a great height and in open ranks made off directly for their 
roost in the dunes. 
On a dull May day with an easterly gale bringing in sea mist, 
Sagamore Pond was covered with swallows — all four species, 
Tree, Barn, Eave and Bank in order of abundance. As one 
stood on the shore and looked out on the bewildering throng 
one could recognize the calls of all the species. They were 
all flying within a foot of the water into the teeth of the gale, 
occasionally setting their wings and soaring and occasionally 
dipping in the water below. Arrived at the easterly shore of 
the pond, they ascended a few yards, turned and glided down 
wind with great rapidity only to turn again and begin their 
slow progress back. It reminded one of a lot of children 
sliding down hill and laboriously dragging their sleds back again. 
On a June morning I came upon a flock of fifty Barn Swallows 
sitting on a wire fence, each singing his song of gladness. In 
an instant all were fluttering head to the wind over the butter¬ 
cups and daisies; then all alighted in the grass and dabbed at 
insects. The morning was so cold that the insects were not 
on the wing, but quiet and dormant. 
On another cold morning in September I came to a meadow 
white with Queen Anne’s lace and spotted with fluttering, 
twittering Tree Swallows, a half thousand of them at a mod¬ 
erate estimate. They were sailing down to leeward and 
slowly flying back through the grass picking up insects as they 
went. Occasionally they became entangled in the grass and 
flowers and struggled to extricate themselves. A gentle snap, 
snap of their bills could be heard as they flew within a few feet 
or even inches of me. 
Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows are both very fearless of 
man or perhaps one should say trustful and confiding. On a 
rainy or cold day when insects are sluggish, if one walks through 
a meadow these delightful birds will circle close by to seize the 
insects put up from the grass. 
It is probable that both the spirit of play and the pursuit of 
insects are combined in these displays of swallow activity, but 
at times it seems as if play were the over-ruling factor. 
36 
