 



The chimney was about eighteen inches in width. Start- 

 ing from the nest, the bird would leap upward, and two 

 strong flaps of the narrow wangs would carry him to the 

 opposite wall a little more than a foot above where he start- 

 ed; he just barely touched the side, whirled and two more 

 beats raised him another foot. He only had about fifteen 

 feet to rise before reaching the top and it only took about 

 ten of the rapid side-to-side flights to accomplish it. 



The return to the nest was more difficult to watch as the 

 birds came dashing down with the speed of a bullet, ap- 

 parently not touching the sides at all. Almost before I 

 could see them coming they would have turned and be 

 clinging beside the nest. 



