Chapter XIX. 



SWALLOWS, MARTLNS, SWIFTS, AXD 

 NIGHT-JARS. 



In China, no less than in England and other countries, 

 all the swallow family are welcome visitors. How large a 

 part the swallow fills in English literature every reader 

 knows. Probably it is the same in all other literatures, for 

 there is, in the swallow tribe, an appeal which invariably goes 

 to the heart of man, the appeal for protection. Sometimes 

 the swallow insists on building in our chimneys, oftener in 

 our out-buildings, and in the form of the house-martin, 

 (Chelidon iirbica) in rows under our eaves. In Germany as 

 in China it is quite a common thing for the householder to 

 provide a shelf on which the nest is placed, be it in the stable 

 or, more commonly in China, in the dwelling room of the 

 family where, as "The Dream of the Red Chamber" says, 

 "New swallows flit amongst the beams 

 Each in its thoughtless way." 



It is difficult to imagine a better object-lesson in kind- 

 ness and gentle behaviour to wild creatures than this. A 

 special inlet is provided for the birds whenever necessary, 

 and not even the most thoughtless boy would dream of harm- 

 ing the family visitor any more than he would the family babe. 



What the difference is between swallows and martins is 

 a question which I have frequently found to puzzle even 

 people who, liking birds, take some interest in them. It is 

 useless to say that the family name of the swallow is H;'r(<H(/o 

 whilst that of the Martin is Chelidon. That means nothing. 

 It is necessary to go to marked distinctions on the outside. 

 If in looking into a nest you saw white eggs marked 

 with brown and grej' you might safely hope to see a swal- 

 low visiting it. If the eggs were pure white they would be 

 a martin's. But this again is of no use in the field. Here 

 is a bird now before us hawking "low o'er the grass" for 

 flies, a sure sign of rain. Is there any mark by which he 

 may be distinguished. There are two or three. He is below 

 the line of sight as draughtsmen say, and so you see only 

 his back. Well, if that is a uniform purple "black, and if 

 his tail is so forked as to stream behind somewhat in two 

 longish points, he is a swallow. Had he been a martin there 



