Notes from Field and Study 



177 



in the low apple and elm trees bordering 

 the walk. The pronounced gray tone of 

 their plumage, different from the brownish 

 tint of the Cedar Waxwings was another 

 proof. 



While on the wing and when in the trees 

 they uttered lisping, hissing whistles, a 

 sound not unpleasing to the ear when 

 given in unison by the entire flock. They 

 seemed quite tame, apparently paying 

 no attention to me though I was within a 

 few feet of them. 



Suddenly as though at a given signal, 

 the entire company took wing and dis- 

 appeared in a northeasterly direction over 

 the town. — Ethel Allis Nott, Reeds- 

 burg, Wis. 



Do Cliff Swallows Ever Build on 

 Painted Barns ? 



The fact that the author of this article, 

 in a wide e.xperience covering an area from 

 Maine to Minnesota and southward to the 

 Gulf of Mexico, never has observed the 

 Cliff (or Lake) Swallow nesting in colonies 

 under the eaves of painted barns, has 

 given rise to the query in the above title. 

 Once only I have noted a single pair 

 that built under the gable of a painted 

 building — the dining-hall of Proctor Acad- 

 emy in Andover, N. H. The following 

 year these birds failed to nest there. 



I frequently visit a line of back-country 

 towns in Washington County, Maine. I 

 cannot recollect a single painted barn in 

 these towns, and the Cliff Swallows nest 

 on most of the barns there. They swarm 

 everywhere, plastering their curious bottle- 

 shaped houses well under the projecting 

 eaves. The abundance of these birds is 

 remarkable. In the nearby shire town, 

 where ready money is more prevalent, and 

 painted barns prevail, I cannot recollect a 

 single colony built on such structures, 

 though the birds breed freely on the un- 

 painted buildings in the town. Painted 

 barns are almost universal in southern 

 New Hampshire. Cliff Swallows are as 

 scarce as the proverbial 'hen's teeth.' I 

 have noted just two colonies in our state 

 this year, both built on unpainted barns. 



Uo the birds prefer an unpainted building 

 because it resembles the color of a cliff, or 

 does paint prevent the mud from adhering 

 with sufhcient strength to support the 

 structure and the growing brood? Perhaps 

 both reasons are factors. 



An interesting incident is illuminating 

 here. A few weeks ago, while delivering 

 an illustrated lecture in a country town, 

 I cited the above views about the nesting 

 of the Cliff Swallow. I also observed that 

 no one could be sure that birds always 

 observed the same rules, and requested 

 anyone in the audience who might know 

 of this bird building on a painted barn to 

 please let me know of the fact. After the 

 lecture a man came forward and told me 

 of a painted barn close by, that, according 

 to him, harbored a colony of Cliff Swal- 

 lows. The next morning I made due 

 investigation, but not a trace of any birds 

 could I find. Inquiry at the farmhouse, 

 however, elicited the information that the 

 birds formerly nested there, but had left 

 since the barn had been painted. Can any- 

 body shed any further light upon this 

 matter? 



I would like to give a hint to those who 

 may have these beautiful and beneficial 

 Swallows about their buildings. The same 

 will apply to the Barn Swallows. I have 

 an uncle who loves birds and does all he 

 can to attract them about his house. Every 

 spring, when the Swallows arrive, he digs 

 a quantity of clay from the lake, and close 

 to the barn mixes it to the proper con- 

 sistency in a shallow bed. The birds stand 

 about so close he can almost touch them, 

 awaiting their chance. On stepping aside, 

 they eagerly attack the plastic clay, filling 

 their beaks and flying to the barn, where 

 they build scores of nests. Many hun- 

 dreds of Swallows are reared in and upon 

 the old building. Their merry twitter 

 makes the old place lively. They amply 

 repay their host, sweeping the air clean of 

 mosquitos and other flying insects, mak- 

 ing life endurable in a country mosquito- 

 infested as are few regions in New Eng- 

 land. — Manley B. Townsend, Nashua, 

 N. H. 



