Outdoor Visits  by Edith M. Patch

Some Birds Go South

So Nan went with Don to visit the birds. There were rows and rows of them.

Now and then a bird went away from a wire and hunted in the air. It found some insects and then it went back to the wire to rest.

"The brown-and-white birds are bank swallows," said Nan. "They make nests in holes in sand banks."

"Some of those birds are tree swallows," said Don. "They like to make nests in holes in trees. So people call them tree swallows.

"They have dark shiny backs that look green or blue. Their under feathers are white.

"Uncle Tom told me about them. He said different kinds of swallows often sit near one another on wires."

"They seem to be waiting," said Nan. "I wonder why they wait."

So they went to tell their uncle about visiting the birds.

"Why were bank swallows and tree swallows and some other swallows sitting on the wires?" asked Nan.

"Those wires are a good size for their feet," said Uncle Tom. "Swallows can perch on the small branches of trees and small stems of bushes. They can take hold of the wires with their feet, too, and so they like to sit there.

"They will soon go South, but they are in no hurry. They like to go in flocks. They fly by day. They stop to rest when they wish. And they hunt when they are hungry.

"Swallows go South for the winter. They find places where there is no snow. They stay where there are insects flying in the air."

"They have good times!" said Don.