THE O0LOG1ST 



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what, its true history from becoming 

 known to ornithologists. Its sooty 

 color was triumphantly alluded to by 

 people of small mental capacity, as 

 substantiating their theory of mud 

 hibernation. 



Fortunately these ancieut ideas have 

 now been disproved, and we can study 

 the peculiarities of the Chimney Swift, 

 unhampered by them. The bird under 

 consideration arrives in mis state about 

 May 1st to 15th. It winters in the West 

 Indies, Mexico, Central and South 

 America. On its arrival here it is first 

 noticed rapidly dashing through the 

 air, in large circles, and occasionally 

 making eccentric deviations after mi- 

 nute insects, which it devours in large 

 quantities. As an insect destroyer this 

 bird is a great benefit to a community, 

 and yet tne farmer will pull down the 

 old fire- board, detach their nests from 

 the fines with a pole or hoe, and de- 

 stroy their eggs or young. This is done 

 because during the hours of night, the 

 Swifts create too much noise, and ser- 

 iously disturb the farmer's sleep. The 

 sound produced by them beating their 

 .wings against the enclosed air, and the 

 inner surface of the chimney, sounds 

 like distant thunder, and it is truly 

 anuojdng. 



It is said, that these birds never 

 alight out side of the places in which 

 they stay at night, aud I have watched 

 them much, and have never seen them 

 do so. Even the short dead twigs of 

 which their nest is composed, are 

 snapped from trees during the bird's 

 flight. A sort of a bracket-like nest is 

 constructed of these twigs, which are 

 strongly and artistically agglutinated 

 together by the bird's saliva, and it is 

 gummed to-the interior of the flue, or 

 where ever it may be built, by the same 

 substance. Within the slight concavity 

 of the nest three or four elongated white 

 eggs are laid. If the rain happens to 

 trickle down the flue, the saliva is liable 

 to become loosened, when nest and con- 



tents are precipitated to the bed of soot 

 in the bottom of the chimney. I once 

 had a nest that was built on an incline, 

 so that the eggs would roll out of it as 

 fast as they were laid. For all of the 

 difficulties these birds have to over- 

 come, they usually rear one brood of 

 young in a season, and occasionally 

 two. 



When the Chimney Swift is at rest, 

 it clings to the side of the fine, like a 

 woodpecker on a tree butt, and the 

 peculiar spine-like termination of its 

 tail feathers greatly facilitates this 

 manner of resting. 



In this city tnere are some tall mill 

 chimneys which are out of use, and 

 these birds, at times, may be seen 

 around them in clouds. One evening 

 just after sunset, several years ago I 

 witnessed a remarkable congregation of 

 Swifts around these chimneys. II was 

 just as they were flocking, preparatory 

 to their depaiture for the south, and at 

 the time I estimated that there were 

 ten thousand birds flying in extended 

 circles around the chimneys. At first 

 they could be seen off iu the distance 

 as far as the eye could reach, but asdark- 

 ness encroached, their circle of flight 

 was contracted, until they were hover- 

 ing over the chimneys in a huge whirl- 

 ing mass. For some time scattering- 

 ones had been settling into the flues„ 

 but at this time there was a steady 

 stream of birds pouring in, and when 

 darkness spread its Cimmerian mantle 

 over the scene the ingress of the Swifts 

 had not ceased. 



Audubon visited a great hollow tree 

 in Kentucky, where these birds were 

 wont to enter at uight, and he entered 

 the tree with a lantern one evening, 

 through an opening he had cut at the 

 base. He computed the area of the 

 interior surface of this tree, and the 

 nurnb-r of birds occupying a square 

 foot, thereby estimating that at least, 

 nine thousand birds were clinging to 

 the perpendicular interior of the tree- 



