THE ALPINE SWIFT. 

 Cypselus melba (Linnaeus). 

 Plate 23. 



The Alpine or white-bellied Swift was unknown in the British Islands until 

 the summer of 1829, when the first example was obtained off the Irish coast. 

 Some twenty-five others have since occurred in England, one in Wales, and three 

 in Ireland. 



This species is a summer visitor to the mountainous districts of Central and 

 Southern Europe and North Africa, migrating in autumn to South Africa and 

 Ceylon. It also breeds eastwards as far as the Himalayas. 



The Alpine Swift builds its semi-circular nest within some cranny or recess 

 in inaccessible rock faces or in the walls of lofty buildings, the old cathedral 

 tower at Berne before it was removed having been one of their breeding stations. 

 The nest is composed of straws, grasses, feathers, and other materials, gathered 

 on the wing, the mass being united by saliva. The dull white eggs are generally 

 two in number. 



The cry of this Swift is loud and more powerful than that of our common bird, 

 and its food is the same, consisting entirely of insects. Its powers of flight are 

 even more striking, as it dashes and wheels at lightning speed, while it is easily 

 distinguished on the wing by its large size and white underparts. There is no 

 variation in the colour of the sexes, but in the young the feathers are edged with 

 dull white. 



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