172 BRITISH BIRDS. 
Central America and Brazil. This form differs from the preceding only 
in having the underparts below the breast pale chestnut. In Egypt and 
Palestine a form occurs having the underparts below the breast a slightly 
darker chestnut than in the American form, from which it differs most 
conspicuously in having the broad dark band across the breast like the 
typical form. This form may be called H. rustica, var. cahirica; it is 
probably only subspecifically distinct, as intermediate forms frequently 
occur in Europe. In Australia H. rustica, var. frontalis, breeds and 
winters in New Guinea. This is probably the parent stock from which all 
these Swallows are derived, and may be easily distinguished by the almost 
total absence of the pectoral band, the lower breast and belly being nearly 
white, as in the European and Chinese forms. 
No bird is more highly prized or more jealously protected than the 
Swallow; and of all the harbingers of spring it is the most warmly 
welcomed. Very rarely indeed is it molested; the bird-nesting school- 
boy will tell you that it is ‘unlucky ” to take its nest, and even the game- 
keeper, that arch slaughterer of ail our fairest and most interesting birds, 
ean bring no accusation against it, and suffers it unmolested to wing its 
happy way in peace. Wherever this charming little bird takes up its 
quarters it is always welcomed and protected, especially amongst our rural 
population, who regard its annual visits to their humble cottages as fore- 
telling good fortune, and in many cases will inconvenience themselves 
rather than turn the little southern wanderer away. 
The Swallow generally arrives in this country a little earlier than the 
House-Martin. It arrives in some parts of Southern Europe, as, for instance, 
at Gibraltar, about the middle of February, and continues to cross the 
Straits up to the middle of April; but in the extreme north of Europe 
it is said not to arrive until the first week of June. Its first arrival in 
the south of England takes place early in April, but it does not reach the 
north of England until about the middle of that month. In the south of 
Scotland it does not arrive before the last week of April, and in the north 
of that country seldom before May. The Swallow loves to frequent the 
neighbourhood of houses, and is consequently the commonest and most 
widely dispersed in well-cultivated districts. Not that the bird dislikes 
the wilder country ; for where is the shepherd’s cot, the mountain-farm, 
or the gamekeeper’s house, even on the barren moors, where this little 
bird is not to be seen? It is very common in all country villages, but 
does not enter the large towns as much as the House-Martin. Like the 
rest of our British Swallows, the present species is a gregarious bird, and 
not only lives in company with its own species, but repeatedly flocks with 
House-Martins, and also with Sand-Martins and Swifts. The Swallow is 
usually seen on the wing. Sometimes they skim over the ground only a few 
inches above the surface, seldom attempting a higher flight; but more 
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