264 SWALLOWS. 



motion was noticed in the legs and wings of the whole, 

 which at length extended itself to their whole bodies, 

 and, finally, the birds were enabled to run and fly about 

 the room*. 



Humming-birds also, we are assured, are sometimes 

 overtaken by cold, and have been known to fall into a 

 torpid state t. 



It has been argued, that as some animals, such as the 

 bear, dormouse, &c., are subject to long seasons of tor- 

 pidity, during which time they require no food, Swallows 

 may, in like manner, continue in a torpid slumbering 

 state throughout the Winter. A few experiments, care- 

 fully attended to, might throw additional light upon the 

 subject. If Swallows, for instance, were exposed to cold, 

 at or near the freezing-point, sleep might overcome them, 

 just as it does travellers who have been accidentally ex- 

 posed to the inclemency of the weather : on becoming 

 benumbed, we know that drowsiness commences, which, 

 if not shaken off by active exertion, inevitably ends in 

 death. If man is subject to this effect, as well as some 

 animals, why may not Swallows ? Two of these birds 

 were, a Summer or two ago, caught, and placed for 

 twenty-four hours in a cage suspended in an ice-house ; 

 at the expiration of this time, one was found dead, but 

 the other was alive, and, when released, flew away in 

 perfect vigour. In this case, therefore, nothing was 

 learned from the experiment. But the constitution of 

 the bird may be different towards the close of the sea- 

 son, and better prepared for a Winter's sleep ; and that 

 this, to a certain degree, is the case, may be collected 

 from the following statement : " On the 22nd of Sep- 

 tember, at about seven o'clock in the morning, with a 

 drizzling cold rain, and wind easterly, a vast number of 

 Chimney- Swallows were observed hovering over or rest- 

 ing on a house, in the south of England ; in the course 

 of the morning, large flocks continued to join this main 

 body. The appearance of the whole was, however, very 

 # Ed. Journ., vol. viii. + Phil. Mag., vol. xxii. 



