CHIMNEY SWIFT. 387 



House. About sundown they seem to come from all directions, and, as if 

 driven by a whirlwind, circle around in the air high above the chosen 

 spot. One by one, they drop into the opening, almost as if shot. Not 

 unfrequently some disturbance drives them out again, and the formal 

 circling is repeated until, at last, going to bed is comfortably accom- 

 plished. 



The nest of the Chimney Swift, which, as above stated, was formerly 

 placed in hollow trees, is now with very few exceptions fastened to the 

 inside of a chimney, sufficiently below its top to be protected from the 

 rays of the sun. In a deep woods about three miles east of this city I 

 have known the cavity of a tall tree to be visited by these birds, for three 

 successive seasons, and I have no doubt they nested there. Whether this 

 habit had been unbroken by their ancestors from the time antedating 

 chimneys, or was a retrograde movement, I cannot venture an opinion. 

 Since the introduction of smaller flues to chimneys, and the almost uni- 

 versal use of coal in this city, the birds seem to be less generally dis- 

 tributed and, perhaps, less numerous. 



A beautiful nest of this bird was presented to me by my friend, Arnold 

 Boyle of this city. He took it from the inside of a barn in Wyandot 

 county, where its position was similar to that of the Barn Swallow. 



The nest of the Chimney Swift is built of small dead twigs which are 

 broken from the trees by the birds while on the wing. In cities, locust 

 twigs are preferred. These are glued together and to the side of the 

 chimney by the saliva of the bird. In this basket-like structure from 

 four to six pure white eggs are laid, which measure .75 by .50. 



FAMILY TROCHILID^. HUMMINGBIRDS. 



Secondariea only six. Bill tennirostral, longer than head, nearly cylindrical. Gape 

 oonBtrieted. Tongue filiform, extensile, bi-tnhnlar. Wings, long in terminal portion 

 ahbreviated proximally, acute. Plumage compact, of metallic sheen. Size smallest of 

 all birds. 



Sub-family TROCHILINiE. Typical Hummingbirds. 



Anterior toes not connected at base. Plumage brilliant, with more or less metallic 

 lustre, at least in the males. 



Genus TEOCHILUS. Linnseus. 



Feathers of throat but little elongated laterally; tail forked (in males), its lateral 

 feathers but little narrower than the others, lanceolate-acute. 



