THE SWALLOW. 275 



kept in captivity until the migratory season had passed, 

 and then released, is certainly possible, but not probable. 

 On any other supposition it must have remained either of 

 its o^v^l free will, which is not likely, or from incapacity 

 to accompany its congeners. Left alone it probably found 

 a sheltered retreat in the face of the cliff, and sallied forth 

 whenever the weather was inviting, making the most of 

 the short days, and, on the finest, contenting itself with a 

 scanty meal. The temperature of the west of England in 

 winter it is quite able to bear ; in fact, it is not uncommon 

 there for a whole winter to pass without any weather 

 so severe as that which has characterized the whole of the 

 present April (1860), though Swallows have returned, and 

 contrive to find food enough to keep themselves alive. If 

 therefore the bird which I saw managed to live on till 

 Christmas Eve, there is no reason why it should not 

 survive the whole of the winter. But as " one Swallow 

 does not make a spring," so neither is one sufficient to 

 upset a theory. There remains therefore the rule with 

 the one exception to prove it, that Swallows do migrate. 



I have devoted to this question more space than the 

 subject would seem to require, on the ground that th/e 

 reader will find in White's " Selborne " a far more enter- 

 taining and accurate description of the Swallow and its 

 habits than I could hope to give, unless I were to tran- 

 scribe what that author has said, A full account of all 

 that has since been learnt of its history will be found, and 

 no less pleasantly told, in Yarrell's "British Birds." For the 

 sake of reference only I will add a short summary of what 

 I may term its statistics. The Swallow is a migratory bird 

 wherever it is found, that is in most of the countries of 

 Europe, Asia, and Africa. The first Swallows arrive in this 

 country about the 11th of April, and are followed by others 

 at various intervals, until the middle or end of May. On 

 their arrival, they resort to those places which, being most 

 sheltered, abound most in winged insects, these being 

 t2 



