THE SPECIES. 93 



Oypselus. Plate x. CYPSELIDM, 



138. apus, 7 in. SwiFT, Plumage black ; chin and upper throat 



greyish white. 



139, melha^ 8 in. Alpine Swift. Plumage dark brown ; white 



below, with a broad brown band on chest. 

 The Swift— Dimensions, Fp ; Eggs, Fk — comes in April, and is occasionally found as late 

 as November. In flight the narrow wings are almost at a right angle, rapidly beating for a 

 moment or so, and then held motionless, as the bird glides along, curving and swaying in 

 response to the working of the tail. The note is a screaming " swee-ree-ee." The sexes are 

 alike in plumage, the young having rather more white about them than the adults. The nest 

 is in a holein some chff or building, generally high up ; and it is returned to year after year. 

 It is made of straw and dry grass, and other light materials, stuck together with saliva 

 as if with glue, and lined with feathers ; it is Bat in shape, and contains from two to four 



The Alpine Swift — Dimensions, He ; Eggs, Ho — is a rare summer visitor, never known to 

 breed here. The note is a louder scream than that of the Swift, and the flight is more power- 

 ful, with a glide " like the shoot of a Kestrel." 



Daflla. Plate xxi, A NAT I DM, 



238. acuta, 26 in. Pintail. Wing bar iridescent green ; tail of 16 



feathers and pointed ; neck long. 

 The Pintail — Dimensions, Rn ; Eggs, Ns— is an uncommon resident, whose numbers are 

 greatly reinforced in the winter by migrants from the north, and in spring by migrants 

 returning from the south. _ The male's beak is black, with pale blue under the nostrils, while 

 the female's beak is greyish black above, and reddish brown below. The male has the 

 long tail which has given him his name of Sea Pheasant ; the female is a brown bird with a 

 brownish win^ bar, and is not so large as the male. In summer the male is not unlike the 

 female, and his beak is blue. The flight is of the ordinary duck character. The note is a 

 low " quaark." The nest is on the ground ; it is made of dead grass and sedge, and lined 

 with brown down having faint white tips. There are from flve to nine eggs. 



Daulias. Plate ii. TURDINM (Passeridae). 



22. luscinia, 6\ in. Nightingale. Reddish brown above ; buffish 



below ; tail reddish brown ; first primary longer 



than primary coverts. 



The Nightingale — Dimensions, Ea ; Eggs, Ec— comes in the second week of April, and 



leaves us in September, although the song generally ceases in the first week in June. He 



sings only until the eggs are hatched, and then he croaks ; but if the brood be destroyed, he 



sings again, to wind up with a croak again. The best rendering of the famous song is the 



French one quoted by Macgillivray: " Le bon Dieu m'a donn^ une femme, que j'ai tant, tant, 



tant, tant battue ; que s'il m'en donne une autre, je ne la batterais plus^ plus, plus, plus, qu'un 



petit, qu'un petit, qu'un petit ! " _ The Nightingale is not the only bird that sings at night ; 



and be often sings in the daytime. His flight is buoyant and quick and smooth, and 



generally short, for he skulks in the underwood, among the hazels, and rarely takes to the 



open. The female is like the male, but the young are spotted like young robins. The nest 



is near the ground, sometimes on it, in a hedge-bank, or under a bush ; and is generally of 



dead oak leaves and grass, lined with rootlets and hair ; there are from four to six eggs. 



Ectopistes. Plate xxiii. COL UMBIDM, 



267. migraforius, 16 in. Passenger Pigeon. Head slate blue ; throat, 

 breast, and sides reddish hazel ; back dark slate ; 

 wings black, brown, and white. 

 The Passenger Pigeon— Dimensions, Nd ; Eggs, Jj— is an American bird, whose be t 

 claim to be British seems to be based on some specimens brought over here in a basket and 

 shot when they escaped. According to Seebohm, there is no reason why this bird should not 

 cross the Atlantic if it felt so disposed ; but there is not the slightest evidence that it has 

 ever done so." 



Elanoides. Plate xv. FALCONIDM. 



186. furcattts^ 25 in. SWALLOW-TAILED Kite. Bill black ; cere blue ; 



head and neck white ; back black and rump white ; 



under parts white ; wings greenish black and very 



long ; tail purplish black, very long, and much 



forked. 



The Swallow-tailed Kite — Dimensions, Rj; Eggs, Ml — is an American from the Mississippi 



known in no other country of Europe than Britain, and only known here by two specimens, 



the fiist of which arrived m 1772 and the other in 1823. 



