THE NIGHTJAR AND THE SWALLOW. 49 
pacity for terrestrial locomotion, must spend almost 
the whole of their active lives in the air; while the 
wide gape of the mouth would satisfy him that their 
diet must be wholly of an insect character. 
Nor would he be mistaken in his surmises. In the 
first place, the flight of the swallow is flight carried 
to its highest point of excellence, a sort of aérial 
The Swallow. 
combination of the easy grace of the seal in the 
water with the marvellous speed of the antelope on 
the land. The swallow, in fact, is the Mercury of 
the air, and is as much superior both in elegance 
and swiftness to the vast majority of the feathered 
race as is the greyhound to the turnspit, or the race- 
horse to his humble cousin of the plough. 
E 2 
