402 BULLETIN 179, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



may see a pair of swallows emerge from the nesting holes and tussle with 

 each other in the air, sometimes falling together to the base of the 

 nesting bank and there apparently going through the act of copula- 

 tion. Harold B. Wood mentions a similar observation in corre- 

 spondence we have received from him. Dr. Wood also points out that 

 an observation made by Beyer (1938) is more properly interpreted 

 as a part of the courtship than of fighting. Beyer's statement 

 is as follows: "In the early stages of burrow excavation some fight- 

 ing occurs among the occupants of a nesting site, apparently in set- 

 tling territorial claims to burrow locations. The contestants peck 

 each other vigorously and sometimes fall together to the earth in 

 front of the bank in the intensity of their struggles." 



Beyer (1938) writes: "One day early in June I saw a white feather 

 floating high in the air just above a bank where a large colony of 

 Bank Swallows was located. Suddenly a swallow darted at the 

 feather, caught it and carried it for a short distance and then released 

 it. Another bird caught the feather and released it and then another 

 and another. * * * They seem to like to poise on beating wings 

 before the face of the bank where the nests are located, holding their 

 position for a few seconds and then wheeling away out over the 

 nearby fields, only to return soon again to repeat the performance. 

 This they do in companies of eight to a dozen or more." Beyer 

 considers this as mere play but it is conceivable that these activities 

 are a part of the intricate courtship performances. 



William Brewster (1898) made an interesting observation on 

 August 22, 1896, at Lake Umbagog, N. H., of a group of immature 

 swallows, including bank swallows, which he interprets as a prema- 

 ture courtship : 



There had been a heavy rain during the night and the road was very muddy. 

 The birds alighted about the edges of one of the larger puddles in great numbers 

 and walked slowly about fluttering or quivering their half-opened wings like 

 so many big butterflies. At first I supposed that they were drinking or picking 

 up insects, but what was my astonishment to find that the Eave Swallows were 

 filling their bills with mud and the White-bellied and Bank Swallows gather- 

 ing pieces of hay or straw. * * * Each bird, on obtaining a satisfactory load 

 of mud or grass, flew with It to the fence and after shifting it about in its 

 bill for a few moments, finally dropped it and at once returned to the road for 

 a fresh supply. * * * 



While the birds were clustered about the mud puddle, scarce a minute passed 

 when one or two pairs were not engaged in copulation. Perhaps I should 

 say in attempted, rather than actual, copulation, for as nearly as I could see, 

 the sexual commerce was in no instance fully or successfully accomplished. 

 The females (or at least the birds that acted that part) submitted willingly 

 enough to, and in some instances as I thought, actually solicited, the attention 

 of the males. * * * Every one of the swallows which visited the mud- 

 puddle and engaged in collecting mud and straw or in attempted copulation, 



