172 BRITISH BIRDS. 



Central America and Brazil. This form differs from the preceding only 

 in having the underparts below the breast pale chestnut. In Egypt and 

 Palestine a form occurs having the underparts below the breast a slightly 

 darker chestnut than in the American form, from which it differs most 

 conspicuously in having the broad dark band across the breast like the 

 typical form. This form may be called H. rustica, var. cahirica; it is 

 probably only subspecifically distinct, as intermediate forms frequently 

 occur in Europe. In Australia H. rustica, var. frontalis, breeds and 

 winters in New Guinea. This is probably the parent stock from which all 

 these Swallows are derived, and may be easily distinguished by the almost 

 total absence of the pectoral band, the lower breast and belly being nearly 

 white, as in the European and Chinese forms. 



No bird is more highly prized or more jealously protected than the 

 Swallow; and of all the harbingers of spring it is the most warmly 

 welcomed. Very rarely indeed is it molested; the bird-nesting school- 

 boy will tell you that it is " unlucky " to take its nest, and even the game- 

 keeper, that arch slaughterer of all our fairest and most interesting birds, 

 can bring no accusation against it, and suffers it unmolested to wing its 

 happy way in peace. Wherever this charming little bird takes up its 

 quarters it is always welcomed and protected, especially amongst our rural 

 population, who regard its annual visits to their humble cottages as fore- 

 telling good fortune, and in many cases will inconvenience themselves 

 rather than turn the little southern wanderer away. 



The Swallow generally arrives in this country a little earlier than the 

 House-Martin. It arrives in some parts of Southern Europe, as, for instance, 

 at Gibraltar, about the middle of February, and continues to cross the 

 Straits up to the middle of April ; but in the extreme north of Europe 

 it is said not to arrive until the first week of June. Its first arrival in 

 the south of England takes place early in April, but it does not reach the 

 north of England until about the middle of that month. In the south of 

 Scotland it does not arrive before the last week of April, and in the north 

 of that country seldom before May. The Swallow loves to frequent the 

 neighbourhood of houses, and is consequently the commonest and most 

 widely dispersed in well-cultivated districts. Not that the bird dislikes 

 the wilder country ; for where is the shepherd's cot, the mountain-farm 

 or the gamekeeper's house, even on the barren moors, where this little 

 bird is not to be seen ? It is very common in all country villages, but 

 does not enter the large towns as much as the House-Martin. Like the 

 rest of our British Swallows, the present species is a gregarious bird, and 

 not only lives in company with its own species, but repeatedly flocks with 

 House-Martins, and also with Sand-Martins and Swifts. The Swallow is 

 usually seen on the wing. Sometimes they skim over the ground only a few 

 inches above the surface, seldom attempting a higher flight; but more 



