BARN SWALLOW. 419 



their circuits are performed at a considerable elevation, with a liglitness 

 and ease that are truly admirable. They play over the river, the field, or 

 the city with equal grace, and during spring and summer you might ima- 

 gine their object was to fill the air around them with their cheerful twitter- 

 ings. When the weather lowers, they move more swiftly in tortuous mean- 

 derings over the meadows, and through the streets of the towns ; they pass 

 and repass, now close to the pavement, now along the walls of the build- 

 ings, here and there snapping an insect as they glide along with a motion 

 so rapid that you can scarcely follow them with the eye. But try : — 

 there she skims against the wind over the ruffled stream ; up she shoots, 

 seizes an insect, and wheeling round, sails down the breeze with a ra- 

 pidity that carries her out of your sight almost in a moment. Noon ar- 

 rived, and the weather being sultry, round the horse or the cow she 

 passes a thousand times, seizing on each tormenting fly. Now she seems 

 fain to enter the wood, so close along its edge does she pursue her prey ; 

 but spying a Crow, a Raven, a Hawk or an Eagle, off she shoots with 

 doubled speed after the marauder, and the next instant is seen lashing, as 

 it were, the object of her anger with admirable dexterity, after which, full 

 of gaiety and pride the tiny thing returns towards the earth, forming to 

 herself a most tortuous path in the air. 



On the ground the movements of this Swallow are by no means awk- 

 ward, although, when compared with those of other birds, they seem rather 

 hampered. It walks by very short steps, and aids itself with its wings. 

 Should it be necessary to remove to the distance of a few yards, it pre- 

 fers flying. When alighted on a twig, it shews a peculiar tremulous mo- 

 tion of the wings and tail. 



The song of our Barn Swallow resembles that of the Chimney Swal- 

 low of England so much that I am unable to discern the smallest differ- 

 ence. Both sing on the wing and when ahghted, and the common tweet 

 which they utter when flying off is precisely the same in both. Their 

 food also is similar ; at least that of our bird consists entirely of insects, 

 some being small coleoptera, the crustaceous parts of which are disgorged 

 in roundish pellets scarcely the size of a small pea. 



I have represented a pair of our Barn Swallows in the most perfect 

 spring plumage, together with a nest taken from one of the rafters of a 

 barn in the State of New Jersey, in which there was at least a score of 

 them. 



Dd2 



