THE SWALLOW FAMILY 71 
mouthful which they make up into a sort of 
little ball. Then they fly to the nest and feed 
it to one of the little ones. 
Thus they keep the air clear and free from 
insects, and they do not a bit of harm, for they 
never touch our fruit or vegetables. 
Barn swallows are social, and always go in 
flocks. They sing, too, —a sweet little song, but 
not very loud. It is charming to hear them in 
a barn when five or six of them sing together. 
But one may often hear the little song from a 
single bird flying over. 
They are friendly among themselves, and they 
like to alight on a roof and chatter away a long 
time. In one place where I was staying, they 
liked to gather on a piazza roof right under my 
window. They often woke me in the morning 
with their sweet little voices. 
One morning the sound was so near, it seemed 
as if they must be in the room, and I opened 
‘my eyes to see. There on the sill close to the 
screen was one of the pretty fellows. He was 
looking in at the open window, and evidently 
keeping watch of me. When I moved a little, 
he gave the alarm, and the whole party flew 
away. 
The chatter of barn swallows always seems to 
me like talk, and men who study bird ways agree 
