HISTORY OF THE SWIFT. 1/3 



squeak till they come close to the walls or eaves, and since those 

 within utter at the same time a little inward note of com- 

 placency. 



When the hen has sat hard all day, she rushes forth just as it 

 is almost dark, and stretches and relieves her weary limbs, and 

 snatches a scanty meal for a few minutes, and then returns to her 

 duty of incubation. Swifts, when wantonly and cruelly shot 

 while they have young, discover a little lump of insects in their 

 mouths, which they pouch and^ hold under their tongue. 

 In general they feed in a much higher district than the other 

 species ; a proof that gnats and other insects do also abound to 

 a considerable height in the air : they also range to vast distances ; 

 since loco-motion is no labour to them, who are endowed with 

 such wonderful powers of wing. Their powers seem to be in 

 proportion to their levers ; and their wings are longer in pro- 

 portion than those of almost any other bird. When they mute, 

 or ease themselves in flight, they raise their wings, and make 

 them meet over their backs. 



At some certain times in the summer I had remarked that 

 swifts were hawking very low for hours together over pools and 

 streams ; and could not help enquiring into the object of their 

 pursuit that induced them to descend so much below their usual 

 range. After some trouble, I found that they were taking 

 phryganea, ephemera, and libellulce (cadew-flies, may-flies, and 

 dragon-flies) that were just emerged out of their aurelia state. 

 I then no longer wondered that they should be so willing to 

 stoop for a prey that afforded them such plentiful and succulent 

 nourishment. 



They bring out their young about the middle or latter end of 

 July : but as these never become perchers, nor, that ever I could 

 discern, are fed on the wing by their dams, the, coming forth of 

 the young is not so notorious as in the other species. 



On the thirtieth of last June I untiled the eaves of a house 

 where many pairs build, and found in each nest only two squab, 

 naked pulli: on the eighth of July I repeated the same enquiry, 

 and found they had made very little progress towards a fledged 

 state, but were still naked and^helpless. From whence we may 

 conclude that birds whose way of life keeps them perpetually 

 on the wing would not be able to quit their nest till the end of 

 the month. Swallows and martins, that have numerous families 

 are continually feeding them every two or three minutes ; whik 



