452 GOATSUCKERS. FAMILY HlRUNDINIDJi. 



number, are deposited without any nest.' There is but one 

 species of the whole family in Britain ; and this is a summer 

 visitant. Several others are found in America ; where one of 

 them is known as the Whip-poor- Will, and another as the Night- 

 Hawk. There is a species in Western Africa, which has a single 

 long-stemmed feather arising from the middle of each wing, and 

 extending considerably more than double the length of the Bird ; 

 these curious appendages have no vanes, except at their extremi- 

 ties. They strongly remind us of the feathered appendages of 

 the Birds of Paradise ; and, as with those organs, their use is 

 entirely unknown. This family includes some Birds which are 

 more or less diurnal in their habits, and which depart in other 

 respects from its peculiar characters ; these are inhabitants of 

 tropical regions both in the Old and New World. 



407. The HIRUNDINID.E, or Swallows, differ from the last 

 family in the closeness of their plumage, the great rapidity of 

 their flight, their diurnal habits, and the narrower gape of the 

 bill, which wants the fringe of bristles at its margin. The wings 



are very long and nar- 

 row, consisting almost 

 entirely of the pri- 

 mary feathers ; the 

 tail is generally forked. 

 The feet are very short 

 and slender, and are 

 but little employed by 

 the Bird, either for 

 perching or walking ; 

 by far the largest por- 

 tion of its time being 

 FIG. 253.-SwAz.Low. spent on the wing. They 



are purely insectivorous in their diet ; and consequently all the 

 species which breed in cold or temperate regions, proceed south- 

 wards at the approach of winter. Their migrations are often 

 extremely long ; and are performed with very great rapidity, a 

 large number usually congregating together for this purpose. This 

 family includes two groups, the true Swallows, and the Swifts. 



