MICROPODIDyE — MICROPODINuE: TYPICAL SWIFTS. bbl 



curious sort of spurious zygodactylism ; for the toes are in right and left pairs, the third and 

 fourth toes being one side, the first and second on the other side. In the typical Palm Swifts, 

 constituting the genus Tachornis as now restricted and defined, the toes are naked. There 

 are several Old World species, and one West Indian (T. phcenicohia) . The other genus of 

 Palm Swifts has feathered toes ; its single species, Claudia squamata, inhabits South America. 

 The Palm Swifts " build tiny nests agglutinated with saliva to tlic leaves of palms," while the 

 species oi Micropus usually nidificate in holes in rocks, about buildings, etc, only occasionally 

 in trees. The most remarkable nests in. the whole subfamily are those constructed by the 

 Swifts of the geuus Panyptila, which glue together plunt-seeds to form a tube about two feet 

 lung, hung to the under side of an overhanging rock or tree trunk, with the entrance at the 

 lower end of the tube, and a shelf at its top inside, like a cornice or bracket, on which the eggs 

 rest. ' 



AERONAU'TES. (Gr. af)p, depos, aer, aeros, air, the air, atmosphere; vavTr)s, nautes, a 

 sailor; i. e. an aeronaut: well applied to these "sky-scrapers.") Sky Swifts. Rock 

 Swifts. Tail about ^ as long as wing, moderately forked, with stiffish and narrowed, but 

 not acuminate spiny, feathers. Wing pointed by the 2d primary, the 1st decidedly shorter. 

 Tarsi feathered to the toes; those also feathered to some extent. Hind toe elevated, lateral, 

 but not reversible. Front toes witli slight basal webs. Eyelids naked. Colors black and 

 white. Aeronautes Hartert, Brit. Mus. Cat. B. xvi, 1892, p. 459; Panyptila of all former 

 eds. of the Key : for the change of name, see above. The genus was wrongly united with 

 Micropua in the A. 0. U. List of 188G. 



A. saxa'tilis. {\ji\i. saxatilis, rock-inliabitiug ; s«.n«n, a rock.) White-throated Rock 

 Swift. Black or blackish; chin, tliroat, breast, and middle line of belly, tips of secondaries, 

 edge of outer primary and lateral tail-feathers, and a fiank-patch, white. Forehead and line 

 over eye ])ale; a velvety black space before eye. Bill black ; feet drying yellowish. The 

 purity of color varies with wear of the feathers, some specimens being dull sooty brownish, 

 others more purely and even glossy blackish. The extent of white along belly is very vari- 

 able. The flank-patches are conspicuous, in life sometimes almost meeting over rump. Length 

 6.50-7.00; extent about 14.00; wing about the same as length ; tail about 2.()r), forked, soft. 

 Western U. S., Rocky Mts. to the Pacific, and S. in winter to Guatemala; N. to Montana 

 and Idaho ; E. to W. Texas and eastern foothills of the mountains, as the Black Hills of S. 

 Dakota, etc. ; migratory in most of its U. S. range, but resident on and near our southern 

 border; occurs in Lower California and on some of the islands; not yet known to occur in 

 Gregon, Washington, or anywhere N. of the U. S. ; breeds in suitable places throughout its 

 U. S. range. Thi.s is a large and beautiful Swift — a high-fiior of almost incredible velocity, 

 witli a loud shrill twitter, nesting in tlie most inaccessible cliffs, sometimes by thousands, in 

 May, June, and July. The nest is securely placed far in holes and crevices of rocks or indu- 



-rated earths, usually at a great height; it is a saucer-like structure, about 5X2 inches, with 

 a shallow cavity, made of various vegetable materials well glued together with saliva, and 

 lined with feathers. Eggs several, in one instance 5, narrowly subelliptical, 0.87 X 0.52, 

 vhite. Tiie name of this bird seems as hard to fiiwl as its nest and oggs ! The species is un- 

 quostionably tlie Acanthylis saxatilin of WoODHOUSE, Sitgreave's Rep. Expl. Zufii and Col. 

 \i. 185.'3, p. (i4, type locality Inscription Rock, N. M. I stood on this very rock July .'{, 18()4, 

 and knew that Dr. Woodhouse's birds were flying in my face; hence Panyptila sn.ratilis 

 Coles, Key, orig. ed. 1872, p. 182, Liter eds. 1884-90, p. 450, and now Atronautefi sa.ratilitt : 

 see my Birds N. W. 1874, p. 2(55, for particulars. Next, this Swift was described as Cypselus 

 melanoleucHf) Baird, Pr. Phila. Acad. 1854, ]>. 118; wiience Panyptila mclanoleuca Baird, 



B. N. A. 18.58, p. 141 ; 3Iicropi(s mclanolcKCKs Uiixiw. Auk, July, Ir^f^l. p. 2.'{0: \. O. V. List, 

 1st cd. l-^st;. p. t*'j;} ; Aeronautes miUniolcucus Hartert, as above; A. O. !'• List, 1895, 

 No. 4-J5. 



