286 HIRUNDINID^.. 



Museum, relates in the Zoologist,'^ that, at Deal, on the 

 8th of July, 1856, after a mild but wet day the temperature 

 suddenly fell till it became disagreeably cold. The Swifts 

 were sensibly affected by the atmospheric change ; they flew 

 unsteadily, fluttered against the walls of the houses, and 

 some even Hew into open windows. " Whilst observing 

 these occurrences," he says, "a girl came to the door to 

 ask me if I wanted to buy a bat ; she had heard, she told 

 me, that I bought all kinds of bugs, and her mother 

 thought I might want a bat. On her producing it, I was 

 astonished to find it was a poor benumbed Swift. The 

 girl told me they were dropping down in the streets, and 

 the boys were killing all the bats ; the church, she said, was 

 covered with them. Off I started to witness this strange 

 sight and slaughter. True enough ; the children were 

 charging them everywhere, and on arriving at the church 

 in Lower-street I was astonished to see the poor birds 

 hanging in clusters from the eaves and cornices ; some 

 clusters were at least two feet in length, and, at intervals, 

 benumbed individuals dropped from the outside of the 

 clusters. Many hundreds of the poor birds fell victims to 

 the ruthless ignorance of the children." Being so sus- 

 ceptible of cold, the Swift does not visit us until summer 

 may be considered to have completely set in. Instances 

 are on record of its having been seen towards the end of 

 April, but it generally brings up the rear of the migratory 

 birds by making its first appearance in the first or second 

 week in May. I must once more refer my readers to White's 

 " Selborne'^ for a full biography oi" the bird ; at least for as 

 much of it as is comprised within the twelve or thirteen 

 weeks of its sojourn with us ; for early in August it makes 

 itself, for a few days, more than ever conspicuous by its 

 wheeling flights around the buildings which contain its 

 nest, and then suddenly disappears. At this period, too, 

 its note is more frequently heard than during any other 



* September, 1856, p. 5249. 



