50 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



leaves this country for the continent at a much earlier 

 date. The Swift arrives in Great Britain in May, and the 

 greater number remain until August,, some staying even 

 later than this; their arrival, as well as their departure, 

 is sudden and simultaneous, and the birds, a few days 

 previous to the latter, indulge in loud and continuous 

 screaming. 



As already intimated, the powers of flight possessed by 

 this bird are indeed remarkable ; sometimes it may be seen 

 at a great height in the air, wheeling in large and ever- 

 varying circles, at other times closer to the ground, dashing 

 around the angles of buildings or the trunks of trees with 

 an ease and rapidity of movement that is truly interesting 

 to watch, and which certainly proves that its powers of 

 vision must be quite as highly developed as is its capa- 

 bility for rapid and sustained locomotion. Swifts, in com- 

 mon with all the Hirundina, subsist entirely upon small 

 winged insects, and previous to rain they may be noticed 

 pursuing their prey at a very small distance from the 

 ground in the most indefatigable manner, and incessantly 

 uttering a shrill screaming cry. On these occasions they 

 have been even known to enter shops and dwelling-houses. 

 Their cry is so shrill and unmusical that the birds are 

 commonly known by the name of " squeakers/' 



The nesting-places of the Swift are usually in the holes 

 of church-steeples, or high towers, or the eaves of tall 

 buildings, or crevices in the sides of cliffs. The nest is 

 very carelessly constructed, and is scarcely worthy of the 

 name, being composed of the dust and debris that the 

 birds can scrape together in the apertures which they select ; 

 they are, however, always ready to utilise the remains of 

 any old nest that may have been constructed previously 



