32 Messrs. Sheppard and Wiiitear's Catalogue 



but fish, and died in a few weeks for want of proper food. The 

 Kingfisher will sometimes lay its eggs on the bare earth, at the 

 end of a hole, without making any nest. In Suffolk the nests of 

 this bird have been found in holes in gravel-pits, at the distance 

 of a mile from any la]ge pond or river. The eggs are white and 

 round. 



Genus XXXII. IIirundo. 



1. H. rustica (Swallow). 



At the time when Swallows are congregated in the autumn 

 for the purpose of migrating, a part of them have been observed 

 to ascend in the air in a spiral direction beyond the reach of 

 human vision, and after continuing out of sight a short time, to 

 descend again. Sometimes they would continue to do this at 

 intervals for two or three days together, and then all would dis- 

 appear. Query : Do they ascend in this manner to ascertain 

 whether there is an upper current of air favourable to their mi- 

 gration ? and do they prefer migrating high in the air, in order 

 to have a greater scope of vision ? 



A young SwalloAv, Avliich was kept alive by a lady, was observed 

 to become uneasy as the time of migrating approached ; and when 

 its cage was hung in the air, the wild Swallows came about it, 

 and appeared to invite it to go with them. After they had all 

 disappeared it became tolerably easy. 



The following extraordinary circumstance in the natural his- 

 tory of the Swallow, which occurred at Christ Church, Ipswich 

 (the residence of the Rev. Mr. Fonnereau), very forcibly illus- 

 trates the unusual coldness and backwardness of the season : — 

 " On the mornings of the 5th and 6th of June 1816, the oar- 

 deners could have taken up hundreds of these birds in their 

 hands : they were collected in knots, and sat on the grass in 

 parcels of thirty and forty. This, there is reason to believe, was 



owmg 



