7G4 



H I R U N D O. 



habits of birds, in that very singular region of the 

 world "There is something," says Captain Hen- 

 derson, " remarkably curious and deserving of notice 

 in the ascent of these birds. As soon as the dawn 

 appears they quit their place of rest, which is usually 

 chosen amid the rushes of some watery savannah, and 

 invariably rise to a certain height in a compact spiral 

 form, and which, at a distance, often occasions them 

 to be taken for an immense column of smoke. This 

 attained, they are then seen separately to disperse in 

 search of food, the occupation of the day. To those 

 who may have had the opportunity of observing the 

 phenomenon of a water-spout, the similarity of evolu- 

 tion in the ascent of these birds will be thought sur- 

 prisingly striking. The descent, which regularly 

 takes place at sunset, is conducted much in the same 

 way, but with inconceivable rapidity ; and the noise 

 which accompanies this can only be compared to the 

 falling of an immense torrent, or rushing of a violent 

 gust of wind. Indeed, to an observer, it seems won- 

 derful that thousands of these birds are not destroyed 

 in being thus propelled to the earth with such irre- 

 sistible force." 



This species of swallow is about seven inches in 

 length, and thirteen inches in the stretch of the wings. 

 The bill is black, the upper part of the head, neck, 

 back, rump, and tail-coverts steel blue, which de- 

 scends rounding on the breast. The front and chin 

 are of a deep chestnut. The belly, vent, and lining of 

 the wing, light chestnut. The wings and tail are of a 

 brown black, slightly glossed with reflections of green ; 

 the tail is forked, the exterior feather on each an 

 inch and a half longer than the next, and tapering 

 towards the extremity ; each feather, except the two 

 middle ones, marked on its inner vane with an oblong 

 spot of white; eye dark hazel. The sides of the 

 mouth are yellow, and the legs are dark purple. 

 The female differs from the male in having the belly 

 and vent rufous white, instead of light chestnut. 

 These parts are also slightly clouded with rufous, and 

 the exterior tail feathers are shorter. These birds 

 soon become exceedingly gentle, and are easily tamed; 

 and when kept in a room, they employ themselves in 

 catching flies, and picking them from the garments, 

 &c , it may contain ; and they may be occasionally 

 observed calling out of the window to their old com- 

 panions as they pass it. 



These birds are more abundant on the Atlantic side 

 of the Alleghany mountains than they are in the great 

 central valley of North America, and in every place 

 they are more abundant as the country is more 

 thickly settled. They do not frequent the woods and 

 wilds, but rather the close vicinity of the farmhouses, 

 where they make their nest attached to the beams 

 and rafters of barns, and other large out-buildings ; 

 and so partial are they to such places, that scarcely an 

 outhouse to which they can find access is without 

 them. Sometimes one large barn will contain several 

 scores of nests, and though the birds build within a 

 few inches of each other, the greatest harmony appears 

 to prevail among them ; nor are they subject to the 

 persecution of even the most parsimonious of the 

 German settlers, not being accused of going " schnip 

 schnaup near the hif," as is alleged of their congener 

 formerly alluded to. On the other hand, even the 

 superstition of the Germans has come to the protec- 

 tion of these birds ; for Wilson found settlers of that 

 country who firmly believed that this kind of swallow 

 protected their burns from lightning, and that if they 



wantonly killed the birds the milk of their cows would 

 immediately after become tinged with blood. They 

 build their nests, at least in the middle latitudes of 

 the United States, in the early part of the month of 

 May. The structure is a work of some labour, formed 

 of mud, and rendered stronger by an admixture of 

 fine vegetable fibres. It is in the shape of an inverted 

 cone, about six inches in diameter and five in depth, 

 as measured on the outside ; and the lip is generally 

 enlarged in order to allow a resting place for the 

 male when feeding the sitting female, or the two birds 

 when feeding the young. There is no dome to the 

 nest, and such an addition is not required, as it is 

 made under cover ; but the inside is carefully lined, 

 first with fine dry grass, and then with soft and downy 

 feathers. The eggs are usually four or five in number, 

 white in the ground colour, and mottled over with 

 small specks of reddish brown. They are, however, 

 semi-transparent, which gives them altogether a 

 slight reddish appearance. It is worthy of remark 

 that in proportion as birds take greater care in pro- 

 viding soft arid warm nests for their eggs, those eggs 

 are always more delicate, finer in the shell, and ap- 

 proach more to transparency. Birds whose eggs 

 have this character, are generally close sitters, they 

 are almost all birds of firm plumage and rapid wing, 

 and the greater number of them are migrant. The 

 present species have generally two broods in the 

 course of the season, and thus, while they remain in 

 the United States, their life is a very busy one. 

 There is also a sort of attempt on the part of the old 

 birds to train the young ones to something like habits of 

 independence.orof shifting forthemselves in the world; 

 for, before the young venture out of doors, they take 

 a good deal of exercise in flying, along with the old 

 ones, within side the barn or other shelter. Altogether 

 this is perhaps the most interesting species of swallow 

 which is met with on the American continent. 



WHITE-BELLIED AMERICAN SWALLOW (H. viridu'), 

 has sometimes been confounded with the house mar- 

 tin of the eastern continent, but it is different in 

 colour. The European martin is bluish black, and 

 has the rump white and the legs covered with short 

 feathers of a whitish colour. The American species 

 is greenish on the upper part, has no white on the 

 rump, and no feathers on the legs. It is a migrant, 

 and arrives later in the United States than many of 

 the others, and it resorts to the shrubby islands in the 

 estuaries and rivers. The length of the bird is not 

 quite six inches, and the extent of the wings is about 

 twelva. The upper parts are light greenish blue with 

 a rich gloss ; the wings brownish black with slight 

 reflections of green ; the tail is much forked, the 

 two exterior feathers being about a quarter of an inch 

 longer than the middle ones. The under part is 

 pure white ; the close wings extend a quarter of an 

 inch beyond the point of the tail ; and the legs are 

 short, strong, and naked of feathers, and of a purplish 

 colour. The nest of this species has the principal 

 part formed wholly of vegetable fibres, without any 

 admixture of mud ; but it is lined with a profusion of 

 feathers, which are so disposed as to cover the eggs 

 when the female quits them. These eggs are four or 

 five in number, and of a white colour ; and it is under- 

 stood that the birds have generally two hatches in the 

 course of the year. They are not exclusively insec- 

 tivorous, but in the end of the season they resort to 

 the swamps which are thickly covered with the oan- 

 dleberry myrtle, and feed upon the fruit of that plant, 



