112 



Handbook of Nature-Study 



Swallows and swifts. 

 Drawn by L. A. Fuertes for General Biology by J. G. Needham. 



THE SWALLOWS AND THE CHIMNEY SWIFT 



Teacher's Story 



,HESE friendly little birds spend their time darting through 

 the air on swift wings, seeking and destroying insects 

 which are foes to us and our various crops. However, it 

 is safe to assume that they are not thinking of us as they 

 skim above our meadows and ponds, hawking our tiny 

 foes; for like most of us, they are simply intent upon 

 getting a living. Would that we might perform this 

 necessary duty as gracefully as they. 



In general, the swallows have a long, slender, graceful 

 body, with a long tail which is forked or notched, except 

 in the case of the eave swallow. The beak is short but 

 wide where it joins the head; this enables the bird to open its mouth wide 

 and gives it more scope in the matter of catching insects; the swift flight 

 of the swallows enables them to catch insects on the wing; their legs are 

 short, the feet are weak and fitted for perching; it would be quite impos- 

 sible for a swallow to walk or hop like a robin or blackbird. 



The eave, or cliff, swallows These swallows build under the eaves of 

 barns or in similar locations. In early times they built against the sides 

 of cliffs; but when man came and built barns, they chose them for their 

 dwelling sites. The nest is made of mud pellets and is somewhat globular 



