Identifier: familiarwildanim00lott (find matches)
Title: Familiar wild animals
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: Lottridge, Silas Alpha, 1863-
Subjects: Animal behavior
Publisher: New York, H. Holt
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
ally climb up the sides ofthe chimney for a short distance, and here theyremain in a hanging position, being fed by the oldbirds until they are ready to fly and shift for them-selves. The young swifts are very interesting, althoughsomewhat uncanny in their actions, resembling intheir constant movements a bunch of wriggling snakes.At first I thought they were irritated by the vermin,so common about birds nests, but as I failed to findanything of the sort, I looked for another cause.After careful observation I concluded that the move-ments wrere due to an innate desire on the part ofthe young birds to preen their feathers, although thefeathers had scarcely started. One does not becomethoroughly aware of the constant motion of the youngbirds until one attempts to take their picture,when their restlessness becomes painfully apparent;it being almost impossible to catch the whole broodmotionless, even for the fraction of a second. Forthis reason, in addition to the fact that their surround-
Text Appearing After Image:
g Eu wW H O o Q < Hw W The Chimney Swift 89 ings are such that the light is poor at the best, theyare most difficult young birds to photograph. The swifts feed their young during the greater partof the night, and the noise made by their wings whilepassing in and out of the chimney often resemblesthe low rumbling of distant thunder. This is morepronounced by the time the second brood is reared,but it becomes unbearable only when, as sometimeshappens for a week or two, a few hundred swiftstake up a temporary residence in an old fashionedchimney, before starting on their southern journey. I remember very distinctly flocks of this kind whichassembled at my fathers old farmhouse and tookup their abode in the parlor chimney. The flocksvaried from a hundred to two or three times thatnumber, and the usual time of assembling was early inSeptember. Many a time at dusk I have watched thebirds flying in a large circle above the house, and thenall at once, even while I gazed, the mass would cha

Note About Images