THE SWIFTS. 41 
houses, a small garden in the centre, the roof projecting six or seven feet 
from the walls, coveting a walk all round, and leaving a small space only 
between the tiles and the trees which grew in the centre. From the edge 
of these tiles to the branches of the trees in the garden the spiders had 
spread their innumerable webs so closely and compactly that they resembled 
anet. I have frequently watched, with much amusement, the cautious per- 
egrinations of the Humming Bird, who, advancing beneath the web, entered 
the various labyrinths and cells in search of entangled flies; but, as the 
larger spiders did not tamely surrender their booty, the invader was often 
compelled to retreat. Being within a few feet, I could observe all their 
evolutions with great precision: the active little bird generally passed once 
or twice round the court, as if to reconnoitre his ground, and commenced 
his attack by going carefully under the nets of the wily insect, and seizing, 
by surprise, the smallest entangled flies, or those that were most feeble. In 
ascending the angular traps of the spider, great care and skill were required ; 
sometimes he had scarcely room for his little wings to perform their office, 
and the least deviation would have entangled him in the complex machinery 
of the web, and involved him in ruin. It was only the works of the smaller 
spiders that he durst attack, as the largest rose in defence of their citadels, 
when the besieger would shoot off like a sunbeam, and could only be traced 
by the luminous glow of his refulgent colors. The bird generally spent 
about ten minutes in this predatory excursion, and then alighted on a branch 
of an avocata to rest and refresh himself, placing his crimson, star-like 
breast to the sun, which then presented all the glowing fire of the ruby, and 
surpassed in lustre the diadem of monarchs.” 
The nests of the Humming Birds are most beautiful, compact structures, 
with exquisite finish and nicety of arrangement. Some are composed of 
the finest silky down, or cotton of a delicate straw yellow, soft, light, and 
compact, attached to the end of a twig, and concealed by leaves. In some 
cases the outside is formed of fine moss, lichens, &c., investing a compact 
bed of the down of plants, cotton, and even spiders’ webs. 
Famity CyrseLip&®. Swirts. 
The Chimney Swallow, or Swift (Chetura pelasgia) of America, and 
the common Swift of Europe, furnish familiar types of the sub-family Cyp- 
selinw, and the Esculent Swallow (Collocalia esculenta) of the Collo- 
caline. 
The Chimney Swallow is a well-known bird in the eastern United States. 
It arrives in the latitude of New England, in great numbers, from the south, 
from about the 1st to the 10th of May. Immediately on arriving the birds 
pair, and commence building. The nest is usually constructed in an unused 
