52 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



and forked ; and the legs, toes, and claws are very short 

 and black. In the young birds the chin is white, and the 

 head and back have some feathers tipped with dirty white. 



The Swift rejects the undigested portions of its food 

 in small pellets, in a manner exactly similar to the 

 Swallow. 



These birds do not perch either upon the ground or 

 upon trees. At the time of migration they are now and 

 then found to have entered the window of some room for 

 the purpose of roosting, but seldom more than single birds. 



This graceful and interesting bird is distributed during 

 its visiting season over all parts of Great Britain. It is 

 also met with in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Lap- 

 land, and is common in all the southern parts of Europe, 

 although, judging from the observations of some natural- 

 ists, it is not so numerous now as in former years. 



