358 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



their sides more or less perpendicular, and the Swifts invariably 

 select their homes in cracks and fissures up near their summit. 

 This accounts for the small number of eggs of these species that 

 are seen in collections. 



This Swift is a powerful flier and a handsome bird upon the 

 wing, it's white throat, flanks and secondaries being strongly con- 

 trasted with the otherwise dark brown plumage. I have never seen 

 this bird alight anywhere except at the entrance to it's nest, in the 

 places above described, and even then in some instances, it almost 

 seemed to shoot into the cavity without condescending to even touch 

 the sides or the doorstep wath his feet. On one occasion I saw a 

 pair of them commence to quarrel when high up in the air, and 

 continue the closely contested claw and wing contest until they 

 reached the ground, where the dust they raised, prevented me 

 from clearly seeing their movements ; but in a second they arose 

 and were both in the air and off like two darts in opposite direc- 

 tions. 



During cloudy and rainy weather are about the only times when 

 they descend from the heights, and fly like a lot of black and white 

 meteors close over the surface of the ground and low growth of 

 sage brush that grows on the prairie. In clear weather they appear 

 like little specks shooting about against the clear blue sky, fully 

 half a mile above the earth. These birds are always infested with 

 a large species of louse, as well as an extraordinarly big species of 

 tick. Many years ago I sent specimens of these to the British Mu- 

 seum, where they were described as new to science and published 

 in various journals abroad. 



The Swift as a rule is quite quiet during flight, but sometimes 

 when flying up and down the canyons where they breed, they 

 give vent to a series of twittering notes, that are uttered with still 

 greater emphasis when they are disturbed by a gunshot or other- 

 wise alarmed when within their nest holes. I believe that their 

 mating is done entirely upon the wing and it is certain that they 

 feed in no other way. 



That the intelligence shown by these birds in the selection of 

 their nesting sites, is universal throughout their range, is shown by 

 the following from Bendire's: "At San Diego, Cal., they winter in 

 abundance, and are frequently seen feeding along the beach north 

 of Point Loma. A colony was found nesting on Coronado Island 

 on May 20, but the nests were inaccessible; they were - placed be- 

 hind loose slabs of rock which had become detatched from the face 

 of the cliffs, and from 20 to 30 feet above the water level. At 



