I20 



Bird-Land Echoes. 



one above another. They are all as pretty as 

 pictures, and those that are not brilliant in color 

 possess unequalled grace, for a swallow in the air 

 is the truest poetry of motion ; it is as if it and 

 the air were one. You cannot take the bird from 

 the sky without dimming all its lustre. It is not 

 strange that the Delaware Indians called these birds 

 "feathered spirits ;" and yet they are, when we come 



down to the 

 solid basis of 

 fact, merely fly- 

 catchers, or, in 

 ornithological 

 parlance, catch- 

 ers of flies ; but 

 there is nothing 

 of the amateur 

 f about them in 

 this respect. 

 They shame 

 every kingbird 

 that ever launched into the sunlight of a summer day 

 and snapped its beak at a bee. 



In all matters, whether trivial or important, we are 

 creatures of preferences. We fancy one thing better 

 than another, though assured that both are of equal 

 value. We always pick a sweeter bonbon from the 

 dish than any we leave for our neighbors. It is the 

 natural result of the imperfections of human nature. 

 I will not pretend to say why, but my favorites 

 among these birds are the white-bellied and the 



White-bellied Swallow. 



