SWALLOW SWINEPIPE. 233 



flight signified fine weather. Thus Gay in his first 



" Pastoral " writes : 



When Swallows fleet soar high and sport in air, 

 He told us that the welkin would be clear. 



It is related in " Notes and Queries " that a Swallow alighting 

 upon one's shoulder has been regarded as a sign of death. 

 Parker, writing in 1632, in his poem " The Nightingale," 

 relates that it is counted ominous for one to die in one's 

 hand, a belief held also of the Robin. 



SWALLOW. A Shetland name for the STORM PETREL ; the 

 MARTIN is also sometimes called Swallow. 



Swallow-tailed Kite. An American species which has been said 

 to have strayed to our shores. So called from its tail 

 being deeply forked, with the outer feathers somewhat 

 elongated, like the tail of a swallow. The name is found 

 in Yarrell (1843). It is the Swallow-tailed Falcon of 

 Catesby and the Swallow- tailed Hawk of Wilson and 

 Audubon. 



SWALLOW-TAILED SHELDRAKE : The LONG-TAILED DUCK. 

 (Willughby.) Also occurs as Swallow-tailed Shieldrake. 



SWAN. See MUTE SWAN. 



SWART-BACK: The GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 

 (Orkneys.) 



SWAT : The REDSHANK. (Teesmouth.) 



SWEET BILLY : The CHIFFCHAFF and also the WILLOW- 

 WARBLER. (Nottinghamshire.) 



SWEET WILLIAM : The GOLDFINCH. From its melodious cry. 

 (Swainson.) 



SWIFT [No. 200]. The name Swift appears first in Willughby 

 and originated in the swiftness of its flight. In the 

 fourth edition of Pennant it is called Swift Swallow. The 

 legend that this bird was unable to use its feet is of remote 

 antiquity, and no doubt arose from the small size of these 

 members, although they are neither weak nor useless. 

 Pliny says these birds, because they cannot use their feet, 

 are called Apodes and live chiefly on the wing, and Aristotle 

 says much the same of the species. In Hampshire it is 

 considered unlucky to kill this bird. A farmer, the owner 

 of seventeen cows, is said to have shot seventeen Swifts in 

 one day, and to have had every one of his cows die within 

 seven weeks (" Folklore JnL," Dec., 1883). 



SWIFT SWALLOW : The SWIFT. (Pennant.) 



SWINEPIPE. An old English name for the REDWING. 

 (Willughby.) Newton thinks it refers to " the soft inward 



