4 o 
jjkto^tttjlantJg Parities. 
The Troculus} 
Swallows Neft, but hangs down the Chymney by a clew- 
like ftring a yard long. They commonly have four or five 
young ones, and when they go away, which is much about 
the time that Swallows ufe to depart, they never fail to 
throw down one of their young Birds into the room by 
way of Gratitude. I have more than once obferved, that 
againft the ruin of the Family thefe Birds will fuddenly 
forfake the houfe and come no more. 
[8] The Pilhannaw? 
The Pilhannaw or Mechquan, much like the defcrip- 
tion of the Indian Ruck, a monftrous great Bird, a kind 
1 Chimney-swallow. 
2 "The pilhannaw is the king of birds of prey in New England. Some take 
him to be a kind of eagle; others for the Indian ruck, — the biggest bird that is, 
except the ostrich. One Mr. Hilton, living at Pascataway, had the hap to kill 
one of them. Being by the sea-side, he perceived a great shadow over his head, 
the sun shining out clear. Casting up his eyes, he saw a monstrous bird soaring 
aloft in the air; and, of a sudden, all the ducks and geese (there being then a 
great many) dived under water, nothing of them appearing but their heads. Mr. 
Hilton, having made readie his piece, shot and brought her down to the ground. 
How he disposed of her, I know not; but had he taken her alive, and sent her 
over into England, neither Bartholomew nor Sturbridge Fair could have produced 
such another sight." — Josselytis Voyages, p. 95. These notices have been taken 
