BIRDS. 





&rd, coniectures and opinions, but from ahistorj\and col- 

 Migratory. ] ect 'j on f wt .J] known facts. But here where the 

 *""" "V fences of probability, nay of the laws of nature, are 



broken down, to give way for a wild hypothesis, and 

 groundless system, we must pause, and have at 

 last recourse to unbelief. But we shall now proceed 

 to offer our reasons, for doubting the correctness of the 

 preceding narratives. The specific levity of a swal- 

 low must prevent it from being able to descend to 

 the bottom of a rapid river. No bird could continue 

 for six months under water, without suffocation or 

 Corruption. That celebrated anatomist and natur- 

 alist, the late John Hunter, tells us, " That he hud 

 dissected many swallows, but found nothing in them 

 different from other birds, as to the organs of respi- 

 ration," and consequently draws this conclusion, 

 " t hat they could not remain for any time under 

 water, without being drowned." It is an incontes- 

 tible fact, that swallows do not moult in this country, 

 and if they hibernate under water, it is simply im- 

 possible that they can undergo that operation, or at 

 least acquire new feathers there. We may therefore 

 ask, where do they moult ? The ingenious and in- 

 quisitive Re3umur says, that he was often promised, 

 from several of his correspondents, ocular demonstra- 

 tion, of bundles of swallows to be found under the 

 ice, or that might at any time be discovered torpid 

 in old buildings, &c. but that none of these gentle- 

 nv-n ever kept their words with him. We have also 

 holy writ to confirm us in the belief of the migration 

 of the swallow, " yea the stork in the heaven know- 

 eth her appointed times, and the turtle, and the crane, 

 and the mallow, observe the time of their coming." 

 (Jeremiah chap. viii. v. 7.) From all these consider- 

 ations we infer, that the whole of the swallow genus 

 are birds of pasbage, and that they do not remain 

 torpid with us during the winter either above or 

 under water, or in any state whatever. That some 

 in holes and bores may be found dead, or others 

 drowned, we shall not dispute ; nor shall we pretend 

 absolutely to determine, to what countries they go 

 after leaving us. We are, however, rather inclined to 

 imagine, with Willpughby and Buffon, that they 

 winter in Africa ; an opinion which is much strength 

 ened by the following observations of Adanson * 

 at Senegal : " ( February ) The hut where I lodged 

 was large and commodious, but as dark as a subter- 

 raneous cavern, even at noon day, because it had no 

 other opening but a door pierced at each end. Here 

 I must observe, that a great number of our European 

 swallows resorted hither every evening, and passed 

 the night upon the rafters ; for as I have elsewhere 

 mentioned, they do not build nests in this country, but 

 only come to spend the winter." Voyage to Sene- 

 gal. 



The writer of this article has also to mention 

 another circumstance, which entirely convinced him 

 that the whole of the swallow genus, previous to the 

 setting in of winter, migrate from cold to warm 

 countries. 



On the 11th day of October 1791, when on board 



515 



the ship Pigou from London, bound for Phila- 

 delphia, between the capes of May and Henlopen, 

 he observed immense flocks of swallows, * flying to- 

 wards the south. Next day when he came within 

 the Delaware, myriads also appeared, all stretching 

 and steering their course in the same direction, which 

 was down the river. Pennant, a naturalist whom 



Bint-. 

 Migratory. 



alth, 



rh 



we must always mention with veneration, 

 he sneers at the idea of the submersion of the swal- 

 low, yet yields, in some degree, to the opinion, that 

 the latter hatchet, or broods remain in this country 

 and become torpid during winter ; but he has brouo-ht 

 forward no satisfactory evidence to establish this 

 point. The swift disappears about the middle of 

 August, the chimney and house swallows from the 

 10th to the 15th of October, and the sand martin 

 soon after them. 



The bird, that in spring (April) immediately The cue* 

 follows the chimney swallow and house martin, is the koo. 

 cuckoo, (cuculus canorus,) the only species of the 

 genus cuculus that we have in Britain. His mono- 

 tonous and short call, although somewhat unmusical, 

 gives always delight, as it is the never-failing indica- 

 tion of approaching summer. The cuckoo often 

 calls when flying, is restless, and seldom sits, or con- 

 tinues its notes long on one tree. The prevailing opi- 

 nion is, that it neither hatches nor rears its own young. 

 But as we are, in general, unbelievers in most of the 

 supposed anomalies of nature, we shall offer our 

 doubts respecting the truth of this assertion. The 

 opinion respecting this unnatural act of indifference 

 of the cuckoo towards its own offspring, may be 

 traced so far back as the days of Aristotle, who has 

 written on tiie subject, and who was afterwards fol- 

 lowed by Pliny. These naturalists differ a little in 

 their accounts ; the first averring, that the cuckoo 

 destroys all the eggs in the hedge sparrows nest, and 

 then deposits her own single one ; while the last 

 author says, that the liedge sparrow, notwithstanding 

 the disparity of size, hatches the additional egg, 

 with the whole of her own, which remain untouched. 

 The general study of natural history, has enabled 

 us to judge of the degree of credit, that should be 

 given to the many idle stories, which formerly disgra- 

 ced her volumes ; such as the ostrich laying her eggs 

 in the hot sands of Africa, ar.d the sun hatching them 

 without any regard on the part of the parent. Of 

 the fretful porcupine shooting his quills against 

 those who assailed or annoyed him, and with many 

 others of the same same kind. But late travel- 

 ers have convinced us of the falsity of these and 

 such reports. We are also apt to think, that this 

 popular story respecting the cuckoo, will soon, like 

 these, pass away as a mere vulgar error. We never 

 yet, after much pains and search, could find a cuc- 

 koo's egg, either in the nests of wood pigeons, hedge 

 sparrows, larks, wagtails, or yellow hammers. To 

 make all these birds stand as the foster dams to the 

 cuckoo, is surely a most glaring absurdity. Some 

 of them are not iiisectiverous, winch all cuckoos are ; 

 and we can hardly imagine, that they would change 



Hirundo cauda acukuta Americano. Catesbr. 



