THE SWIFTS. 
35 
With the Swallows as joint members of the Order Fissirostres 
recognised as a mistake, the Swallows being 
aberrant 
ricanm. They are, however, the most Passerine of the Pica- 
[hnn« l>ave a distinctly Passerine, or tegithogna- 
thous, palate; m other respects they are Picarian, though in 
many points they are aberrant members of the Order. 
In some form or other, Swifts are found nearly all over the 
world, except m the high north and the extreme south. Where 
no true Swifts occur, as is the case in some of the Pacific 
Islands, their place is taken by the edible Swiftlets iCollo- 
caha), those curious little cave-haunting birds, which make 
the nests so highly prized by the Chinese and others for the 
soup. In Borneo these caves are 
leased for the purposes of revenue, those which are frequented 
by_ Lollocalta fuciphaga, which makes the purest white nest 
being of more value than those inhabited by C. lincMi or bv 
pecies which make “black” or “moss” nests, these not bein^ 
so useful for culinary purposes. These are, however, birds of 
the Tropics, and in the British Islands we have but to notice 
-regular summer visitor, 
ont, M.melda, of rare occurrence, and one, Chcetura caudacuta, a 
very rare visitor, of accidental occurrence only. 
THE TRUE SWIFTS. FAMILY CYPSELIDAE. 
The Swifts are remarkable for their very wide gape, the 
inouth being cleft to below the level of the eyes. The wing 
a though so powerful in flight, has less feathers in its compo- 
sition than the bulk of Passerine Birds, for there are only ten 
bmlhP^"’ ‘^11 '>‘■0 less than nine in number, 
but the quills are all very strong and pointed, so that no birds 
n earth exceed the Cypselida in their power of flight That 
<^ommon Swift is rapid enough, but this is nothing when 
one TnH- traverse space. I remember 
St Q fPenence in particular, when we stopped for the 
night at Solon, on the road to Simla, arriving there iust ns 
-PP^chi,,!. While dtane, "““rg, I 
iavan 1 °“'’’ '“'='”8 'randerful Hima- 
yan scenery which I am never likely to see again, the tre- 
D 2 
