. Birds & nature. Birds; Natural history. THE SWALLOW. "Come, summer visitant, attach To my reedroof thj' nest of clay, And let my ear thy music catch. Low twitting underneath the thatch. At the gray dawn of ;. URE harbingers of spring are the Swallows. They are very common birds, and frequent, as a rule, the cultivated lands in the neighborhood of water, showing a de- cided preference for the habitations of man. " How gracefully the swallows fly! See them coursing over the daisy-bespangled grass fields ; now they skim just over the blades of grass, and then with a rapid
. Birds & nature. Birds; Natural history. THE SWALLOW. "Come, summer visitant, attach To my reedroof thj' nest of clay, And let my ear thy music catch. Low twitting underneath the thatch. At the gray dawn of ;. URE harbingers of spring are the Swallows. They are very common birds, and frequent, as a rule, the cultivated lands in the neighborhood of water, showing a de- cided preference for the habitations of man. " How gracefully the swallows fly! See them coursing over the daisy-bespangled grass fields ; now they skim just over the blades of grass, and then with a rapid stroke of their long wings mount into the air and come hovering above your head, dis- playing their rich white and chestnut plumage to perfection. Now they chase each other for very joyfulness, uttering their sharp twittering notes ; then they hover with expanded wings like miniature Kestrels, or dart down- wards with the velocity of the spar- rowhawk ; anon they flit rapidly over the neighboring pool, occasionally dipping themselves in its calm and placid waters, and leaving a long train of rings marking their varied course. How easily they turn, or glide over the surrounding hedges, never resting, never weary, and defying the eye to trace them in the infinite turnings and twistings of their rapid shooting flight. You frequently see them glide rapidly near the ground, and then with a side- long motion mount aloft, to dart downwards like an animated meteor, their plumage glowing in the light with metallic splendor, and the row of white spots on the tail contrasting beautifully with the darker ; The Swallow is considered a life- paired species, and returns to its nest- ing site of the previous season, build- ing a new nest close to the old one. His nest is found in barns and out- houses, upon the beams of wood which support the roof, or in any place which assures protection to the young birds. It is cup-shaped and artfully moulded of bits of mud. Grass and feathers
Size: 1605px × 1557px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectnaturalhistory
