Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
SWAL'LOW. In Ps 84:3 there is reference to this bird's habit of making its nest in all buildings to which it can gain access. Swallows still rear their young about the mosques which occupy the site of Solomon's temple, and circle above these The Swift. hallowed places as of old. In Palestine and other Eastern countries they are so rarely disturbed that they often build within reach of the hand. The incessant and rapid flight of this bird explains Prov 26:2.
In Jer 8:7 and Isa 38:14 another word is found, which seems to refer to the swift, a bird of the swallow family and a regular migrant, which in Palestine the The Purple Gallinule. swallow is not. Its harsh and constant cry is specially appropriate to the second passage. Several species of swifts and swallows inhabit the Holy Land and breed in the cliffs or about buildings.