2 1 8 The Chimney Swift 



to the nocturnal habits of the swifts and also to popular 

 fables, written fifty years ago, concerning certain birds 

 whose habits were at that time little known. It was, 

 for a long time, believed that in the autumn swifts col- 

 lected by hundreds in hollow trees, together with bats, 

 snakes, and toads, and that at the appointed time all 

 fell into a deep sleep, lasting until spring was well 

 advanced. Others went still farther beyond the bounds 

 of reason in declaring that the swifts descended to the 

 bottom of rivers, ponds, and lakes, where, during cold 

 weather, they buried themselves in the mud with the 

 catfish, the eels, and the snapping turdes. It is sur- 

 prising how long such fairy tales cling to a species, for 

 less than a year ago an old lady told me, that when she 

 was a girl the "chimney swallows" from all the sur- 

 rounding country collected at her father's mill pond, 

 and then at night, when no one knew it, "they dove to 

 the bottom of the pond and remained there until the 

 cowslips came up." 



Our chimney swift, in common with the other 

 species of the family, has remarkable powers of flight, 

 the estimated speed being from eighty to one hundred 

 and ten miles an hour. This wonderful speed is 

 attained by only a few of our birds. The swift is 

 more often seen flying in the morning or late after- 

 noon, and it apparently enjoys wet and gloomy 



