Nov., 1907 



WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS AT CAPISTRANO 



17.1 



While I sat watching the birds up in the sky suddenly down between the roof- 

 less walls a swift came dashing toward me to turn with a loud call and disappear 

 up an earthquake crack at the end of a stone arch only a few yards away. The 

 loud sibilant voices of clamorous young told what happened next. On coming out 

 the old bird apparently discovered that she was watched, and it was some time be- 

 fore she came again. When she did, she came silently but flew bravely straight 

 to the nest. The cries of hungry young being fed just out of sight in wings of the 

 chapel — sacristies — led to the discovery of three other nests or, strictly speaking, 

 occupied earthquake cracks. 



The nest behind the end of the stone arch was the only one seen and this — as 

 it was ten feet from the ground 

 — only by climbing and peer- 

 ing up the crack. The crack, 

 as seen in the photograph, 

 was behind the capitol of the 

 pilaster on which one end of 

 the arch rested, the capitol 

 having been jarred away from 

 the wall by an earthquake — 

 doubtless that of 1 8 1 2 . About 

 ten inches up this crack the 

 nest could be seen tightly 

 wedged in between walls less 

 than two inches apart. As 

 well as could be seen without 

 destroying the nest, it was 

 made of bark, feathers, grass, 

 and wool. 



The entrance to one of the 

 other nests was a small square 

 hole at the lower end of an ir- 

 regular earthquake crack that 

 began at the top and ran down 

 to about fifteen feet of the 

 ground, and was discovered 

 by seeing the old bird fly 

 swiftly across to the wall, 

 linger a second before the hole 

 and then disappear inside. 

 The weaker voices of the 

 young at this nest argued that 

 they were not so old as those at the end of the arch. 



The two other nests were in chinks between stones of the cornice, about thirty 

 feet from the ground. At one of these the white front of the old bird was strik- 

 ingly in evidence as it squeezed out from the nest. 



The old swifts quickly got used to spectators and tho coming and going 

 silently, darted by at close range. As they approached, the snowy whiteness of 

 the throat and breast, apparently tapering to a V, held the eye, and as they went 

 by, the white rump patches seemed almost as striking a mark. One of the high 

 cornice birds once passed out with a downward swoop so close to my ear it seemed 



entrance; to swifts' nest at end of arch 



(Marked by Circle) 



