P A S S EBBS. IIIR UN D IN ID
H ir u n d o r u s t ic a , Linnaeus.*
THE SWALLOW.
Hirundo rustica.
Hirundo, Linnceus"tv—Bill short, depressed, and very wide at the base, commissure
straight. Nostrils basal, oval, partly closed by a membrane. Wings
with nine primaries, long and pointed. Tail deeply forked, of twelve feathers,
the outermost greatly elongated and abruptly attenuated. Legs and feet slender
and bare, toes rather long, three in front, one behind ; claws moderate.
“ T h e sw a l low , ” says Davy, in his ‘ Salmonia,’ “ 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
amongst 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
* Syst. Nat, Ed. 12, i. p. 343 (1766). 4* Loc. ciU
the palms of Africa.” This is a brief, hut a true outline of
the Swallow’s history, told in detail by so many authors,*
hut by none with greater success than by Gilbert White, whose
monograph of the species and of what were then deemed the
other British Hirundinidce, as regards this country, exceeds
in minute accuracy the accounts given by all others, most of
which are overladen by a mass of nearly useless observations.
The Swallow is known to all as a periodical visitor to
Europe, and more records are preserved of its first appearance
in spring, than of that Qf any other bird. These seem to
give the first week of April as the average time of its
arrival in this country, but it takes several, days—how many
cannot he stated—to reach the northern parts of our island,
while the lapse of a fortnight may be safely reckoned ere
the great body of returning wanderers begins to follow the first
comers, and the influx continues for at least a month. In
looking for the Swallow’s appearance it must be borne in mind
that certain spots in nearly every district are yearly visited
some days sooner than other places, even in close vicinity.f
The spots so selected are not always the most sheltered, and
indeed differ apparently in nothing from the surrounding
country, yet they must possess some advantages, possibly as
regards the supply of food, or perhaps of a kind at which we
can hardly, guess. The character of the season must also
be taken into consideration, but this seems to have far less
influence than is commonly supposed, though it often affects
the birds most disastrously after they have reached this
country. Unlike most of our spring visitors, the Sylviida
especially, the males of which usually precede the females
* Mr. Ruskiu is one of the latest writers who has taken this bird for his
theme, and he has discoursed upon it with his wonted force of expression.
Unfortunately an imperfect knowledge of facts renders his eloquent essay (Love s
Meinie, Lecture 2. The Swallow. Keston : 1873) as ridiculous to the expert as it
is misleading to the tiro, while the charge lodged against the Author of the
present work will be seen by every ornithologist, who is also a French scholar, to
be utterly groundless.
f This is true of nearly all migratory birds, and is one of the chief causes
that invalidate so many of the countless published records of their supposed
first appearance, since casual observers are seldom aware of the fact, and few of
those who regularly watch the arrival of our visitors make allowance for it.