Hirundofulva of Vieilloi. loo 



posed, and work with great perseverance until near the mid- 

 dle of the day, as if aware that the heat of the sun was neces- 

 sary to dry and harden their moist tenements ; they then cease 

 from labour for a few hours ; amuse themselves by performing 

 aerial evolutions, court and caress their mates with much affec- 

 tion, and snap flies and insects on the wing. They often ex- 

 amine their nests to determine whether they are sufficiently 

 dry, and as soon as they appear of the requisite firmness, their 

 labours are immediately renewed. Until the females began 

 sitting, they all roosted in the hollow limbs of the sycamore, 

 Platanus occidentalis, growing on the banks of the Licking 

 river, and when incubation commenced, the males alone oc- 

 cupied the trees. A second party arrived, and were so hard 

 pressed for time, that they betook themselves to the holes in 

 the wall, where bricks had been left out for the scaffolding ; 

 these they closed with projecting necks similar to the com- 

 plete nests of the others. Their eggs are deposited on a few 

 bits of straw, and great caution was necessary to obtain them, 

 as the slightest touch would crumble their frail tenement into 

 dust. By means of a table-spoon, I was enabled to examine 

 and procure many. Each nest contained four eggs, white, 

 with dusky brown spots. Only one brood is raised in a 

 season. 



The energy with which tfoey defended their nests was truly 

 astonishing. Although I had taken the precaution to visit 

 their nests at sunset, when I had supposed they would all 

 have been on the sycamores, yet a single female happened to 

 be sitting, and she gave the alarm which immediately called 

 out the whole tribe. They snapped at my hat, my body, and 

 my legs, passed between me and the nests within an inch of 

 my face, twittering their rage and sorrow. They continued 

 their attacks as I descended, and accompanied me some dis- 

 tance. Their note may be perfectly imitated by rubbing a 

 < ork dampened with spirit, around in the neck of a bottle. 



