HIRUNDO LUNIFRONS — THE CLIFF SWALLOW 269 



This species breeds in many places throughout the State, 

 although not so generally distributed as the Barn and 

 White Bellied Swallows, Their natural habitat is the 

 vicinity of rocks, on the precipitous sides of which they 

 build their nests ; but they are now continually found build- 

 ing upon the walls of houses, often directly beneath the 

 eaves. The nest is made of mud, gathered from the sides 

 of rivers, or wherever it can be found. Like the Window 

 Martin, of Europe, it probably uses the well tempered mud 

 of the streets for this purpose, when it is not too sandy. 

 It is a bottle like structure, the neck forming the entrance, 

 and projects horizontally from its base. 



Like the majority of its congeners, the GlifF Swallow is 

 eminently gregarious, their nests being often built close 

 together in great numbers. Audubon says that they move 

 off to the north (south?) by the 3d of August. About that 

 time, the present season, a large party of swallows was 

 observed passing over Cleveland, in a body, for the south, 

 and, as all the other species still remain with us, it may 

 have been composed of this. 



We know of no place in this locality where they are 

 plentiful. Several built their nests on the house of Nor- 

 man C. Baldwin, in the vicinity of this city, last year, 

 (1858,) but we do not know whether they returned this 

 season. The cliffs on the lake shore, between Cleveland 

 and Rocky River, are rather too much exposed to the north 

 and west winds, by which their frail domicils would be apt 

 to be destroyed, although there are many nooks that a 

 colony might find shelter in, and it is probable that this 

 bird may breed there. 



The eggs are usually four, of white color, with dusky 

 spots, and are laid on a little straw or dry grass as a bed, 

 in the cavity of the nest. While the nest is being built, 

 the birds work in the morning and evening, letting the sun 

 dry the structure during the heat of day. We have observ- 

 ed the Window Martin of Europe do the same thing. This 



