Swifts 293 



extra hundred miles, or two, at the end of it, means no 

 more than another hour or two's flying, the birds' daily 

 occupation from dawn till dusk, whether migrating or not. 

 Food is almost certain to be picked up en route, and may be 

 expected in one place almost as much as in another, once 

 land has been reached ; while, I suppose, no one has ever 

 seen a tired Swift, or one resting, except at its nest. It is 

 hardly possible to imagine such creatures a-weary of flying ; 

 but when they happen to arrive here in bad weather, I 

 believe they sometimes make straight for their nesting 

 holes, and remain there, probably asleep, till it becomes 

 warmer. More than once I have known Swifts to be taken, 

 in a benumbed and listless condition, from beneath the 

 eaves of a house, by a boy engaged in looking for sparrows' 

 eggs, on a cold day at the beginning of May. They have 

 speedily revived, and flown off, after being placed in a 

 basket near the fire for half an hour ; and it is not surprising 

 that their discovery should have been regarded as proof 

 positive that Swifts hibernated, especially when they happen 

 to be the first to be seen in the particular season. On one 

 occasion, I chanced to be walking with an old friend near 

 his house, on a bleak afternoon, when he remarked that 

 though Swifts had been due for a day or two he had not 

 yet seen any. He dwelt upon the east coast, " ayont the 

 silver Tweed," and the words had hardly been uttered when 

 a solitary Swift appeared, winging its way in from the sea, 

 and, without a moment's pause, it dashed down, and flew 

 straight into a hole beneath the tiles, where a pair or two 

 nested every year. How long it remained there, there was 

 no means of ascertaining with certainty, but the weather 

 continued cold for the next two days, and during that 

 period it was not seen. The sun then came out, and so did 

 the bird ; but cold weather again setting in, it disappeared 

 once more, not to be seen again till with a return of sunshine 

 more of its companions arrived. Swifts are so well able to 

 see in the dark (as will be more particularly referred to 

 presently) that should they chance to arrive in the land of 

 their birth under cover of night, they would probably 

 experience very little difficulty in finding their way " home " ; 



