COMMON SWIFT. 173 



Its food consists entirely of insects caught on the 

 wing. When feeding its young the Swift, like the 

 Swallow, does not return to the nest with each insect, 

 but keeps them in her mouth until she has a good 

 meal ; the stickiness of the saliva holding them fast 

 there. The Swift gets its name of Devil Swallow or 

 Deviling from the fact of its hawking for flies often in 

 the roughest of stormy weather. 



Its note is a shrill scream which has been compared 

 to the noise made when a saw is sharpened ; from this 

 it is often called the Screech Martin. 



The general colour of the plumage is a dark sooty 

 brown, tinged with bronze on the upper parts. The 

 throat is a dull white. The expanse of the wings from 

 tip to tip is fifteen inches. 



As these birds are unable to perch, and live almost 

 entirely on the wing, it is impossible to confine them 

 in cages. 



The nest of the Swift is commenced about the 

 middle of May. It is usually placed as far as possible 

 from the ground in the crevice of a wall, or in an old 

 tower or spire, sometimes in a crevice in a chalk cliff, 

 or under the eaves of buildings. It is a very slight 

 structure, being made of bits of straw and lined with 

 feathers, all of which have been snatched on the wing. 

 The nest is almost flat, and the materials are generally 

 glued together with the sticky saliva of the bird, which 

 hardens and cakes the nest together. The same spot 

 is returned to every year, and at night the old birds 

 roost in the nest. 



The eggs are two in number, sometimes three, while 

 even four have been found. They are white and very 

 elongated, being almost completely oval ; they are much 

 larger than Martins' eggs and more rounded. 



