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c< (October) at half an hour paft fix in the evening, 
“ being about fifty leagues from the coaft, (between 
c< the ifland of Gorea and Senegal) four fwallows 
<c came to take up their night’s lodging on the fliip, 
<£ and alighted on the fhrouds. I eafily caught all 
<c four, and knew them to be the .true European 
<c fwallows. This lucky accident confirmed me in 
st the opinion I had formed, that thefe birds pafs the 
<c feas, to get into the countries of the torrid zone, at 
ct the approach of winter in Europe ; and, to that 
6( purpofe, I have fince remarked, that they do not 
<£ appear at Senegal but in that feafon. A circum- 
<£ fiance no lefs worthy of note is, that at Senegal 
<£ the fwallows do not build nefls, as in Europe ; but 
<£ lie every night by pairs, or fingle, in the fand upon 
<c the fea-fhore, where they rather chufe to fix their 
<£ habitation, than up in the country.” Hift, de 
Senegal, p . 67. 
This obfervation (as it comes from a profeffed na- 
tural iff, and one, who went into thofe countries on 
purpofe to colledt what was curious in that way) 
feems to put the matter out of doubt; and the hear- 
fay flories of ignorant peafants and credulous people 
are by no means to be put in competition with it. 
I have, for many years, been very watchful in 
taking notice of the times when the fwallows leave 
us, and have twice feen them undoubtedly taking 
their flight. At two different years, on the 27th and 
29th of September, walking in my garden at noon, 
on very clear funfhiny days, and looking up into the 
iky, at a very great height I diflindtly faw an innu- 
merable number of fwallows, foaring round and 
round, higher and higher, until my eyes were fo 
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