COMMON SWIFT. 405 



our members of the Fissirostres, have been with 

 propriety arranged in a sub-genus, on account of 

 their different form. They are commonly dis- 

 tinguished by the English name of " Swifts,*' and 

 the scientific title of 



CYPSELUS, Illiger. Generic characters. Bill 

 very small, weak, dilated at the base, trian- 

 gular, gape very ample ; wings of extreme 

 length, second quill longest, first very little 

 shorter; feet and tarsi very strong, former 

 feathered, toes generally directed forwards, 

 inner subversatile ; claws broad and sharp 

 hooked ; tail nearly square, or slightly 

 forked. 



Type. C. apus, melba. 



Europe, Asia, Africa. 



COMMON SWIFT, CYPSELUS APUS. Hirundo 

 s, Linn. Cypselus murarius, Temm. fyc. 

 Swift, or Slack Martin of British authors. The 

 form of the Swifts is beautifully adapted to. their 

 mode of living, and it is well exemplified in that 

 of the common European Swift. It is a bird 

 formed entirely for flight, and unless when incu- 

 bating or at rest during the night, it is scarcely 

 ever seen except on the wing. Its natural 

 breeding and resting places are the holes and 

 crevices of rocks and cliffs, and for entering 

 them the neck is short, and the body can be made 

 so as to form one line, and to be of equal thick- 



