XIV 
THE CHIMNEY SWIFT 
Every kind of bird is adapted to get its living 
in a particular way. It is strong in some re- 
spects, and weak in others. Some birds have 
powerful legs, but can hardly fly ; others live on 
the wing, and can hardly walk. Of these flying 
birds none is more common than the chimney 
swift, or, as he is improperly called, the chimney 
swallow. No one ever saw him sitting on a 
perch or walking on the ground. In fact, his 
wings are so long, and his legs so short and weak, 
that if he were to alight on the ground, he would 
probably never be able to rise into the air 
again. 
He hardly seems to need a description, and 
yet I suppose that many persons, not to say 
people in general, do not know him from a swal- 
low. His color is sooty brown, turning to gray 
on the throat. His body, as he is seen in the 
air, is shaped like a bobbin, bluntly pointed at 
both ends. If he is carefully watched, however, 
