Notes on Cliff Swallows 



By KATE P. and E. W. VIETOR 



OUR summer of 191 1 (from May 10 to August 19) was spent at Orford, 

 X. H., a town well up in the Connecticut River valley. 



A large barn facing east, with very deep eaves on the north and 

 south sides, yielded some points of interest relating to Cliff Swallows. 



The first pair of birds appeared on May 12, and the number increased 

 until the 25th, when thirty-one nests on the north side and ten on the south 

 side had been begun. 



By the 19th, two nests were completed. Nest-building continued until 

 June 13, when seventeen nests were finished on the north side and eight on 

 the south side of the barn; sixteen were abandoned unfinished. Many birds 

 left the colony during the first week in June. 



The history of the ten nests begun on the south side of the barn is short, 

 as by June 15 seven had fallen off, and a group of three had been destroyed 

 by one pair of English Sparrows, the first seen about the farm. Appropriating 

 one of the group, they stuffed it to overflowing with straw which, together 

 with their clumsy motions, soon wrecked the three nests. 



When building a nest, as soon as it could be occupied, one or both birds 

 usually stayed in it, excepting at such times as the whole colony were away 

 feeding. One object of this close occupancy was probably to retain ownership, 

 as we frequently saw a Cliff Swallow driven away from a nest it was trying 

 to enter. We feel sure, however, that the nest was not merely a nursery, but 

 a home for the birds. Both birds slept in the nest before incubation took place, 

 and later the whole family were often in it at once. Abandoned unfinished 

 nests were often used by a bird at night, while the mate was brooding, we 

 supposed. We think brooding was shared by both birds. 



From our observations, the nests do not last from year to year, as only 

 the outlines of last year's nests were on the barn when we arrived, and, at 

 the close of the nesting season, but seven nests remained, and only one of 

 these was in perfect condition. During the time of nesting, several nests 

 were broken, and, when not beyond hope, were repaired with fresh mud. 

 Certain of these repaired nests were left with the openings larger than the 

 original openings, thus affording a fairly good view of the interiors. While 

 gathering mud for the nests, the Swallows raised their wings high over their 

 backs and fluttered them rapidly. 



In building the nests, both birds worked together. They began by putting 

 pellets of mud on the barn where the base of the nest was to be. Then they 

 built the base to resemble a very shallow half-cup; they molded this by put- 

 ting the mud on that already dry, and held it in position with their breasts, 

 clinging to the barn and bracing themselves with their tails. They would 

 remain in this position until the mud had dried sufficiently to adhere. Some- 



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