118 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



like that of distant thunder. The flight of these birds is 

 very rapid, surpassing, I think, that of any other species : 

 it is so peculiar, the long wings vibrating in short, quick, 

 energetic strokes, that it furnishes a ready means of dis- 

 tinguishing it, from all other species, at a great height. 



About sunset, the great multitudes of these birds are out, 

 and the numbers of insects they destroy must be immense. 

 Everywhere they may be seen : away up in the blue sky, as 

 far as the eye can reach, they are coursing in wide-extended 

 circles, chasing each other in sport, and even caressing and 

 feeding their mates while on the wing ; a little lower, they 

 are speeding over the tops of the trees, gleaning the insects 

 that have just left the foliage ; over the surface of the lake 

 or river they fly so low, in the pursuit of aquatic insects, 

 that their wings often touch the water; everywhere they 

 are busy. Truly, they are deserving of much better treat- 

 ment than they too often receive at the hands of the farmer, 

 to whom they are his best friends ; yet it is a fact, that, in 

 a great many sections, they are driven from the chimneys 

 of the farm-houses, and even destroyed, at every oppor- 

 tunity. 



About the last of August, the Chimney Swallow, in large 

 scattered flocks, leaves for the South, and spends the winter 

 in Honduras and the West Indies. On returning in the 

 spring, the same pair occupies the chimney used in the pre- 

 vious season, as has been proved by actual observation. 



