THE ELEVENTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS.THE SWIFTS (Cypselidæ).
These birds, with the Humming-birds, are separated from the other FissirostralPicariæby many anatomical characters, the chief being the arrangement of the feather-tracts on the body, which are quite peculiar; the muscles are also unlike those of the other families, and hence these two groups are often divided off by modern naturalists under the name ofMacrochires.[285]
THE COMMON SWIFT (Cypselus apus).[286]
In the beginning of May the Common Swift comes to Great Britain and the rest of Europe, after passing his winter sojourn in South Africa. He is one of the latest arrivals, as he comes only when summer has fairly begun and fine weather is pretty well assured; again, in autumn, he is almost the first of the summer migrants to take his departure, and the absence of the Swifts from their accustomed haunts is a sure sign of the approach of the fall of the year. So incumbent does this early migration seem to be upon the species, that the Swifts have been known to leave their young to perish of starvation rather than delay their departure if cold weather suddenlyapproaches. All birds appear to have at times a failure of instinct, and the Swift is no exception to the rule, for sometimes they are caught in some cold weather on their arrival, and it is not uncommon to find them benumbed with cold, and fluttering helplessly or even lying dead on the ground. In this latter position they are peculiarly helpless, their little legs being unable to raise them so as to give them the proper momentum to rise into the air again, while their long wings are much in the way, and only assist in their entire discomfiture. The home of the Swift, then, is in the air, and here his evolutions are most rapid, and performed with extreme quickness and yet with consummate ease. For his breeding home he often selects water-spouts on lofty buildings, such as the English cathedrals, or else places his nest under the roofs of houses, to the edge of which he is able to shuffle, and then to launch himself suddenly down, after which his course is easy. In the evening there is generally a little gathering of Swifts together, when they fly screaming round and round the buildings in which their nests have been placed, separating again for a few moments to rejoin in an excited flock, which passes with incredible swiftness and much noise round the edges of the towers or homesteads. When about to migrate, however, they are silent, and the flocks which may be seen coursing along the sides of the downs in the southern counties of England in August utter no sound, as if impressed with the gravity of the long journey they are about to undertake.
COMMON SWIFT.
COMMON SWIFT.
Macgillivray describes the nest of the Common Swift as follows:—“It is very rudely constructed, flattened, about six inches in diameter and half an inch thick; composed of particles of Aira cæspitosa, straws of oats, wheat, and grasses, intermixed with fibrous roots, moss, wool, cotton, hair, and feathers of the domestic fowl, partridge, and rook. These materials are confusedly felted and agglutinated, the glueing matter being of a gelatinous, not of a resinous, nature, and in extremely thin shreds, which crackle, but do not readily burn, when flame is applied to them. There is, however, a small quantity of the membranous scales of the Scotch fir, together with some resinous matter, in one of these nests.” The eggs are generally two in number, of a long oval shape, and entirely white.
TREE SWIFT.
TREE SWIFT.
EDIBLE-NEST SWIFTLETS.⇒LARGER IMAGE
EDIBLE-NEST SWIFTLETS.
⇒LARGER IMAGE
Swifts appear to be found all over the world, the most graceful being perhaps the Tree Swifts (Dendrochelidon), which inhabit India and the Malayan region. In this same part of the world are also found the Edible-nest Swiftlets (Collocalia), which breed in caves, their nests being eaten by theChinese and other Asiatic people. Dr. Jerdon says:—“The nest, when pure and of the first make, is composed entirely of inspissated mucus from the large salivary glands of the bird. It is very small, bluntly triangular in form, and slightly concave within; of a semi-transparent, fibrous sort of texture, bluish-white in colour, and with the fibres, as it were, crossed and interlaced. When the nests of the first make are taken away, the second nests are mixed with feathers, and occasionally other foreign substances. The eggs are two in number, and pure white.” Mr. E. L. Layard gives the following account of a visit to a cave inhabited by the Indian Swiftlet in Ceylon:—“I have at last visited the cave in whichCollocalia nidifica[287]builds, and will now, with the aid of my journal, give all the information I can, sending you birds skinned and in spirit, and a young nestling taken from the nest with my own hand. The cave is situated at a place called Havissay, about thirty-five miles from the sea and twenty from the river, and about 500 feet up a fine wood-clad hill, called Diagallagoolawa, or Hoonoomooloocota. Its dimensions are as follows:—Length between fifty and sixty feet, about twenty-six broad, and twenty high. It is a mass of limestone rock, which has cracked off the hill-side, and slipped down on to some boulders below its original position, forming a hollow triangle. There are three entrances to the cave; one at each end, and one very small one in the centre. The floor consists of large boulders, covered to the depth of two or three inches with the droppings of the birds, old and young, and the bits of grass they bring in to fabricate their nests. The only light which penetrates the cavern from the entrances above mentioned is very dim. When my eyes, however, got accustomed to the light, I could see many hundreds of nests glued to the side of the fallen rock, but none to the other side, or hill itself. This I attribute to the fact of the face of the main rock being evidently subject to the influence of the weather, and perhaps to the heavy dews off the trees; but for this, the side in question would have been far more convenient for the birds to have built on, as it sloped gently outward, whereas the other was much overhung, and caused the birds to build their nests of an awkward shape, besides taking up more substance. I was at the spot a few days before Christmas, and fancy that must be about the time to see the nests in perfection. This is corroborated by the fact of my finding young birds in all the nests taken by me, and by what the old Chinaman said, that the ‘take’ came on in October. I find that they have three different qualities of nests, and send two for your inspection. The best is very clean, white as snow, and thin, and is also very expensive. The most inferior are composed of dry grasses, hair, &c., but I could not detect anything like the bloody secretion, as described (‘though only under peculiar circumstances of exhaustion’) by Mr. Barbe, even in a fresh nest. I was in the cave late (after 5P.M.) in the evening of a day which threatened rain, but the old birds were still flying round the summit of the mountain at a vast altitude, occasionally dashing down into the cave with food for their nestlings. By daylight next morning I was on foot, but the birds were before me, hawking on the plain below and all about the hills. I have found the birds here, in Colombo, in Kandy, and all along the road we went. I could learn nothing of the number of eggs laid, nor of their colour. I found one bird in each nest. The Chinese who live on the spot pretend not to understand anything asked them, and the apathetic Cingalese have never taken the trouble to see for themselves, so they could give me no information. The aspect of the country, broken and rugged, coupled with the numerous flocks of birds I saw flying round the various hills, leads me to think there must be many breeding-places yet undiscovered. One, however, was pointed out, but we had not time to visit it. I could not hear of any other kind ofSwiftbreeding there, but have just received such information as leads me to suppose thatC. fuciphagabuilds near Jaffna on some rocks overhanging the sea. I may further add that there were no Bats in the cave withC. nidifica, nor did I see any bird of prey, save a fineHæmatornis, which I shot. The Cingalese name forC. nidificaisWahlæna.”
WHITE-THROATED SPINE-TAILED SWIFT.
WHITE-THROATED SPINE-TAILED SWIFT.