118 
INSESSORES. 
they 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 difference 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 or 
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 and Barn Swal- 
lows are greater 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 
