WAYS OF NATURE 



no change of habit. She still snips off the small dry 

 twigs from the tree-tops and glues them together, and 

 to the side of the chimney, with her own glue. The 

 soot is a new obstacle in her way, that she does not 

 yet seem to have learned to overcome, as the rains 

 often loosen it and cause her nest to fall to the bot 

 tom. She has a pretty way of trying to frighten you 

 off when your head suddenly darkens the opening 

 above her. At such times she leaves the nest and 

 clings to the side of the chimney near it. Then, 

 slowly raising her wings, she suddenly springs out 

 from the wall and back again, making as loud a 

 drumming with them in the passage as she is capa 

 ble of. If this does not frighten you away, she re 

 peats it three or four times. If your face still hovers 

 above her, she remains quiet and watches you. 



What a creature of the air this bird is, never 

 touching the ground, so far as I know, and never 

 tasting earthly food ! The swallow does perch now 

 and then and descend to the ground for nesting- 

 material; but the swift, I have reason to believe, 

 even outrides the summer storms, facing them on 

 steady wing, high in air. The twigs for her nest she 

 gathers on the wing, sweeping along like children on 

 a &quot; merry-go-round &quot; who try to seize a ring, or to do 

 some other feat, as they pass a given point. If the 

 swift misses the twig, or it fails to yield to her the 

 first time, she tries again and again, each time mak 

 ing a wider circuit, as if to tame and train her steed 

 9 



