CHIMNEY SWIFT 



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though it is more nearly related to the Whip- 

 poorwills, Nighthawks, and Humming Birds than 

 to the Swallows. Before the advent of the white 

 man, these birds built their nests in hollow trees ; 

 but since the country was settled they have gen- 

 erally come to prefer and adopt unusued chim- 

 neys as a dwelling-place. An old factory chim- 

 ney may shelter hundreds. 



The Chimney Swift's 

 feet, like those of the Whip- 

 poorwill, are too small and 

 w r eak to get about on, and 

 only suffice for perching and 

 clinging. In ascending the 

 inside of a chimney they 

 cling with sharp claws to 

 the wall and hitch upward 

 little by little, bracing them- 

 selves by the stiff spines 

 with which the tail feathers are pointed. The 

 wings, having been developed at the expense 

 of the feet, are powerfully and beautifully made, 

 and once the top of the chimney is reached the 

 bird sets forth in air, with free and rapid mo- 

 tions, to catch insects on the wing. 



The nest is semi-circular, made of twigs glued 

 together and cemented to the wall by the bird's 

 saliva. It is a cliff -dwelling bird of similar 

 architectural ideas which furnishes the famous 



CHIMNEY SWIFT 

 Length 5% inches 



