200 THE MOOR AND THE LOCH. 



hoarding the treasure. I once counted about a dozen black 

 flies in the gape of some newly-shot swifts. So exclusively is 

 this large swallow a bird of the air, that it never alights ex- 

 cept when scrambling into its nest, and if placed on flat ground, 

 from the weakness of its feet and length of its wings, would 

 be unable to rise. The feet, exactly like a small hand, are 

 totally unfitted for walking, and only serve the purpose of 

 clutching the eaves of a house when seeking the nesting-place. 

 Feeding higher in the air than the other swallows, their insect- 

 food fails soonest, so they come later and leave earlier than 

 any of the other swallows. Three months is their usual time 

 with us ; while the other three species of swallow viz., the 

 chimney one and the window and bank martins not only 

 come earlier, but stay two months later. I saw a bank martin 

 in the south of England on the 25th of November 1864 ; and 

 on the 5th of December following, another pair hawking for 

 insects among the house-tops of Henley-on-Thames. I never 

 before remember seeing these birds so late in departure. 



The range of the chimney swallow and the two martins 

 comes much nearer the ground than that of the swift. They 

 often alight, and, from the conformation of their feet and 

 shorter wings, can easily rise again. The weaker wing is 

 made up for by the stronger foot, which gives these swallows 

 the power of resting on house-tops, rails, or even on the ground 

 itself. 



Full before my window a pair of fly-catchers used to keep 

 continually darting from the rails of a wooden bridge after in- 

 sects on the wing. These birds may be called the next in 

 succession to swallows, for although they live much on the 

 ground, they find the chief of their food in the air. They 

 arrive in Bute a little later than the swallows, and depart 

 shortly before them. 



On the broad planks of the bridge grey and yellow wagtails 

 find a constant supply. These graceful creatures, although 

 occasionally catching a fly in the air, keep almost constantly 



