BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



in May or early June, the small twigs of which it is formed 

 being broken from dead branches of some shade tree by 

 the bird flying directly against the tip of the twig and snap- 

 ping it off^. The twigs are carried into the chimney and 

 are cemented to the wall and to each other by a gelatinous 

 substance secreted by the salivary glands of the bird itself. 

 When completed, the nest is like a little semi-circular 

 bracket slightly hollowed downward. The eggs are placed 

 on this framework of twigs without lining. 



"In food the swift is wholly insectivorous, and does an 

 immense amount of good destroying beetles, flies, and 

 gnats, which he devours in countless multitudes. The 

 chimney swift, as he darts by, frequently utters a rapid 

 chipper something like the syllable chip, chip, chip, rap- 

 idly repeated, and I have heard a loud cheeping in the 

 chimney, evidently uttered by the young birds. One of the 

 earliest impressions of my boyhood was the curious roar- 

 ing caused by the wings of parent swifts as they came and 

 went from their nests at daybreak. This unfortunate 

 habit of early rising has brought the chimney swift into 

 bad repute in many civilized communities, . . . closing 

 chimneys against this beneficial bird." 



In Major Charles Bendire's "Life Histories of Ameri- 

 can Birds" occur the following statements from Mr. Otto 

 Widman regarding the nests and young of chimney swifts: 

 "The setting parent shields the structure by habitually 

 covering its base with the breast and pressing its head 

 against the wall above. When disturbed, it hides below 

 the nest, as do the young birds. They make a hissing noise, 

 and always remain 2 or 3 feet below the mouth of the 

 chimney [shaft], where they are fed by the parents until 

 they are four weeks old. 



[182] 



