266 THE NA TURE-S TUD V RE VIE IV [ 3 . 9 _ DE c, .907 



enthusiasm at the sight of a woodcock, cardinal or chewink in the 

 brush. Doubtless this work has some value, but it will be hard 

 to convince the wideawake public that it should be considered 

 seriously. The trips in themselves are good, but they should 

 throw light on real life problems. Educator -Journal. 



OBSERVATIONS ON BARN-SWALLOWS 



By BINA SEYMOUR 

 Wadleigh High School, New York City 



The barn-swallows' nest observed was in the woodshed of a 

 deserted farm-house at South Hadley, Mass. On August 7, when 

 the observations were made, the nest contained only two young. 

 At this time the birdlings were so large that they could easily 

 have been mistaken for the parents. On the next and every 

 succeeding morning they flew away from the nest, returning for 

 the night. This day they chirped and twittered like the parents, 

 frequently balanced themselves on the edge of the nest and 

 fluttered their wings vigorously, picked at insects on the boards 

 over their heads, and several times watched a wasp with keen 

 interest as he crawled toward them. 



Observations began at 4:30 a.m., thirteen minutes before 

 sunrise, and closed at 7:30 p.m., thirteen minutes past sunset. 

 At 4:30 other birds about the farm were awake and calling, but 

 no sound was heard from the swallows until 5:03, when the 

 stronger of the two birdlings stretched its wings and moved 

 slightly in the nest. Again at 5:14, 5:20 and 5:25 this birdling 

 fluttered its wings vigorously, chirped, perched upon the edge 

 of the nest, then returned to its sleep in an altered position, as a 

 child might turn in bed to finish its nap. The parents had not 

 spent the night in the shed, nor did they return to it after the last 

 feeding. 



Feeding began at 6:03 a.m. and ended at 6:51 p.m. — making 

 nearly a thirteen-hour day for the parents. During this time 

 there were in all 332 feedings, distributed in time as shown by the 

 table. The most rapid feeding was four times in one minute, 

 at 11 150 a.m., the longest interval between feedings twenty-two 

 minutes, 3:5-5 — 4:17 p.m., the next longest sixteen minutes, at 

 three different times. The average timewas once in 2.31 

 minutes, and the average number of insects per birdling 166 for 



