Swallows and Feathers 8i 



After this I regularly provided feathers for them, and many an hour's 

 entertainment did they furnish me, for I never tired of watching them. 



They seldom failed to see a feather as soon as it was placed on 

 the grass, and would begin to fly back and forth above it. At first 

 they were a little shy and flew so rapidly they often missed their 

 aim, but soon they learned to slacken speed as they dived for the 

 feathers and would seize one nearly every time. I gradually decreased 

 the distance from the piazza until, finally, they would come within 

 three feet of me for them. They always took them on the wing, 

 never alighting to pick them up. 



It was an interesting sight when the successful bird was chased 

 by the rest of the crowd. They usvially came in squads of from 

 three to six, and, in trying for the feathers, would fly in rapid suc- 

 cession, one after the other, each diving to the ground as he passed 

 by. But as soon as one bird got a feather the others would all 

 leave the field and give chase, and many a time they would press 

 him so hard that in turning this way and that to evade them, the 

 feather would slip from his beak. Then there was a whirling and 

 scrambling for it ! Sometimes the owner would catch it again, but 

 more often another bird would snatch it and fly away, only to be 

 pursued in his turn. I have seen a feather dropped and seized three 

 or four times before the barn door was reached. 



When the wind blew it was hard for a Swallow burdened with a 

 feather to make headway against it. Often it would be wrested from 

 his grasp and go sailing away in the air, only to be caught again 

 and borne onward. Sometimes, if the bird had a firm hold of it, he 

 would be turned completely around and even forced to fly backward 

 for a moment. 



One of the small 'shoe-shops' so common throughout some 

 sections of New Hampshire thirty }'ears ago, stood not far from the 

 piazza, and to this low roof the Swallow would frequently carry his 

 prize ; here he would stop, turn the feather about or lay it down 

 while he took a firmer hold of it, seizing it squarely in the middle. 

 The other birds would alight on the roof near him, watching intently 

 but not offering to touch it, until he was again on the wing, when 

 they would instantly give chase. 



Their selection of feathers was especially interesting : every 

 Swallow tried for the largest. When several were put out at one 

 time the smallest ones were always left till the last. In regard to 

 color they were equally particular. At first I selected for them the 

 softest and dowmiest feathers, whether brown or black or white ; 

 but the birds invariably chose the white ones and often refused the 

 dark colors altogether. 



