110 Coues on the Eave, Cliff, or Crescent Swallow. 



and untidy, they were voted a nuisance, to be abated ; but it was 

 " no use " ; they stuck, and so did their nests. In the adjoining 

 British province of Manitoba, at one of the trading-posts I visited, 

 it was the same thing over again ; their nests were repeatedly de- 

 molished, on account of the racket and clutter they made, till the 

 irate lord of the manor found it cheaper in the end to let the birds 

 alone, and take his chances of the morning nap. I think such ob- 

 stinacy is due to the bird's reluctance to give up the much-needed 

 shelter which the eaves provide against the weather, — indeed, this 

 may have had something to do with the change of habit in the be- 

 ginning. The Cliff Swallow's nest is built entirely of mud, which, 

 when sun-baked into " adobe," is secure enough in dry weather, but 

 liable to be loosened or washed away during a storm. In fact, this 

 accident is of continual occurrence, just as it is in the cases of the 

 Chimney-Swifts. The birds' instinct, — whatever that may mean ; 

 I despise the word as a label of our ignorance and conceit, — say, 

 rather, their reason, teaches them to come in out of the rain. This 

 may also have something to do with the clustering of nests, commonly 

 observed when the birds build on the faces of cliffs ; for obviously 

 such a mass would withstand the weather better than a single 

 edifice. 



It is pleasant to watch the establishment and progress of a colony 

 of these birds. Suddenly they appear, — quite animated and enthu- 

 siastic, but undecided as yet ; an impromptu debating society on 

 the fly, with a good deal of sawing the air to accomplish before final 

 resolutions are passed. The plot thickens ; some Swallows are seen 

 clinging to the slightest inequalities beneath the eaves, others are 

 couriers to and from the nearest mud-puddle ; others again alight 

 like feathers by the water's side, and all are in a twitter of excite- 

 ment. Watching closely these curious sons and daughters of Israel 

 at their ingenious trade of making bricks, we may chance to see a 

 circle of them gathered around the margin of the pool, insecurely 

 balanced on their tiny feet, tilting their tails and ducking their 

 heads to pick up little " gobs " of mud. These are rolled round in 

 their mouths till tempered, and made like a quid into globular form, 

 with a curious working of their jaws; then off go the birds, and 

 stick the pellet against the wall, as carefully as ever a sailor, about 

 to spin a yarn, deposited his chew on the mantel-piece. The birds 

 work indefatigably ; they are busy as bees, and a steady stream 

 flows back and forth for several hours a day, with intervals for rest 



