JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



17 



first nest that was built the sum- 

 mer tbe barn was built, and has been 

 occupied every year since. Some years 

 ago five nests were occupied in this barn, 

 and that year a fatal accident occurred 

 to one of the Swallows. I discovered one 

 nest with two eggs was deserted, and 

 on looking into the cause of it I discov- 

 ered the dead bird on the floor below, and 

 drew the conclusion that the bird on en- 

 tering the door on the ground floor, flew 

 upward through the large square in the 

 upper floor used for the horse fork to 

 pass up through to the track under the 

 ridge pole, and in her upward swoop had 

 hit the fork or rope that was suspended 

 above, and hung through the square, 

 and fell to the floor dead. 



Another large barn where the Swallows 

 have nested longer than I can remember, 

 always having eight or ten nests each 

 year, only four were occupied this year. 

 On the same barn, outside under the eaves 

 ever since I can remember, and for years 

 before, there had been twelve or fifteen 

 nests in a row, of the Cliff Swallow, and 

 this year but two nests were occupied. 

 Some of them have fallen down, others 

 remaining untenanted. (No other oppor- 

 tunity was available to observe the Cliff" 

 Swallow.) 



Another barn that always had one 

 Barn Swallow occupant had none. Still 

 another had lost more than half its Swal- 

 low occupants, and one other which had 

 usually had five nests had none this 

 year. This barn, however, was not oc- 

 cupied, and perhaps not being occupied 

 by cattle or horses, a scarcity of flies and 

 other usual insects about the place may 

 have had some influence, yet before it 

 spread a broad expanse of lowland and 

 meadow, fairly teeming with the small 

 white millers that the Swallows so often 



skim along and catch, and I could not 

 account for this great change unless it 

 was a scarcity of the food usually obtain- 

 ed. This change so far as 1 am aware 

 is sectional, as Mr. Morrill, Mr. Knight, 

 and Mr. Norton have written me the 

 Swallows were very abundant in their 

 respective localities. In Cumberland 

 county I have seen as many Swallows as 

 in the past four years, though no oppor- 

 tunity has been afforded to observe their 

 nestiuo; here. 



I observed the Bank Swallows nesting 

 in the bank of a large sand pit on the 

 electric road between Portland and 

 Westbrook, also in usual numbers along 

 the Sandy River in Franklin County in 

 June. I was not able to make much 

 study of these Swallows, however. 



The Tree Swallows, (or at least I took 

 them to be the Tree Swallow) were seen 

 in large numbers along the rocky coast 

 of Cape Elizabeth near the Portland 

 Head light early in the spring. The only 

 chance to study them was at Farming- 

 ton. About twelve years ago 1 erected a 

 bird house for the Martins that were 

 seen around the house, and averyinterest- 

 mg chapter was recorded on the quarrels 

 of the Martin, Ti'ee Swallow and Blue- 

 bird, the Martins being the victors until 

 two years ago. Since then the Swallows 

 have driven the Martins out. The Svval- 

 lows arrive first and get their nest part- 

 ly completed before the Martins arrive. 

 Then follows a week or two with a lively 

 contest, the Swallows guarding their un- 

 finished nests with touching vigilance. 

 The last two years the Swallows have 

 held the house and continued to breed ; 

 but previously after a hard-fought battle 

 the Martins forced an entrance and 

 threw out the feathers, etc., of the Swal- 



