334 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



birds build upon the faces of high perpendicular cliffs wherever 

 these ma}' be found. For the last three years they have increased 

 rapidly. In the absence of an}- high cliffs the nest is placed under 

 the eaves of a barn or other high building" (Iowa Orn., i, 3, 1895, 

 pp. 65-66). The Cliff Swallows often have battles with the En- 

 glish Sparrows for the possession of their nests, but the Swallows 

 usually come off victorious. The Swallows are generally wel- 

 comed about farm-yards on account of the large numbers of mos- 

 quitoes and other insects which they destroy. 



Genus Hirundo I^innaeus. 



272. (613). Hiriuido erythrogastraV>odiA. Barn Swallow. 



The Barn Swallow, known from the Cliff Swallow by its deeply 

 forked tail, is a common summer resident in all parts of Iowa 

 from the middle of April until September first. The Barn Swal- 

 low is less inclined to associate in colonies than the Cliff Swallow, 

 and while the nest is occasionally built under eaves, it is generally 

 placed under the roof of an open shed or outbuilding, stuck to the 

 side of a rafter or upon the top of a horizontal beam. The nest 

 is often placed under a small bridge. The Barn Swallow seems 

 to have been less generally distributed in the earlier days. F. V. 

 Hayden speaks of the species building its nests on the vertical 

 sides of the bluffs along the Missouri in countless numbers (Trans. 

 Am. Philos. Soc, xii, 1863, pp. 161-62). J. A. Allen stated that 

 the Barn Swallow was not generally common in western Iowa. 

 Sometimes none were seen for long intervals. In some sections 

 persons who had resided there for years claimed never to have 

 seen them (Mem. Bo^t. Soc, i, 1868, pp. 494-95). T. M. Trippe 

 reported that they were not seen in Mahaska county, and only 

 observed in a single locality in Decatur county, where a single 

 pair had appeared five or six years before and increased to a col- 

 ony of thirty or forty (Proc. Bost. Soc, xv, 1872, p. 225). At the 

 present time there is .scarcely a farm in the state that does not 

 have one or more pairs of Barn Swallows nesting in its buildings. 



Genus Iridoprocne Coues. 



273. (614). Iridoprocne bicolor {W€\\\o\.). White-bellied Swallow. 

 The White-bellied Swallow or Tree Swallow is a common mi- 

 grant in most parts of the state and a tolerably common summer 



