HABITS OF THE SWALLOW. 57 



rather shrill note. As for the presence of two or three persons, she seemed 

 not to mind it in the least. 



Her partner was by no means so brave. He would come with a little 

 white moth in his beak, for these moths were plentiful in the meadows, and 

 seemed a staple article of food ; but he would turn round and dart away, as if 

 too shy to face the company ; nor did he, until after several attempts, venture 

 to bring in the dainty morsel. At each unsuccessful attempt the little swallows 

 raised themselves up and chirped, but only to be disappointed. If the pet 

 dog of the family chanced to be near the spot, both swallows would go into a 

 violent passion. They would fly over his head, and utter shrill cries, and 

 peck at him, without, however, venturing to touch him ; all which attacks 

 were lost upon the dog for some time ; but at last, as if wondering what the 

 clamour was about, he would raise his head to look, and quietly walk away. 



We have not quite finished with the history of these little swallows. 



One morning, on entering the summer-house, one of the young brood was 

 seen upon the ground, as though it had fallen or been pushed out of the nest. 

 The mother bird was flying backwards and forwards as usual to feed her 

 little ones, but without taking any notice. 



This want of natural affection was set down to the fact that the swallow 

 rarely looks on the ground, and might not see it. 



But mark the difference between reason and mere instinct. The little 

 bird was picked up, warmed and revived, and put again into the nest, in the 

 hope that the mother would feed and cherish it. But no. For some cause or 

 other she refused to do so. It might be a sickly bird, or she had more than 

 enough to provide for. At any rate, every time it was put into the nest she 

 flung it out again, until at last the poor little thing died. 



The swallow, like most of the birds, will sometimes take a fancy to build 

 in a very odd place. 



A swallow's nest was once made in the half-open drawer of a table in a 

 garret. The garret was never used, and the birds flew in and out through a 

 broken pane in the window. And a still more curious place to choose, was 

 the body and wing of an owl that had been nailed against a barn. The nest 

 is in existence now, and has been kept as a curiosity by the family. 



The swallows were also known to build in the chimney of a steam-engine 

 that was at work on a farm in Scotland. They reared their young season 

 after season in this, as we should think, rather uncomfortable place, and took 



