CIVILIZING INFLUENCES. 189 



in the history of the American swallows and swifts. Our 

 purple martins spread themselves in summer all over North 

 America, but are becoming rare in the New England States, 

 whence they seem to have been driven by the white-bellied 

 swallows, which have gradually grown more numerous, and 

 which, preceding the martins in the spring, take possession 

 of all the boxes put up for the accommodation of the mar- 

 tins, and exclude the rightful tenants vi et armis. Their 

 natural nesting -places were hollow trees and cavities in 

 rocks; but now, throughout the whole breadth of the land, 

 it is rare to find martins resorting to such quarters, except 

 in the most remote parts of the Eocky Mountains. They 

 have everywhere abandoned the woods, and come into the 

 villages, towns, and even cities, choosing to nest in commu- 

 nities about the eaves of houses and barns, and in sheltered 

 portions of piazzas, or to take possession of garden bird- 

 boxes, where their social, confiding dispositions have ren- 

 dered them general favorites. 



A very similar case is presented in the c'ase of our chim- 

 ney-swift, which finds a chimney a far more desirable resi- 

 dence than a hollow tree in the woods. 



Other species of American swallows afford still more 

 striking illustrations of a change in the manner of life ef- 

 fected by association with men. Perhaps the most curious 



