COMMON SWIFT. 
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our members of the Fissirostres, have been with 
propriety arranged in a sub-genus, on account of 
their different form. They are commonly dis- 
tinguished by the English name of “ Swifts,” and 
the scientific title of 
Cypselus, Illiger. — Generic characters. — Bill 
very small, weak, dilated at the base, trian- 
gular, gape very ample ; wings of extreme 
length, second quill longest, first very little 
shorter ; feet and tarsi very strong, former 
feathered, toes generally directed forwards, 
inner subversatile ; claws broad and sharp 
hooked ; tail nearly square, or slightly t 
forked. 
Type. — C. apus, melba. 
Europe, Asia, Africa. 
Common Swift, Cypselus apus. — Hirundo 
apus, Linn. — Cypselus murarius, Temm. Sfc . — 
Siuift, or Black Martin of British authors. The 
form of the Swifts is beautifully adapted to their 
mode of living, and it is well exemplified in that 
of the common European Swift. It is a bird 
formed entirely for flight, and unless when incu- 
bating or at rest during the night, it is scarcely 
ever seen except on the wing. Its natural 
breeding and resting places are the holes and 
crevices of rocks and cliffs, and for entering 
them the neck is short, and the body can be made 
so as to form one line, and to be of equal thick- 
