gji^ ON THE MIGRATION OF SWALLOWS, 



tnlzea to p,\ channel bends, auti on deck. Lat. D, K, 

 52' 33' N. Long. 20° 21' VV. ^ 



21.->t. Continues foggy, attended with rain. Wind 

 mostly from south-eastward. In the course of the day 

 great numbers of the swallows atd martins were taken by 

 the seamen ; and the cats and dog b<ought n.any oi them. 

 A gieat many had pitched in diffei en: parts of the ship ; 

 and all or the greatest part found dead in the morning. 



Remarks by Dr. Traill. 



The intelligent seaman, who made this extract from his 

 logbook at my request, was ihen on his voyage from the 

 West Indies. He has been many years raptain ot a ship^ 

 in the West India trade fiom Lancaster, and fcora this 

 port. I know him to be a man of probity and veracity; 

 ' and his account was confirmed by some of the mariners of 

 the ship then in company, with whom i converged. 



The circumstances chiefly to be attended to m the nar- 

 ration, are : 

 They -weie ap- 1. The weatber, previously, was not so boisterou? as to 



pare any on countenance the idea, that the swallows were forced by a 

 their pa?;sage ' ^ 



f'om A' rca to tempest from the nearest shore; and the general direction 



the north, not ^^ jj^^ wind was not unfavourable to the supposition of their 

 blown from . . . . ^^ 



the land by a having been aid'd byit, in their passage 'rom the coast 

 ftorm. Qf Africa, where they were observed by the celebrated, but 



unfortunate, Adanson, to arrive in the winter. 



2. The season of the year is favourable to the idea of 

 their migration from the coast of Africa for tlie north of 

 Europe. They alighted on the ships about the time that 

 swallows begin to appear in Britain, to.which they were pro- 

 bably proceeding ; and it should not be forgotten, that 

 about this time of the year swallows are seen to quit the 

 coast of Senegal, and other parts of Africa. 



3. The debility of these birds, which permitted them to. 

 fall an easy prey to the cats and dog ; their suffering them- 

 selves to be caught by the seamen; and their being very 

 lean, as I wa^s informed was the case by those who exa- 

 mined them in the two ships, seem to show, that they 

 bad made a iong voyage^ and not, that they had been acci- 

 dei)tal1y dfiven by a gale, from the neighbouring shores of 



Britain 



