HIRUNDINID^E — THE SWALLOWS. 343 



In one instance Mr. Allen has known a pair of these Swallows to take 

 possession of the nest of a pair of Cliff Swallows, placed under the eaves 

 of a barn, drivino- off the rightful owners. The next year they huilt a nest 

 in the same place, the old one having I'allen down. But such instances are 

 rare, and the attempt is often a failure. 



The wonderful activity of this bird, its rapidity and powers of flight, are 

 too striking a peculiarity of this species not to be mentioned. During their 

 stay with us, from May to September, from morn to night they seem to be 

 ever in motion, especially so before incubation, or after their young have 

 flown. The rapidity of their tortuous evolutions, their intricate, involved, 

 and repeated zigzag flights, are altogether indescribable, and nmst be wit- 

 nessed to be appreciated. Wilson estimated that these birds fly at the rate 

 of a mile a minute, but any one who has witnessed the ease and celerity with 

 which tliey seem to delight in overtaking, passing, and repassing a train of 

 cars moving at the rate of thirty miles an hour must realize that this esti- 

 mate is far from doing full justice to their real speed. 



The song of this Swallow, especially when on the wing, is very pleasing 

 and sprightly. It is a succession of twittering notes uttered with great 

 rapidity and animation. Wlien alighted, their notes are delivered more 

 slowly and with much less animation. 



The attention of these birds to each other when sitting upon the nest, and 

 to their young when hatched, is unremitting. The estimated numbers of 

 small insects they collect for their own consumption and that of their nest- 

 lings is almost incredible. When the young are old enough to leave their 

 nests the manoeuvres of the parents to draw them out, and their assistance 

 to them when practising their ' first short flights, are among the most curi- 

 ous and interesting scenes one can witness in his ornithological experi- 

 ences. ; but space would fail me were I to attempt their details. 



The number of the young is from four to six, and tliere are often two 

 broods in a season. As soon as the second brood can fly, or early in Septem- 

 ber, they all prepare to leave. They usually collect in flocks of from one 

 to several hundred, and depart within a few days of their first assembling. 

 Large flocks pass along the coast of Massachusetts, from the north and east, 

 early in September, often uniting as they meet, and passing rapidly on. 



Their eggs have a ground-color of clear white, with a roseate tint when 

 unblown. They are marked with spots of reddish and purplish-brown, vary- 

 ing in size and number, and chiefly at the larger end. They are smaller and 

 more elongate than those of the lunifrons, and the markings are usually finer. 

 Their greatest length is .94 of an inch, their least .75, and their mean .78. 

 Their mean breadth is .b'6 of an inch, the greatest .62, and the least .50. 



