﻿BIRDS. 
  

  

  May, 
  and 
  leaves 
  about 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  August.' 
  The 
  following 
  dates 
  

   of 
  the 
  arrival 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  pair 
  of 
  Swifts 
  at 
  this 
  nesting-place 
  under 
  

   the 
  eaves 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Brown's 
  house 
  in 
  Forres, 
  and 
  within 
  full 
  view 
  at 
  

   short-range 
  vision, 
  cannot 
  fail 
  to 
  prove 
  of 
  interest 
  to 
  students 
  of 
  

   migration 
  : 
  — 
  In 
  1888 
  the 
  pair 
  arrived 
  on 
  May 
  15th, 
  at 
  once 
  taking 
  

   possession; 
  in 
  1889 
  they 
  arrived 
  on 
  May 
  20th 
  ; 
  in 
  1890 
  upon 
  May 
  

   20th 
  again; 
  in 
  1891 
  upon 
  May 
  22nd; 
  and 
  in 
  1892 
  on 
  18th 
  May.' 
  It 
  

   would 
  almost 
  seem 
  that 
  in 
  inclement 
  seasons 
  the 
  Swift 
  hurries 
  up 
  

   to 
  arrive 
  at 
  his 
  home 
  as 
  quickly 
  as 
  possible. 
  Is 
  this 
  so 
  1 
  and 
  if 
  so, 
  

   is 
  it 
  because 
  he 
  spends 
  less 
  time 
  in 
  feeding 
  and 
  hawking 
  for 
  flies 
  

   en 
  route 
  1 
  This 
  pair 
  of 
  Swifts, 
  carefully 
  observed 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Brown, 
  

   usually 
  arrive 
  at 
  their 
  old 
  home 
  between 
  five 
  and 
  seven 
  p.m. 
  They 
  

   are 
  decidedly 
  day 
  travellers. 
  

  

  The 
  Swift 
  is 
  everywhere 
  spoken 
  of 
  as 
  common, 
  or 
  very 
  common. 
  

   Formerly 
  it 
  used 
  to 
  build 
  in 
  Forres 
  in 
  thatched 
  houses, 
  and 
  still 
  does 
  

   so, 
  but 
  more 
  sparingly, 
  for 
  the 
  simple 
  reason 
  that 
  thatched 
  houses 
  

   are 
  not 
  so 
  rife 
  as 
  formerly. 
  They 
  have, 
  however, 
  easily 
  accommo- 
  

   dated 
  themselves 
  to 
  other 
  conditions, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  scarcely 
  a 
  town 
  

   of 
  any 
  size 
  in 
  our 
  area 
  where 
  several 
  pairs 
  at 
  least 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  

   seen 
  any 
  day 
  or 
  evening, 
  dashing 
  with 
  impetuous 
  flight 
  round 
  and 
  

   round 
  the 
  town 
  hall 
  or 
  church 
  spires. 
  They 
  are 
  common 
  in 
  Forres, 
  

   Grantown, 
  Elgin, 
  Dufftown, 
  and 
  Huntly, 
  whilst 
  a 
  few 
  may 
  almost 
  

   surely 
  be 
  found 
  at 
  the 
  smaller 
  villages, 
  such 
  as 
  Kingussie 
  and 
  

   Aberlour. 
  A 
  few 
  were 
  observed 
  at 
  Findhorn 
  Bridge 
  in 
  July, 
  and 
  

   also 
  at 
  Carr 
  Bridge 
  on 
  the 
  Dulnan, 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  common 
  up 
  the 
  

   Spey 
  valley 
  between 
  Grantown 
  and 
  Kingussie. 
  At 
  the 
  latter 
  place, 
  

   however, 
  there 
  were 
  a 
  good 
  many 
  seen 
  hawking 
  over 
  the 
  town 
  upon 
  

   the 
  2nd 
  July 
  1891, 
  which 
  had 
  certainly 
  every 
  appearance 
  of 
  having 
  

   massed 
  there 
  from 
  lower 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  valley 
  preparatory 
  to 
  shifting 
  

   quarters, 
  probably 
  via 
  Dalwhinnie 
  or 
  up 
  the 
  Mashie 
  and 
  over 
  the 
  

   passes 
  into 
  the 
  west. 
  

  

  In 
  some 
  years 
  Swifts 
  are 
  certainly 
  more 
  numerous 
  than 
  in 
  others, 
  

   and 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  observed 
  by 
  us 
  that 
  the 
  larger 
  numbers 
  appear 
  to 
  

   arrive 
  in 
  the 
  colder 
  and 
  less 
  normal 
  summers. 
  Thus 
  in 
  1892, 
  as 
  the 
  

   latest 
  observation 
  of 
  this 
  character 
  made 
  by 
  us, 
  we 
  found 
  them 
  

   unusually 
  abundant 
  about 
  Huntly 
  in 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  J 
  une 
  — 
  an 
  extremely 
  

   cold 
  summer. 
  As 
  we 
  know 
  Huntly 
  well 
  at 
  that 
  season 
  we 
  are 
  not 
  

   likely 
  to 
  exaggerate 
  the 
  numbers 
  seen. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  however, 
  in 
  1893 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  decidedly 
  

  

  