THE RUFOUS-BELLIED SWALLOW. 115 



The nest is composed externally of mud or clay, which is brought by the bird in small 

 lumps and stuck in irregular rows so as to build up the sides of its little edifice. There is an 

 attempt at smoothing the surface of the nest, but each lump of clay is easily distinguishable 

 upon the spot where it has been stuck. While engaged at the commencement of its labors, the 

 Swallow clings perpendicularly to the wall of the house or chimney, clinging with its sharp little 

 claws to any small projection, and sticking itself by the pressure of its tail against the wall. 

 The interior of the nest is lined with grasses and other soft substances, and after it has been 

 inhabited by a young brood, becomes very offensive to the nostrils and unpleasant to the 

 touch, in consequence of the large parasitic ticks which are peculiar to the birds of this tribe, 

 and which swarm in the nest. 



Sometimes the Swallow is seized with a fit of eccentricity, and builds its nest in very odd 

 localities. One of these birds actually made its home in the outspread wings of an owl which 

 had been nailed against a barn door, and it is not at all unusual to see the nests of the Swallow 

 built in the shaft of an old mine or wall. Various other localities are recorded by zoological 

 observers, such as a half-open drawer, an old cap hung upon a peg, and in one curious 

 instance, which is mentioned and figured by Mr. Yarrell, upon the forked branch of a syca- 

 more tree which hung over a pond. A brood of young was hatched in this nest, and a second 

 batch of eggs was laid, but came to nothing. 



There are sometimes two broods in the year, and when the second brood has been hatched 

 at a very late period of the year, the young are frequently deserted and left to starve by their 

 parents, who are unable to resist the innate impulse that urges them to seek a warmer climate. 

 It has occasionally, but very rarely, happened that the parents have remained for some time, in 

 order to bring up their young brood. When fully fledged, and before they are forced to migrate, 

 the young birds generally roost for the night in oisers and other water-loving trees. 



THE two Swallows which next come before our notice are natives of America, and are 

 high in favor among the lower inhabitants of the land, one species taking up its abode with 

 civilized men, and the other preferring, at all events at present, the habitations of the indig- 

 enous savage tribes. 



THE RUFOUS- BELLIED SWALLOW is plentifully found in the United States, and is fond of 

 building its nest in out-houses and barns, and is frequently furnished by the kindness of the 

 proprietor with convenient boxes fastened to poles or nailed on trees. It is never known to 

 build in chimneys, like our own Chimney Swallow. 



The nest of this bird is rather peculiar in form, being, according to Wilson, " in the form 

 of an inverted cone, with a perpendicular section cut off on that side by which it adheres to 

 the rafters. At the top it has an extension of the nest, or an off-set, for the male or female 

 to sit on occasionally ; the upper direction is about six inches by five, the height externally 

 seven inches. This shell is formed with mud mixed with fine hay, as plasterers do mortar 

 with hair to make it adhere the better : the mud seems to be placed in regular layers from 

 side to side ; the shell is about an inch in thickness, and the hollow of the cone is filled in 

 with fine hay well stuffed in, and above that is laid a handful of downy feathers." The nest of 

 the Pine-pine (Cisticola tectrix) is also remarkable for possessing a supplementary erection on 

 which one of the birds sits while the other is engaged in hatching the eggs. 



As the nest is rather complicated in its structure, it occupies some time in preparation, 

 a week generally passing before it is fit to receive the eggs. When the Rufous-bellied Swallow 

 builds in barns or out-houses, it is very gregarious in its habits, twenty or thirty nests being 

 often placed in close proximity to each other, and generally within an inch or two ; yet there 

 is no quarrelling among the birds, and the whole society is remarkably harmonious. While 

 the female is sitting on the eggs, the male often places himself on the mud perch, and pours 

 forth his complacent little twitter of a song for her consolation. There are generally two 

 broods in each season. In size the Rufous-bellied Swallow is not quite equal to the common 

 Swallow of England, being only about seven inches in length. Its color is not unlike that 

 of the Swallow, excepting that the under portions of the body are of a ruddy chestnut in the 

 male, and of a rusty white in the female. 



