THE WHITE-THROATED SWIFT. 415 



is uiulert;ikcMi cncu as late as August if llic tirsl has ])ro\'cn unsuccessful'' 

 (Birds of Ohio). 



Save in the matter of nesting, tlic \'aux Swift does not differ 

 essentially in habit or appearance from tlie well-known Chimney Swift, 

 referred to in the preceding paragraphs. It is. however, very much less 

 common and is only of local distribution, chiefly in the lower mountain 

 valleys. Local attachments are doubtless largely determined by the presence 

 of large cottonwood timber, but the birds descend to the lowlands, especially 

 after tiie close of the nesting season, in small roving parties, somewhat after 

 the fashion of tlie Cloud Swifts, witli whicli indeed they frequently asso- 

 ciate. The\- iiave thus been regularly rejjorted by West-side observers at 

 Tacoma, Seattle, and Bellingliam, and I have seen them at Blaine, and in 

 tlie valleys of tlie Xooksack (at C.lacieri, Skagit, Xisqually (in Rainier 

 National Park), and Ouillayute I\i\ers. The only East-side records ,-i])])ear 

 to be those from the nortli fork nf the Alitanuni, in Yakima County, and 

 tlie \alley of the vStehekin, in Ciielan Comity. 



\'au.\'s Swift with us nests only in the liniinw recesses of tall deafl 

 cottonwood trees, where they glue a shallow bracket of broken twigs, 

 cemented with hardened saliva, to the curving inner wail. In California, 

 liowever, they are said to be adopting the ways of ci\ ilizalion, and are be- 

 ginning to nest in chimneys, after the fashion of C. pcku/ica. 



No. 161. 



WHITE-THROATED SWIFT. 



.\. O. I". Xo. 425. Aeronautes melanoleucus (Baird). 



Synonyms. — Rock Swift. Moi'nt.m.v Swii-t. Rocky Miuntain .Vwift. 

 WiiiTi:-TnKo\TKn Rock Swift. 



Description. — .Idiilts: Plumage black (variable, sooty brown to glossy 

 black) : forehead and line over eye paler: lore velvety black; chin, throat, breast, 

 and belly, centrally, white — also outer edge of outer primary, tips of secondaries, 

 lateral tail-feathers, and a conspicuous patch on flank, sometimes nearly meeting 

 fellow across rump: bill black. I^ength 7.00 ('177.8) or under: wing 6.50-7.00 

 (165.1-177.8) ; tail 2.65 (67.^). 



Recognition Marks. — Sparrow size but larger to appearance; exceedingly 

 raj)id flight with fla'-liiiig white underparts and flank patches distinctive. 



Nesting. — "The nest is securely placed far in holes or crevices of rocks or 

 indurated 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 



