Mouth opening to beneath the hind part of the eyes; bill extremely
short, very broad at the base, compressed at the end; upper mandible
decurved at the point, the edge inflected, with an indistinct sinus.
Nostrils basal, approximate, oblong. Head large and depressed; neck
short; body rather slender. Feet extremely short; tarsus rounded,
destitute of scutella; toes extremely short, the three anterior nearly
equal; hind toe very small, and versatile; claws strong, compressed,
arched, very acute. Plumage compact; no bristles at the base of the
upper mandible; wings extremely elongated, falciform, the first quill
longest; tail of ten feathers. Œsophagus of moderate width, without
crop; stomach oblong, moderately muscular, with a dense rugous
epithelium; intestine short, and rather wide; no cœca. No inferior
laryngeal muscles. Nest in crevices or holes, or attached to high
places. Eggs elongated, white.
GENUS I. CHÆTURA, Stephens. SPINE-TAIL.
All the characters as above. Tarsus bare, longer than the middle toe,
which scarcely exceeds the outer. Tail short, even, the shafts very
strong, and prolonged into acuminate points.
44. 1. Chætura pelasgia, Linn. American Spine-tail.--Chimney Swallow.
American Swift.
Brownish-black, lighter on the rump, with a slight greenish gloss on
the head and back; throat greyish-white, lower parts greyish-brown,
tinged with green; loral space black, and a greyish-white line over
the eye. Female similar to the male.
_Male_, 4-1/4, 12.
Extends as far eastward as Nova Scotia. Abundant. Migratory.
Chimney Swallow, Hirundo pelasgia, Wils. Amer. Ornith. v. v.
p. 48.
Cypselus pelasgius, Bonap. Syn. p. 63.
Chimney Swift or Swallow, Cypselus pelasgius, Nutt. Man. v. i.
p. 609.
Chimney Swallow or American Swift, Cypselus pelasgius, Aud.
Ornith. Biog. v. ii. p. 329; v. v. p. 419.