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tion quite in the dark, in crannies of castles, and towers, and 

 steeples, and upon the tops of the walls of churches under the 

 roof ; and therefore cannot be so narrowly watched as those 

 species that build more openly ; but, from what I could ever 

 observe, they begin nesting about the middle of May ; and I 

 have remarked, from eggs taken, that they have sat hard by 

 the Qth June. In general they haunt tall buildings, churches, 

 and steeples, and breed only in such ; yet in this village some 

 pairs frequent the lowest and meanest cottages, and educate 

 their young under those thatched roofs. We remember but 

 one instance where they breed out of buildings, and that is in 

 the sides of a deep chalk-pit near the town of Odiham, in this 

 county, where we have seen many pairs entering the crevices, 

 and skimming and squeaking round the precipices. 



As I have regarded these amusive birds with no small atten- 

 tion, if I should advance something new and peculiar with 

 respect to them, and different from all other birds, I might 

 perhaps be credited ; especially as my assertion is the result 

 of many years' exact observation. The fact that I would ad- 

 vance is, that swifts tread, or copulate, on the wing ; and I 

 would wish any nice observer, that is startled at this supposi- 

 tion, to use his own eyes, and I think he will soon be con- 

 vinced. In another class of animals, viz., the insect, nothing 

 is so common as to see the different species of many genera 

 in conjunction as they fly. The swift is almost continually on 

 the wing ; and as it never settles on the ground, on trees, or 

 roofs, would seldom find opportunity for amorous rites, was it 

 not enabled to indulge them in the air. If any person would 

 watch these birds of a fine morning in May, as they are sailing 

 round at a great height from the ground, he would see, every 

 now and then, one drop on the back of another, and both of 

 them sink down together for many fathoms with a loud pierc- 

 ing shriek. This I take to be the juncture when the business 

 of generation is carrying on. 



As the swift eats, drinks, collects materials for its nest, and, 

 as it seems, propagates on the wing, it appears to live more 

 in the air than any other bird, and to perform all functions 

 there save those of sleeping and incubation. 



This hirundo differs widely from its congeners in laying in- 



