Cassell's book of birds; vol. 2

by Alfred Edmund Brehm

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!"

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.

THE SENEGAL SWALLOW.

The SENEGAL SWALLOW (Cecropis Senegalensis) is about eight inches long and fifteen broad; the wing measures five and a half, and the tail about four inches. The plumage of the upper part of the body is of a glossy blueish black, with the exception of the rump and a ring round the neck, which are reddish brown; the under side is entirely of the latter hue, somewhat paler upon the throat and upper part of the breast. This very large species inhabits Central Africa in great numbers, and is met with from the western coast to the shores of the Red Sea. In its mode of life and habits it so closely resembles the Chimney Swallow that a description of its habits would be mere repetition; unlike that bird, however, it does not always dwell in the immediate vicinity of man, but frequently wanders forth and lives upon the vast and barren steppes. Another very similar species is found in Angola and at the Cape of Good Hope.

THE THREAD-TAILED SWALLOW.

The THREAD-TAILED SWALLOW (Cecropis-Uromitus-filifera) is a small and delicate bird, easily recognisable by the long threads in which the two outer feathers of the tail terminate. The upper part of the body is of a beautiful metallic blue, the top of the head rust-red, the region of the cheeks black, the under side white, and the tail spotted with white. The length of this species is five, and its breadth eleven inches. The thread-like appendages are not so long in the tail of the female as in that of her mate. This singular bird principally frequents India and Central Africa, and we have met with it living solitarily or in pairs during our travels in Nubia. As far as we were able to ascertain, its habits exactly correspond with our account of its European congener. The Indians call this species "Leischra," as the threads attached to the tail are supposed to resemble the grass known by that name.

THE MARTIN.