OF NEW ENGLAND. 145 



almost unnecessary for me to describe these minor distinctions, 

 and I shall therefore make no further mention of them. 



The most interesting remarks to be made upon the Eave 

 Swallows are those which relate to their immigration from the 

 western United States to New England and other parts of the 

 countrj r . An accurate account of their movements within the 

 last century could hardly fail to be interesting, but I doubt if 

 a sufficient number of notes and dates can now be obtained to 

 effect this purpose. Indeed, the history of the so-called " Re- 

 publicans " would probably be far more interesting than an 

 account of their habits could be (partly because the latter are 

 well known, and the former is not) ; but T regret that I am 

 unable to present it to the public. "When or where" the 

 Cliff Swallows "first appeared in Massachusetts," says Dr. 

 Brewer, " is not known. I first observed a large colony of 

 them in Attleboro' in 1842. Its size indicated the existence 

 of these birds in that place for several years. The same year 

 they also appeared, apparently for the first time, in Boston, 

 Hingham, and in other places in the neighborhood." The 

 Eave Swallows are still increasing throughout the Eastern 

 States, and are constantly making their appearance in places 

 where they have not been observed before. An excellent place 

 to study them, particularly for summer-tourists, is Mount 

 Desert, where the birds were, and still are, I suppose, very 

 abundant (at least at Bar Harbor). Their habits are easily 

 learned, as they are constantly in the open air, and about the 

 village-streets, where all, who wish to, may gaze upon them. 



One agreeable trait in the character of the " Republicans " 

 is their general amiability. In spite of their gregariousness 

 and crowded dwellings, they never become confused, and rarely 

 quarrel. Could a map be drawn indicating the position of 

 their communities, all their colonies might well be named 

 Philadelphia. 



(d). See I, A, (e). 



NOTE. Bonaparte, in his continuation of "Wilson's Orni- 

 thology," says of the Cliff Swallow: " A very singular trait 

 distinguishes the migrations of this bird. While the European 

 11 



