SAND-MARTIN. SWIFT. CHURN-OWL. 225 



breast, belly, and rump, are white; and the feet are co- 

 vered with a short white down. It constructs its nest 

 under the eaves of houses in a very curious manner, 

 leaving only a small hole for its admission. During the 

 period when the young continue in the nest, the old one 

 feeds them, adhering by her claws to the outside ; but as 

 soon as they quit it, she feeds them while on the wing, 

 with a very rapid and almost imperceptible motion. 



THE SAND-MARTIN. 



This species receives its name from building its nests in 

 the chinks of sand-pits, and the banks of rivers. It is the 

 last of the swallow tribe that frequents this island. The 

 head and the whole upper part of the body are mouse- 

 coloured; the throat is white, encircled with a mouse- 

 colo&red ring; the belly is white, and the feet are smooth 

 and black. 



THE SWIFT. 



The swift measures about eight inches in length, and in 

 the expansion of the wings eighteen, though it does not 

 weigh above an ounce. It is entirely of a glossy dark 

 sooty colour, except the chin, which is marked with a 

 white spot. Its feet are small, and it rises from the ground 

 with difficulty ; but, when on the wing, its flight is rapid 

 and long-continued. It breeds under the eaves of houses, 

 and in steeples and other lofty buildings ; arrives after the 

 house-swallow, and invariably disappears some weeks be- 

 fore its kindred species. 



THE GOAT-SUCKER, OR CHURN-OWL. 



This bird, which some naturalists place in the family of 

 swallows, is about ten inches long, and twenty-two broad 

 Its colours are plain, but they have a beautiful effect from 

 the elegance "of their arrangement ; consisting of black, 

 brown, grey, white, and ferruginous, disposed in streaks, 

 spots, and bars. The male is distinguished from the female 

 L 5 



