8 Richmond, The Cayenne Sxvift. FAuk 



LJan. 



the latter being a remarkable structure, composed of some kind 

 of silk-weed, and, being probably waterproof, was used by the 

 bird as a domicile in the rainy season. Its shape was like a 

 sleeve, three or four inches in diameter and nine or ten inches 

 long. This nest was, therefore, somewhat similar to that of P. 

 sancti-hieronymi but a good deal smaller, and had probably been 

 attached to a rock in a similar way." The nest of the Guate- 

 malan species is described as follows : " The nest of this species 

 is a remarkable structure, made entirely of the downy seeds of 

 some plant ; these are glued together, doubtless by the saliva of 

 the bird, so as to form a long bag-like structure with the opening 

 below. The nest itself is near the top of the inverted bag, and 

 the bird on entering the mouth must climb to the top by its feet. 

 The eggs are not known." 



Up to 1892 the Cayenne Swift had not been traced north of 

 Panama, but during the summer of this year while collecting birds 

 in eastern Nicaragua I had the good fortune to find the species 

 quite abundant on the Escondido River, at a point about 50 miles 

 from its mouth. At that locality, on the ' I. P.' plantation, three 

 species of Swifts were common, but from its high-flying habits 

 the Panyptila was for a time overlooked. It was not long, how- 

 ever, before the presence of a fork-tailed species was detected, 

 owing to its habit of frequently spreading the tail during flight. 

 On June 28, or about a month after I began to shoot at Swifts, 

 my efforts to bring down a specimen were finally successful. 



The great difficulty in securing specimens was not due to the 

 rapid flight of the bird, but to the high altitudes at which they 

 ordinarily passed the time. In fair weather it was utterly impos- 

 sible to shoot any species of Swift, but on cloudy afternoons or 

 just before dusk, following long rainy spells, all three species 

 would frequently descend within range of our guns. Even 

 under the most propitious conditions for shooting Swifts, it was 

 no easy task to recover the , 'dead birds ; those falling in the river 

 were liable to be devoured by voracious fishes, or if dropping 

 elsewhere than on the small grass plot in front of the house were 

 almost certain to be lost in the heavy grass and weeds which 

 grew everywhere. Wounded birds falling some distance away 

 were invariably lost. After many trials, at favorable times 

 between May and October, and an expenditure of about three 



