170 NATURE'S STORY OF THE YEAR 



up for some distance with a homing pigeon, which 

 we know generally flies at about forty miles per 

 hour. On passing the scene of the above-men- 

 tioned contest between swift and sparrow, a week 

 after, I found the former in sole possession. Pro- 

 bably his very sharp claws had proved more than 

 a match for the weapons of the sparrow. 



