XIV 



THE CHIMNEY SWIFT 



EVERY kind of bird is adapted to get its living 

 in a particular way. It is strong in some re- 

 spects, and weak in others. Some birds have 

 powerful legs, but can hardly fly ; others live on 

 the wing, and can hardly walk. Of these flying 

 birds none is more common than the chimney 

 swift, or, as he is improperly called, the chimney 

 swallow. No one ever saw him sitting on a 

 perch or walking on the ground. In fact, his 

 wings are so long, and his legs so short and weak, 

 that if he were to alight on the ground, he would 

 probably never be able to rise into the air 

 again. 



He hardly seems to need a description, and 

 yet I suppose that many persons, not to say 

 people in general, do not know him from a swal- 

 low. His color is sooty brown, turning to gray 

 on the throat. His body, as he is seen in the 

 air, is shaped like a bobbin, bluntly pointed at 

 both ends. If he is carefully watched, however, 



