154 Weld Life in a Southern County. 
eaves of a house, flew with great force against a door 
in the garden wall painted a dull blue. The beak 
was partly broken and the bird completely stunned : 
she died in a few minutes, There was some one in 
the garden close by at the time: his presence may 
have frightened the swallow; yet they are not usually 
timid where their nests are undisturbed. Perhaps in 
her hurry the dull blue colour of the gate may have 
deceived her sight ; but she must have travelled that 
way a hundred times before. 
Swallows frequently come down the great chim- 
neys at the farmhouse and are found in the rooms, 
but are always allowed to escape from the window. 
Swallows are said not to perch; but I have seen 
them repeatedly perch on those sticks which, where 
the thatch has somewhat decayed, project a few 
inches above the roof-tree. Sometimes a row of half 
a ‘dozen may be observed settled on the roof here. 
You may see them, too, perch on the topmost boughs 
of the tall damson trees in the orchard; and again, 
later in the autumn, after nesting is over, they 
assemble in hundreds—one might almost say 
thousands—in the withy bed by the brook, settling 
on the slender willow wands. There they twitter 
together for an hour or more every evening. They 
can rise without the slightest difficulty from the 
ground, if it is level and not encumbered with grass, 
as from the surface of the roads. On dull cold days 
