THE SWIFT 119 



alights on the ground of its own free will ; about eighty 

 of these birds, which were picked up dead on a peninsula 

 where I once sojourned, had dropped, exhausted by 

 violent storms encountered on the migratory flight, and 

 there for want of food and help they had perished. 



It is a delight to watch the evolutions of a Swift on a 

 clear evening; with a grand, falcon-like stooping, the 

 cock-bird begins to drive its mate back to her nest; at 

 least, such is supposed to be its intention. The males 

 first rise high in the air, and then make the swoop, and 

 there is much evading by the females, and renewed 

 pursuit, after which the males come back alone to enjoy 

 themselves whilst their mates sit quietly on their nests. 



The Swift, which used to be classed with Swallows, is 

 now placed in the same order as the Fern Owl or Goat- 

 sucker, being, it is decided by scientific authorities, more 

 allied to the latter in its structural affinity than to the 

 Swallow. Its general colour is a bronzed blackish- 

 brown; the throat is a greyish-white; the bill, claws and 

 toes are black. The young birds have more white about 

 the throat than the adults. The tail is forked, the wings 

 are long and narrow, formed like a sickle. The eggs 

 are generally only two in number, oval in shape and 

 dead white, whereas the Swallows and the Martins lay 

 four to six eggs each. Also the Swift has only one 

 brood in the season, instead of two. 



