COMMON SWIFT. 407 



of any natural station for this bird, which we 

 would be prepared to find in the clefts and rents 

 of rocky precipices. When an entrance is found 

 suitable in any old building, the hole is examined 

 and cleared out, often rendered more extensive 

 by the bird scraping among the joints of the 

 stones ; a small portion of dried grasses or straw, 

 &c. is carried in, which is rendered soft and 

 warm by a lining of feathers, all of which are 

 caught in the air or hanging from some projec- 

 tion or ledge, the birds never alighting to procure 

 them. We have .occasionally seen the Swift 

 alighted on a cornice or flat roof, but the motions 

 are all awkward, they reminded us of a seal, 

 waddling almost on their breasts to the edge, 

 where they would fall off as it were, before 

 expanding their wings to catch the air. The 

 same procedure takes place if the bird be placed 

 upon a table ; but at the same time, they can 

 rise from a flat surface, a road or pathway for 

 instance, if forced by necessity so to do ; it is, 

 however, done with difficulty, the bird raising 

 itself by repeated attempts and strokes upon the 

 ground by the shoulders. The Swift is grega- 

 rious in small parties of from six to twenty, but 

 does not apparently congregate before departure, 

 2ike the Swallows and Martins ; in these small 

 troops it delights to wheel around buildings and 

 its breeding stations, taking the turns about an 

 old tower or church spire with great sharpness 

 and precision, and uttering during flight its 

 shrill scream or whistle. The troop move in a 



