118 



INSE8S0EE8. 



tLey are associated with his earliest recollections ; he 

 may forget the dull pages that months of painful 

 study have scarcely fixed upon his memory ; but the 

 appearance of the Barn Swallow, his easy, skimming, 

 graceful flight, as he darts over the meadow, the lake, 

 or the stream, his sprightly twittering note, and his 

 nest under the barn roof, are things which he cannot 

 forget. 



The Barn and Chimney Swallows are by some 

 ignorant persons thought to be the same bird ; but a 



wide difi"erence exists 

 between them, both 

 as to their appear- 

 ance and habits. The 

 plumage of the for- 

 mer is beautifully va- 

 ried with a brilliant 

 and glossy blue-black 

 on the upper parts, 

 and a rich fawn oi 

 drab color below; the 

 tail being deeply 



Barn Swallow. forked, with the tWO 



outer feathers nearly double the length of the others ; 

 while the latter is wholly of a plain mouse or slate 

 color, with the tail nearly even, and each feather 

 ending in a sharp point.* 



* The differences between the Chimney nnd Barn Swal- 

 .ows are po^eater and more important than our author him- 

 self appears to have been aware of. The Chimney Bird is 

 a Swift, and belongs to a family of Syndactyli near the 



