Cassell's book of birds; vol. 2

by Alfred Edmund Brehm

THE CHIMNEY SWALLOW.

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 [XVI.]), 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."

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."