SONGLESS BIRDS. Chimney Swift 



FAMILY MICROPODID^ : SWIFTS. 

 Chimney Swift : Chcetura pelagica. 



Chimney Swallow. 



Plate 45. 

 Length .- 5.25 inches. 

 Male and Female : A deep, sooty brown. Wings longer than the tail, 



which is nearly even, the shafts of the quills ending in sharp 



spines. 

 Note : A loud, Swallow-like twitter. 

 Season : Late April to September and October ; a common summer 



resident. 

 Breeds : From Florida to Labrador. 

 Nest : A loose, twig lattice glued by the bird's saliva, or sometimes 



tree-gum, to the inside of chimneys ; or in wild regions to the 



inner walls of hollow trees. 

 Eggs : 4-5, pure white, and long for their width. 

 Range : Eastern North America, north to Labrador and the Fur 



Countries, west to the Plains, and passing south of the United 



States in winter. 



This bird, popularly known as the Chimney Swallow, but 

 which is more closely related to the Nighthawk, may be 

 easily distinguished from the Swallows when flying, by its 

 short, blunt tail. You will never see it perching as Swallows 

 do ; for, except when it is at rest in its chimney home, it is 

 constantly on the wing, either darting through the air, drop- 

 ping surely to its nest, or speeding from it like a rocket. 

 The Chimney Swift secures its food wholly when flying, and 

 is more active at night than in the day. In the breeding- 

 season its busiest time is that preceding dawn, and it then 

 works without cessation for many hours. The whirling of 

 the wings as the bird leaves the chimney makes a noise like 

 distant thunder, and if there is quite a colony the inhabi- 

 tants of the house may be seriously disturbed, and the pres- 

 ence of the nests often introduces bedbugs, as they are to 

 a certain extent parasites of these birds. This makes him 

 an undesirable tenant, and in modern houses, where the flues 

 are narrow and easily clogged, wire is stretched over the 

 chimney mouth to keep him out. 

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