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PLATE XXXIX. BARN SWALLOW. 



Chelidon erythrogaster, 



Above steel blue ; throat deep chestnut ; belly light chestnut ; a blue 

 band across the breast ; forehead' chestnut ; wings and tail black and 

 long, the latter deeply forked and spotted with white ; bill black ; legs 

 purple. Length, 6.95 inches. 



Migratory. Arrives late in April, leaves early in September. Its nest of mud and 

 straw is attached to rafters and eaves of houses or barns. 



The wonderfully agile and graceful flight of this bird is made the theme of Mr. 

 Ruskin's fascinating essay, LOVE'S MEINE, which will afford the keenest enjoyment to 

 all bird-lovers. 



Much discussion has prevailed as to whether the Barn Swallow migrates or hibernates. 

 More than a century ago Gilbert White was full of speculation regarding it, as many pages 

 of his NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE show. 



Dr. Chas. C. Abbott, in A NATURALIST'S RAMBLES ABOUT HOME, has devoted an inter- 

 esting chapter to the subject ; and, indeed, writers on birds have all found the theme a 



