

Swallows 315 



a rafter. It is easy to see if the barn is not dark, but it 

 should not be molested. 



The cliff swallow. The cliff swallow resembles the 

 barn swallow but may be known by the pale yellowish red 

 color of the feathers of the lower back or base of the tail. 

 Its pocketlike mud nest is not placed inside the barn, but 

 under the eaves, where a dozen or more may be counted 

 on one side of a single barn. Some of them nest beneath 

 cliffs. The mud homes of this swallow are favorite 

 nesting places of the English sparrow, and where this 

 sparrow has spread into the country districts and become 

 numerous about buildings, the cliff swallow has disap- 

 peared. 



Barn swallows and cliff swallows are more likely to 

 build under the roof of a barn if mud is accessible at the 

 time they need it. Do they return to their old nests ? 



The tree swallow. The tree swallow differs from other 

 swallows in having the under parts entirely white. It is 

 usually the first of the swallows to gather in flocks after 

 the nesting season. In summer hundreds at once may 

 sometimes be seen flying over the water. When migrat- 

 ing along the Atlantic coast they have been seen in large 

 numbers feeding on the fruit of bayberry bushes. Have 

 you ever seen swallows eating any kind of fruit or other 

 vegetable food ? 



Tree swallows nest in holes in trees not far from some 

 body of water or marsh, or in crevices of cliffs. Some- 

 times they occupy boxes or houses that have been made 

 for them. These may be placed 8 to 15 feet above the 

 ground in trees or arbors, on buildings or on special posts 

 set around the borders of fields. 



