1913 BIRDS OF THE FRESNO DISTRICT 91 



lows nest in barns and sheds, choosing- those that are near some ditch or creek 

 where mud may be obtained. 



Considerable variation in nesting dates has been observed, as I have found 

 young birds in nests examined April 29 (1910), and fresh eggs on various dates 

 in June, up to the 27th. Four eggs, as a rule, constitute the sets in this vicinity, 

 five being exceptional in my experience. 



Barn Swallow. Hirundo erythrogastra Boddaert. 



All aspiring ornithologists in the Fresno district take heart! If we cannot 

 regale our readers with accounts of Bohemian Waxwings, Western Evening 

 Grosbeaks, and other rarities, we can at least claim one world's record ! On the 

 15th day of March, 191 1, Mr. Joseph Grinnell and the author, while driving along 

 the road north of Fresno, observed a pair of Barn Swallows quietly preening 

 their wings, on a telephone wire over a bridge that crossed a large canal. Mr. 

 Grinnell has recorded this occurrence (Condor, xiii, 191 1, 11 1) as probably the 

 earliest date on record for the appearance of this swallow anywhere in Califor- 

 nia. At the time, the fact of Barn Swallows being present by middle March did 

 not impress me as being anything out of the ordinary, for I have always confi- 

 dently looked for the species by March 20 each year. In the fall the great major- 

 ity of these swallows departs during September, and excepting for a lone bird 

 noted October i, 1905, I have no records later than the last week in September. 



One or two of my bird-loving friends from other parts of the state have ex- 

 pressed surprise when I mentioned the nesting of Barn Swallows in Fresno 

 County. Their surprise would be even greater if they could see the hundreds of 

 birds that literally swarm about some of the larger bridges crossing the sloughs 

 southwest of Fresno in the Wheatville region. 



The writer cannot call to mind even a single nest of this species that was 

 Imilt in a situation other than under a bridge. Eastward from Fresno, where 

 bridges are fewer in number and usually of a smaller size, the number of nesting 

 swallows decreases correspondingly, but even the smallest span is sure to harbor 

 at least one or two pairs. The one essential, so far as I can learn, is the presence 

 of running water beneath the bridge, as this renders difficult of access to enemies 

 a nest that would otherwise be easily destroyed. 



Probably at least two broods are reared each season, as occupied nests may be 

 found from the last week in April until early August at least, the height of the 

 breeding season being the month of June. 



Very little variation exists in the nests of this species, all of them consisting 

 of a firmly built wall-pocket composed of mud pellets mixed with long horse-hair 

 and dry grass stems, and lined with chicken feathers in preference to all other 

 materials, even when it requires long journeys to secure them. One pair of Barn 

 Swallows that nested not far from my home, lined their nest entirely with white 

 feathers, although the nearest farmhouse was half a mile away. 



This species feeds almost entirely a-wing, and it is not surprising to see half 

 a dozen Barn Swallows following a mowing machine during haying time on a 

 ranch where alfalfa is raised, gathering in the insects which take flight as the 

 machine passes. 



