XVI.— THE SWIFT. 



" True to the kindred points of heaven and 

 home." — Wordsworth. 



What the gentle bard sang of the English sky-lark 

 is still more applicable to our long-winged, dusky 

 house-fellow who squeals and sMms round the consti- 

 tuent buildings of " The City of Palaces " much as 

 his near relative does about English towns and 

 villages : for house-swifts hardly ever alight outside 

 their nests, and only go there to rest, sit, and sleep,, 

 performing all the other functions of life on the wing. 

 The Indian Swift {Cypselu^affinis), indeed, is neither 

 so loud nor so speedy as the English one (Cypselus 

 apus) ; this, indeed, could hardly be expected of him 

 as he is not so large a bird ; but he is certainly prettier, 

 being greenish black instead of sooty brown, and with 

 his dark hue set off by a patch of pure white above 

 the tail, which is not forked as in the home bird. 

 As in Swifts generally, there is no noticeable difference 

 between male and female ; and the young are merely 

 duller by reason of a light fringing to their feathers. 

 One has plenty of opportunities of studying them 

 as they are unusually happy at falling out of their 



