Common swift that resemble a crescent or a boomerang. Their call is a loud scream in two different tone pitches, the higher of which issues from the female. They often form 'screaming parties' during summer evenings, when 10–20 swifts will gather in flight around their nesting area, calling out and being answered by nesting swifts. Larger "screaming parties" are formed at higher altitudes, especially late in the breeding season. The purpose of these parties is uncertain, but may include ascending to sleep on the wing, while still breeding adults tend to spend the night in the nest. Swifts may nest in former
The Summer Birds The Summer Birds The Summer Birds is a children's novel by British writer Penelope Farmer, published in 1962 by Chatto & Windus, and receiving a Carnegie Medal commendation. It is the first of three books featuring the Makepeace sisters, Charlotte and Emma, These three books are sometimes known as the "Aviary Hall" books. At the age of twenty-one, Penelope Farmer was contracted for her first collection of short stories, "The China People". Whilst working as a teacher for the London County Council Education Department, she was approached by editor Margaret K. McElderry of Harcourt Brace to write a children's novel.