THE CHIMNEY SWIFT 



3EIMNEY SWIFTS are found in all parts 

 of the globe except the colder portions. 

 There are about seventy-five known spe- 

 cies, but of these only four live in North America. 



The swifts have slim bodies, rather short and com- 

 pact feathers, while, for such small birds, their wings 

 are unusually long and powerful, giving them unrivalled 

 powers of flight. The natural homes and retreats of 

 the swifts were formerly in hollow trees and caves, but 

 these have been gradually abandoned for the chimneys 

 used by civilized man. This adoption of a new home 

 is a marked illustration of the readiness with which 

 a bird may change its nesting place. Whether the 

 home of the swifts is natural or artificial, when nesting, 

 they are always associated in scattered companies, but 

 for a few weeks before the fall migration they are 

 decidedly gregarious, roosting in great numbers in 

 favorable localities. 



One species of the swift family, which breeds in 



various parts of the Malay Archipelago, is famous for 



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