HUMMINGBIRDS 
335 
habits, while the structural differences between the two are numerous 
and important. 
423. Chsetura pelagica {Linn.). Chimney Swift; Chimney “Swal- 
low.” (Fig. 56.) Ads . — Entire plumage fuscous, more grayish on the 
throat; a sooty black spot before the eye; shafts of the tail-feathers extend- 
ing beyond the vanes. L., 5'43; W., 4*94; T., 1*90; B. from N., ‘15. 
Range . — Breeds in e. N. A. from se. Sask., Man., cen. Que., and N. F. 
s. to the Gulf coast, and w. to the Plains from e. Mont., to e. Tex.; winters 
s. of the U. S., at least to Vera Cruz and Cozumel Is. and probably in Cen. 
Am.; casual in s. Alberta; accidental in N. M., and Greenland. 
Washington, abundant S. R., Apl. 6-Oct. 27. Ossining, common S. R., 
Apl. 19-Oct. 23. Cambridge, abundant S. R., Apl. 25-Sept. 20. N. Ohio, 
abundant S. R., Apl. 10-Oct. 20. Glen Ellyn, common S. R., Apl. 16-Sept. 
29. SE. Minn., common S. R., Apl. 20-Sept. 18. 
Nest, a bracketlike basket of dead twigs glued together with saliva; 
attached to the wall of a chimney, generally about ten feet from the top, by 
the gummy secretion of the bird’s salivary glands. Eggs, 4-6, white, *80x*50. 
Date, Chester Co., Pa., June 3; Ossining, N. Y., June 8; Cambridge, June 
10; Petersburg, Mich., June 7. 
It is unnecessary to give any aids to the identification of a bird as 
well known as the Chimney Swift, or, as it is more frequently called, 
“Chimney Swallow.” It is not, however, a Swallow, but a Swift, and 
its structural relations are with the Hummingbirds and not with the 
Passerine Swallows. 
Few sights in the bird-world are more familiar than the bow-and- 
arrow-like forms of these rapidly flying birds silhouetted against the sky. 
They are most active early in the morning and late in the afternoon, 
when one may hear their rolling twitter as they course about overhead. 
Sometimes they sail with wings held aloft over their backs, and some- 
times, it is said, they use their wings alternately. It is a common thing 
to see a trio of birds dying together, but it has never been ascertained 
that the Chimney Swift is polygamous. 
In some localities Chimney Swifts congregate in large flocks, mak- 
ing their headquarters in a disused chimney which morning and even- 
ing they leave and return to in a body. In perching they cling to the 
side of the chimney, using the spine-pointed tail, as Woodpeckers do, 
for a support. The habit of frequenting chimneys is, of course, a recent 
one, and the substitution of this modern, artificial home for hollow 
trees, illustrates the readiness with which a bird may take advantage 
of a favoring change in its environment. 
46 . Family Trochiliml Hummingbirds. (Fig. 57 .) 
Hummingbirds are found only in the New World. About five hun- 
dred species are known. They range from Alaska to Patagonia, but are 
most numerous in the Andean regions of Colombia and Ecuador. Eigh- 
teen species have been found in the United States; only eight of these 
advance beyond our Mexican border States, and but one species occurs 
east of the Mississippi. 
