412 



TiiE i;lack swift. 



evening f(jr several successive days, 

 after which they would absent them- 

 selves for a month, .\gain, at early 

 morning, we have seen them filing thru 

 Cascade Pass from west to east, hot- 

 wing, as tho they had business in 

 Idaho. 



These Black Swifts nest chiefly in 

 the mountains upon the face of inac- 

 cessible cliffs. This nnicli we know, 

 but the nest and eggs are still un- 

 known". The closest call which these 

 elusive fuwls ha\e iiad at nesting time 

 is thus reported by Alajor Bendire'' : 

 "The only locality where I have ob- 

 served this species was on the upper 

 Columbia River, opposite Lake Chelan, 

 Washington, in Julv, iS/O- Here quite 

 a co](>n\- nested in a In'gli pcr]ien(h'cular 

 cliff' on the south side of and aliDut a 

 mile back from the river, and numljers 

 iif tlicm flew tn and fmrn the \allev 

 below, where the}' were feeding. The 

 day was a cloud}- one, and the slow 

 drizzling rain was falling nearlv the 

 entire time I was there: this caused 

 the birds to fly Ii^w and they were easily 

 i<lenlihe<l. The\' e\identl\' liad \'oung, 

 ;mil the twitterings of the latter could 

 i-eadih- l)e lieard as soon as a l)ird 

 entered one of the numerous cre\-ices 

 in the cliff' abo\'e. This was utterlv 



.1. Tliese words are used advisedly. The case re- 

 jiorted from tlie sea-wall of Santa Cruz County, Cali- 

 fornia, claims no nest and only one egg. If this be not 

 a case of misidentification, then it is an example of 

 freak nesting utterly at variance with all Swift tradi- 

 tions, and with much that is actually known concerning 

 the habits of this species. 



The classic instance reported from Seattle in tlie col- 

 umns of the -\uk (V'ol. y., '88, p. 424) of a nest 

 "made of straws, chips, paper, etc.," proved to concern 

 the handiwork of the Purple Martin (Prague subis), 

 hut the mistake was a not unnatural one in view of 

 the then rarity of the Martin, 



b. Life Hist. N. A. Birds, \ol, II,. 1895. p, 176. 



Taken in i lieliin ( 



■iuthor. 



c.^sc.^DE PASS. 



WHEse BLACK SWIFTS HAVE BEEN SEEN. 



