forth all it’s powers. In hot mornings feveral, gettin g together in
little parties, dalh round the fteeples and churches, fqueaking as
they go in a very clamorous manner: thefe, by nice obfervers, are
fuppofed to be males fer-enading their fitting hens ; and not without
reafon, fince they feldom fqueak till they come clofe to the
walls or eaves, and fince thofe within utter at the fame time a little
inward note of complacency.
When the hen has fat hard all day, Ihe rulhes forth juft as it is:
almoft dark, and ftretches and relieves her weary limbs, and fnatches.
a fcanty meal for a, few minutes, and then returns to her duty of
incubation. Swifts, when wantonly and cruelly fhot while they
have young, difcover a little lump of infects in their mouths,,
which they pouch and hold under their tongue. In general they
feed in a much higher diftridt than the other fpecies; a proof that'
gnats and other infe&s do alfo abound to a confiderable height in.
the air : they alfo range to vaft diftances ; fince loco-motion is, no
labour to them, who are endowed with fuch wonderful powers of
wing. Their powers fem to be in proportion to their leavers ;
and their wings are longer in proportion than thofe of almoft any
other bird. When they mute, or cafe thcmfelves in flight, they
raife their wings, and- make them meet over their backs.
At fome certain times in the fummer I had remarked that fwifts
were hawking very low for hours together over pools and: fixeams ;
and could not help inquiring into the object of their purfuit that
induced them to defoend lo much below their ufual range. After
fome trouble, I found that they were taking phryganea, ephemera
and libellula (cadew-flies, may-fties, and dragon-flies) that were juft
emerged out of their aurelia ftate. I then no longer wondered that
they Ihould be fo willing to ftoop for a prey that afforded them fuch
plentiful and fucculent nourifhment.
They bring out their young about the middle or latt&r end of
'Jtïlyt but as thefe never become percbers, hór, that ever I could
difcern, are. fed on the wing by their dams, the coming forth of
the young is not fo notorious as in the other fpecies.
On the thirtieth of laft June I untiled the eaves of an houfe where
many pairs build, and found in eaéh nêft only two fquab, naked
putti: on the eighth of July I repeated the fame inquiry, and found
they had made very little progrefs towards a fledged ftate, but
wete ftill naked and helplefs. From whence we may conclude
that birds whofe way of life keeps them perpetually on the wing
would not be able to quit their neft till the end of the month.
Swallows and martins, that have numerous families, are continually
feeding them every two or three minutes; while fwifts, that have
but two young to maintain, are much at their leifure, and do not
attend on their nefts for hours together.
Sometimes they purfue and ftrike at hawks that come in their
way; but not with that vehemence and fury that fwalfows exprefs
on the fartie oceafion. They are out all day long in wet days, feeding
about, and difregafding ftill rain from whence two things
may be gathered ; firft, that many infedts abide high in the air, even
in rain ; and next, that the feathers Of thefe birds muft be well
preened to refill fo much wet. Windy, and particularly windy
weather with heavy thoWers, theydiflike ; and on fuch days withdraw,
and are fc'arce ever feen.
There is a circumftancé refpfcdUng the colour of fwifts, which
foems not to be unworthy our attention. When they arrive in the
fpring they are all over of a gloffy, dark foot-colour, except their
chins, which are white; but, by being all daylong in thé fun and
air, they become quite weather-beaten and bleached before they
depart, and yet they return gloffy again in the fpring. Now, if
they I