274 HIRUNDINID^l. 



Mr. Blackwall, " in the instance before us, was sufficiently 

 powerful to induce her to remain with her young till they 

 were capable of accompanying her in a distant journey, to 

 a more genial climate, as is sometimes the case with House 

 Martins when deserted by their mates ; yet the conduct of 

 the male, if it does not absolutely establish the fact that 

 Swifts occasionally abandon their offspring to destruction, 

 certainly affords strong presumptive evidence in its favour." 

 Mr. Salmon, in the tenth volume of the Magazine of 

 Natural History, has recorded another curious instance in 

 reference to the Swift. A pair of these birds continuing 

 after the usual time to visit a particular spot, the situation 

 was examined on the 2nd of September, and in the nest 

 were found a pair of young, probably only a week old. 

 The parent birds continued to feed them ; on the 1st of 

 October they were ready to fly ; neither the old nor the 

 young birds were seen after the 4th ; on the 5th the nest 

 was examined, and found empty. " Thus," says Mr. Sal- 

 mon, " this pair of birds remained in this country nearly 

 seven weeks after all their associates had departed." 



Although the greater portion of the Swifts that visit, or 

 are reared, in this country, take their leave by the middle 

 of August, stragglers, probably some of those that have 

 visited more northern countries, are also occasionally seen 

 much later. R. B. Hale, Esq., M.P., of Alderley, saw 

 one in Gloucestershire on the 9th of September, in the 

 year 1839. One Swift was seen by Mr. Blackwall on the 

 20th of October, 1815. A single Swift was seen in Perth- 

 shire on the 8th of November, 1834; and the Rev. Mr. 

 Cornish saw one in Devonshire in the year 1835 so late as 

 the 27th of November. Mr. Charles Bo wring sent me 

 word that he saw a Swift hawking for flies near Conway 

 Castle on the last day of October, 1855. 



The Swift is generally distributed during its visiting 



