144 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 



The Barn Swallows are so well known, that I have men- 

 tioned no details in their habits. Their colonizations, their 

 constantly uttered notes, and their flights, are familiar to nearly 

 all, and the latter have long since been made the theme of 

 many an author. 



II. PETROCHELIDON 



(A) LUNIFRONS. Cliff Swallow. Eave Sivallow. "Republi- 

 can." 



(Locally very abundant in New England, but much less so, 

 probably, than they will be ten years hence.) 



(a). About five inches long. Tail scarcely forked. Upper 

 parts, and a spot on the breast, steel-blue. Rump^ sides of 

 the head, and throat, chestnut-red. Breast, paler, belly, white. 

 Forehead, brownish. 



(b). The nest is generally somewhat bottle-shaped, is com- 

 posed chiefly of a delicate mud-plaster, often intermixed with 

 bits of straw, and is naturally brittle. It is placed under the 

 outside eaves of barns or outhouses, and never (?) in Massa- 

 chusetts on cliffs, as is usual in wilder parts of the country, in 

 accordance with the original habits of these swallows. Several 

 of these nests, sometimes as many as a hundred, are generally 

 placed in a row. The eggs are essentially like those of the 

 Bam Swallow (I, A, 6), so much so as often to be indistin- 

 guishable, and are laid about the same time. 



(c). The Cliff Swallows, who in many ways closely resem- 

 ble the Barn Swallows, are resident in Eastern Massachusetts 

 from the first week of May until September. They are very 

 abundant in certain localities in New England ; but, as they 

 are eminently colonial, they are not to be found scattered 

 through every township. They have essentially the same 

 habits as the Barn Swallows, except that they alight much 

 more frequently, often upon the ground to pick up mud for 

 their nests. Their flight is not very noticeably different from 

 that of their relatives, and their notes also bear much the same 

 character, being, however, more like those of the White-bellied 

 than those of the Barn Swallow. It is difficult, as well as 



