In the Neighbourhood of Salisbury. 313 



Cypselus Apns. " The Swift/' A bird that rightly earns its name 

 from the velocity of its flight. Renowned as they are for their 

 marvellous power of endurance on the wing, I have more than once 

 picked them up apparently in a state of exhaustion. One of these 

 birds I picked up in our churchyard, unable to move, or make any 

 effort to use its wings, but, after holding it for some time, it all of 

 a sudden gathered itself up and flew away as though there were 

 nothing the matter with it. I once saw a most curious variety of 

 this bird. The whole of the body was pure white, both on its upper 

 and under parts, while the head, tail, and wings were of the usual 

 dusky black. It was flying with a quantity of other Swifts up and 

 down the stream and circling round and round one's head, approach- 

 ing at times so closely that I almost could reach it with my umbrella, 

 and after watching it for some time I ran off" to obtain a gun, asking 

 my wife, who was with me at the time, to watch it till I returned. 

 I did so in a few minutes, hoping to secure my prize, when she ex- 

 claimed "There it goes,'' and sure enough it did go from that 

 moment, and I never saw it again until some six weeks afterwards, 

 when I noticed the same bird close to Salisbury. It would have 

 been worth preserving as it is very unusual to find one of these birds 

 varying from the normal colour. When I was at school at Win- 

 chester I remember catching one of these birds in a most peculiar 

 manner. I was out with another boy fishing, and the Swifts were 

 circling round us as they sometimes will, threatening almost at times 

 to fly against you. I had a landing-net in my hand, and, observing- 

 one of these birds flying straight at my head, I allowed for the pace- 

 at which it was flying, and when a yard or so from me I whisked 

 the net over my head in the same direction in which the bird was 

 flying, and landed him safely ; and — if I remember rightly — this 

 was all we did land. 



CAPRIMULGIDiE. 



Caprimulgus Europtsus. " The Night Jar." This interesting bird 

 is not uncommon amongst us, though not, perhaps, very generally 

 known, owing to its retiring habits by day, never showing itself 

 unless disturbed. Their mottled plumage is very pretty, especially 



