BIRDS OF THE PLAINS 



Some species of swift build their homes entirely of 

 their glutinous saliva, and so manufacture "edible birds' 

 nests." The Indian swift, however, utilises all manner 

 of material by way of economising its saliva. 



Nest building is a slow process. Each tiny piece of 

 material has to be separately stuck on to the structure, 

 and the saliva, which is, of course, liquid when first 

 secreted, takes about five minutes to dry. During the 

 whole of this time the bird remains motionless, holding 

 in situ whatever it is adding to the structure. 



I once timed a pair of swifts at work, and found that 

 on an average they took forty-five minutes in bringing 

 each new piece of material. Much of this time was un- 

 doubtedly spent in seeking for food, for so active a bird 

 as the swift must have an enormous appetite, and, 

 as it feeds on the minutest of insects, must consume 

 thousands of them in the course of the day, each of which 

 has to be caught separately. But, even allowing for 

 this, the rate at which the material is added is very 

 slow. Some naturalists declare that the swift is unable 

 to pick anything off the ground. If this be so, the labour 

 of obtaining material must be great, for the creature 

 must fly about until it espies a feather or piece of straw 

 floating in the air. 



I am not yet in a position to say whether it is really 

 impossible for the bird to pick anything from off the 

 ground. I have never seen it do so, and it is a fact 

 that the birds will, when building, eagerly seize anything 

 floating in the air. On the other hand, the helplessness 

 of the swift when placed upon the ground has been 

 much exaggerated. It is said that the bird, if put upon 



