Product Synopsis

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1904. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... and a beginning again in another bush. A very interesting description of the habits of this species has been given by Mr. Bowles in "The Condor" for July, 1902. The nesting habits resemble those of the yellow warblers. PLUMAGE BLACK OR IRIDESCENT BLACK 422. BLACK SWIFT. -- Cypseloides niger borealis. Family: The Swifts. Length: 7.00-7.50. Adults: Tail slightly forked; entire plumage dusky, and grayish on head and neck; a black patch in front of the eye. Young: Similar, but feathers tipped with whitish. Geographical Distribution: From the Rocky Mountains west to the Pacific, and from British Columbia south to Lower California. California Breeding Range: Irregular and local. Breeding Season: June 15 to August 1. Nest: On inaccessible cliffs; made of straw, chips, and horsehair; lined with green leaves and paper. Eggs: 5 ; white. The exact range of the Black Swift, or Cloud Swift, is not definitely known. It is found breeding in various localities in California, but never in places accessible to anything not provided with wings. In the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Range of California it occurs Z^Z^ through the air." locally in small numbers, nesting in colonies on the high perpendicular cliffs. Dr. Merriam reports it from Inyo County, California, and Dr. A. K. Fisher writes of it in the " Ornithology of the Death Valley Expedition " as follows: "The Black Swift was first observed at Owens Lake near Keeler, California, where a number were seen flying back and forth over the salt meadows. . . . When the flock left the marsh it rose high in the air and went in the direction of the cliffs in the Inyo Mountains, where a colony was evidently breeding." In flight this species are even more rapid and graceful than the chimney swifts, rarely if ever alighting on the...