454 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



a barn or house and more seldom under the eaves of a bridge 

 over the water. Sometimes hundreds of these nests may be 

 seen under the eaves of a large barn, but more usually a colony 

 consists of five to forty pair. 



The neck of the nest is variously finished, sometimes being 

 three or four inches long, at other times practically no neck is 

 made. After the neck of the nest is passed it widens into a 

 chamber lined with dry grass and feathers, and here the eggs 

 are laid. These are three to six, more generally four in 

 number, white in color, variously specked, blotched and dotted 

 with reddish brown, or cinnamon brown and some eggs also 

 have clouded markings of lilac or lavender. The spots are 

 more numerous about the larger end as a rule, sometimes 

 rather inclined to be wreathed, though in some cases eggs are 

 more sparsely and evenly spotted all over. A typical set of 

 eggs taken at Six Mile Falls, Maine, June 10, 1893, measure 

 0.84 X 0.59, 0.84 x 0.58, 0.83 x 0.58, 0.83 x 0.60, 0.82 x 0.60. 



Even in the same colony the time of laying is variable, eggs 

 being found from as early as June first up to July second. In 

 general nests I have watched in process of construction require 

 from ten to twenty days to finish, seemingly dependent on 

 weather conditions, the nearness of a supply of mud, and other 

 details. 



These birds can often be seen in small groups about a 

 muddy spot in the road, deftly perching and gathering up 

 small pellets which they work in their mouths. They are 

 rather inclined to nest in localities not far distant from water, 

 but prefer to utilize the mud of roads and farmyards when 

 there is sufficient moisture to render it available. Both sexes 

 work on the nest, one leaving for material as the other arrives 

 with a load, or sometimes one bird seems to bring and leave 

 material to be utilized by the other. 



An egg is laid each day and incubation requires about four- 

 teen days. The young are in the nest sixteen or seventeen 

 days. Both sexes incubate and care for the young. 



