178 POPULAR SCRIPTURE ZOOLOGY.

British swallows. The plumage is not of so dark a hue as
the last-named species, being of a brown colour above, and
the under parts white; the wings and tail brown. The
female lays five or six white, nearly transparent eggs, and
has commonly two broods in the year; the nest is placed
in deep holes excavated in sand-banks; these holes are
often within a few inches of each other, and extend about
two feet deep, at the end of which, the nest, consisting of
fine grass and feathers, is placed: the young birds are fed
with gnats, dragon-flies, and other insects. This species is
by no means so common as the rest, and, unlike them in
habits, it builds at a distance from the haunts of man, de-
lighting in wild heaths and commons, particularly in the
vicinity of lakes or ponds.

The Swift (Hirundo or Cypselus apus) is larger, stronger,
and more rapid in its flight, arrives later in this country
and departs earlier, than any of its family. Its length is
nearly eight inches ; colour sooty-black, tinged with green ;
the wings very long in proportion to the body, and the tail
much forked; the legs are very short. The female is rather
smaller, and the plumage more inclining to brown; she
lays two white, oblong eggs, and has only one brood in the
year. The swift builds in the crevices of high towers and