OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA. 19 



busy witli the duty of the season. The song poured forth is 

 no doubt an appeal to the fickle female, who is apparently 

 charmed in this manner by her lover. Thirdly, owing to the 

 amount of moisture regularly falling upon the ground, they 

 find a part of their sustenance there. 



As one floats above the short grass, the little body assumes 

 an ovate form, and the tail feathers become lowered. The 

 short legs prohibit them from standing anywhere other than 

 on a flat surface, and it is not unusual to have them rise from 

 the asphalt path as one approaches. 



Swallows gather moths and other insects from the grass as 

 they rise, noiselessly hovering within a few inches of the 

 surface, and at times appearing motionless. 



On the 3rd of April I was interested in watching 14 

 Swallows skimming the surface of the Surrey Hills reservoir. 

 This was at 4.45 p.m. Soon the active flock became 23, 

 after which the number quickly reached 70. The arrivals 

 all came from the south, in companies of from 12 to 18, and 

 the assembling continued until the number totalled about 

 200 in thirty minutes from the arrival of the first group. 

 The sun was brightly setting, and the weather mild. The 

 scene above the artificial lake was truly a pretty one. The 

 distant birds were of apparently small proportions and fight 

 colour, while those in the foreground were large and dark, and 

 all gliding in giddy circles till one almost imagined the whole 

 scene was in revolution. I could then realize forcefully the 

 application of the poet's lines, 



" The thin- winged swallow skating in the air." 



As the light faded at 5.30 p.m. the flock, as though following 

 some concerted action, departed in an instant, and I was left 

 to contemplate, wdth only a faint idea that they had moved 

 northwards to their usual roosting-place in a group of timber 

 some distance away. 



