HUMMINGBIRDS 335 



habits, while the structural differences between the two are numerous 

 and important. 



423. Chsetura pelagica (Linn.}. CHIMNEY SWIFT; CHIMNEY "SWAL- 

 LOW." (Fig. 56.) Ads. Entire plumage fuscous, more grayish on the 

 throat; a sooty black spot before the eye; shafts of the tail-feathers extend- 

 ing beyond the vanes. L M 5'43; W., 4'94; T., 1'90; B. from N., '15. 



Range. Breeds in e. N. A. from se. Sask., Man., cen. Que., and N. F. 

 s. to the Gulf coast, and w. to the Plains from e. Mont., to e. Tex.; winters 

 s. of the U. S., at least to Vera Cruz and Cozumel Is. and probably in Cen. 

 Am.; casual in s. Alberta; accidental in N. M., and Greenland. 



Washington, abundant S. R., Apl. 6-Oct. 27. Ossining, common S. R., 

 Apl. 19-Oct. 23. Cambridge, abundant S. R., Apl. 25-Sept. 20. N. Ohio, 

 abundant S. R., Apl. 10-Oct. 20. Glen Ellyn, common S. R., Apl. 16-Sept. 

 29. SE. Minn., common S. R., Apl. 20-Sept. 18. 



Nest, a bracketlike basket of dead twigs glued together with saliva; 

 attached to the wall of a chimney, generally about ten feet from the top, by 

 the gummy secretion of the bird's salivary glands. Eggs, 4-6, white, '80x*50. 

 Date, Chester Co., Pa., June 3; Ossining, N. Y., June 8; Cambridge, June 

 10; Petersburg, Mich., June 7. 



It is unnecessary to give any aids to the identification of a bird as 

 well known as the Chimney Swift, or, as it is more frequently called, 

 " Chimney Swallow." It is not, however, a Swallow, but a Swift, and 

 its structural relations are with the Hummingbirds and not with the 

 Passerine Swallows. 



Few sights in the bird- world are more familiar than the bow-and- 

 arrow-like forms of these rapidly flying birds silhouetted against the sky. 

 They are most active early in the morning and late in the afternoon, 

 when one may hear their rolling twitter as they course about overhead. 

 Sometimes they sail with wings held aloft over their backs, and some- 

 times, it is said, they use their wings alternately. It is a common thing 

 to see a trio of birds flying together, but it has never been ascertained 

 that the Chimney Swift is polygamous. 



In some localities Chimney Swifts congregate in large flocks, mak- 

 ing their headquarters in a disused chimney which morning and even- 

 ing they leave and return to in a body. In perching they cling to the 

 side of the chimney, using the spine-pointed tail, as Woodpeckers do, 

 for a support. The habit of frequenting chimneys is, of course, a recent 

 one, and the substitution of this modern, artificial home for hollow 

 trees, illustrates the readiness with which a bird may take advantage 

 of a favoring change in its environment. 



46. FAMILY TROCHILID^;. HUMMINGBIRDS. (Fig. 57.) 



Hummingbirds are found only in the New World. About five hun- 

 dred species are known. They range from Alaska to Patagonia, but are 

 most numerous in the Andean regions of Colombia and Ecuador. Eigh- 

 teen species have been found in the United States; only eight of these 

 advance beyond our Mexican border States, and but one species occurs 

 east of the Mississippi. 



