A VES— SWALLOW 569 



are low and guttural. Wasps, bees, and large beetles, seem to be bis favo- 

 rite food. He is eigbt incbes long, and of a rich deep purplish blue, except 

 the wings and tail, which are brownish black. 



THE BARN SWALLOW,' 



Together with its whole tribe, are distinguished from the rest of small birds, 

 by their sweeping rapidity of flight, their peculiar aerial evolutions of wing 

 over our fields and rivers, and through our streets from morning to night. 

 The light of heaven itself, the sky, the trees, or any other common objects 

 of nature, are not better known than the swallows. The wonderful activity 

 displayed by these birds, forms a striking contrast to the slow habits of other 

 animals. Let a person take his stand on a summer evening by a field, 

 meadow, or river shore, fix his eye on one of these birds, and follow for a 

 while all its circuitous windings ; its extensive sweeps; its sudden, rapidly 

 reiterated zigzag excursions, little inferior to the lightning itself — and then 

 attempt to calculate the length of the various lines it describes. 



On the east side of the great range of the Alleghany, they are dispersed 

 very generally over the country. Early in May they begin to build, and it 

 takes nearly a week to complete the nest. It is in the form of an inverted 

 cone, and placed up against a rafter in a barn. It is formed of mud, mixed 

 with hay ; it is then stuffed with fine hay, and a handful of downy geese 

 feathers. It is not uncommon for twenty or thirty pair to build in the same 

 barn, and some nests are within a few inches of each other ; yet the most 

 perfect harmony prevails in this peaceful and affectionate community. 

 When the young are able to leave the nest, the old ones entice them out by 

 fluttering backwards and forwards, twittering and calling to them con- 

 stantly. As soon as they leave the barn, they are conducted to the trees 

 and bushes, by the pond or river shore, where their proper food is abundant. 



In August they all prepare for departure. They assemble on the roofs in 

 great numbers, dressing and arranging their plumage, and making occa* 



1 Hirundo Americana, Wilson. 



72 48* 



