THE COMMON SWIFL 



CYPSELUS APUS. 



General plumage sooty brown ; chin greyish white ; tarsi feathered ; bill, feet, 

 and claws, shining black, Length eight inches, width seventeen inches. 

 Eggs pure white. 



The Swift is, perhaps, the strongest and swiftest, not 

 merely of the Swallow tribe, but of all birds ; hence a 

 voyage from Southern Africa* to England is performed 

 without overtaxing its strength. It stands in need of no 

 rest after this prodigious flight, but immediately on its 

 arrival starts with a right good will on its pursuit of food, 

 as if its journey had been but a pleasant course of training 

 for its daily vocation. With respect to temperature, how- 

 ever, its powers of endurance are limited ; it never proceeds 

 far northwards, and occasionally even suffers from un- 

 seasonably severe weather in the temperate climates where 

 it fixes its summer residence. Mr. E. Smith, of the British 



* Livingstone mentions his having seen in the plains north of 

 Kuruman a flock of Swifts, computed to contiin upwards of 400ri 

 individuals. 



