CHAPTER XIV 

 THE SWALLOWS 



" ' Rap has been watching the Barn Swallows," con- 

 tinued the Doctor, after the children had been over to 

 the cedar belt to see if the flock of polite birds were 

 there still. '' He thinks there are a great many cousins 

 in the Swallow family, but can't tell them apart. 



" There are ten species of North American Swallows, 

 four of which are very familiar birds in all parts of the 

 United States. These are the Purple Martin ; Barn 

 Swallow ; Tree Swallow ; and Bank Swallow. 



"As a family it is easy to name the Swallows from 

 their way of flying. All are officers who rank high 

 in the guild of Sky Sweepers, being constantly in the 

 air seizing their insect food on the wing ; thus they kill 

 all sorts of flies, flying ants, small winged beetles, 

 midges, and mosquitoes. They have lithe and shapely 

 bodies, strong, slender wings, wide mouths, and flat, 

 broad bills coming to a sharp point, which makes it 

 easy for them to secure whatever they meet in the air. 

 So swift and sure is their flight that they can feed 

 their newly flown nestlings in mid air ; but their feet 

 are small and weak, so that in perching they usually 

 choose something small and easy to grasp, like a tele- 

 graph wire. 



" Though they nest in all parts of the country, some 



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