THE CHIMNEY SWIFT. 181 



periods on July 11, while two others had them partly open, and the eyes of the 

 smallest remained entirely closed until about the 15th. In the case of the young- 

 est bird, which was a very weak creature at first and could not swallow all the 

 parent put in its throat, I saw minute winged insects crawl out of its mouth. This 

 shows that some of the insects are still alive when brought, and accounts for the 

 peculiar mouth-cleaning motions after feeding. What the misfortune was that 

 befell the first eggs, and why they made a pause of seventeen days before laying 

 again, I do not know. It was not the weather, but it may possibly have been the 

 Red-headed Woodpeckers and Flickers, which did a great deal of drumming and 

 playing about the shaft in those days." 



While at Wilmurt, New York, in June, 1892, I found a nest of the Chim- 

 ney Swift attached to a board in a hayloft, about 2 feet from the peak of the 

 roof One of the birds was setting on the nest, which was a very small one, 

 while its mate hung against the side of one of the boards, about a foot below 

 and a little to the right of the nest. The male assists in incubation. I saw 

 one of these birds, at a subsequent visit, fly in the loft while I was there, hook 

 himself to the board below the nest, and shortly afterwards he uttered a low 

 twitter; the one on the nest left at once on hearing the note, and flew out, 

 while the newcomer perched on the rim of the nest and rearranged the eggs 

 first before covering them. It changed its position twice before it seemed 

 suited; at least one-half of its length projected outside of the nest, and it is 

 certainly puzzling to know how they manage to rear a family of four or five 

 young in so small a space. 



Their semicircular, half-saucer-shaped nest is a most interesting structure, 

 and varies considerably in size and depth, as well as in the manner in which it is 

 attached to the wall or board to which it is glued. Some are exceedingly shallow, 

 barely one-fourth inch in depth, while others are nearly an inch deep, and 

 also much more roomy. An average nest is about. 3 inches in outer diameter 

 by 2 inches in width. One of the handsomest specimens I have ever seen 

 was taken by Mr. C. J. Pennock, at Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, on June 

 16, 1887, and presented to me. This measures 4 J inches in outer diameter by 

 3 inches in width, and the outer edges, where attached to the wall, are canied 

 completely around on the top, so that it can be hung upon a peg, like a wall 

 pocket; this naturally gave it much more strength, by increasing the surface 

 which is glued to the wall, and lessened the chances of its becoming detached. 

 The nests are entirely built up of small dry twigs, averaging from one-tenth to 

 one-sixteenth inch in diameter and from 1 to 2J inches in length. One or two 

 somewhat longer twigs project usually from the side, possibly to be used as a 

 perch while the young are being fed. 



The amount of saliva used to glue them together also varies greatly in 

 different specimens; in some this is very plainly perceptible, and occasionally 

 forms a thin coating on the inside of the nest; in others hardly a trace can be 

 seen, but nevertheless the twigs hold well together. There is no inner lining of 

 any kind used, the eggs lying on the bare twigs. The latter are gathered on 



