Dusky, Gray, and Slate-colored 



Their nest, which is a loosely woven twig lattice, made of 

 twiij^s of trees, which the birds snap off" with theit beai<s and carry 

 in their beal<s, is glued with the bird's saliva or tree-gum into a 

 solid structure, and firmly attached to the inside of chimneys, or 

 hollow trees where there are no houses about. Two broods in a 

 season usually emerge from the pure white, elongated eggs. 



What a twittering there is in the chimney that the swifts 

 appropriate after the winter firei. have died out ! Instead of the 

 hospitable column of smoke curling from the top, a cloud of sooty 

 birds w' eels and floats above it. A sound as of distant thunder 

 fills the chimney as a host of these birds, startled, perhaps, by some 

 indoor noise, whirl their way upward. Woe betide the happy 

 colony if a sudden cold snap in early summer necessitates the 

 starting of a fire on the hearth by the unsuspecting householder ! 

 The glue being melted by the fire, "down comes the cradle, 

 babies and all " into the glowing embers. A prolonged, heavy 

 rain also causes their nests to loosen their hold and fall with the 

 soot to the bottom. 



Thrifty New England housekeepers claim that bedbugs, 

 commonly found on bats, infest the bodies of swifts also, which 

 is one reason why wire netting is stretched across the chimney 

 tops before the birds arrive from the South. 



Kingbird 



(Tyrannus tyranmis) Flycatcher family 



Called also: TYRANT FLYCATCHER; BEE MARTIN 



Length — 8 inches. About two inches shorter than the robin. 



Male — Ashy black above; white, shaded with ash-color, beneath. 

 A con..aled crest of orange-red on crown. Tail black, ter- 

 minating with a white band conspicuous in flight. Wing 

 feathers edged with white. Feet and bill black. 



Female — Similar to the male, but lacking the crown. 



Range — United States to the Rocky Mountains. British provinces 

 to Central and South America. 



Migrations — May. September. Common summer resident. 



If the pugnacious propensity of the kingbird is the occasion 

 of its royal name, he cannot be said to deserve it from any fine 

 or noble qualities he possesses. He is a born fighter from the very 



68 



