270 AVES : MACROCHIRES. — XLV. 



449. CHORDEILES Swainson. (xopbrj, a musical instrument ; 



5*1X77, evening.) 



856. C. virginianus (Gmelin). Night Hawk. Bull Bat. 

 Blackish, barred and mottled with grayish and buffy; a large wing 

 spot, bar across tail, and V-shaped blotch on throat — white in g, 

 tawny or obscure in 9 ! tne wing spot placed in front of tip of 7th 

 quill. L. i)|. W. 8. T. 5. N. Am., very abundant, flying high 

 in evening or cloudy weather. 



Family CLXT. MICROPODID^E. (The Swifts.) 



Bill fissirostral, as in the Goatsuckers and Swallows. Wings 

 very long, thin and pointed; secondaries very short. Feet small, 

 weak ; hind toe often elevated or otherwise turned ; toes com- 

 pletely cleft; middle claw not pectinate; no rictal bristles; tail 

 feathers 10; plumage compact. In most species the salivary 

 glands are highly developed, and their secretion is used as a glue 

 in the construction of the nest ; species of Collocalia in China thus 

 form the edible bird's nest. Small birds of the warmer parts of 

 the world, bearing a superficial resemblance to Swallows, but struc- 

 turally very different, being closely related to the Humming Birds, 

 nearer to them even than to the Goatsuckers. Genera 6 or 8; 

 species 50. (piKpos, small ; ttovs, foot.) 



a. Tarsus bare, longer than middle toe ; tail rounded, its feathers with the 

 shafts spinous, projecting beyond the plumage . . . Ch^etura, 450. 



450. CH.33TURA Stephens, (xairr), bristle ; ovpd, tail.) 



857. C. pelagica (L.). Chimney Swift. Chimney Swal- 

 >>VA * 4 low. Sooty brown ; throat paler. L. b\. W. 5. T. 2. E. N. Am. 



abundant ; now nesting in chimneys, as formerly in hollow-trees. 



Family CLXII. TROCHILID^E- (The Humming Birds.) 



Bill subulate, usually longer than the head, straight or curved ; 

 tongue capable of great protrusion. Wings long and pointed, the 

 secondaries short, only 6 in number ; tail of 10 feathers. Feet 

 very small, with long sharp claws. Smallest of all birds and among 

 the most brilliantly colored. Genera 75; species 300 or more, one 

 of the largest families in Ornithology. All are American, and most 

 of them tropical, but our common species ranges far into Canada. 

 Chiefly insectivorous; not musical. 



a. First primary not attenuate, bowed or curved inwards; bill straight; frontal 

 feathers covering nasal scale Trochilus, 451. 



451. TROCHILUS Linnaeus, (rpox&os, plover.) 



858. T. colubris L. Ruby-throated Humming Bird. $ 

 metallic green above; a ruby-red gorget ; tail deeply forked, 



