128 ALPINE SWIFT. 



and with the most untiring energy throughout the livelong 

 day, and though even for hours after it is dark its voice 

 may bo heard in the midst of the aerial gambols in which 

 these birds delight, yet 'early to rise' is ever and always its 

 motto; and at dawn of day he is up, and like Izaac Walton's 

 'Complete Angler,' 'leaves the sluggard sleeping.' 



'The Alpine Swifts,' says Meyer, 'are seldom seen to alight 

 on' the ground, and when they do so, the construction of their 

 legs and feet not being adapted for walking and perching, 

 they shuffle along and look very awkward; and the great 

 length of their wings renders it very difficult for them to 

 rise again. But when desiring to retain themselves in a 

 hanging position against a wall or a perpendicular rock, they 

 exhibit great facility in preserving their equilibrium: by means 

 of their strong claws they cling firmly on, and their tails 

 serve them as a rudder or rest, wherewith they balance 

 themselves so as to be enabled to move the upper part of 

 the body in any direction they may require.' They are rest- 

 less and turbulent birds, and, though sociable among themselves, 

 keep aloof, for the most part, even from birds of their own 

 genus. 



The note is a constant twitter, and an occasional brief 

 scream, resembling this word in its sound; but is said to be 

 less harsh than that of the Common Swift. 



The Alpine Swift builds its nest among high rocks in 

 mountainous districts, and in holes in the steeples of cathedrals 

 and churches: the old situation is often again resorted to. It 

 is composed of straw, grass, leaves, wool, feathers, and moss, 

 cemented together with gluten, which gives it a varnished 

 appearance. The nest is said to be rather small in reference 

 to the size of the bird; and is adapted in shape to the 

 situation in which it is placed. 



The eggs, two, three, four, or five in number, and of an 

 elongated form, are white: they are laid towards the end of 

 May, and are hatched after fourteen days incubation. The 

 young, when first able to fly, still follow their parents, by 

 whom they are for some time supplied with food on the 

 wing. 



The general plumage of this species is of a very silky texture, 

 and is charged with a fine white dust, which is easily rubbed 

 off. Male; length, about eight inches and a half; bill, black, 

 and rather longer in proportion than that of the Common 

 Swift; iris, blackish brown. Head on the crown, brown; neck 



