The White-throated Swift 
Egg deposition in the case of the White-throated Swift is not daily, 
as is customary with small birds, but only every second or third day, as 
determined by Mr. Wilson C. Hanna, of Colton. 
The White-throated Swift enjoys a great range in the nesting season, 
breeding from virtual sea-level up to nearly timberline. Their occupation 
of the gorges in the western Sierras is not less characteristic than that 
of the dobe cliffs of the coast ranges. In the latter instance they are 
humanly attainable, but those which elect to nest in the glacier-scored 
walls of Tehipite or the Yosemite are secure from mortal wish. 
The evolutions of these master aeronauts are an engaging feature 
of life at Glacier Point. 
The birds delight, I be¬ 
lie ve, in “throwing 
scares” into tourists, and 
if one does happen to be 
squeamish about gazing 
into a 3000 foot abyss, 
it doesn’t help matters 
any to have a saucy bird 
demonstrate the 
strength of his nerves 
by dashing within a foot 
of one’s ears at a rate 
of five miles per minute, 
that is, 440 feet per sec¬ 
ond. A strong upcur- 
rent of air at this place 
takes up bits of paper 
from discarded lunch 
boxes and whirls them 
in the air at dizzying 
heights above the valley. 
Noting that the Swifts 
paused occasionally to 
inspect these bits of pa¬ 
per, I conceived the idea 
of feeding them smaller 
bits of tissue. There was instant attention on the part of the Swifts, 
and I soon had them seizing the paper before it had floated a dozen 
feet away. Many of the pieces were borne off in triumph out of sight, 
but I was not able to trace any of the birds to their nests by means 
of it. Indeed, I am not sure that the bits were not all eventually dis- 
Taken in San Bernardino County Photo by Pierce 
NEST AND EGGS OF WHITE-THROATED SWIFT 
NOT IN SITU 
969 
