﻿308 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  the 
  conclusion 
  that 
  inordinate 
  curiosity 
  was 
  the 
  real 
  motive 
  of 
  

   these 
  strange 
  actions. 
  

  

  The 
  last 
  Cuckoo 
  of 
  the 
  season 
  was 
  seen 
  on 
  March 
  9th 
  — 
  a 
  

   young 
  female 
  bird, 
  clad 
  in 
  the 
  variegated 
  feathering 
  which 
  may 
  

   be 
  regarded 
  as 
  the 
  ancient 
  garb 
  of 
  the 
  tribe. 
  For 
  several 
  days 
  

   it 
  had 
  been 
  flitting 
  restlessly 
  from 
  one 
  perch 
  to 
  another, 
  as 
  if 
  

   uncertain 
  in 
  which 
  direction 
  to 
  take 
  flight. 
  At 
  last 
  it 
  was 
  fired 
  

   at, 
  flew 
  away, 
  apparently 
  uninjured, 
  on 
  the 
  right 
  course, 
  but 
  in 
  

   its 
  agitation 
  must 
  have 
  come 
  in 
  violent 
  contact 
  with 
  a 
  tree 
  or 
  

   other 
  obstacle, 
  for 
  it 
  was 
  found 
  dead 
  near 
  the 
  place 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  

   last 
  seen 
  alive. 
  No 
  mature 
  Cuckoos 
  had 
  been 
  seen 
  for 
  several 
  

   weeks. 
  

  

  Spine-tailed 
  Swifts 
  (Chcetura 
  caudacuta) 
  were 
  not 
  observed 
  

   until 
  March 
  21st, 
  when 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  were 
  seen 
  flying 
  low. 
  They 
  

   passed 
  by 
  so 
  near 
  that 
  one 
  could 
  hear 
  the 
  whizzing 
  of 
  their 
  

   wings 
  very 
  distinctly 
  — 
  a 
  thrilling 
  and 
  eerie 
  sound, 
  comparable 
  

   to 
  no 
  other 
  sound 
  that 
  I 
  know 
  in 
  the 
  whole 
  realm 
  of 
  birds. 
  The 
  

   largest 
  number 
  seen 
  at 
  one 
  time 
  — 
  about 
  thirty 
  in 
  all 
  — 
  passed 
  

   northwards 
  on 
  the 
  22nd 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  month, 
  but 
  solitary 
  birds 
  

   returned 
  southward 
  from 
  time 
  to 
  time, 
  coursing 
  through 
  the 
  air 
  

   with 
  matchless 
  velocity. 
  Welcome 
  Swallows 
  were 
  generally 
  

   present 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time. 
  The 
  last 
  Swift 
  was 
  seen 
  on 
  April 
  8th. 
  

   They 
  remained 
  longer 
  in 
  the 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  and 
  appear 
  there 
  

   with 
  greater 
  regularity 
  and 
  in 
  greater 
  numbers. 
  

  

  In 
  not 
  a 
  few 
  families 
  the 
  shafts 
  of 
  the 
  rectrices 
  are 
  stiff, 
  and 
  

   in 
  some 
  are 
  also 
  somewhat 
  sharp 
  at 
  the 
  ends. 
  They 
  are 
  so 
  with 
  

   the 
  Woodpeckers, 
  in 
  certain 
  of 
  which 
  (as 
  Colaptes) 
  these 
  feathers 
  

   are 
  also 
  acuminate. 
  The 
  stiff 
  shafts 
  facilitate 
  the 
  ascent 
  of 
  tree- 
  

   trunks, 
  or 
  the 
  maintenance 
  of 
  a 
  stable 
  position 
  upon 
  the 
  trunk* 
  

   In 
  the 
  Spine-tailed 
  Swift 
  the 
  ends 
  of 
  the 
  shafts 
  are 
  veritable 
  pin- 
  

   points, 
  capable 
  of 
  penetrating 
  the 
  skin 
  and 
  drawing 
  blood. 
  The 
  

   use 
  which 
  the 
  Swift 
  makes 
  of 
  these 
  sharp-pointed 
  shafts 
  is, 
  I 
  

   believe, 
  unknown. 
  If, 
  in 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  this 
  sort, 
  the 
  argument 
  

   from 
  analogy 
  is 
  of 
  any 
  value, 
  they 
  must 
  be 
  used 
  to 
  assist 
  the 
  

   bird 
  to 
  cling, 
  not 
  to 
  the 
  boles 
  of 
  trees, 
  but 
  to 
  some 
  perpendicular 
  

   surface 
  of 
  great 
  hardness, 
  such 
  as 
  that 
  of 
  a 
  precipitous 
  cliff. 
  

  

  Tne 
  Swift 
  Lorikeet 
  {N 
  anodes 
  discolor) 
  was 
  the 
  only 
  member 
  

   of 
  the 
  order 
  of 
  the 
  Parrots 
  which 
  I 
  encountered 
  during 
  the 
  

   period 
  embraced 
  by 
  this 
  article. 
  On 
  Aug. 
  17th 
  the 
  opercula 
  

  

  