98 



NATURAL HISTOR.Y OF VERMONT. 



Part I. 



THE SWALLOWS. 



THE SWALLOWS. 



Kentucky. In 1817 they made their ap- 

 pearance at Whitehall, at the south end 

 of lake Champlain, and shortly after at 

 Ranclo'.;ih, Richmond, and some other 

 places in this state. ]n unsettled places 

 they build their nests upon the sides of 

 rocky cliffs, but here they are usually 

 placed beneath the eaves of barns and oth- 

 er building's. They are constructed prin- 

 cipally of clay or mud, in the form of a 

 retort or gourd, and are lined with dry 

 g-rass. The eggs, usually 4, are white, 

 spotted with brown. These swallows al- 

 waj's build their nests in companies, and 

 are so remarkably gregarious, that from 

 50 to 100 of their nests may often be 

 counted at the same time beneath the 

 eaves of a single building. 



WHITE-BELLIED SWALLOW. 



Hirundo bicolor. — Vieil. 



Desckiption. — Color above light glos- 

 sy greenish blue ; wings and tail brown- 

 ish black ; belly white ; the closed wings 

 extend a little beyond the tail, which is 

 forked ; tarsus naked. Female like the 

 male, but less glossy. Length 5^ inches; 

 spread 10. 



History. — This Swallow is much less 

 common in Vermont than the other spe- 

 cies. Their nests are made of grass and 

 lined with feathers, and are placed in va- 

 rious situations, such as beneath the eaves 

 of old buildings, or in iiollow trees, and 

 they not unfrequently take possession of 

 Blue bird and Martin boxes. The eggs, 

 4 or 5, are pure white. 



THE BANK SWALLOW. 

 Hirundo riparia. — Linn. 



Description. — Color above, and band 

 on the breast, cinereous brown ; beneath 

 white ; wings brownish black ; tail fork- 

 ed, with the outer feathers edged with 

 white ; tarsus naked, e.xcepting a few 

 tufts of downy feathers behind ; chin 

 slightly fulvous. Length 5;^ in. ; folded 

 ■wing 4 in., and reaching nearly to the ex- 

 tremity of the tail. 



History. -The Bank Swallow, or Sand 

 Martin, is gregarious, like the Cliff Swal- 

 low, and may be found in companies in all 

 parts of the state which afford suitable 

 places for its habitation. These are usu- 

 ally sandy cliffs on banks of rivers. They 

 commence 2 or 3 feet below the surface 

 of the bank, and perforate the ground in 

 a horizontal direction to the distance of 

 from 2 to 4 feet, and at the further ex- 

 tremity they place their nest, which is 

 composed of a little dry grass and a fk-w 

 feathers. The eggs, usually 5, are pure 



white. Often from 30 to 60 or more of 

 these Swallow holes may be counted in a 

 bank, in the space of one or two rods. 

 The voice of this swallow isalow mutter. 



Gencs Cypselus. — IlUger. 



Generic Characters. — Bill very short, Iri- 

 anoiilar, cleft to the eyes, depressed, the upper 

 mandible slightly notched and curved at the point ; 

 nostrils lateral, contiguous, large, partly covered 

 l)y a membrane ; tongue, short, wide and bifid aS 

 the ti[) ; feet very short ; toes divided, hind toe 

 shortest, reversible, generally directed forward ; 

 nails retractile, channeled beneath ; wings very 

 long. Sexes and young nearly alike in plumage. 



THE CHIMNEY SWALLOW. 



Cypselus pclasgius. — Tzm minor. 

 Description. — General color sooty 

 brown, approaching to black, lightish 

 about the throat and over the eye ; legs 

 and feet bluish, muscular, with exceeding 

 sharp claws; the folded wings very nar- 

 row and long, extending 1^ inch beyond 

 the tail, which is short and rounded, with 

 the shafts of the feathers reaching beyond 

 the vanes into sharp, strong, and very 

 elastic points ; 2d quill of the wings lon- 

 gest. Length from the end of the bill to 

 the extremity of the tail, 4.^ inches ; to 

 the extremity of the folded wings 6 in. ; 

 spread of the wings 12 inches. 



History. — The Chimney Swallow is 

 one of our most singular birds. It arrives 

 from the south, where it has spent the 

 winter, about the beginning of May. On 

 their arrival here before the country was 

 much settled, they took up their residence 

 in large flocks in particular hollow trees, 

 which, in consequence, received the name 

 of Swallow Trees. Three of these trees, 

 all larire hollow elms, are mentioned by 

 Dr. Williams (Hist. I — 140) as being par- 

 ticularlj' noted in this state soon after the 

 settlement was commenced. One ofthese 

 was in Middlebury, one in Bridport, and 

 the other in Hubbardton. About the be- 

 ginning of May the Swallows were ob- 

 served to issue from these trees early in 

 the morning in immense numbers, and to 

 returrr into them again just before dark 

 in the evening. The same phenomena 

 were also observed in the latter part of 

 summer, before the entire disappearance 

 of the swallows and as their departure 

 to the south was not observed, tliey 

 were generally believed to spend the win- 

 ter in these trees in a torpid state. Be- 

 fore this country was niucli settled, Chim- 

 ney Swallows built their nests on the in- 

 terior surface of large hollow trees, but 

 they now take advantage of unoccupied 



