270 BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 



Laying begins about the middle of May in the south, 

 and in less than six weeks the young Swallows leave the 

 nest. They do not differ very markedly from their parents, 

 but they lack the long outer tail-feathers. They still 

 depend on their parents for food, and there are few prettier 

 sights than a Swallow feeding its young on the wing. At 

 first the young one remains perched on a leafless branch 

 or a telegraph-wire, but later the young birds rise to 

 meet the old ones, and the mouthful is transferred in 

 mid-air. 



The parent birds soon set about rearing a second brood, 

 and a marked pair has been known to rear a third. 

 These third broods usually fare badly, however ; either 

 insects become too scarce, or the migration instinct over- 

 powers all others, and the old birds leave the young to 

 their fate, and join the noisy gatherings on the telegraph- 

 wires or in the reed-beds, preparatory to migrating. 



As regards its food the Swallow is entirely insectivor- 

 ous. Sometimes it has to alight on the ground, at 

 others it hovers above a head of ragwort while it picks 

 out the insects ; but usually it catches its prey on the 

 wing, and for this purpose its short but comparatively 

 broad bill and its wide 'gape' are well adapted. The 

 gnats and other insects found dancing over the water 

 form an abundant store of food for the Swallow, and it 

 is a familiar sight to see it skimming across the surface, 

 sometimes sipping the water in its flight, or even 

 momentarily plunging in. 



For a short time after their arrival in spring, and for 

 a longer period in autumn, those Swallows whose nesting- 

 places are not in the neighbourhood of water betake 

 themselves to the nearest river or lake : 



And as the Swallows crowd the bulrush-beds 

 Of some clear river issuing from a lake 



