BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 347 



the nest to perch in trees. In winter, these birds resort to East 

 Florida, where they are seen by thousands. Audubon has dis- 

 covered that there is another species, nearly resembling this, 

 and often confounded with it. He has given it the name of 

 rough-winged swallow, H. serripennis. The bill is longer, 

 with the point of the upper mandible more decurved. The 

 tail is shorter and but slightly emarginate. There are no 

 feathers on the hinder part of the tarsus, as in the common spe- 

 cies, and the wings extend half an inch beyond the tail. 



The Chimney Swallow, Cypselus pelasgius, is a singular 

 bird, which formerly, when the country was unsettled, made 

 its nest and place of resort in hollow trees ; but having discov- 

 ered that chimneys have an advantage over those wild tene- 

 ments, and that a great proportion of them are not in use in the 

 summer, it has now become familiar with man, and abounds in 

 almost all the towns and villages of the country. As soon as 

 they arrive in May, they select a chimney for their encamp- 

 ment,. Avhere both sexes roost together at night ; and if not dis- 

 turbed in their rendezvous, they return to it several years in 

 succession. Here they may be seen in the evening, flying 

 round in broad circles, till it groAvs dark ; at length, as one 

 passes over it, he drops into it as if dead. One after another, at 

 intervals, follows his example, whirring with their wings as 

 they descend, and making a sound like distant thunder. They 

 spend the night on the sides of the flue, clinging with their 

 claws and resting on their tails, all in profound repose. At the 

 first glimpse of daybreak, all are in motion, and they pour out 

 in a rushing volume, as if the chimney were bursting out with 

 flames ; for a moment it trembles to its foundation ; but the 

 swallows disperse to their several cares, and it is left deserted 

 for the day. 



Each pair select a chimney in the neighborhood, taking one 

 which appears to be disused for the season. Their first process 

 is to collect twigs, which they break off" in an ingenious man- 

 ner, grasping them with their claws and pushing the body sud- 

 denly against them, by which the stick is separated from the 



