32 BRITISH BIRDS. WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 
after I had taken the first clutch: these eggs are more heavily marked than any 
which I have obtained elsewhere. 
The Swallow is an admirable singer, and I shall not easily forget the pleasure 
with which I first heard it, as it poured forth its sweet melody from the girders 
of a large railway-station in Switzerland, in 1869; I have heard it several times 
since, both in Kent and Norfolk, singing from a telegraph wire: the song is very 
varied and, to my mind, far more melodious than that of a Linnet. Its call may 
be heard as it chases its insect prey—Awt, hut, or as it greets a passing comrade, 
Awiet-tit-tit-trt. 
The food of the Swallow consists largely of gnats, small flies, and ephemere ; 
but it frequently settles on the roads, or on manure heaps, to search for small 
dung-beetles: owing to its short legs, its progression on the earth is somewhat 
awkward, and when hurried it uses its wings to help it along: it usually drinks 
on the wing, skimming the surface of the water as it glides over: its rapid graceful 
flight is too well known to need description, sometimes at such an elevation that 
the eye can scarcely follow it, sometimes so near the earth that the grasses wave 
under the rush of its outspread wings. 
As a cage-bird the Swallow is a mistake; he sits upon his perch all day 
looking miserable, rarely moving excepting to eat or drink: specimens have been 
exhibited at the Crystal Palace shows, held in 1889, 1890, 1891, 1893, and 1896: 
in one case the bird was awarded a prize, although it only had one perfect wing; 
as a rule the staple food placed in the cage for the consumption of these unhappy 
captives consisted of gentles. 
So far as I can judge, the object of the owners of caged Swallows is, not to 
make their pets happy, but to rush them from one show to another, in the hope 
of gaining many awards before their prisoner dies; one of the unfortunates was 
described as ‘‘ Winner of 23 First, and 11 Special Prizes” —Poor Swallow! 
