The House-Swallow.-] OF ORKNEY. 73 



This bird, for what reason I cannot say, seems to be pro- 

 scribed in Orkney. Young and old destroy both eggs and 

 birds of it, and this not for any other end but the seeming ef- 

 fects of wanton cruehy, as it seems a quite harmless creature. 

 We may attribute this to that unaccountable prejudice, which 

 sometimes gets into the human heart, against particular places 

 and things, and which is carefully propagated to us by our 

 nurses. 



GENUS ZF.— THE SWALLOW. 



Gen. Char. — Bill short, broad at the base, small at the point, and a little bend- 

 ing ; nostrils open ; tongue short, broad, and cloven ; legs short j tail forked ; 

 wings long. 



Species 1. — The House-Swallow. 



House, or Chimney-Swallow, Wil. Orn. 212. Raii Sj/n. Av. 71. Hirundo 

 Rustica, Lin.Sys. 343. Brit.Zool. 242. Brit. Zool. Illus. 12. tab. 9. Jig. 1. 



This bird is found, though not in great numbers, in Kirk- 

 wall, where it builds its nest in the house chimneys. As else- 

 where, it migrates from us in winter, as our country cannot 

 at that rigorous season afford it insect-food, its sustenance. 



K 



