136 Swallows. 



So, too, if the rooks quit the rookery or the colonies 

 of bees in the hives on the sunn}- side of tlie orcliard 

 decay and do not swarm, but seem to die off, it is an 

 evil omen. If at night a bird flutters against the 

 window-pane in the darkness — as they will some- 

 times in a great storm of wind, driven, perhaps, 

 from their roosting-places by the breaking of the 

 boughs, and attracted by a light within — the knock- 

 ing of their wings betokens that something sad is 

 about to happen. If an invalid asks for a pigeon — 

 taking a fancy to a dish of pigeons to eat — it is 

 a sign either of coming dissolution or of extreme 

 illness. 



But the swallows rarely fail to come in the spring, 

 and soon begin to repair their nests or build new 

 ones with mortar from the roads ; a rainy day is 

 very useful to them, and they alight at the edge of 

 the puddles, finding the mud already mixed and 

 tempered for them there. In such weather they will 

 fly backwards and forwards by the side of a hedge 

 for a length of time, skimming just above the grass, 

 when, looking down on them instead of up at them, 

 the white bar across the lower part of the body just 

 before the tail forks is very noticeable. The darker 

 feathers have a glossy bluish tinge on the black. 

 They seem fond of flying round and near horses and 

 cattle, as if insects were more numerous near animals. 

 While driving on a sultr}- da}' I have watched a swal- 

 low follow the horse for a mile or more. 



It is a pleasant sight to watch them gliding just 

 above the surface of smooth water, dipping every 

 now and then. Once, while observing some swal- 

 lows flying over a lake, on a windy day, when there 



