36 THE SWALLOWS AND SWIFTS. 



is again divided into Families and Sub-families, 

 with which, however, we need not trouble ourselves 

 here. The first Tribe is the Fissirostres, or gape- 

 mouthed birds. They are rather a heterogeneous 

 lot, unlike in many points, but they have one family 

 bond, namely, a mouth that gapes from ear to 

 ear and gives them a peculiar facility in gulping 

 down the flies and flying insects on which they 

 all feed. First among them come the Swallows and 

 Swifts, to which I will devote this paper. I am 

 afraid that the distinction between a Swallow and a 

 Swift is not generally present to the popular mind ; 

 but they are separated by very radical differences, 

 of which, however, I need mention only those that are 

 most obvious outwardly. One is that in the foot of a 

 Swift all the four toes are turned forwards. It is, 

 in fact, like a human hand without a thumb. Now 

 observe the consequences. Such a foot cannot grasp, 

 ergo a Swift cannot perch, ergo a twig or a telegraph 

 wire offers it no resting place. If it gets tired 

 it must go to bed. But a bird that lives on the 

 midges in the air cannot afford to stay by its bedside. 

 It must range far and wide. So it cannot afford 

 to get tired. Therefore a Swift learns to spend 

 the night in its nest and the day on its wings. 

 Wonderful wings they need to be and are. They 

 are so long that, when closed, they extend far beyond 

 the tail, and they are worked quite differently 

 from the wings of even a Swallow. As a Swallow 

 darts along, its wings almost close against its 

 sides at every stroke, and it looks like a pair of 

 scissors opening and shutting. Now a Swift never 

 closes its wings in this way. It whips the air rapidly 



