SWALLOWS. 



migratory birds at unusual dates may be accounted 

 for by their having missed their way — which they 

 frequently do in storms, — or by their being wounded 

 or otherwise weak — as late broods in bad seasons 

 often are, — and unable to migrate with their more 

 robust fellows. The present paper takes no cogni- 

 sance of what Gilbert White calls "stragglers." Its 

 object is to record some personal observations of 

 swallows in autumn groups, and of the influence 

 that late broods sometimes have in retarding migra- 

 tion. 



On the afternoon of 8th September, 1883, I 

 observed an immense flock of swallows in the 

 grounds of Hamilton Palace. The birds, as if after 

 a journey, seemed tired, and for the most part 

 rested on the roof of the mausoleum, which th.ey 

 litei'ally covered— the tails of the outermost birds 

 projecting in a line of great beauty from the 

 outer edge of the circle at the base of the dome. 

 One or two of the birds rose as if to convey a 

 message to their fellows, who listened as sedately 

 as black-coats in congress. The effect was elec- 

 trical, and the mass-meeting rose in vocal excite- 

 ment, thick as swarming bees. Each bird — none 

 evidently being in authority and none afraid — had 

 its say, and, as a matter of convenience or etiquette, 

 expressed itself on the wing. The discussion ended, 

 the birds gradually settled down again into the 

 same silent, sable mass, giving the mausoleum the 

 appearance of being draped in black. For about 

 two hours they alternated thus between stolid 

 silence and vocal flight, their flights becoming less 

 frequent, and extending to shorter distances as it 

 became dark, and their later excursions becoming 

 not unlike the motion to and fro of a weaver's 

 shuttle, or of a ball attached to an elastic thread 

 thrown at intervals from the hand. Their single 

 twitterings on the double journey — for all excite- 

 ment and volubility had died out of their utterances 

 — were not improbably equivalent to taking the 



