WHERE SWALLOWS ROOST 99 
invariably face the wind, and when it is from the 
west the last rays of the sun striking their white 
breasts make them appear like snowy flowers crown- 
ing the reeds. Suddenly, with a rush, they whirl 
onward to the roost. 
Thus far the exact location of this roost has de- 
fied my search. I have, however, roughly defined 
the bounds of that section of the marsh in which it 
is placed by observation stands at which the Swal- 
lows flew north and south respectively, and some- 
where between the two I still hope to discover the 
Swallows’ sleeping haunts. 
The following description of their departure 
from the marshes in the morning is abstracted from 
my journal, under date of August 15, 1886: “ A cool, 
clear morning, with a light northwesterly wind. I 
reached the marshes shortly before five o’clock, 
when they appeared to be deserted, not a Swallow 
being in sight. At two minutes of five the first 
birds were observed, then flock after flock they 
came until at five the air was filled with hurrying 
forms, flying at varying altitudes toward the 
north, 
“Suddenly, from the meadows near me there 
arose a vast cloud of Swallows, doubtless birds 
which had come from farther south in the marsh 
before my arrival. Steadily they mounted upward, 
until having attained a height where with a strong 
glass they appeared faint dots against the sky, they 
slowly winged their way northward. 
“All the time the meadows were alive with birds 
feeding in every direction; gradually they passed to 
the north, when another huge flock arose from the 
