THE AMERICAN BARN SWALLOW. 



341 



insect frmn the skv. IJack again, in again, (Uit again, awa\', an\\vliere, e\ery- 

 where. with two-mile a minute speed and elTorlless grace. 



lUit it is the sweet conlidingness of this daint}- Swallow which wins us. 

 With all the face of Nature before iiim he yet prefers the vicinage of men, and 

 comes out of his hilly fastnesses as soon as we provide him shelter. We all like 

 to be trusted whether wc dcscr\-c it or not. .Xnd if we don't deserve it : well, 

 we will, that's all. 



The Barn Swallow is not a common bird with ns as it is east of the 

 Rockies, nor is it e\enly distributed thruont our State. \\'here\-er the country 

 is well settled it is likely, but not certain, to be found; while for the rest it is 

 confined to such lower altitudes as afford it suitable shelter caves and nesting 

 cliffs. 



At the head of Lake Chelan in iNo3 I found such a ])riniiti\-e nesting 

 haunt. The shores of the lake near its head are very ]M-ecipitous, since Castle 

 .Mountain rises to a height of o\er 8,000 feet within a distance of two miles. 

 -Along the shore-line in the side of the cliffs, which continue se\-eral hundred 

 feet below the water, the waves lim'c hollowed out crannies anrl ca-.-es. In one 

 of these latter, 

 w- h i c h penetrates 

 the granite wall to 

 a dejrtli of some 

 twenty feet. I founi 

 four or five Bani 

 Swallows' nest s, 

 some containing 

 young, and two, al- 

 tho it was so late in 

 the season (July 9, 

 1895), containing 

 eggs. Other nests 

 w ere found in 

 neighboring cran- 

 nies outside the 

 ca\e. A visit paid 

 to this same spot on 

 .August lotb, 1896, 

 discovered one nest 

 still occupied, and 

 this contained four 

 eggs. 



Mr. F. S. Merrill, 

 of Spokane, reports 



near Sf^obane. 



nolo by F. S. Mcrill. 



N'EST OF B.\r<N SWALLOW. 



