50 B-nlletiu N'o. 21. 



BANK SWALLOW HABITS. 



Lake Forest is situated on high ground on the west side of Lake 

 Michigan. A few rods back from the shore are cliffs about seventy-five 

 feet high, which always present an almost perpendicular face of glacial 

 till, that is constantly being eroded away during stormy weather. The till 

 is mostly clay, with sand "pockets" of several square yards cross 

 sections frequently occurring ; and these are in great favor with Bank 

 Swallows as nesting places. 



A group of these pockets near one of the walks along shore contained 

 the burrows of about seventy-five pairs of Bank Swallows. 



On May 10, 1898, I happened by this place. It was a bright, warm 

 afternoon, and a good time for sun-baths. I found the swallows indulg- 

 ing in a performance somewhat different from anything that I had ever 

 seen before. All seemed to be at it, and everything was done in earnest 

 and with remarkable regularity. Gathered at the entrances of the 

 burrows which were more or less completely excavated, the males 

 would perform as we so often see cock sparrows do when courting, 

 though with less vigorous demonstrations. The characteristic motion 

 was a rapid vibration of the wings held a little apart from the body. 

 Some of the time this motion seemed to be indulged in by all, which 

 caused me to doubt its being a simple nesting performance ; and I am 

 not sure that the birds were doing anything more than having a play 

 time. Every four or five minutes, during the hour I watched them, the 

 whole lot would leave with a whirl and circle out over the lake a few 

 rods, always returning to repeat the same performance ?gain and again. 



R. M. Strong, Lake Forest, III. 



BIRDS FROM THE CAR WINDOW. 



If one could judge from the attitude and occupation of the majority of 

 rail-road travelers, an extended journey of that kind is not a thing to be 

 desired. Indeed, the traveler who persists in window gazing, and per- 

 chance makes frequent use of note-book and pencil, is pretty certain to 

 be relegated to the interesting tho not wholly desirable "greenhorn" 

 type. Nevertheless, current writings give indisputable proof that nature 

 study from the car window is coming more and more into favor as a 

 regular and profitable means of making a journey pass pleasantly. 



The morning of- July 20, found the writer whirling over the l:»road 

 prairies and swamps of western Indiana and eastern Illinois, on the line 



