374 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



I give this somewhat detailed preamble, not because I see 

 anything phenomenal in having been on the Manx coast on 

 September 6th, but, firstly, because some of your readars may 

 not have heard of a Swallow's nest — which one always associates 

 with chimneys — in the abysmal depths of a wild part of a wild 

 coast ; secondly, because September 6th is the latest date but one 

 that I have found a Swallow's nest with young; and, thirdly, 

 because if anyone who reads this is up in the North, he may 

 find in the Banner Cave that unusual coincidence — a legend 

 fulfilled ! 



"Well, we took two of the young Swallows home, and fed them 

 by hand on flies and lean meat (chiefly flies) for three days, at 

 the end of which time they would take flies from the hand freely. 

 They seemed chilly little mortals, and required to be kept warm 

 at night in a small cage padded thickly with cotton-wool. Very 

 soon they began to fly about the room, and would perch on the 

 hand at a given whistle. They picked flies very neatly off the 

 window-panes, but were never very successful in catching them 

 in the air. The fact was, the family became such willing and 

 assiduous caterers that the birds were far too lazy to exert them- 

 selves on their own behalf. They seemed even to prefer lean 

 meat to flies. So tame were they that, if tossed up in the garden, 

 they always returned to the hand without fail, chattering away 

 familiarly all the time. Altogether, they proved among the most 

 fascinating of the many feathered pets I have kept. Next to 

 seeing a Peregrine come swooping down to a swing of the lure, 

 I think there is no sight so enjoyable as watching these elegant 

 little birds, with their marvellous power of wing, circle round and 

 over one in graceful curves, free as the air, then shoot down in 

 one moment and alight simultaneously on one's shoulder, twit- 

 tering gaily the while, and peer comically into one's hand to see 

 if any dainty has been reserved for them ! I know of no bird so 

 thoroughly or so easily tameable as the Swallow. 



Unhappily, I have to chronicle their early death. One 

 strangled itself by getting its head between the wires about a 

 fortnight after it came into my possession ; and, curiously enough, 

 about a fortnight later, had its wing broken by a tame Hedgehog, 

 who snapped at it while resting for a moment on the floor. Both 

 birds were perfectly healthy. 



The third piece of evidence I have to offer is the case of a 



