70A. Hoffmann, Summer Birds of the Rhine. loct 



to their little domains in the wheat. The descent is gradual till 

 the bird nears the ground, when he darts with great speed into the 

 cover. When feeding, the bird walks slowly, and nods his head at 

 each step. 



The Lark is one of the most numerous of European birds, but 

 notwithstanding his two broods, that he withstands his thousand 

 enemies is a mystery. His habit of nesting on the ground and in 

 the cornfields exposes him to the attacks of many animals and to 

 the mischance of an early harvest. During migration, which is 

 accomplished in vast flocks, he suffers severe loss from netting, but 

 holds his own and returns each March, at the first sign of spring, 

 to his chosen field. 



Swift (Cypselus apus). 



The common Swift of Europe I found everywhere, from Holland 

 to the interior of Germany, but especially abundant on the Rhine 

 and in Nuremberg, where the fortress was besieged by a screech- 

 ing multitude. The bird is an inch and a half longer than our 

 species, and the presence of a well shaped tail, and the long 

 recurved wings make him far more dexterous in the air. His 

 flio-ht is rapid, and he turns after his insect prey as swiftly as a 

 Swallow. 



The note is a curious screech, fine and rasping, resembling a 

 bat's squeak. This the Swifts utter sharply, as they drive past in 

 twos and threes, and sometimes, if they come close, the effect is 

 startling. 



The Royal Palace at Amsterdam was a favorite breeding place 

 of the Swifts, who had built their rude nests of straw in the stone 

 gargoyles, or in niches along the sides of the building, nor had 

 their excrement added anything to the appearance of the some- 

 what unpretentious structure. In Nuremberg, the crevices in the 

 ruined wall surrounding the fortress were full of nests, and at 

 evening as I walked along the wall, the moat was full of screech- 

 ing ' devillings ' as the English call them. Their German name is 

 ' Mauer Schwalbe ' or Cliff Swallow. 



By August the Swifts had almost entirely left their breeding 

 places, and a few stragglers alone remained along the Rhine. 



