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portion a bird is, the greater is its power and velocity 

 of flight.* 



In the colour of its plumage the Swift is a dark 

 sombre-looking bird, the whole of its plumage, 

 except the chin, which is white, being a dark, dusky 

 brown, slightly glossed (in some lights) with dull sap- 

 green; the under parts are perhaps a little darker and 

 want the gloss of the upper parts ; the legs, toes and 

 claws are black; the legs are very short and powerless, 

 walking being an exercise this bird does not indulge 

 in. The young birds have the tertials and some of 

 the feathers on the upper parts tipped with buify 

 white. Varieties occasionally occur. 



The egg of the Swift is plain white, and rather a 

 long oblong in shape. 



ALPINE SWIFT, Cypselus alpinus. I find I have 

 to mention this rare British bird, in consequence of 

 a notice of its occurrence in the ' Proceedings of the 

 Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society.' 

 In the temporary local museum, formed during the 

 Meeting of the Society at Weston-super-Mare, in 

 the year 1851, amongst other things there exhi- 

 bited, Mr. Fry, of Axbridge, is said to have shown 

 "Five specimens in Ornithology, neatly mounted, 

 with appropriate landscape back-grounds, including 

 amongst them one of the Alpine Swift shot in this 



* Paper by the Duke of Argyle in the ' Sunday Maga- 

 zine 'for 1867. 



