THE CHIMNEY SWIFT 65 



cause her nest to fall to the bottom. She has a 

 pretty way of trying to frighten you off when 

 your head suddenly darkens the opening above 

 her. At such times she leaves the nest and clings 

 to the side of the chimney near it. Then, slowly 

 raising her wings, she suddenly springs out from 

 the wall and back again, making as loud a drum- 

 ming with them in the passage as she is capable of. 

 If this does not frighten you away, she repeats it 

 three or four times. If your face still hovers 

 above her, she remains quiet and watches you. 



What a creature of the air this bird is, never 

 touching the ground, so far as I know, and never 

 tasting earthly food ! The swallow does perch 

 now and then and descend to the ground for 

 nesting-material, but not so the swift. The twigs 

 for her nest she gathers on the wing, sweeping 

 along like children on a " merry-go-round " who 

 try to seize a ring, or to do some other feat, as 

 they pass a given point. If the swift misses the 

 twig, or it fails to yield to her the first time, she 

 tries again and again, each time making a wider 

 circuit, as if to tame and train her steed a little 

 and bring him up more squarely to the mark next 

 time. 



Though the swift is a stiff flyer and appar- 

 ently without joints in her wings, yet the air of 

 frolic and of superabundance of wing-power is 



