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THE SWIFT. 



Cypselus apus (L.). 



Like the Swallow and the House-Martin, the Swift is one 

 of those species, which arrives in considerable flocks; from 

 the nature of its habits, it can be easily observed and its 

 numbers ascertained with fair accuracy. It is therefore a 

 species which is fully recorded by our observers and its move- 

 ments can consequently be traced with some exactness. 



The first stragglers, which evidently arrived in the south- 

 west of this country about April the 2 1st, were noticed here 

 and there during the last few days of that month. 



The arrival of the main body of Swifts began on April the 

 30th, when a large immigration reached Devon and small 

 numbers were recorded in Dorset and Hants. This was 

 followed by an almost continuous stream lasting until the 

 10th of May : thus the birds arrived at the Eddystone light in 

 the early hours of May the 2nd, were noted in Devon, Dorset, 

 and Hants on the 4th, in Devon on the 5th, and in Cornwall 

 and Devon on the 6th, when they were again seen at the 

 Eddystone light. On the 7th they passed over St. Catherine's 

 light in the Isle of Wight at the time when a large immigration 

 of other species was in progress. On May the 8th small 

 numbers came into Cornwall ; others arrived in Dorset 

 on the 9th, and in Devon and Hants on the 10th. 

 Directly after their arrival the first birds passed on to the 

 north and north-east, some of them reaching Somerset on the 

 same day (April the 30th), and the remainder on May the 1st, 

 by which date stragglers had penetrated into South Wales, 

 Staffordshire and Oxford, as well as eastwards into Kent. 



On Mav the 2nd laroe numbers arrived in Berkshire, and 

 a few reached Shropshire, Cheshire, and N. Wales, while on 

 the following day a further contingent appeared in Cheshire 



