forth for a few minutes, just as it is almost dark, to 

 stretch and relieve her weary limbs, and snatch a 

 scanty meal, and then returns to her duty of incuba- 

 tion. Swifts, when wantonly and cruelly shot while 

 they have young, discover a lump of insects in their 

 mouths, which they pouch and hold under their 

 tongue. In general they feed in a much higher dis- 

 trict than the other species ; a proof that gnats and 

 other insects do also abound to a considerable height 

 in the air : they also range to vast distances ; since 

 locomotion is no labour to them, who are endowed 

 with such wonderful powers of wing. Their powers 

 seem to be in proportion to their levers ; and their 

 wings are longer in proportion than those of al- 

 most any other bird. When they mute, or ease 

 themselves in flight, they raise their wings, and 

 make them meet over their backs. 



At some certain times in the summer I had re- 

 marked that swifts were hawking very low for hours 

 together over pools and streams ; and could not help 

 inquiring into the object of the pursuit that induced 

 them to descend so much below their usual range. 

 After some trouble I found that they were taking 

 phryganece, ephemercE and libellulce (caddis-flies, may- 

 flies, and dragon-flies) that were just emerged from 

 their aurelia state. I then no longer wondered that 

 they should be so willing to stoop for a prey that 

 afforded them such plentiful and succulent nourish- 

 ment. 



35 



