350 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
often stopping to cling to the wet perpendicular wall of the cliff. Here 
they supported themselves by hooking their claws over some slight 
inequality, the entire tarsus resting firmly against the wall, so that 
the normal tail was left free instead of pressed against the wall as is 
the case with the spine-tailed Swifts which support themselves by both 
claws and tail (1926b, pp. 110-111). The old birds first fed the young 
at long intervals, then ten times in twenty seconds, feeding by regurgi¬ 
tation and to repletion. 
The “low, melodious rolling twitter,” which Mrs. Michael speaks of, 
may help to distinguish them at a distance from the white-throated 
Swifts whose notes are sharp and vibrant. 
Additional Literature— Dawson, W. L., Condor, XVII, 8-12, 1915.— 
Michael, Charles W., Condor, XXIX, 89-97,1927 (photograph of young onnest).— 
Michael, Enid, Condor, XXVIII, 109-114, 1926 (habits).— Smith, Emily, Condor, 
XXX, 136-138, 1928.— Vrooman, A. G., Condor, VII, 176-177, 1905. 
CHIMNEY SWIFT: Chaetura pelagica (Linnaeus) 
Description. — Length: 4.7-5.5 inches, wing 5-5.2, tail (including spines) 1.9-2.1. 
Wings longer than bird,* tail short, the stiff spiny shafts projecting beyond the webs; 
legs and feet naked, hind toe elevated, not reversed. Adults: Upperparts dark sooty 
olive, slightly glossy, and lighter bn rump and tail; feathers of top of head darker 
centrally; underparts paler, grayish white on chin and throat; wings blackish; lores 
velvety black narrowly margined above with whitish; iris dark brown, bill black, 
legs and feet more or less livid. Young in Juvenal plumage: Similar to adults, feathers 
of rump and upper tail coverts paler. 
Range.— Breeds from central Alberta, southeastern Saskatchewan, central 
Manitoba, central Ontario, southern Quebec, and Newfoundland south to Gulf 
coast, and w'est to western border of Great Plains; winters south of United States, 
probably to Central America. 
State Records. —The normal range of the Chimney Swift extends west to central 
Kansas and eastern Texas. It was therefore a straggler which had wandered afar 
that was taken at Rinconada May 1, 1904 (Surber). 1A straggling female was taken 
by Mr. Kellogg, May 22, 1921, on the Mimbres River, 30 miles southeast of Silver 
City, in Luna CountyJ.—W. VV. Cooke. 
Nest. —A wall pocket of twigs glued together and fastened to the inside of a hol¬ 
low tree or chimney. Five found fastened to boards inside buildings (Sutton, 1925, 
pp. 586-587). Eggs: 4 to 6, white. 
General Habits. —The Chimney Swift of the Eastern States, which 
has been reported as a wanderer in New Mexico, is so familiar that its 
marvelous adaptations are treated as a commonplace. Two ends 
Nature has worked toward here—life in the air and against a vertical 
wall, and she has suffered no economic waste. Even camouflage is 
unnecessary here, for the long narrow blades of this aeroplane give it a 
swiftness that defies pursuit, and its hangar is secure against all 
enemies. Each detail of form shows stern selection for the two ends— 
food and home. The bill is all gape for snapping up aerial insects, the 
feet are mere hooks for hanging to the side of a wall, and the tail— 
