98 NORTH AMERICAN OOLOGY. PART I. 



vering than their associates, selected a sheltered corner, under the piazza of a dwell- 

 ing-house near the steamboat landing. It was directly over the front door of the 

 house, and opposite to a window from which the birds could be readily overlooked 

 while at their work. For several days the industrious pair persevered in their Sisy- 

 phean task. As fast as the materials dried, their nest would crumble into powder. 

 Each morning found them in no Avise advanced in their labors. In the mean while, 

 the incredibly large accumulations of dirt under their nest, collected in vain by 

 these persevering little creatures, sorely taxed the forbearance of the lady of the 

 house, but who, in spite of the dirt they made about her threshold, watched their 

 progress with a benevolent and a forbearing interest. At length the birds them- 

 selves appeared to realize the necessity of some change in their proceedings. After 

 some four or five days' unsuccessful toil, they paused, and seemed to be hesitating 

 whether to abandon the attempt altogether, or to try other materials. It was late 

 in the season, July. No time was to be lost. After a day's interval of delibera- 

 tion their labors were renewed ; but this time pellets of soft cow-dung were carefully 

 interposed between each layer of muddy sand, and, in a wonderfully short space of 

 time, a 'firm and lasting nest was constructed, in which five young were reared in 

 safety. Was this all instinct I Was there not more than a mere scintillation of 

 reason, suggesting this change and the substitution of a novel material I 



The nest of the Cliff Swallow, under favorable circumstances, is constructed with 

 a degree of ingenuity that is truly wonderful. In shape it is not unlike a gourd, 

 with a handle curving downward. The larger part is against the wall, or the side 

 of the object to which the nest is attached, while its entrance is through the lower 

 end of its narrow neck. Its arched roof furnishes complete protection against 

 inclement weather, while its narrowed and descending entrance shields the brood 

 from their various enemies. In situations where these precautions are not so neces- 

 sary as in their natural resorts, or where the presence of man keeps their natural 

 enemies at a distance, they often deviate from their normal structure, curtailing or 

 even dispensing altogether with the neck-like entrance. A large colony which I 

 met with on a small island near the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, 1 availing them- 

 selves of a protected shelf under the eaves of a barn, prepared for them by the 

 friendly owner, omitted in many instances even the protecting roof, no longer re- 

 quired for their shelter. 



Their nests are constructed of various kinds of adhesive earths and mud. Both 

 birds labor incessantly at the task of construction, and, when in colonies, receive 

 assistance from their neighbors. They are neatly and often warmly lined with fine 



1 This was observed in 1851. At that time it was the only settlement of this bird noticed in that 

 locality. Dr. Henry Bryant, who visited the same place in the summer of 1856, in a paper read before 

 the Boston Natural History Society, January, 1857, says, having reference unquestionably to this spe- 

 cies : " By far the most common Swallow, particularly at Manan. The nests were almost universally 

 built without the projecting neck. Of late years, these birds, as they become more habituated to build- 

 ing in sheltered situations, have nearly discontinued their former habit of building their nests in a retort 

 shape." This is interesting, as showing that in the course of five years the single colony we met with 

 had so far multiplied as to have become the most common Swallow in that group of islands. 



