HISTORY OF THE SWIFT. 173 
squeak till they come close to the walls or eaves, and since those / 
within utter at the same time a little inward note of com- 
placency. 
When the hen has sat hard all day, she rushes forth just as it 
is almost dark, and stretches and relieves her weary limbs, and 
snatches a scanty meal for a few minutes, and then returns to her 
duty of incubation. Swifts, when wantonly and cruelly shot 
while they have young, discover a little lump of insects in their 
mouths, which they pouch and hold under their tongue. 
In general they feed in a much higher district than the other 
species ; a proof that gnats and other insects do also abound to 
a considerable height in the air : they also range to vast distances ; 
since loco-motion is no labour to them, who are endowed with 
such wonderful powers of wing. Their powers seem to be in 
proportion to their levers ; and their wings are longer in pro- 
portion than those of almost any other bird. When they mute, 
or ease themselves in flight, they raise their wings, and make 
tnem meet over their backs. 
At some certain times in the summer I had remarked that 
swifts were hawking very low for hours together over pools and 
streams ; and could not help enquiring into the object of their 
pursuit that induced them to descend so much below their usual 
range. After some trouble, I found that they v/ere taking 
phryganecB, ephemerce, and lihellidce (cadev/-flies, may-flies, and 
dragon-flies) that were just emerged out of their aurelia state. 
I then no longer wondered that they should be so willing to 
stoop for a prey that aflbrded them such plentiful and succulent 
nourishment. 
They bring out their young about the middle or latter end of 
J uly : but as these never become perchers, nor, that ever I could 
discern, are fed on the wing by their dams, the coming forth of 
the young is not so notorious as in the other species. 
On the thirtieth of last June I untiled the eaves of a house 
where many pairs build, and found in each nest only two squab, 
naked jowZ/i: on the eighth of July I repeated the same enquiry, 
and found they had made very little progress towards a fledged 
state, but were still naked and helpless. From whence we may 
conclude that birds whose way of life keeps them perpetually 
on the wing would not be able to quit their nest till the end of 
the month. Swallows and martins, that have numerous families, 
are continually feeding them every two or three minutes ; while 
