With regard to their winter quarters and geographical distribution, it will be best to trace the movements of each species separately.
The Chimney Swallow (_Hirundo rustica_), whose early appearance in the spring is only preceded by that of the Sand Martin, spends at least six months of the year with us, and in some years more than seven months. The period of its visit, however, may be said briefly to extend from April to October. Between these two months the bird is found generally distributed throughout Europe, going as far north as Iceland[63] and Nova Zembla,[64] and penetrating even into Siberia and Amurland.[65]
The only Swallow hitherto observed in Greenland—and that only on two occasions—is, according to Professor Reinhardt, the American Swallow, _Hirundo rufa_ of Bonaparte. Now, Bonaparte identifies this (Geogr. and Comp. List, p. 9) with _H. rufa_ of Gmelin, and Professor Baird considers Gmelin’s bird to be the South American species, for which _H. erythrogaster_ of Boddaert is the oldest name. If this identification be correct, one would certainly expect the bird found in Greenland to be the North American species, _H. rufa_ of Vieillot, not Bonaparte, now generally better known by its older name, _H. horreorum_ of Barton. The late Mr. Wheelwright observed the Common Swallow in Lapland, where he saw it hawking about over the high fells at Quickjock, and he fancied it was even commoner there than at Wermland, in Sweden, where it is also an annual summer visitant.[66] Throughout Europe generally, as already remarked, it is everywhere distributed in summer, and in the countries bordering the Mediterranean it is especially abundant at the periods of migration in spring and autumn. Mr. Wright has observed it arriving in Malta in great numbers from the south early in March, and again, on its return southwards in autumn, it is common over the island until October. On the island of Filfla, a few miles south of Malta, the same observer has noticed it in May. At Gibraltar and in Spain Mr. Howard Saunders has detected it as early as February, making its way north; and, as an instance of how these delicate birds at times get blown out of their course by adverse winds, it may be remarked that Prince Charles Bonaparte saw Swallows and Martins at sea 500 miles from Portugal and 400 miles off the coast of Africa. Sir William Jardine has recorded the presence of the Swallow at Madeira, and Mr. Osbert Salvin, writing on May 28 (“Ibis,” 1859, p. 334), says: “Some Swallows came on board when we were 180 miles north-west of the Azores, so that it is probable that the bird is found in these islands.”