Abstract
DURING the month of August, at Meran, in the Tvrol, a swallow sitting upon a stone at the side of a public thoroughfare let me take it up without showing the least fear, or even moving. The cause of its indifference was immediately apparent; two large insects of a dark slate colour were running about the bird upon the outside of its feathers, their power of adhesion being considerable. While trying to remove them, one got upon my hand and was lost, being thrown some distance by the second of two hasty but vigorous shakes. The other fell to the ground after hanging by a thread, similar to, but much stronger than, a spider's single thread. The form of the insects was quadilateral, the head being at one of the angles, the measurement between the opposite angles being about ¼ inch; the strength of the skin was so great that the insect required three crushing rubs by a lady's foot against the road before its activity was destroyed. The bird seemed conscious of release from its parasites, and struggled to get away, and then was only just able to flutter languidly to a tree about forty yards distant. The toughness of the insect, its activity and power of clinging, fully account for the inability of the bird to free itself.
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H., G. Insects upon a Swallow. Nature 2, 414 (1870). https://doi.org/10.1038/002414c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/002414c0
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