10 



when its wings are extended. Ruy says of this 

 bird : Ob alarum longitudmem et brevitatempedum 

 kumo aegrb se toller t potest. Raii Synop. p. 72. 

 It is of a sooty black colour, with a whitish" spot on 

 its breast. It arrives in this country towards the 

 middle of May, and departs about the middle of 

 August*. It builds in holes of rocks, in ruined 

 towers, and under the tiling of houses. It has only 

 one brood in the year. 



The swift comes at first in greater numbers at 

 once, and they all depart more suddenly than any 

 of the other species. 



* It is remarkable, that most countries have a similar pro- 

 verb relating to the swallow's accidental appearance before its 

 usual time. The Greeks have Mi* xshdu* tug worn; the 

 Latins, Vna hirundo non facit ver; the French, Une hiron- 

 delle ne fait pas les printems ; the Germans, Eine schwalbe 

 macht keinen frilling ; the Dutch, Een swaluw maakt geen 

 zomer ; the Swedes, En svala gor ingen sommar ; the Spanish, 

 Una golondrina no hace verano; the Italians, Una rondine 

 non fa primavera ; and the English, One swallow doth not make 

 a summer. 



