534 PASSERINES. 



her immediate vicinitj^, twittering and chirping all day long to 

 cheer the mother at her task. Two or three times in the season 

 they thus raise a family. 



From the time when the little ones are hatched the parent birds 

 attend them with all the care their feebleness demands, and 

 often exhibit remarkable proofs of affection. When the young 

 Swallows feel strong enough to try their wings, the old ones ten- 

 derly guide them on their first attempts at flight, and teach them 

 how pursuit of insects in the air is successfully performed. Boer- 

 haave quotes an instance where a Swallow, returning from some 

 distant excursion, found the house in which it had built its nest 

 in flames. It did not hesitate an instant to throw itself into 

 the fire in order to save its young. 



Swallows generally prefer the proximity of a lake or river, 

 the surface of water being always the rendezvous of crowds of 

 insects, among which they can reap a plentiful harvest. Swallows 

 are extremely sociable ; they assemble in large flocks, and appear 

 to be bound together by strong attachment, for they aid each 

 other in trying circumstances. 



"I have seen a Swallow," saj^s Dupont de Nemours, "which 

 was unfortunate, and had, I know not how, entangled its foot in 

 a ball of string, one end of which was attached to the roof of the 

 College of the Four Nations ; its strength was exhausted, and it 

 hung uttering painful cries at the end of the string, only endea- 

 vouring to release itself occasionally by fluttering attempts at 

 flight. All the Swallows between the Tuileries and the Pont 

 Neuf, and perhaps for a much greater distance, were assembled to 

 the number of many thousands, forming a perfect cloud, uttering 

 cries of alarm. All that came flew past, giving a peck of their 

 bin at the fatal string ; these blows, being frequently repeated, 

 and always directed at the same spot, were finally successful, 

 for in half an hour the strijig was cut and the captive set at 

 liberty." 



Another fact, related by the great naturalist Linn^us, proves how 

 strong is the spirit of brotherhood with these birds. When the 

 Wnidow Swallows returned in spring to take possession of their 

 nests, a certain number of them were found occupied by Sparrows. 

 One of the more legituuate proprietors, thus despoiled of his pro- 



