United States much resembles the tree swallow, but it measures only about five 

 inches in length. The seventh and last species found in the United States is 

 the rough-winged swallow. 



The species of swallow found in South America by far outnumber those in 

 the United States. As the country has become populated, these birds have left 

 their wild places of abode, and have taken up life near the houses and barns, where 

 they find great delight in nesting. Throughout the world the swallows have 

 shown this gentle spirit of yielding to semi-domestication and it has made them 

 a pleasing neighbor to man in far-ofif Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and every- 

 where. Their pleasing habits have created a great growth of folk-lore, rich 

 sentiment, and poetry in many lands. 



The Dovekie {Aiie Aiie) 



By Edward B. Clark 



Length : 8 inches. 



The Dovekie, commonly called Sea Dove or Little Auk, is a little fellow 

 with short bill and legs, inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence northward. Dovekies probably do not breed south of Greenland ; in 

 winter they occur in New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Labrador, becoming 

 abundant off Exeter Sound and along the west coast of Baffin Bay. 



Probably the most accessible breeding grounds are in Iceland. Many European 

 bird lovers find that northerly spot much more accessible than any similarly 

 located place to be reached from either side of the American continent. Iceland 

 is a veritable bird paradise. Myriads of gulls, sea ducks, shore birds, and boreal 

 land birds, such as the ptarmigan, gyrfalcon, and finches, haunt the bleak regions 

 of this island. The Dovekie deposits her single large pale-greenish-blue egg in 

 crevices of the sea cliffs. 



In the far arctic, where all other birds perish, the Dovekie survives. 



906 



