42 AMID THE HIGH HILLS 
wings extended, is hardly so large, when plucked, 
as a man's thumb-joint and weighs slightly over 
half an ounce. 
Bearing in mind that as between two birds of 
the same build and structure the larger will, when 
it gets going, fly faster than the smaller one, it 
would naturally be expected, as is the undoubted 
fact, that the Alpine swift and spine- tailed swift 
are faster fliers than the common swift. 
The falconer has in the case of the swift very 
little opportunity of comparing its speed with that 
of the peregrine. This is partly because the 
peregrine, whether it be the falcon (the female 
bird) or the tiercel (the male bird), will probably 
not attempt to kill the swift, it being too small 
a prey. There is the further difficulty that the 
swift rarely continues on a level flight. 
I have been so fortunate as to obtain the views 
of several well-known authorities on this difficult 
question — the comparative maximum speed of the 
swift and the peregrine. 
Colonel Meinertzhagen says : 
" I should certainly say that the swift is the 
fastest British bird, both in its normal speed and 
accelerated. But any of the falcons could catch 
it, if caught unawares, by stooping, or perhaps two 
