THE SWALLOW. 47 



Arguments in favour of its migration. 



they may be said to begin their voyage when they 

 go back into warmer climates. I was some years 

 since at this place, about the beginning of Oc- 

 tober, and lodging at a house that looked into the 

 church-yard, I observed, in the evening, an un- 

 usual number of swallows sitting on the leads of 

 the church, and covering the tops of several 

 houses round about. This led me to enquire, of 

 a gentleman of the place, what could be the 

 meaning of such a multitude of swallows having 

 collected together, and sitting in that manner r" 

 ' O, sir, (replied he,) you may easily perceive 

 the reason; the wind is off the sea; for this is 

 the season of the year, when the swallows, their 

 food failing here, begin to leave us, and return 

 to the country, wherever it be, from whence 1 

 suppose they came ; and this being the nearest 

 land to the opposite coast, and the wind being 

 contrary, they are waiting for a gale, and may 

 be said to be wind-bound.' And of the justness 

 of this remark, I was convinced in the morning, 

 when t found the wind had come about to the 

 north-west in the night, and there was not a sin- 

 gle swallow to be seen. 



<e To me, however, it appears certain, that 

 swallows neither come hither merely for warm 

 \veather, nor retire merely from cold ; they, like 

 shoals of fish in the sea, pursue their prey ; they 

 are a voracious creature, and feed flying ; for 

 their food is the insects, of which, in our sum- 



