AT WORK AND PLAY 223 



or play. Their enjoyment in their perfect mas- 

 tery of the air is very evident. They fly not 

 only for the purpose of getting food but for the 

 pleasure of flying, chasing each other back and 

 forth, skimming trees and buildings and even 

 human beings by hairs' breaths. One of the best 

 places to watch this social sport of flying is at a 

 pond. By far the majority of the birds with us 

 are tree swallows but a moderate number of barn 

 swallows and a few eave and bank swallows may 

 be seen. One September day at sunset a flock of 

 many hundreds if not thousands of these birds 

 were alighted on the bushes, fence rails and wires 

 near the waters of Sagamore Pond. They arose 

 with the roar of many wings, and, turning first 

 their dark then their white surfaces to the ob- 

 server, swirled about in irregular groups. Then 

 they all flew close to the water, and every now and 

 then hurled themselves at it so that the quiet sur- 

 face of the pond was pitted with splashes as from 

 a bombardment. Their heads, backs and wings 

 were soused in the water, which they shook off in 

 showers as they arose. At times they would dip 

 lightly several times in succession. At last they 



