SWIPT.— ALPINE SWIFT. 163 



these birds flying to and fro under a bridge^ only a few 

 inches above the level of the surrounding fields, and, as the 

 -water was low, I managed to get under it, and there found, 

 on the piece of timber supporting one end of the planks of 

 the bridge, a nest containing two eggs. On another occasion, 

 I found several birds, sitting on their nests on the wall-plate 

 under the eaves of a church, and took them off to see how 

 many eggs they had, placing the old birds by the side of the 

 nest, when they made no eflfort to move, and I put them back 

 and left them. As I have said before, the Swift is never 

 voluntarily on the ground, and, when placed on a level sur- 

 face, rises from it with great difficulty. It is infested by 

 great numbers of a species of Hippobosca. It leaves us 

 early in August, but I have once seen it as late as the 14th 

 of September. 



ALPINE SWIFT. 



Cypselus melba. 



This rare straggler is larger than C. apus, measuring 18 

 inches in extent of wing. Its habits are very similar. In 

 Switzerland, the only place where I ever saw it alive was 

 about the Cathedral in Berne, whither I went for the pur- 

 pose, and well was I rewarded ! for it was a beautiful day, 

 and I saw great numbers of this magnificent Swift careering 

 around, and far above, the spire. I was not so successful, 

 however, in procuring the egg, in hope of which I ascended 

 the interior of the spire, for the only nest I found, but did 

 not see, was in a hole which I thought I could reach from 

 a small opening at the highest accessible point. By leaning 

 out as far as possible, I could just touch an egg with the tips 

 of my fingers, but durst not reach out an inch further, the 



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