THE SWIFTS 1 80 1 



written concerning the Alpine swift will apply to the present species; the nesting" 

 habits of both being similar. The flight of the common swift is, however, some- 

 what less rapid than that of its Alpine cousin, although far swifter than that of any 

 other bird frequenting the British Isles. Indeed the manner in which a swift 

 twists and turns in the air is often suggestive of the flight of a bat rather than that 

 of a bird. 



Pied Swift Differing from the true swifts of the Old World by its feathered 



toes, soft plumage, and nearly square tail, the pied swift {Aeronautes 

 melanoleucas} , which ranges from the Southwestern United States to Guatemala, 

 constitutes a genus by itself. Writing of its habits, Dr. Shufeldt observes: " On 

 the Chugwater Creek, Wyoming, we passed some very high and imposing chalk 

 cliffs which constitute the more striking and prominent features of the landscape, as 

 the country about them is low and unbroken, being quite prairie-like in charac- 

 ter. The head of one of these large chalk bluffs, as it stood out against the clear 

 blue sky and far above me, actually looked, with the cloud of white-throated swifts 

 swarming about it, like some great beehive from which the inhabitants had been 

 suddenly aroused. These birds were far above the range of my fowling piece, 

 though one now and then dipped down with the most inconceivable velocity and in 

 a graceful curve over my head, as if to obtain a better view of me. A snap shot 

 brought down one of these more accommodating individuals, whose curiosity cost 

 his life, and gave me not only a' beautiful specimen, but the opportunity to examine' 

 in the flesh, for the first time, one of the then rarest birds in American collections. 

 During the past eight years I have only caught glimpses of single specimens of this 

 bird here and there, and sometimes in most unexpected places. Once, far out on the 

 open prairie, in the northwestern part of the United States, a magnificent adult 

 swift of this species shot by me with the velocity of a meteor, his white flank- 

 patches contrasting conspicuously with his black brown body and wings. It was 

 not, however, until I came to Fort Wingate that the opportunity was really afforded 

 me to more intimately study and observe this swift in its favorite haunts; for all 

 through Northwestern New Mexico occur deep, even-walled canons of rock, to which 

 M. meianoleucas resorts to rear its young. Early in the spring of 1885 (April) I 

 found some two dozen pairs of them in just such a canon about three miles west of 

 Fort Wingate. The walls of this magnificent gorge are of solid rock, being nearly 

 three hundred feet deep in some places, and for the most part roughly perpendicu- 

 lar, though frequently arching over and outward at their summits. It was within 

 the deep and crack-like fissures seen in the walls of the eaves of these latter recesses, 

 away high up on either side of this rocky chasm, that the swift resorted to lay its 

 eggs. So wisely had every pair of these birds chosen the cleft wherein their nests 

 were hidden that all my plans and attempts to secure a set of eggs proved futile. 

 . From the extent of their wings the birds of this family appear formed to live 

 in the air, where, in fact, they pass the most of their time, gliding about in exten- 

 sive circles without effort, and apparently little motion of the wings. This ease of 

 flight stands them in good need in their migratory movements, allowing them read- 

 ily to pass into warmer climes. During pleasant weather they find their insect 

 prey in the upper air, but when cloudy or rainy we find them skimming the ground 



