NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH 
a species. Formerly these little masons 
were cliff-dwellers, and hung their adobe 
nests on the perpendicular surface of a cafion. 
But the advent of civilization offered them 
the advantage of homes under the protection 
of man, and like many of our “ Little 
Brothers of the air ” 
Nowadays it is not uncommon to find from 
fifty to a hundred of these nests beneath the 
eaves of a country barn, and the farmers are 
superstitious about disturbing them. Prob- 
ably the birds choose this location on 
account of the myriads of insects always to 
they readily accepted. 
be found neara barnyard. The same colony 
returns year after year to occupy the old 
nesting-site and as many of the old nests as 
the winter has left intact. Often thet} find 
these pre-empted by the English sparrows, 
and then a battle royal ensues. In only 
one instance that has come under my obser- 
vation have the sparrows been allowed to 
remain. 
The colony of eave-swallows which I 
watched most closely was under the east and 
196 
