452 GOATSUCKERS. FAMILY HIRUNDINID^E. 



usually few in 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-Haivk. A remarkable species is the Steatornis, or Oil- 

 bird of South America, which is as large as a fowl, and is said 

 to feed principally, if not exclusively, upon fruits and seeds. It 

 is nocturnal in its habits, and lives in large societies in particular 

 caverns ; these are visited by the Indians at a certain season, for 

 the purpose of collecting the young birds, which are exceedingly 

 fat, and furnish an excellent oil when boiled down. The Podargi 

 of Australia nidificate in holes and on the branches of trees, in- 

 stead of on the ground like the ordinary Goatsuckers. One of 

 them is the More-Pork bird of the Australian colonists. 



407. The HIRUNDINIDJS, 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. 35s.-snrAi.umr. gpenton 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, 



