Cliff Swallows 



By FRANK A. BROWN. Beverly, Mass. 

 With a photograph by the author 



SKIMMING al)un(laiUly over llie fields of <>;niss ami alders, digging 

 in the clayey mud along the seashore and inland streams, the easily 

 identified and confiding cUff Swallow is one of the most common and 

 abundant residents of eastern Maine and of the Nova Scotian valleys. Where 

 I have watched it during the last season, in Washington county, Maine, and 

 the vicinity of Grand Vvc, N. S.. it outnumbered by far all the other Swallows. 

 Scarcely an a\ailable l)arn, in cerlaiu spots, but has its nests in \-arying quan- 

 tities. On one small barn I counted one hundred and seventy-eight of the 

 clay nests hanging in rows and clusters from one side alone, and many others 

 have easily supported at least one hundred nests. From these colonies the 

 birds are continuously circling the immediate door-yards of the barns and 

 houses, and flying abroad over the orchards and fields on easy wing in pur- 

 suit of food and pleasure. At night and morning, especially, and at certain 

 other times of the day, all of the Swallows of the colony seem to be on the 

 wing in the vicinity of the nests. At other times there are simply individuals 

 going and returning from greater distances. 



I have carefully questioned many farmers, from place to place, as to their 

 disposition toward the birds, and have found in practically all cases much 

 love for the little fellows. Their coming is eagerly looked for and welcomed 

 in the spring, and their cheerful company and confident tameness are the 

 especial joy of the children. As well, all the testimony was to the effect that 

 the flies and mosquitos were noticeably decreased by their presence. To make 

 a rough estimate of their benefits to the farmers in the consumption of insects, 

 I lay on my back close by a small colony, and, by watching for half an hour 

 a nest where there were four young birds, estimating two or three insects 

 being brought at a feeding, about nine hundred would be consumed by that 

 family each fifteen-hour day of its rearing. 



The seeking of mud for the nest-building I found particularly interesting 

 to watch. In one place was a trench dug some five feet deep, and with a most 

 inviting bed of soft sticky clay at the bottom. The Swallows were making 

 the most of the opening of such a mine, and, through the entire forenoon that 

 I observed them, they flocked in numbers and worked most conscientiously. 

 As they were so fearless in flight, not hesitating to come within a foot or two, 

 I thought it possible to watch them within some ten or fifteen feet, by getting 

 down into the trench and remaining quiet; but, after some twenty minutes 

 of it, I found that it would not work, and that I was only wasting their precious 

 minutes of a pleasant June day. So, having a brown poncho, I fastened it 

 by rocks across the trench, got a box for a seat behind it, and, hiding in its 

 shelter, was within a few feet of them in as many minutes. They came in eager 



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