120 



BIRD-LAND ECHOES. 



one above another. They are all as pretty as 

 pictures, and those that are not brilliant in color 

 possess unequalled grace, for a swallow in the air 

 is the truest poetry of motion ; it is as if it and 

 the air were one. You cannot take the bird from 

 the sky without dimming all its lustre. It is not 

 strange that the Delaware Indians called these birds 

 " feathered spirits;" and yet they are, when we come 



down to the 

 solid basis of 

 fact, merely fly- 

 catchers, or, in 

 ornithological 

 parlance, catch- 

 ers of flies ; but 

 there is nothing 

 of the amateur 

 r about them in 

 this respect. 

 They shame 

 every kingbird 

 that ever launched into the sunlight of a summer day 

 and snapped its beak at a bee. 



In all matters, whether trivial or important, we are 

 creatures of preferences. We fancy one thing better 

 than another, though assured that both are of equal 

 value. We always pick a sweeter bonbon from the 

 dish than any we leave for our neighbors. It is the 

 natural result of the imperfections of human nature. 

 I will not pretend to say why, but my favorites 

 among these birds are the white-bellied and the 



White-bellied Swallow. 



