The seaman well knows the signs thou canst show Of weather, and luck of the fishing grounds; And the whaler smiles when the sea abounds With thy thousands that come as the falling snow. Yet stranger those thoughts that arise in me, As I watch thee wheel of thy shining wings, Of thy life o’er the depths where the ocean flings From the frozen Pole to the Tropic sea. —Julian Hinckley. THE BIRD OF CONSOLATION. There is a Scandinavian tradition that the swallow hovered over the cross of our Lord crying “Svala! Svala!” (Console, console). Hence comes its name, “svalow”—the bird of consolation. The habitat of the swallow is the whole of North America and parts of South America. The chief characteristic is usually a deeply forked tail. The swallows of this country are called Bank, Barn, Bridge, Chimney, Cliff, Tree, Land, Purple, Violet, Black, White, Crescent, Green, Blue, Republican, White-billed and White-fronted. There are some twenty common kinds, beside the Swift, which is called a swallow because of certain resemblances. But its structure is different. It has its name from the rapidity of its flight. It is almost always on the wing. Its feet are so seldom used that they are very weak. The chimney swallow has a bristly tail, which assists in its support when the bird alights. Its color is a sooty gray. Of the true swallows none is more familiar than the barn swallow, whose nest adds a picturesque interest to the eaves of the building. This swallow has a steel blue coat, a pale chestnut vest, with a bit of chocolate on chin and throat. The tail is deeply forked. It is not a noisy bird, but has a song—a little trill—aside from the note it uses when flying. Like a merry laugh, it says “Tittle-ittle-ittle-ee.” The barn swallow is sympathetic with its mates when they are in trouble and is friendly to man, who sometimes feels like questioning it— “Is it far to heaven, O Swallow, Swallow! The heavy-hearted sings; I watch thy flight—and I long to follow. The while I wait for wings.” The flight of the swallow is in the curved line, which is that of beauty, and is without effort or restraint. The cliff swallow, petrochelidon lunifrons—gets part of its name—lunifrons (moon front)—from its white, crescent-like frontlet. It builds a bottle or gourd-shaped nest under the protection of shelving cliffs. A whole colony will sometimes build under the eaves of out-buildings, when the shape of the nest is modified. This bird may be distinguished from the barn swallow by its less forked tail and its blackish color. It is a very useful bird, as it seems tireless in its destruction of injurious insects. The tree or white-billed swallow wears a bluish-green coat, with white vest. It will sometimes rob the woodpecker of holes in trees in which to build.