64 BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS 



of fresh air once more. It was nearly two hours 

 before the swift again ventured into the chimney 

 with food. 



These birds do not perch, nor alight upon 

 buildings or the ground. They are apparently up- 

 on the wing all day. They outride the storms. I 

 have in my mind a cheering picture of three of 

 them I saw facing a heavy thunder-shower one 

 afternoon. The wind was blowing a gale, the 

 clouds were rolling in black, portentous billows 

 out of the west, the peals of thunder were shaking 

 the heavens, and the big drops were just begin- 

 ning to come down, when, on looking up, I saw 

 three swifts high in air, working their way slowly, 

 straight into the teeth of the storm. They were 

 not hurried or disturbed ; they held themselves 

 firmly and steadily ; indeed, they were fairly at 

 anchor in the air till the rage of the elements 

 should have subsided. I do not know that any 

 other of our land birds outride the storms in this 

 way. 



In the choice of nesting-material the swift 

 shows no change of habit. She still snips off the 

 small dry twigs from the tree-tops and glues them 

 together, and to the side of the chimney, with 

 her own glue. The soot is a new obstacle in her 

 way, that she does not yet seem to have learned 

 to overcome, as the rains often loosen it and 



