SPORT OF BUTE. 121 



this indefatigable creature dart through the air at 

 an immense height, collecting the higher-flying in- 

 sects with its flat-shaped beak, the gape of which, as 

 in all the swallows, is admirably adapted for hoard- 

 ing the treasure. I once counted about a dozen 

 black flies in the gape of some newly-shot swifts. 

 So exclusively is this large swallow a bird of the 

 air, that it never alights except when scrambling 

 into its nest, and if placed on flat ground, from 

 the weakness of its feet and length of its wings, 

 would be unable to rise. The feet, exactly like a 

 small hand, are totally unfitted for walking, and 

 only serve the purpose of clutching the eaves of a 

 house when seeking the nesting-place. Feeding 

 higher in the air than the other swallows, their 

 insect-food fails soonest, so they come later and 

 leave earlier than any of the other swallows. 

 Three months is their usual time with us, while 

 the other three species of swallow viz., the chim- 

 ney one and the window and bank martins not 

 only come earlier, but stay two months later. 

 I saw a bank martin in the south of England on 

 the 25th of last November, and on the 5th of 

 December following another pair hawking for 



