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viscous saliva wliicli is secreted by this bird, and which reminds one of 

 what is observable in the case of the wryneck, and the different species 

 of woodpecker. It no doubt answers the same purpose, namely, to 

 secure more easily the struggling insects upon which its existence 

 depends. 



THE SWALLOW. 



The chimney Swallow is one of the earliest arrivals, coming from 

 Africa over the English Channel about the middle of April. Every one 

 seems glad when the first Swallow flits across the village green, but we 

 sober English have never kept a "Swallow holiday" on the isth of 

 April, which is, in some parts of Europe, called "Swallow day." In 

 ancient Greece the children might well clap their tiny hands when the 

 birds of spring appeared, a holiday being then given to little boys and 

 girls. They danced in the market-places, wore garlands of early flowers, 

 and shouted in the luxury of childish joy. That was a capital plan for 

 making children love the birds. These birds are called chimney 

 Swallows from their tendency to build in hollow places, such as old mine- 

 shafts, disused wells, chimneys, insides of barns, cow-houses and sheds. 

 They generally build their nest against the sides of beams, rafters, or any 

 wood-work of the roof; it is composed of clay, and strengthened with 

 straws or slender roots, lined with feathers, and open at the top. Two 

 or three pairs often frequent the same outhouse, and are known to have 

 returned from year to year to the same nest. The chimney Swallow is 

 easily known by its deeply forked tail, the ruddy hue on its throat, and 

 its lightish tinted breast. The rapid movements of the bird — its sudden 

 darts and turns, now up, now down, over the observer's head, then 

 skimming the ground in long arrow-like flights — present a specimen of a 

 living machine in beautiful and perfect action. But notwithstanding 

 this power of flight, the birds are sometimes completely exhausted by 

 their journeys across the sea. They can battle for a long time with the 

 mere force of a tempest, but when the blast is both cold and strong, the 

 winged voyagers are almost paralysed. A whole army of Swallows will 



