THE SWALLOW. I /I 



their food, and their geographical distribution. 

 I have repeatedly been asked, " What do 

 Swallows feed upon ? " and " Where do Swallows 

 go in winter ? " To these two questions I will 

 now endeavour to reply, believing that an expo- 

 sition of such facts as have been ascertained on 

 these points will be more acceptable to the 

 reader than a repetition of what has been so 

 frequently published on the subject of habits, 

 haunts, dates of arrival, and other minor details. 

 First, then, as regards food. Dr. Jenner 

 found that Swallows on their arrival in this 

 country, and for some time afterwards, feed 

 principally on gnats ; but that their favourite 

 food, as well as that of the Swift and Martin, 

 is a small beetle of the Scarabaeus kind, which 

 he found, on dissection, in far greater abundance 

 in their stomachs than any other insect. A 

 writer in the " Magazine of Natural History,"^ 

 Mr. Main, states that they take two species of 

 gnat, Culex pipiens and C. bifurcatus ; and Sir 



1 " Mag. Nat. Hist." vol. iv. p. 413. 



