IIIUINDIMD.E — THE SWALEoWS. 3:JX 



alpine rei^ions of Moxico, nud is also fouiul at Cape St. T.ucas. Accidt'iital 

 si»«'ciiuuii.s luivt* been ileteetL'tl in KnLjland and in hi'land. It is alnmdant 

 on till' SaskiitL'hi'wan. riuinii'isti'r statt's that this sptH-ius is eonminn in tho 

 vicinity nt' IJicj de flaneiio, and that it is distiiliutt'tl in nuKk'iati' ahiindam-e 

 thrnuuh the whole of trojueal Smith Anieiiia. Von iVl/cln also cites it a.s 

 occuninjLj; on the Kio Xeirio and at Manaiiiieri through the three winter 

 months, nestinj^ in old luii Minus and in jjolcs in the rocks. It is, however, 

 t|uite possible that they refer to an allied hut distinct species. 



In a wild state the natural resort of this species, for nesting' and shelter, 

 was to hollow trees and crevasses in rocks. The introduction (»f civilized 

 life, and w ith it of other safer and more convenient jdaces, better adai)ted to 

 their wants, has wrouuht an entire change in its habits. It is now very 

 rarely known to resort to a hollow tree, thouLjh it will d(» so where better 

 provisiiai is not to be had. Comfortable and convenient boxes, of various 

 deviees, in our cities and large towns, attract them to build in small commu- 

 nities around the dwellinLjs of man, where their social, familiar, and contidinj^ 

 disposition make them ^Ljeneral favorites. There they find abundance of in- 

 sect food, and rei>ay their benefactors by the destruction of numerous injuri- 

 ous and noxious kinds, and there, too, they are also comjiaratively safe from 

 their own enemies. These conveniences vary from the elei^ant martin- 

 houses that adorn private irrounds in our Eastern cities to the ruder gourds 

 and calabashes which are said to be frequently ])laced near the humbler 

 cabins of the Southern neii^roes. In Washington the colunnis of the public 

 buildings, and the eaves and sheltered portions of the i)iazzas, aflord a con- 

 venient i»rotection to large numbers around the Patent Otlice and the Tost- 

 OlUce buildings. 



The abundance of this species varies in different ])arts of the country, from 

 causes not always apparent. In the vicinity of Boston it is quite unusual, 

 though said to have been, forty years since, ([uite common. There their 

 places are taken by the H. hico/or, who occupy almost exclusively the mar- 

 tin-houses, and very rarely buihl in hoUow trees. 



Sir John Ilichardson states that it arrives within the Arctic Circle earlier 

 than any other of its family. It made its first appearance at Great Bear 

 Lake as earlv as the 17th of ^lav, when the ground was covered with snow, 

 and the rivei^s and lakes were all icebound. 



In the Southern States it is said to raise three broods in a season ; in its 

 more northern distribution it raises but one. Their early migrations expose 

 the ^lartins to severe exposure and suflering from changes of weather, in 

 which large numbers have been known to ])erish. An occurrence of this 

 kind is said to have taken jdace in Eastern ^lassachusetts, where nearly all 

 the birds of this sp(»cies were destroyed, and where to this day their places 

 have never been su])plied. 



Within its selected compartment the Martin prepares a loose and irregular 

 nest. This is composed of various materials, such as tine dry leaves, straws. 



