Swifts
Swallow like bird related to the Goatsucker and the hummingbird and
found all over the world, chiefly in the tropics. Swifts have long wings
and small feet and can perch only on its vertical surfaces. They swoop
up insects in their wide mouths while on the wing. Swifts are the most
rapid flyers known. In the United States and the common Eastern species
is the chimney swift, misscalled chimney swallow. It's spiny tail acts
as a prop when it clings to the chimneys and in which it builds its nest
of twigs cemented with saliva. In the West are the black Vaux's and
white throated swifts . some oriental swifts make their entire nest of a
salivary secretion; these nests are used to make birds nest soup. And
the common European swift is sometimes called Hawk sparrow.
» Description: About 5 1/2 inches long, they are dark gray brown, paler on the throat and chest, with long, pointed wings and a short, square tail.
» Habitat: Chimney swifts are found in cities and rural areas. They build a nest in a chimney or near the eaves of a building, attaching a semicircle or twigs to the inside of a chimney with a sticky saliva.
» Foods: They eat insects and spiders which they catch while flying.
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