not unfrequently dipping the tips of its wings, 

 or under part of its body, into the water as it 

 passes over its surface** 



* The Ancients thought this a certain sign of rain. Thus 

 Aratus : 



"H tipniv vefl &j0a %tX}oft$ aicrcrovl 

 rviflovfreti avrus efavpevov v$a 



Arat. Dios. 210. 

 Likewise Virgil, who imitated Aratus : 



- -Numquam imprudentibus imber 

 Obfuit. Aut ilium surgentem vallibus imis 

 Aeriae fugere grues ; aut bucula, coelum 

 Suspiciens, patulis captauit naribus auras; 

 Aut arguta lacus circumuolitauit hirundo, 

 Et veterem in limo ranae cecin&re querelam. 



Virg. Geor. lib. i. 377. 



Pliny also puts among the signs of rain : Hirundatamjuxta 

 aquam volitans ut penna saepe percutiat. Hist. Nat. xviii. 35. 

 The same fact is mentioned by Linnaeus : Cum volitat juxta 

 terrain sive aquam, pluuias praesagit. The innumerable turns 

 and rapid motions of the swallow are thus noticed in the Epi- 

 gram. Incert. Auct. 



Ore bono volitans muscas deprfcndit hirundo 



Atque ita viventi pascitur ipsa cibo 

 Quumque volat lacus circum vel florida prata 

 Quis velit ambages pernumerare nouas ? 



