SwaUow WESTERN BIRDS 



nesting-site and the moist earth. Poising beside the wet 

 place, with their raised wings supporting them like huge 

 butterflies, and the short tail tipped upward, they fill 

 their bills with mud and are away. A ring of pellets is 

 cemented to the structure chosen for the nest, and the 

 long gourd affair, its round opening smaller than the 

 base, is built, a pellet at a time, and finished with a 

 feather, or grass, lining. 



It is, indeed, a wonderful nest and it seems a pity 

 after so much labor expended that people often destroy 

 them just because the birds are noisy, soil the side of the 

 building, and sometimes harbor parasites. We are as- 

 sured by the Biological Survey that these parasites 

 thrive only on the birds, not in human habitations, 

 albeit they greatly resemble those pests of beds. 



The young are dear little fellows whose bright black 

 eyes watch eagerly, from their round mud doorway, the 

 passing of the old birds; squealing jubilantly when a 

 bird pauses to feed them. They actually act as if they 

 knew their parents. 



I once had one of these baby Cliff Swallows brought 

 to me and was able to raise it. It thrived on the flies 

 we caught, learning to snap them up for itself before it 

 finally flew away and we saw it no more. 



An old bird, with an injured wing, which I also had, 

 showed great intelligence, perching on my finger and 

 from there snapping the flies which we searched house 

 and yard to supply. It evidently realized that it could 

 not fly, and was careful to only reach as far as it could 

 for the food, without using its wings. It was the gentlest 

 and most intelligent captive I have ever had, 



Wilson says of them: "These birds are easily tamed, 

 and soon become exceedingly gentle and familiar. I 

 have frequently kept them in my room for several days 

 at a time, where they employed themselves in catching 

 flies, picking them from my clothes, hair, etc., calling 



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