. Our bird allies . one or the other is incessantlyat work. The general habits of the swallows are so uni-versally familiar that they need not be here described,but it may be casually mentioned that a mere glanceat their bodily structure would be sufficient to informan ornithologist previously unacquainted with theirvery existence—did such an one exist—of almost everydetail of their life-history. For the long, sickle-shaped wings and the stiff, closely-set plumage wouldat once show him that they were gifted with greatpowers of flight; the small and feeble limbs wouldpoint them out as birds whi
. Our bird allies . one or the other is incessantlyat work. The general habits of the swallows are so uni-versally familiar that they need not be here described,but it may be casually mentioned that a mere glanceat their bodily structure would be sufficient to informan ornithologist previously unacquainted with theirvery existence—did such an one exist—of almost everydetail of their life-history. For the long, sickle-shaped wings and the stiff, closely-set plumage wouldat once show him that they were gifted with greatpowers of flight; the small and feeble limbs wouldpoint them out as birds which, from their very inca- THE NIGHTJAR AND THE SWALLOW. 49 pacity for terrestrial locomotion, must spend almostthe whole of their active lives in the air; while thewide gape of the mouth would satisfy him that theirdiet must be wholly of an insect character. Nor would he be mistaken in his surmises. In thefirst place, the flight of the swallow is flight carriedto its highest point of excellence, a sort of aerial. The Swallow, combination of the easy grace of the seal in thewater with the marvellous speed of the antelope onthe land. The swallow, in fact, is the Mercury ofthe air, and is as much superior both in eleganceand swiftness to the vast majority of the featheredrace as is the greyhound to the turnspit, or the race-horse to his humble cousin of the plough. E 2 50 OUR BIRD ALLIES. Nor are its powers of endurance less remarkable,for the bird is on the wing, with but little intermission,from sunrise until after sunset, its tireless pinionsappearing as unwearied at the end as at the beginningof the day. Excepting during migration, indeed,fatigue seems to be a sensation to which the swallowis a total stranger, in spite of the exertion necessaryto sustain its body in the air for so long a period oftime, and one must perforce marvel at the perfectionof the muscular system which can achieve suchresults at the expense of so little apparent effort. The food of the bird, practic
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1887
