THE SWALLOW. 



"Come, summer visitant, attach 



To my reedroof thj' nest of clay, 

 And let my ear thy music catch. 

 Low twitting underneath the thatch. 

 At the gray dawn of day." 



URE harbingers of spring 

 are the Swallows. They 

 are very common birds, 

 and frequent, as a rule, 

 the cultivated lands in the 

 neighborhood of water, showing a de- 

 cided preference for the habitations of 

 man. " How gracefully the swallows 

 fly! See them coursing over the 

 daisy-bespangled grass fields ; now 

 they skim just over the blades of grass, 

 and then with a rapid stroke of their 

 long wings mount into the air and 

 come hovering above your head, dis- 

 playing their rich white and chestnut 

 plumage to perfection. Now they 

 chase each other for very joyfulness, 

 uttering their sharp twittering notes ; 

 then they hover with expanded wings 

 like miniature Kestrels, or dart down- 

 wards with the velocity of the spar- 

 rowhawk ; anon they flit rapidly over 

 the neighboring pool, occasionally 

 dipping themselves in its calm and 

 placid waters, and leaving a long train 

 of rings marking their varied course. 

 How easily they turn, or glide over 

 the surrounding hedges, never resting, 

 never weary, and defying the eye to 

 trace them in the infinite turnings and 

 twistings of their rapid shooting flight. 

 You frequently see them glide rapidly 

 near the ground, and then with a side- 

 long motion mount aloft, to dart 

 downwards like an animated meteor, 

 their plumage glowing in the light 

 with metallic splendor, and the row of 

 white spots on the tail contrasting 

 beautifully with the darker plumage." 

 The Swallow is considered a life- 

 paired species, and returns to its nest- 

 ing site of the previous season, build- 

 ing a new nest close to the old one. 

 His nest is found in barns and out- 



houses, upon the beams of wood 

 which support the roof, or in any 

 place which assures protection to the 

 young birds. It is cup-shaped and 

 artfully moulded of bits of mud. 

 Grass and feathers are used for the 

 lining. " The nest completed, five or 

 six eggs are deposited. They are of a 

 pure white color, with deep rich 

 brown blotches and spots, notably at 

 the larger end, round which they 

 often form a zone or belt." The sit- 

 ting bird is fed by her mate. 



The young Swallow is disting- 

 uished from the mature birds by the 

 absence of the elongated tail feathers, 

 which are a mark of maturity alone. 

 His food is composed entirely of in- 

 sects. Swallows are on the wing fully 

 sixteen hours, and the greater part of 

 the time making terrible havoc 

 amongst the millions of insects which 

 infest the air. It is said that when 

 the Swallow is seen flying high in the 

 heavens, it is a never failing indica- 

 tion of fine weather. 



A pair of Swallows on arriving at 

 their nesting place of the preceding 

 Summer found their nest occupied by 

 a Sparrow, who kept the poor birds at 

 a distance by pecking at them with 

 his strong beak whenever they at- 

 tempted to dislodge him. Wearied 

 and hopeless of regaining possession 

 of their property, they at last hit upon 

 a plan which effectually punished the 

 intruder. One morning they appeared 

 with a few more Swallows — their 

 mouths filled with a supply of tem- 

 pered clay — and, by their joint efforts 

 in a short time actually plastered up 

 the entrance to the hole, thus barring 

 the Sparrow from the home which he 

 had stolen from the Swallows. 



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