86 INSESSORES. 



the colony might have been said to be fully es- 

 tablished. As the season advanced and birds of a 

 less hardy nature began to arrive from the South, a 

 pair of Barn Swallows made their appearance, and 

 forthwith entered the territory of the Finches. And 

 here they at once, very unceremoniously, began to 

 erect their domicil. This act of aggression would 

 have been fiercely resented by most birds, and vio- 

 lent measures would have been resorted to, to eject 

 the intruders. The conduct of the little Finches was 

 quite different; at first they stood aloof, and seemed 

 to regard the strangers with suspicion and distrust, 

 rather than enmity. In the meantime the Swallows 

 went quietly to work, without showing any inclina- 

 tion to intermeddle j and in a day or two (their mud 

 walls all the time rapidly advancing) they gained the 

 confidence of their neighbors, and finally completed 

 their work unmolested. Indeed, a perfect harmony 

 was established between the parties, which I never 

 saw interrupted by a single quarrel during the time 

 they remained my tenants." 



This little bird is half-brother to our Purple Finch, 

 which inhabits Canada and the Northern and East- 

 ern States during Summer, and the Middle and South- 

 ern States during Winter. The latter, however, does 

 not possess the mild and peaceable disposition of the 

 former, but is very quarrelsome and noisy even among 

 themselves. When feeding, as they often do, in 

 small flocks, upon the same trees, if one should hap- 

 pen to approach too near the spot where another is 



