KEEL-BREASTED BIRDS. 277 



still further security. They are solitary birds, only com- 

 ing out at night, or late in the afternoon, then capturing 

 insect-food upon the wing, the lonesome cry whip-poor- 

 will being heard up to midnight. No nest is made, the 

 eggs having a protective coloring of greenish white, speck- 

 led and blotched with bluish gray and light brown, and 

 placed in the grass or fallen leaves. 



NOTE. According to Audubon, some take the egg in the capacious 

 mouth and flutter away. This has been doubted, but the careful ob- 

 server, Dr. Brehm, has seen the male and female night-jar each take 

 an egg in its mouth and fly away. Both parents assist in incubation. 

 The family is exceedingly large, and found in many countries. The 

 lyre-tailed night-jar, of Africa, is one of the most beautiful forms. 



VALUE. The oil of steatornis is used for illuminating purposes in 

 South America, The feathers of some are used. 



The Swifts (Cypselida>) * should not be confused with 

 the swallow, which they much resemble. The wings are 

 long, thin, and pointed, the feet weak, and the salivary 

 glands, used in nest-building, highly developed. 



The chimney swift f (Ch&tura pelasgicd) is a typical 

 example. The general color is a sooty brown, the throat 

 lighter, the length five and a half inches. They are com- 



* To this family belongs the famous edible-nest swift (Collocalia 

 nidifica) of India and adjacent countries. The nests are confined 

 to certain localities,, and generally placed in dangerous positions. The 

 nest is a thin, gummy shelf or basket formed entirely of saliva. The 

 bird hovers about the wall, presses its tongue to it, attaching a single 

 thread of gluten, that coagulates on contact with the air. By repeating 

 this for weeks the solid nest is finally formed, at first pure and clear, 

 but becoming later discolored by the birds. Many persons lose their 

 lives in collecting them, having to be lowered over precipices by rattan 

 ropes. 



A Guatemalan swift forms a tube out of the down of plants, three 

 or four feet in length, on the under side of a precipitous rock. The 

 entrance is below, and the eggs laid on a shelf. A Brazilian species 

 fastens a similar tube to a tree-limb and covers the outside with feathers. 



f Commonly called chimney swallow. 



