Swift (bird)

“ Although the swallows are becoming extinct the swifts are increasing. I have met many people who do not know one bird from the other. Yet it is easy to tell.
The swift is the mystic among birds. He is aloof from other birds—apart from life. He is never seen to perch unless it be on the rigging of a ship during migration. The swift is black, he screams shrilly as he darts through the air, his wings are curved like a boomerang. During June I have seen and heard them long after midnight, whole cohorts of them wheeling in the sky, their cries sounding like the thin jingle of a frail chain. ”

“ Many destructive insects fly only at night, and these night-flying birds are a necessity to maintain the balance of Nature.
Swifts are cosmopolitan birds. One Swiftlet is world-famous on account of its saliva-built nest, which is the edible swallows' nest we used to read about. This bird occasionally visits Queensland. Two of the Australian birds breed in Japan. They are essentially creatures of the air; their long, pointed wings, shown much longer than the tail, indicate great speed. Gould said that a Swift might be hawking for insects over Victoria one hour, and over Tasmania the next hour ”

“ Thus the swift is able to cling with ease to such a vertical surface as that of a wall, and is therefore quite independent of any ledge or perch. The nest is a conglomeration of grass, straw, and feathers, which are made to adhere to one another, and to the building to which the nest is attached, by the cement-like saliva of the bird.
[102]
Some species of swift build their homes entirely of their glutinous saliva, and so manufacture “edible birds’ nests.” The Indian swift, however, utilises all manner of material by way of economising its saliva.
Nest building is a slow process. ”

“ This small Swift is not nearly as common as the preceding, is much paler in color and white on the under parts and throat. Their habits are much like the last, only that they make use of hollow trees in which to place their nests, which are made of twigs glued to the tree with the glutinous saliva of the birds, forming a very shallow platform in which they deposit three or four pure white eggs. They are on the wing much of the time during the day catching insects, or several pairs seemingly at play in the air, generally at quite high elevations, toward dusk returning to their nesting places. ”

“ Swift as the swallow itself, [465] it presents a command of wing that is really wonderful, gliding through the air with consummate ease, wheeling and doubling in pursuit of some active moth, whose white wings glitter against the dark background, while the sober plumage of its pursuer is scarcely visible, passing often within a few feet of the spectator, and yet not a sound or a rustle will reach his ears. Sometimes the bird is said to strike its wings together over its back, so as to produce a sharp snapping sound, intended to express anger at the presence of the intruder. ”

“ A swift is not a passerine bird. It cannot perch. When it wants to take a rest it has to repair to its nest. Swallows, on the other hand, are fond of settling on telegraph wires. It is quite easy to distinguish between the birds when they are on the wing. ”

“ When he lives in a wild region, he chooses a hollow tree for his nesting place, as his ancestors always did before there were any houses or chimneys.
"The flight of the Swift is so rapid that at times it is almost impossible for the quickest eye to follow him; his wings are very strong, and almost as long as all the rest of his body. ”

“ Black, darkly brown, tawny.
Sweepnet, s. A net that takes in a great compass.
Sweepstake, s. A man that wins all; a prize at a race.
Swift, a. Moving far in a short time, quick, fleet, speedy.
Swift, (Cypselus murarius, Temminck,) s. A bird like a swallow.
This species is nearly an ounce in weight: length near eight inches: breadth about eighteen; the bill is black; irides dusky; the whole plumage is black, except the chin, which is whitish; the wings are extremely long in proportion, and the legs so short that it rises from the ground with difficulty; the tail is forked; legs and toes black. ”

“ The Swift builds, as is well known, in the flues of chimneys. It is often seen in May, dashing past the dead twigs of some tree, and then off to the chimney, where the twigs are glued together and to the bricks by the help of saliva secreted by the bird. A common and distressing experience after a storm in summer is the discovery of the young Chimney Swifts at the wrong end of the chimney,—on the hearth, in other words. Even in their proper place in the chimney, the young birds can make their presence very well known by beginning, as soon as it is light, an incessant clamor for food. ”

“ 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 [43] hunting together. If the swift had, say, ten seconds’ warning, [14] I do not believe any falcon could touch it. As regards endurance, those birds with the greatest endurance are the swifts, swallows, petrels, and gulls. Swifts are probably endowed with the greatest powers, being denied by nature the advantages of perching, alighting on water, or resting on the ground. ”

“ Though he looks like a Swallow and flies like one, the Wise Men know that he is not a song bird, and have put him where he belongs—with the Birds that Croak and Call, next to the Hummingbird and Nighthawk. They call him the Chimney Swift, because he flies so fast, and you must always give him his right name. ”

“ The memory of countless repasts forbade the idea of even a day’s fast. The clamped toes unclasped, clasped, and unclasped again; the graceful body leaned forward, and the wing feathers quivered. Squatting low, the big bird launched himself in air and the broad wings shot out and bore him up. ”

“ It whips the air rapidly with the points of them, but they are always extended and evenly curved from tip to tip like a bow, the slim body of the bird being the arrow.” As a swift speeds through the air it looks something like an anchor, with a short shaft and enormous flukes. If this be borne in mind, it is scarcely possible to mistake a swift for a swallow. Swifts are abundant in Calcutta, but one is not likely to come across a swallow there except when the moon happens to be blue. ”

“ I once timed a pair of swifts at work, and found that on an average they took forty-five minutes in bringing each new piece of material. Much of this time was undoubtedly spent in seeking for food, for so active a bird as the swift must have an enormous appetite, and, as it feeds on the minutest of insects, must consume thousands of them in the course of the day, each of which has to be caught separately. But, even allowing for this, the rate at which the material is added is very slow. Some naturalists declare that the swift is unable to pick anything off the ground. ”

“ The young swift is longer in his nursery than any bird of his size in the United States. He is four weeks old before he ventures out of his grimy home, though before that he will come up to the door to be fed. ”

“ The exceptionally rapid flight is strong and practically unlimited in duration, two or three quick movements of the wings being repeatedly succeeded by a gliding motion. Though not gregarious in the ordinary sense, they habitually breed in company, and Collocalia nests in vast colonies; a solitary bird, moreover, is comparatively seldom seen, and both before and during incubation our Common Swift flies in screaming flocks around the chosen sites. This species will pass and re-pass close to a pedestrian's head with noisy and apparently vicious rush, even when far from the nest ”

“ We need not be ornithologists to be thrilled when the Robin's song in March awakes long silent echoes, or the Thrasher's solo rings loud and clear on an April morning. The Catbird singing from near his last year's home in the thickening shrubbery, the House Wren whose music bubbles over between bustling visits to an oft-used bird-box, the Chimney Swift twittering cheerily from an evening sky, may be heard without even the effort of listening and each one, with a hundred others, brings us a message if we will but accept it. ”

“ Hitherto no authenticated observation on the breeding of the Black Swift in South Africa has been made; but if, as is now supposed to be the case, the South African bird is distinct, it probably does nest somewhere in South Africa, and at any rate the birds from about Cape Town do disappear during the winter months. We do not know where they go to.
Besides the migrants from Europe who come to South Africa to avoid the northern winter, there are a good many birds whose breeding range is in South Africa, and who migrate northwards during the South African winter, probably to Central Africa ”

“ There are farms where the Owl is quite an institution, where no one ever thinks of molesting it, and where its peculiar noises and nightly wanderings create not the least curiosity. In fact, the bird is regarded as part and parcel of the barns, a useful adjunct to the cats and village rat-catcher, and a good many times more effective in ridding buildings and land of some of their most annoying pests. We need scarcely state that the Swift is a well-known summer visitor to farm and farmstead. ”

“ Between August and April there can generally be seen about Cape Town and the suburbs large numbers of Black Swifts, flying often at a considerable height above the ground, as is their usual habit. Mr. Layard believed these to be the European Swift, which spends the summer months in Europe, and disappears southwards in August or September. A careful comparison, however, of the European and South African bird seems to show that there are differences between them, the African bird being somewhat larger and darker in colour. ”

“ The long narrow wings, the powerful chest muscles, the cut of the bird's body, and the way the keel is ballasted, so to speak, enable the bird to remain for hours in constant flight without apparently experiencing the least fatigue. Swallows are often seen resting 10on telegraph wires, but I have never seen a Swift perch on any support outside a chimney. At night and during such part of the day as is given up to rest, the bird supports itself in chimneys by clinging to projections or crevices. The stiff, sharp-pointed tail feathers aid greatly in supporting it. ”

“ As the peregrine flies faster than the hobby, being a bird of the same structure but larger, the peregrine could no doubt overtake and kill the common swift if it would take the trouble to pursue so small a bird.
Next, as to the Alpine swift. This bird is much larger than the common swift—in length [50] 8 inches as compared with 6·75 inches—whilst their wings are 8·45 inches and 6·8 inches respectively, and as the two birds are of the same structure, one would naturally expect that the Alpine swift would be much the faster flier. ”

“ In the sky, the swift looks unlike any other bird. The wings are long and flap like those of a mechanical toy-bird. The tail appears rounded, not forked, like those of swallows.
Male and Female: Brownish-gray, lighter gray on throat; a black spot before each eye; wings longer than tail; tail short, with ribs of the feathers extending beyond the vanes, giving the effect of sharp needle- or pin-points. The bird has a sooty appearance. ”

“ Lord! what a brustling up of feathers!
Morning from noon there was no knowing,
There was such flutt'ring, chuckling, crowing:
Each forward bird must thrust his head in,
And not a cock but would be treading. ”

“ Damon.
The white rubber ball went to the earth like a shot. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Swift saw it, and started their timing-watches. Tom opened the throttle and advanced the spark. The great test was on!
The Humming-Bird trembled and throbbed with the awful speed of the motor, like a thing alive. She seemed to rush forward as an eagle dropping down from a dizzy height upon some hapless prey.
"Faster yet!" murmured Tom. "We must go faster yet!"
The motor was warming up. Streaks of fire came from it. The exhaust of the explosions was a continuous roar. Faster and faster flew the frail craft. ”

“ With a menacing roar the motor of the Humming-Bird took up the additional power that Tom sent into her. She shot ahead like an eagle darting after his prey. Tom opened up a big gap between his machine and the one nearest him, which, at that moment, was the Antoinette, with the Spaniard driving her.
"Now to win!" cried Tom, grimly.
Surely no race was ever flown as was that one! Tom flashed through the air so quickly that his speed was almost incredible. The gage registered one hundred and thirty miles an hour! ”

“ If the swift misses the twig, or it fails to yield to her the first time, she tries again and again, each time making a wider circuit, as if to tame and train her steed a little and bring him up more squarely to the mark next time. ”

“ More than once he looked over to the shed where his craft was housed, as though some danger might threaten it. But the shed of the Humming-Bird showed no signs of invaders.
Suddenly the mysterious aeroplane increased its speed. It circled about more quickly, and shot upward, as though to show the watchers of what it was capable. Then, with a quick swoop it darted downward, straight for the building where Tom's newest invention was housed.
"Look out! They'll hit something!" cried the young inventor, as though those in the aeroplane could hear him. ”

“ The Flight of the Swift.—With reference to the question asked in the December number of 'The Zoologist,' as to whether this bird is able to rise from the ground, I have found it utterly unable to rise from a perfectly level surface, such as a well-kept road or an oil-cloth-covered or carpeted floor; but from a neglected road, full of ruts and hollow places, it can and does rise, lifting its wings high over its back, and raising itself from a slight elevation by the first downward flap. ”