The Cliff Swallows 
do not even ask the 
fellowship which we 
would gladly accord 
them. Perhaps it is for 
the same reason, viz., 
that their fathers were 
bred in the wilderness, 
where all things are hos¬ 
tile, and that the race 
has acquired the habit 
of being repulsed. 
But there! every per¬ 
son, even a bird-person, 
deserves to be judged for 
what he is, and not for 
what he is not. Also, 
doubtless, the Lord loves 
the Cliff Swallow. 
One only special cause 
of resentment does the 
author cherish against 
this bird, and that, ad¬ 
mittedly, not a moral 
fault. In certain 
sections, as for example, 
the flower-clad slopes of 
eastern San Luis Obispo 
County, Cliff Swallows 
are so abundant as ac¬ 
tually to distract and 
weary the attention. In 
their quest for flying in¬ 
sects they race tirelessly 
to and fro across the landscape, weaving a magic tapestry of search 
until it would seem that not a cubic inch of atmosphere remains without 
its invisible thread of flight. The Swallows appear friendly enough, 
but upon such occasions it is our coin and not our fellowship they are 
after. For as man or beast moves about in the luscious grasses, swarms 
of insects arise, and these the avaricious eye of the Swallow eagerly 
notes. Bird-study—of anything but the Cliff Swallow—is difficult 
in such distracting circumstances. 
But all resentment vanishes when one sees a colony of these sturdy 
Taken in Santa Barbara County Photo by the Author 
CLIFF SWALLOWS A-WING 
5 2 5 
