SWALLOWS 83 



yet sometimes several pairs nest in the same 

 general locality. In the forest they inhabit old 

 Woodpecker holes and hollow trees. On the 

 farm a hollow fence-rail or a hole in an apple 

 tree makes a suitable nest site. 



A pair of these happy birds for several seasons 

 has occupied one of our bird houses set on the 

 little shelf where the eave finish breaks around 

 the corner. Both birds assist in building, and it 

 seems to me they carry into the little structure 

 much more material than they need, sometimes 

 filling it so full of coarse grass and straw that 

 they enter with difficulty. The nest is made very 

 soft with feathers, a safe receptacle for the four 

 or five white eggs. They are easily distinguished 

 from other Swallows by their pure white breasts. 

 The upper parts are steel-blue or steel-green, 

 darker on the wings and tail. The tail is only 

 slightly forked. Their coats are glossy, glisten- 

 ing like silk in the sunshine, making them, we 

 think, very attractive ornaments about the 

 premises. 



They are the first Swallows to arrive in the 

 spring and among the first to leave in August. 

 Since they feed exclusively on insects at this 

 season, they are almost constantly on the wing, 

 now skimming low over the water, now whirl- 

 ing over the land in graceful circles, gathering 

 their food as they go. 



When the young are grown these swallows 

 gather in flocks and haunt the marshes and 

 streams where insect life is most plentiful. They 

 disappear to the southward by the latter part of 

 August, and winter in the far tropics. Their 



