CHIMNEY SWIFT 23 



The call note of the Wood Thrush is a rapid 

 jnt-pit ; his song a calm, rich melody which, heard 

 beside the chorus of spring songs, chattering 

 Wrens, loquacious Vireos, and jovial Catbirds, 

 Thrashers and Chats, sets vibrating chords that 

 none of the others touch. As a young woman 

 told me once, after first hearing the Thrush : 

 " I don't know what it is, but," putting her hand 

 on her heart, " it makes me feel cjueer." Indeed, 

 the song is so distinct one does not need to build 

 up associations in order to appreciate it, as is the 

 case with so many songs, but can at once feel the 

 quieting touch of its hymn-like melody. 



Chimney Swift : Chcetura pelagica. 



(Plate II. p. 24.) 



Geographic Distribution. — Breeds from Florida to Labra- 

 dor ; west to the Great Plains ; winters in Mexico and Central 

 America. 



Among the commonest birds seen in the sky 

 over a New England village are the Swifts. They 

 are dark little birds, who row through the air like 

 racers, twittering socially as they go. Sometimes 

 as you watch them on a village street you will 

 see them suddenly stop short and pitch down 

 the black mouth of a chimney, for it is now only 

 the most old-fashioned ones who nest in hollow 

 trees. 



In many inland towns, attention is attracted to 

 the Swifts by their habit of roosting at night in 



