THE SWALLOWS 



IF YOU were a bird, could you think of 

 any way of earning a living more delightful 

 than sailing about in the air all day, playing 

 cross-tag on the wing with your companions, 

 skimming low across the meadows, ponds and 

 marshes, or rising high above them and darting 

 hither and thither wherever you pleased, with- 

 out knowing what it means to feel tired ? Swal- 

 lows are as much in their element when in the 

 air as fish are in water; but don't imagine they 

 are there simply for fun. Their long, blade- 

 like wings, which cut the air with such easy, 

 but powerful strokes, propel them enormous 

 distances before they have collected enough 

 mosquitoes, gnats and other little gauzy- 

 winged insects to supply such great energy 

 and satisfy their hunger. With mouth widely 

 gaping, leaving an opening in the front of their 

 broad heads that stretches from ear to ear, they 

 get a tremendous draught down their little 

 throats, but they gather in a dinner piece-meal 

 just as the chimney swift, whip-poor-will and 

 night-hawk do. Viscid saliva in the bird's 

 mouth glues the little victims as fast as if they 

 were caught on sticky fly-paper; then, when 



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