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with wonderful rapidity. But this bird is never fo much 
alive as in fultry, thundry weather, when it exprelTes 
great alacrity, and calls forth all its powers. In hot 
mornings, feveral getting together in little parties, dafii 
round the fteeples and churches, fqueaking as they go in 
a very clamorous manner : thefe, by nice obfervers, are 
fuppofed to be males ferenading their fitting hens ; and 
not without reafon, fince they never fqueak till they 
come clofe to the walls or caves ; and fince thofe within 
utter at the fame time a little inward note of compla- 
cency. When the hen has fat hard all day, fhe ruflies 
forth juft as it is almoft dark, when flie ftretches and re- 
lieves her weary limbs, and fnatches a fcanty meal for a. 
few minutes, and then returns to her duty of incubation. 
Swifts when wantonly and cruelly fliot, while they have 
young, difcover a little lump of infedts in their mouths^ 
which they pouch and hold under their tongue. In ge- 
neral they feed in a much higher diftridt than the other 
fpecies; a proof that gnats and other infedts do alfo 
abound to a confiderable height in the air. They alfo- 
range to great diftance, fince loco-motion is no labour to 
them, who are endowed with inch vaft powers of wing. 
Their powers feem to be in proportion to their levers;, 
and their wings are longer in proportion than thofe of 
almoft any other bird. When they mute, or eafe them- 
felves, in flight, they raife their wings, and make them 
meet over their heads. At fome certain times in the 
fummer I had remarked, that fwifts were hawking lov<r 
for hours together, over pools and ftreams ; and could 
not 
