is again divided into Families and Sub-families, with which, however, we need not trouble ourselves here. The first Tribe is the Fissirostres, or gape-mouthed birds. They are rather a heterogeneous lot, unlike in many points, but they have one family bond, namely, a mouth that gapes from ear to ear and gives them a peculiar facility in gulping down the flies and flying insects on which they all feed. First among them come the Swallows and Swifts, to which I will devote this paper. I am afraid that the distinction between a Swallow and a Swift is not generally present to the popular mind; but they are separated by very radical differences, of which, however, I need mention only those that are most obvious outwardly. One is that in the foot of a Swift all the four toes are turned forwards. It is, in fact, like a human hand without a thumb. Now observe the consequences. Such a foot cannot grasp, ergo a Swift cannot perch, ergo a twig or a telegraph wire offers it no resting place. If it gets tired it must go to bed. But a bird that lives on the midges in the air cannot afford to stay by its bedside. It must range far and wide. So it cannot afford to get tired. Therefore a Swift learns to spend the night in its nest and the day on its wings. Wonderful wings they need to be and are. They are so long that, when closed, they extend far beyond the tail, and they are worked quite differently from the wings of even a Swallow. As a Swallow darts along, its wings almost close against its sides at every stroke, and it looks like a pair of scissors opening and shutting. Now a Swift never closes its wings in this way. It whips the air rapidly
