WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



XVI 



BANK-SWALLOWS 



HE bird which is the subject of 

 this sketch is famiHar to all who 

 walk in green pastures and be- 

 side still waters; for in such 

 haunts do the bank-swallows 

 congregate in merry companies, 

 making up for their want of 

 companionship with man, which 

 is so characteristic of the other 

 hirundines, by a large sociabil- 

 ity among themselves. Conser- 

 vator of ancient ways, it is al- 

 most the only swallow which 

 has not attached itself to hu- 

 manity as soon as it had oppor- 

 tunity, and changed from a sav- 

 Jage to a civilized bird. Per- 

 276 



