The CHIMNEY SWALLOW (_Cecropis-Hirundo-rustica_) is seven inches long and
twelve broad, the wing measures four and a half and the tail about three
inches. The upper part of the plumage is glossy blueish black; the brow
and throat are chestnut brown, a broad line upon the head black, and the
other parts of the body reddish yellow. The five outer feathers of the
tail are adorned with round white spots upon the inner web. The female
is not quite so dark as her mate, and the young are still paler. This
species breeds throughout the whole continent of Europe, if we except its
extreme north. In the northern parts of Asia and Africa it is replaced
by a very similar species--the RUST-RED SWALLOW (_Cecropis cahirica_,
or _Cecropis Boissoneauti_), which is very numerous in Egypt. The NORTH
AMERICAN HOUSE SWALLOW (_Cecropis Americana_), the SOUTH AMERICAN RED
SWALLOW (_Cecropis rufa_), and the _Cecropis neoxena_ are also very
nearly allied species, but somewhat less in size than their European
relative.
We are desirous our readers should fully understand that the Chimney
Swallow is essentially a native of Europe, and that when it wanders to
warmer regions it does not "homeward fly," but exactly the contrary,
being then compelled, by reason of the approach of winter, to leave its
native land "in distant climes to roam," until such time as the breath
of spring has caused the snow and frost completely to disappear, and the
leaves have again burst forth upon the trees. When these migrations are
about to commence, the Swallows assemble in very large flocks, which
congregate upon the trees or houses, and keep up such an incessant
twitter and commotion as would lead an observer to suppose that they
are discussing the important journey they are about to undertake. The
Swallows usually leave Europe about September or October; according to
our own observation, they often travel as far south as eleven degrees
north latitude, and are constant winter guests in India and Ceylon; by
the end of April, however, they are with us again, and have either sought
out their old nests or chosen a proper spot on which to build. For this
purpose, they generally select such districts as are in the vicinity of
water; and, "although the Chimney Swallow has received its most general
name from the somewhat peculiar position in which it frequently builds
its nest, it by no means confines itself to chimneys, but builds readily
in almost any suitably-sheltered position. Thus, the disused shafts of
mines and the sides of old wells are sometimes resorted to. Occasionally
it will build in the roof of a barn or shed, attaching its nest to the
rafters; or in a garret or passage to which it finds easy access. In
almost all cases it selects a point where some projection from the wall,
'some coign of vantage ground,' forms a buttress on which its nest may
be supported. The nest is constructed principally of mud or soft earth,
collected in small pellets from the edges of ponds and other wet places;
these are carried home in the bird's bill, and plastered on to the spot
selected for the nest; fresh pellets are then brought and added, together
with numerous straws and leaves of grasses, until the whole is gradually
moulded into the form of an open saucer, attached by one side to the wall
of the chimney or other place of retreat. A lining of feathers is then
put into the nest, and upon these the eggs are laid." Such of these nests
as are well sheltered from the wind and rain are often employed for many
years, and that, not merely by the original builders, but by successive
generations; any little repairs required being made from time to time by
the occupants.
The Chimney Swallow, though by no means a powerful or hardy bird,
possesses such an amount of life and spirit as is seldom met with in any
other members of the feathered race, and which no inclemencies of weather
or scarcity of food can entirely quell. Its appearance is extremely trim,
and its disposition so brisk and lively that it has ever been an especial
favourite. Morning has scarcely dawned before it is on the alert, and
occupied in twittering its summons to the rest of the world to be up and
about their work. Its voice can boast no real music, but its notes are
so sprightly, and so evidently the outpouring of the bird's own joyous
sensations, as it turns its breast in all directions, flaps its wings,
and indulges in a variety of animated gestures, that it cannot fail to
please the hearer, and impart an additional charm to the beauties of the
first hours of a bright early summer's day.
The flight of this species is peculiarly light and graceful, and very
far superior to its movements upon the ground, over which it crawls with
an awkward and helpless step, its little feet appearing quite unable to
support its body, either when walking or perching. When upon the wing the
powers of the Swallow are seen in their full perfection, and few objects
are more beautiful than one of these birds, as it skims over the face
of the country, now soaring upwards to a great height, and now sinking
suddenly down until it almost sweeps the ground; then changing its
course, it flies backwards and forwards with amazing celerity, pursuing
its way with untiring speed, and not unfrequently indulging in a bathe
in the lake or stream over the bosom of which it delights to skim. This
proceeding, like all its other evolutions on the wing, is rapidly and
easily accomplished; the bird sinks close to the water, and suddenly
darts beneath its surface, re-appearing in less than a moment, and then
flies off to a distance to shake the moisture from its plumage. The
Swallow devours enormous numbers of flies, beetles, and butterflies; when
in pursuit of prey it either keeps near the ground, or skims through the
air at an altitude regulated according to the barometrical state of the
atmosphere, insomuch that from this fact has arisen the popular idea that
its movements indicate the kind of weather to be expected.
The eggs (see Fig. 35, Coloured Plate X.), from four to six in number,
are laid about May, and are incubated entirely by the female. If the
season is fine the male ministers to her wants, and the young are hatched
in twelve days; but should the weather be cold or wet the unfortunate
mother is expected to provide for herself, and must therefore leave her
nest; if this is the case the nestlings do not quit the shell for about
seventeen days. The young grow rapidly, and before they are fully fledged
may be often seen peering and gaping above the sides of the nest, until
able to accompany their parents during their daily excursions; yet, even
then, they return to the nest for a short period as evening closes in.
No sooner has the first family become self-supporting than the female
again lays, but this time the eggs are fewer than before, and it is not
uncommon for this second brood to be hatched so late in the season that
the nestlings are too weak to accompany the rest of the family when the
time for migrating arrives. A Spanish proverb says, "He who could destroy
a Swallow could kill his own mother;" but, in spite of the reprobation of
the act expressed in this popular adage, hundreds and thousands of these
useful and sprightly birds are annually slaughtered out of mere wanton
mischief, not only in that country, but in all parts of Europe, and yet
few members of the feathered creation are more innocent, more useful, or
more ornamental to the landscape. "The Swallow," says Sir Humphry Davy,
"is one of my favourite birds, and a rival of the Nightingale, for he
cheers my sense of seeing as much as the other does my sense of hearing.
He is the glad prophet of the year, the harbinger of the best season; he
lives a life of enjoyment, among the loveliest forms of Nature. Winter
is unknown to him, and he leaves the green meadows of England in autumn,
for the myrtle and orange groves of Italy, and for the palms of Africa.
He has always objects of pursuit, and his success is secure. Even the
beings selected for his prey are poetical, beautiful, and transient.
The ephemeræ are saved by his means from a slow and lingering death in
the evening, and killed in a moment when they have known nothing but
pleasure. He is the constant destroyer of insects, the friend of man, and
a sacred bird. His instinct, which gives him his appointed season, and
teaches him when and where to move, may be regarded as flowing from a
Divine source; and he belongs to the oracles of Nature, which speak the
awful and intelligible fiats of a present Deity."
[Illustration: THE THREAD-TAILED SWALLOW (_Cecropis-Uromitus-filifera_).]
The power of flight possessed by these birds is truly wonderful, and
the distance to which they can travel through the air, without the
possibility of rest, is almost incredible. Nevertheless, at one time,
and that not many years ago, it was believed that on the approach of
cold weather Swallows plunged to the bottom of some pond, in the mud
of which they passed the winter, and revived again in spring. So long
ago as the year 1849 this subject was brought before the Academy of
Sciences at Stockholm, and the following document, which, coming from
the quarter it did, was by some looked upon as an irrefragable proof of
the truth of this strange story, was submitted to and gravely discussed
by that learned body:--"Near to the estate of Kafvelas, in the province
of West Gothland, there is a little lake called Djpasjon, where on
several occasions in the winter time, when the ice-net has been drawn,
_stelnade_, or stiffened Swallows, have been brought up in my presence.
My father, then Inspector at Kafvelas, who was also present, directed
me to take some of them home, and place them in a chair at some little
distance from the fire. This I did, and, to my great astonishment, I soon
observed the birds to draw their heads from under their wings, where they
had been previously placed, and in a few moments to fly about the room.
But as this was not the proper season for their quickening, they lived
but a short time afterwards."
So often has this statement been repeated, that even Wilson felt himself
called upon to confute it. "The Swallow," says that graphic writer,
"flies in his usual way, at the rate of one mile in a minute, and he is
so engaged for ten hours every day; his active life is extended on an
average for ten years, which gives us two million one hundred and ninety
thousand miles--upwards of eighty-seven times the circumference of the
globe. And yet this little winged seraph, if I may so speak, who in a
few days can pass from the Arctic regions to the torrid zone, is forced
when winter approaches to descend to the bottom of lakes, rivers, and
mill-ponds, to bury itself in the mud with eels and snapping turtles,
or to creep ingloriously into a cavern, a rat-hole, or a hollow tree,
with snakes, toads, and other reptiles, till the return of spring! Is
not this true, ye wise men of Europe and America, who have published so
many _credible_ narratives upon this subject? The Geese, the Ducks, the
Cat-bird, and even the Wren, which creeps about our houses like a mouse,
are all declared to be migratory, and to pass to southern regions on
the approach of winter. The Swallow alone, on whom Heaven has conferred
superior powers of wing, must sink in torpidity to the bottom of some
pond to pass the winter in the mud!"
[Illustration: THE MARTIN (_Chelidon urbica_).]
We must confine our notice of the True Swallows to the mention of two
other species, one remarkable for its size, and the other for the very
peculiar formation of its tail.