Nothing, however, is more picturesque than these Swifts as they circle above the wide stone chimney of some halt ruined house, where the garden is overgrown by old lilacs, and great banks of the fragrant bushes hide the crumbling walls. I know of such a place, only a few miles away, where the Swifts curve and eddy above the huge chimney, bent with the weight of years, in such perfect accord and rhythm, now wholly disappearing within, now curling forth in a cloud, that it is easy to imagine the fire burns again upon the hearth and that the birds are but the columns of hospitable smoke.
In wild districts the Swift retains the habit of nesting in hollow trees, the custom it must have followed until comparatively recent times in this country, as the Indians never possessed even the ghost of a chimney. These trees are used after the breeding-season as roasts, and there is evidence that the birds may sometimes winter in them in a state of hibernation. In building its nest the Swift snaps little twigs from the trees, and in fixing them in place braces itself in the chimney by means of its claws and the sharp spines in which its tail feathers terminate. Its size is nearly the same as the Bank Swallow and the two flock prior to the autumn migration at about the same time, the Chimney Swift being the last to leave.
FAMILY TROCHILIDÆ: HUMMINGBIRDS.
- Length:
- 3.76 inches.
- Male:
- Above metallic green; belly white. Wings and tail ruddy black, the latter deeply forked. Glistening ruby-red gorget.
- Female:
- Colours less iridescent; gorget lacking, tail with rounded points.
- Note:
- A shrill, mouse-like squeak.
- Season:
- Common summer resident; May to October.
- Breeds:
- From Florida to Labrador.
- Nest:
- A dainty circle an inch and a half in diameter, made of fern-wool, plant-down, etc., shingled with lichens to match the colour of the branch on which it is saddled.
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