238 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



BARN AND CLIFF SWALLOWS NEST ON THE 

 LEDGES OF THIS CHASM. 



cliffs and into its cavernous opening, 

 though an ordinary tide reaches its 

 farthermost end and dashes well up on 

 to the walls. 



On the rough projections of these 

 rocky walls, from fifteen to thirty feet 

 below the upper surface, a number of 

 barn swallows have made their home 

 for many years. I had personally 

 known of their nesting here some 

 twenty years ago, and this past season 

 had the pleasure of again observing this 

 little colony. 



Here on the sixteenth of August, 

 191 7, my companion and I observed 

 several pairs of barn swallows flying 

 in and out of the chasm. We were 

 somewhat surprised to note that these 

 birds were carrying food, as we did not 

 suppose there would be young in the 

 nests at this late season. By closely 

 watching, however, we soon discovered 

 a nest a few yards below the upper edge 

 of the chasm near its farthest end, 

 which is shown in our second picture. 

 There were three or four young birds, 

 apparently less than a week old, in this 

 nest, and we watched them for some 

 time, noting that the parent birds ap- 

 peared at intervals of about a minute. 



clinging to the edge of the nest while 

 they fed their babies. There were a 

 number of other nests far down in this 

 great rocky cleft, where they were con- 

 siderably sheltered by the overhanging 

 walls, and we could see the adult birds 

 darting in and out though we could not 

 discern their nests. 



There were also a number of cliff 

 swallows flying in and out of the 

 chasm, apparently feeding their young, 

 though we could not determine the ex- 

 act location of the nests which we felt 

 certain were there. 



I hnd further reference to barn swal- 

 lows nesting on the cliffs in Howes' 

 "Birds of Rhode Island," published in 

 1899, where the author states: "At the 

 present day this species still nests 

 where it has for years in the chasm 

 called 'Purgatory' at the westerly end 

 of Second Beach, Middletown, building 

 their nests in the little inaccessible 

 crevices of the vertical walls, where 

 they usually select a spot that is pro- 

 tected from rain by a projecting bit 

 of rock." He also states: "No cliff 

 swallows breed in this chasm, a place 

 apparently more suited to them than 

 to the barn swallows." This statement 

 leaves opportunity for further interest- 

 ing observations in regard to the latter 

 species. 



In an article written in 1870 by T. 

 M. Brewer, and published in "The 

 American Naturalist" of that year 

 (Vol. 3, No. 4) reference is also made 

 to the primitive breeding of barn swal- 

 lows on the cliffs, both at Newport, 

 Rhode Island and Nahant, Massa- 

 chusetts. 



Birds and Aviators. 



Some interesting observations on 

 the movements of birds at great heights 

 have been made by French aviators. 

 Tt has been now established, according 

 to Mr. Henry Wood, the United Press 

 correspondent with the French Armies, 

 that swallows in flying maintain an 

 average altitude of 700 yds. Wild 

 ducks on the other hand, prefer a 

 greater height, and stick to an altitude 

 of 1,800 yds., or a little over a mile. 

 Green plover maintain at all times an 

 even greater altitude, and in March, 

 during their period of migration, the 

 French aviators have met them at a 

 height of 2,150 yds. Wild ducks in 



