HIRUNDO. 



sive in all. Thqugh so much within the 

 observation of man, some circumstances 

 of their economy have hitherto complete, 

 ly baffled the curiosity of the most vigi- 

 lant observer. Various opinions have 

 been formed of the state in which they 

 exist during the time of their disappear- 

 ance ; some imagining them to lie torpid, 

 in the banks of rivers, or in decayed trees, 

 or in ruined edifices, or vaults ; and 

 others that they retire for the winter 

 from the air to the water, lying in im- 

 mense clusters, like swarms of bees, at 

 the bottoms of rivers. But this notion 

 can no longer deceive ; its absurdity has 

 been demonstrated by several naturalists 

 who have observed for themselves, and 

 not depended upon the vague accounts of 

 the ignorant. It is indeed surprising how 

 this story could possibly have gained be- 

 lief, and a belief so general as it certain- 

 ly has commanded, that the swallow, 

 whose powers of flight are equal to those 

 of any other bird, and whose delicate or- 

 ganization is so unequivocally intended 

 for the air, should, at the approach of the 

 rigours of winter, precipitate itself into 

 the water, and burrow in the mud. By 

 future naturalists it will be regarded as a 

 proof of the credulity of the times, and 

 will be told with as little gravity as we 

 now observe in relation to the imputed 

 origin of the Barnacle Goose. That na- 

 ture does not in this instance deviate 

 from her ordinary laws has been suffi- 

 ciently proven, and the fact is satisfacto- 

 rily established, that they regularly mi- 

 grate in search of congenial climates. 

 They have frequently been seen by mari- 

 ners at a vast distance from land, and in 

 very numerous flocks, and have occasion- 

 ally converted the rigging and yards of 

 vessels into resting places, which have 

 most conveniently relieved their long and 

 wearisome flight. Mr. Pearson, of Lon- 

 don, after one unsuccessful experiment, 

 was enabled to preserveswallows through- 

 out the winter, taking extreme care to 

 guard their feet from damp and cold. 

 They were in good health, sang with vi- 

 vacity, and accomplished the process of 

 moulting soon after Christmas, without 

 any particular inconvenience, and for 

 three successive years exhibited the same 

 vigour, health, and animation. From this 

 experiment it might be presumed, that 

 swallows experience no particular devia- 

 tion in constitution and propensities from 

 other birds, and quit this country towards 

 winter for one where they may enjoy a 

 milder climate, and more plentiful food. 

 They lire to be met with in every coun- 

 try of the world, and in all, or nearly so, 



arefousdto be migratory. There are 

 thirty-seven species, of which we shall 

 notice the following. 



H. rustica, or the house-swallow, ap- 

 pears in March, in England, and leaves it 

 in September. It generally builds in 

 chimneys, or under the eaves of houses, 

 and will return, unless interrupted, to its 

 original haunt for a number of years. For 

 three years in succession a pair of swal- 

 lows built on the frame of an old picture 

 in Camerton Hall, near Bath, having ac- 

 cess to the apartment through a broken 

 pane in the window. These birds breed 

 twice a year. They are easily rendered 

 familiar ; and it has been calculated, from 

 what occurred in a curious and extraordi- 

 nary instance of the domestication of one. 

 of them, in the family of a gentleman in 

 Northumberland, that a single swallow 

 will devour from seven hundred to a 

 thousand flies in one day. See Aves, 

 Plate VIII. 



H. urbica, or the martin, arrives in Eng- 

 land rather later than the swallow, and re- 

 mains longer. It builds often in the crags 

 of rocks, near the sea ; often under the 

 eaves and cornices of houses. As soon as 

 the young are able to fly, they are fed by 

 the old birds upon the wing, by a process 

 so rapid and instantaneous, as almost to be 

 deemed incredible by those who have not 

 actually witnessed it. Before their depar- 

 ture they collect in immense flocks ik 

 the small islands of the Thames, where 

 they roost, and in their flights about 

 which they almost obscure by their num- 

 bers the face of the sky. It is observed, 

 that in comparison with the multitudes 

 which depart, there are extremely few 

 which return. See Aves, Plate VIII. fig. 3. 



H. apus, or the swift, arrives in Eng- 

 land later, and quits sooner, than any 

 other species,and is also larger and strong- 

 er. It builds in elevated situations, parti- 

 cularly about churches and steeples. As 

 these birds catch at almost every thing in 

 the air, they are taken sometimes by a 

 cockchaffer, or other insects, tied to a 

 thread. In the Isle of Zante this torturing 

 amusement is practised on them by boys, 

 who catch them indeed often in immense 

 numbers by a string and feathered hook 

 only, which they suspend from some ele- 

 vated situation. They retire during the 

 heat of the day ; but in the morning and 

 evening are incessantly on the wing, tak- 

 ing higher and bolder flights than the 

 swallows, and always keeping separate 

 from them. They leave that island in 

 August. See Aves, Plate VIII. fig. 4. 



H. esculenta, or the Chinese swallow, 

 is said to be less than the wren by some 



