The Chimney Swift. 



dark to distinguish the birds. It seemed 

 that there must have been thousands of 

 them. 



The Chimney Swift is to some degree 

 nocturnal in its habits, and where they have 

 their nests in chimneys, it is not at all un- 

 usual to hear at night the muffled roar of 

 their wings, as the parents descend to their 

 nests, and the answering cries of the eager 

 young who are waiting for food. 



Another subject in connection with the 

 Chimney Swift is extremely interesting. In 

 times past it was generally believed that the 

 swallows passed the winter months in a state 

 of torpor buried in the mud at the bottom 

 of lakes and slow-flowing streams. Some 

 thought that these birds turned to frogs at 

 the approach of cold weather, and remain- 

 ing in the streams while they were frozen 

 and the ground covered with snow, came 

 to the surface when the ice had disappeared, 

 again donned their feathers and once more 

 became the winged beauties that we see 

 disporting themselves over our fields and 

 about our homes. This was believed of 

 other birds also. Now the Swifts, as has 

 been said, very closely resemble the swal- 

 lows in many of their external characters, 

 and the belief about the swallows extended 

 to them also. 



There is a great mass of testimony in 

 support of this belief, most of it ancient, but 

 some quite modern. Thus the Duke of 

 Argyle, in an article printed in JVature in 

 April, 1877, quotes Sir John McNeill, who 

 says: 'T have stated and I now repeat that 

 I have seen swallows in large numbers 

 hibernating," and in Field and Forest in 

 August, 1877, Mr. R. R. McLeod quotes 

 two "reliable" persons who give circumstan- 

 tial accounts of the finding of swallows (or 

 Swifts) buried in the mud. 



No less an authority than Dr. Coues 

 seems to have a slight leaning toward this 

 ancient belief, or perhaps it is more just to 

 say that he regards the evidence in sup- 

 port of it as too important to be dismissed 



with a sneer. He does not at all admit any 

 belief in the hibernation of swallows in the 

 mud or under water, but he does state- 

 plainly that he believes that the Chimney 

 Swift hibernates in winter. He says: "I 

 suppose that it hibernates in hollow trees, 

 and could give reasons for the supposition." 

 It may be said, however, that scientific men 

 in general place not the slightest faith in the 

 legendary belief, and until the testimony on 

 the subject has been accepted by them, we 

 need not trouble ourselves about the matter. 



Few birds are more destructive to insects, 

 than the Chimney Swift. It lives exclus- 

 ively upon them, and spends its whole Hfe 

 upon the wing in their pursuit. Naturalists- 

 have taken specimens whose mouths and 

 throats were crammed so full of mosquitoes, 

 and other noxious insects that these would 

 fall out when the beak was open. The bird 

 does absolutely no harm and should never 

 be killed. 



Many of our birds, especially those which 

 are climbers, such as woodpeckers and creep- 

 ers, use the tail as a partial support when 

 scrambling about on vertical surfaces. The 

 Chimney Swift always rests in an upright 

 position, clinging to some perpendicular 

 surface with its feet, and supporting itself 

 by its tail, which is greatly modified to meet 

 the needs of such a habit. The shafts of 

 the tail feathers terminate in sharp, needle- 

 like spines. 



Since the Chimney Swift is such an inter- 

 esting bird, and at the same time so abund- 

 ant with us during the warm weather, it 

 would be worth the while for our young 

 readers to watch it this summer and learn 

 what they can of its habits. 



The Chimney Swift is about five inches 

 in length, and nearly twelve in extent of 

 wings, the latter being very long indeed, 

 and extending two or more inches beyond 

 the tail. In color it is sooty brown 

 above, often with a greenish gloss ; the 

 wings are black. Below it is paler, becoming 

 gray on the throat. 



