The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-05-24
Hibernation Of Birds.

The stories 81 the hibernatjon of swal-
lows and of other birds, which used tc
prevail among thegpeorle. have of late years
been regarded by naturalists as entirely
fabulous. A communication to Nature
from the Duke Of Argyll incioses an ac-
count of multitude of swallows asleep
in bank in midwinter. The account is
written by Sir John McNeill. brother
in-law of the Duke, and an observer who
it appears is worthy of trust. The state
menis are so curious that we copy them
without compression, as they are given by
the aiithor:
{ aAbout twenty-five miles south Of
Teheran, the Capital of Persia, there is
village called Kenatagird, near which is
stream of brackish water, funning in a
deep bed, with nearly perpendicular
banks some forty or fifty feet high. Being
largely impregnated with salt, this stream
is rarely if ever frozen, and in frosty
weather is resorted to by flights of wild
ducks. During frost Of unusual sever
ity went from Teheran to Kenaragird,
ACCOMPANIED by Sir Henry Rawlinson,
for the purpose Of duck shooting
severity of the weather promising good
sport Having slept at the village, we
next morning followed the downward
course of the stream along the north bank,
and had proceeded about mile, l should
think, when we came to place where
there had quite recently been small land
slip. The brink of the bank, to the ex-
tent Of PERHAPS twenty feet In length, and
ten or twelve broad in the middle. taper
ing off to each end. had slipped, but had
not fallen down the bank. Between this
detached portion and the perpendicular
face, about ten feet high, from which
il had broken off, we saw, to our
great surprise, number of swallows
not less, am sure, than twenty
or thirty-lying, as / at first supposed,
dead, but, on taking up one of them, |
found that it was alive, but dormant; it
was warm, and its breathing was quite
perceptible. I examined considerable
number, and found that they were all
alive and breathing, but none of them
gave any sign Of consciousness. My at
tehtion was then attracted to the perpen-
dicular face on Our left, from which the
slip had broken off, and which was perfo-
rated by vast number of holes, each
about the size of rat.hole. On looking
into such of these as was tall enough
to see into, l found in all of them swal-
lows in the same dormant state. was
able with finger and thumb to pull out
swallows from several of these holes, and
in each case found that the hole, which
penetrated horizontally q considerable
way into the bank, contained more swal-
lows In the same condition. In no case
did l see one lying on another; they were
all lying singly, with their heads inward,
each head touching the tale of the bird
before it. How far these holes penetrated
into the bank, or what number of swal-
lows each contained, did not ascertain;
but it is plain that the original entrance
to these dormitories must have been in tie
external face of the portion that had
slipped, which, as have stated, was, in
the middle, from ten to twelve feet thick.
The holes in the undisturbed portion may
probably have been of equal Or greater
length, and, if so, the number of swal-
lows alternating there must have amount
ed to many hundreds"