202 THE WHITE-RUMPED (OR WINDOW) SWALLOW. 



in their canoes towards islets far beyond their vision, and 

 reach them without any astronomical aid. From 20 to 50 

 canoes start together, and keep within signal of each other 

 thus a large extent of sea is under survey. They go on until 

 the islet is sighted ; on p. takes the lead and the rest follow." 

 That birds signal each other is established. May not birds 

 guide each other on this principle? The Marshall islanders 

 rest at night, but birds fly so rapidly that daylight is long 

 enough for their widest transmarine journeys. Sometimes, 

 however, many perish. A small schooner encountered a severe 

 gale in spring on the coast of Greece, near Cape Matapan ; a 

 number of swallows and martins settled on the rigging after the 

 gale, and were so exhausted that they made no attempt to escape 

 when taken by the crew. But they all died, in spite of every care. 

 But swallows sometimes pass a night on board a ship and 

 fly oft' in the morning, as the following fact from the Daily 

 Telegraph, of May 25th, 1888, shows :— 



"A curious episode in natural history occurred on board the French 

 steamboat ' Abd-el-Kader' during the passage from Marseilles to Algiers. 

 About six o'clock in the evening the sky became quite black with swallows. 

 They alighted in thousands on the sails, ropes, and yards. After a perky 

 survey of the deck they descended coolly on deck, hopped about among the 

 sailors and passengers, and found their way into the cabins fore and aft. 

 They were evidently fatigued after a long flight, and allowed themselves to 

 be caught by the people, who gave them a welcome reception and food, 

 which they enjoyed heartily. The little winged strangers remained all 

 night on the vessel, and in the morning at seven o'clock the head look-out 

 bird had no doubt sighted the Balearic Isles, for the whole flock made for 

 land, after having spent a comfortable and refreshing night on board ship." 



But swallows are not sailors, as a rule, and too much stress 

 need not be laid on the difficulty and hazard that birds run in 

 their migrations, from adverse winds and seas, for a bird may 

 go from Britain to the Equator without the risk of gales at sea 

 by crossing the water at Dover and again at Gibraltar, through 

 France and Spain. 



" They fear not more the winds and wintry cold 

 Than streams the bank, or wolves the bleating fold." 



White of Selborne points this out, and was the more confi- 

 dent of its truth by having a brother at Gibraltar (a correspon- 

 dent of Linnaeus) who always found that swallows were very 

 sparing of their pains in crossing the Mediterranean, for, having 

 arrived at Gibraltar, they did not — as Milton has it — 



"Rang'd in figure wedge their way 

 high over seas 

 Flying, and over lands, with mutual wing, 

 Easing their flight," 



