158 WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



the lower part of the body just before the tail forks 

 is very noticeable. The darker feathers have a glossy 

 bluish tinge on the black. They seem fond of flying 

 round and near horses and cattle, as if insects were 

 more numerous near animals. While driving on a 

 sultry day I have watched a swallow follow the horse 

 for a mile or more. 



It is a pleasant sight to watch them gliding just 

 above the surface of smooth water, dipping every now 

 and then. Once, while observing some swallows fly- 

 ing over a lake, on a windy day, when there were 

 waves of some size, I saw a swallow struck by the crest 

 of a wave and overwhelmed. It was about twenty 

 yards from a lee shore, and the bird floated on the 

 water, rising and sinking with the waves till they 

 threw it on the bank. It was much exhausted, but 

 when placed on a stone in the warm sunshine soon 

 recovered and flew off. 



As another proof that, quick as they are on the 

 wing, they do not always judge their position or course 

 precisely, I know a case where a swallow, in less than 

 ten yards after leaving her nest under the eaves of a 

 house, flew with great force against a door in the gar- 

 den wall painted a dull blue. The beak was partly 

 broken and the bird completely stunned : she died in 

 a few minutes. There was some one in the garden 

 close by at the time : his presence may have fright- 

 ened the swallow ; yet they are not usually timid 

 where their nests are undisturbed. Perhaps in her 

 hurry the dull blue colour of the gate may have de- 



