3 2 BRITISH BIRDS. WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



after I had taken the first clutch : these eggs are more heavily marked than any 

 which I have obtained elsewhere. 



The Swallow is an admirable singer, and I shall not easily forget the pleasure 

 with which I first heard it, as it poured forth its sweet melody from the girders 

 of a large railway-station in Switzerland, in 1869; I have heard it several times 

 since, both in Kent and Norfolk, singing from a telegraph wire : the song is very 

 varied and, to my mind, far more melodious than that of a Linnet. Its call may 

 be heard as it chases its insect prey hwit, hwit, or as it greets a passing comrade, 

 hwit-tit-tit-tit. 



The food of the Swallow consists largely of gnats, small flies, and ephemerae ; 

 but it frequently settles on the roads, or on manure heaps, to search for small 

 dung-beetles : owing to its short legs, its progression on the earth is somewhat 

 awkward, and when hurried it uses its wings to help it along : it usually drinks 

 on the wing, skimming the surface of the water as it glides over : its rapid graceful 

 flight is too well known to need description, sometimes at such an elevation that 

 the eye can scarcely follow it, sometimes so near the earth that the grasses wave 

 under the rush of its outspread wings. 



As a cage-bird the Swallow is a mistake ; he sits upon his perch all day 

 looking miserable, rarely moving excepting to eat or drink : specimens have been 

 exhibited at the Crystal Palace shows, held in 1889, 1890, 1891, 1893, and 1896 : 

 in one case the bird was awarded a prize, although it only had one perfect wing ; 

 as a rule the staple food placed in the cage for the consumption of these unhappy 

 captives consisted of gentles. 



So far as I can judge, the object of the owners of caged Swallows is, not to 

 make their pets happy, but to rush them from one show to another, in the hope 

 of gaining many awards before their prisoner dies ; one of the unfortunates was 

 described as "Winner of 23 First, and n Special Prizes " Poor Swallow! 



