30 C. H. Merriam Birds of Connecticut. 



her own eyes," a number of Swallows that had been exhumed, 

 in a torpid state, from the muddy bottom of a pond in the neigh- 

 borhood of her dwelling. She further stated that, on taking 

 them into the kitchen, " they soon came to life and flew about the 

 room," but whether this premature "thawing out" was followed, like 

 the cases above recorded by Forster, by an equally speedy death, I 

 do not remember. 



62. Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot) Cabanis. White-bellied Swallow. 



A common summer resident, breeding in holes in trees (generally 

 standing in or about ponds). The earliest to arrive and last to depart. 

 Mr. Grinnell has observed it as early as April 7th, and I have found 

 it quite common by the 1 3th. 



In looking over Mr. W. W. Coe's note book I find the following 

 interesting item : " While collecting in the vicinity of Portland, Conn., 

 June 14th, 1873, I found, in the same tree, three Bluebird's eggs and 

 four White-bellied Swallow's eggs, and thereby hangs a tale : in cut- 

 ting away the hole to take out the Bluebird's eggs, I noticed a white 

 feather sticking up through the nest. Never having seen feathers in 

 a Bluebird's nest, and knowing that the White-bellied Swallows 

 build theirs almost entirely of them, I thought the Bluebirds might 

 have driven off the Swallows and appropriated the nest to their own 

 use. On removing the Bluebird's nest I found this to be the case, 

 for, underneath it was the nest of the White-bellied Swallow complete 

 and containing four fresh eggs the eggs of both are now in my 

 cabinet."* 



63. Petrochelidon hinifroriS (Say) Sclater. Cliff Swallow; Eave Swallow. 



A common summer resident, breeding abundantly under the eaves 

 of barns. Arrives about April 20th (April 15, 1877, Osborne; 21, 

 1877, A. J. Dayan), remaining till September. Professor Verrill, some 

 years since, showed conclusively that the Cliff Swallow had not, as 

 formerly supposed, immigrated from the West, but was actually 

 known in New England as long ago as the year 1800 long before 

 its discovery in the West. He also states that a large colony of 

 them was known to breed at Windsor, Conn., in 1830.f 



* MS. notes of W. W. Coe. 



f Proceed. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist, vol. ix, p. 276, July 1, 1863. 



