Nests in Buildings, Bridges, Walls, Etc. 
The eggs are laid in a deep hole made by the bird; it some- 
times is as much as eight or nine feet, though usually not more 
than about four feet in depth; this is generally excavated in a bank 
of sand, gravel, or earth, rarely in a cliff; it often takes the bird 
two weeks to make the hole. The nest is occasionally made of 
grass, though the eggs are more frequently deposited on the 
ground among bones and refuse ejected by the parent bird. 
The eggs are white, and number from 5 to 7 and sometimes 
8. Size—1.35 x 1.05. 
This is the only representative of the kingfisher family found 
in the Eastern States; he may be seen along the banks of a 
stream or river or pond, but lacking confidence in man, he will 
not admit of a near approach. 
The breeding season begins the first week in May, and 
probably only one set of eggs is laid. 
420. Nighthawk: Chordeiles virginianus (Gmel.) 
Eggs olive, buff, or light gray, with numerous specks and 
blotches of darker gray, olive and purplish, sometimes spots of 
dark purplish gray evenly distributed. 
See Page 39, Chapter I. 
423. Chimney Swift: Chimney Swallow: Chetura 
pelagica (Linn.) 
Adult—Dull grayish brown; the stiffened shafts of the tail 
feathers extend about half an inch beyond the vanes. Length 
—5-43- 
Breeding Range—Throughout the Eastern States. 
The nest is formed entirely of short sticks, fastened together 
and to the support with a glutinous substance from the birds’ 
salivary glands (which shrink after the breeding season), and is 
nearly always placed in a chimney that is not in use; probably in 
more remote districts the nest is still built in hollow trees, as in 
former times, before chimneys were to be found throughout the 
country. 
The eggs are white, and number from 4 to 6. Size— 
.80 x .50. 
84 
