102 



THE SWIFT. 



Cypselus apus (L.) 



A SMALL flock of Swifts appeared in Somerset, as early 

 as April 12th, and another on April 18th, and we may 

 presume that these birds passed through Devon. They 

 spread in very small numbers over the western counties, 

 into Wales and even as far north as the Isle of Man. 



The first regular immigration, however, occurred from 

 April 29th to May 1st along the coast from Hampshire to 

 Devon. The birds were comparatively few in number, 

 and spread chiefly into Wales during the next few days, 

 reaching Anglesea and being well distributed in Merioneth 

 by May 2nd. A very few found their way to Yorkshire, 

 Derbyshire, Cheshire and Lancashire between May 1st 

 and 5th. 



The second immigration which was also a small one, 

 appears to have taken place in Hampshire on May 4th, 

 and these birds spread north-westwards through Shropshire 

 and Radnor, where they were noted on the 6th and 7th. 



The tJiird immigration consisted of small flocks, which 

 arrived in Somerset on May 8th and in Dorset on the 9th. 

 They seem to have passed as far east as Berkshire and to 

 have a,ugmented the numbers in Radnor on May 10th. 

 The Berkshire birds left on the next day and seemingly 

 spread still further east, into Essex and Suffolk ; while the 

 Radnor birds on the same date journeyed north-westward 

 into Denbigh and Merioneth. 



The fourth and clearly the main immigration of Swifts 

 into this country occurred from May 11th to 16th, during 

 which time they arrived in great numbers, and quickly 

 settled down in their breeding quarters all over the 

 country. 



