THE 00L0QI8T 



126 



working the mud in its bill mixing it 

 with saliva if need be, forming it into 

 small balls which show to a certain 

 extent even after being made a part 

 of the nest. The frame of the roof 

 of my barn is similar to many others 

 in this state; it consists of one rafter 

 to each beam, these rafters being con- 

 nected by what are called ribs. These 

 ribs are made of round poles smooth- 

 ed on one side. The rafters are 6x6 

 and are notched every four feet to re- 

 ceive the ends of the ribs which are 

 laid with the smooth side next to the 

 roof boards; each rib then makes a 

 shelf and on this shelf are built the 

 nests of the Barn Swallow, which 

 may be built any where along the 

 twelve foot length of the rib, but a 

 favorite site is where the rib joins the 

 rafter. There is not only a platform 

 to place the nest on, but one side of 

 it may be fastened to the rafter mak- 

 ing it doubly secure; thus built nests 

 will last for years with only slight re- 

 pairs each season. The nest building 

 or repair of nest done, then the lining 

 which consists of some dead grasses 

 but mainly of feathers of the barn- 

 yard fowl, and at this point the Barn 

 Swallow comes nearer quarreling with 

 his neighbor than at any other time. 

 A nice soft fluffy feather floating in 

 the air is all allurement no Swallow 

 can withstand. 1 have set feathers 

 floating just to see the Swallows dive 

 to catch them before the feathers could 

 drop back to the ground. Once caught 

 the Swallow starts for home whether 

 it be nest building time or not; if 

 there be a little wind blowing the 

 feather soon gets away. Billy wheels 

 to gather in his prize but some other 

 Swallow who has kept near has it, and 

 he too starts for the nest. This last 

 Swallow may or may not be able to 

 bring the feather safely to the nest, 

 but it often chanses possession sev- 

 eral times before it is finally placed 

 in a nest. If it be past nest building 



time the feather is used as a plaything 

 in much the same way by the Swal- 

 lows, until they tire of the game, 

 then it is allowed to fall to the ground. 

 The nest completed and duly lined 

 with nice soft feathers there is a little 

 vacation coming to Billy while the 

 female deposits the eggs. Incubation 

 commenced he must spend some of his 

 time on a roosting platform built of 

 mud and near if not adjoining the 

 nest. 



The song has changed somewhat 

 now, it is "sweeter, dearer far than 

 ever." In about fourteen days I notice 

 halves of egg-shells on the barn floor 

 Eggs commenced to hatch June 9th, 

 1920. Billy must go to work again, 

 and a faithful worker he is, doing his 

 full share of feeding those small blind, 

 but hungry children. How fast they 

 grow; soon they fill the nest full to 

 overflowing. Sometimes one is pushed 

 or crowded out, falls to the floor and 

 is killed. At this time the nest being 

 so full of bouncing babies that in feed- 

 ing them the parents can only cling 

 to the side of the nest. In obtaining 

 food it is mainly secured on the wing, 

 though I have noted several times 

 Barn Swallows alighting on plowed 

 ground and picking up something 

 which I thought to be insects; it 

 could not have been nest building ma- 

 terial as the ground was dry. Flying 

 insects and millers comprise the great- 

 er part of their food; a small white 

 miller being their favorite. This mil- 

 ler is very plentiful in standing grass ; 

 these I drive up in quantities when I 

 am cutting the same for hay, then I 

 am followed by numbers of Barn 

 Swallows (no other Swallows do this) 

 who are catching these millers. The 

 Swallows are so used to the noise of 

 the machine and the movements of 

 the horses that they course back and 

 forth, in front and behind, all but bit- 

 ing us at times in their eagerness to 

 catch one more miller; this they do 



