HIRIXniNID/K TIIK S\V \M,()\VS. ;J4;» 



Tn oTiP instniicc^ ^Fr. Allni ]u\< kmtwii m ]):iir of tlic^o Swallnw^ to take 

 possession nt" the nest ot a |»air of ('lill' S\vallii\v:s, |>lar(,'(l iiiulrr tlie cavrs 

 of a l»arn, drivinu otV tin* rii^litl'ul owners. 'I'lie next year tliey Itnilt a nest 

 in tlie same place, the old one having fallen down, lint sneli instances are 

 rare, and the attempt is ollcn a failnre. 



The wonderlnl activity of this l»ird. its rapidity and ])owers of tliuht, are 

 too strikin*^' a ]iecnliarity of this s]»eci('s not to he mentioned. iMninL: their 

 stay M'ith ns, from May t(> SeptendM-r, from morn to ni^ht they seem to he 

 ever in motion, es]»ecially so hefore incnhation, or after their younLj have 

 fl(»wn. The rapidity of their tortuous evolutions, iheii' intricate, involved, 

 and re]>eated zi^/au tliiihts, ari' alto;;('ther indescrihahle, .'uid must be wit- 

 nessed to he ap)»reciated. Wilson estimated that these hirds tly at the rate 

 of a mile a minute, hut any one who has witnessed the ease and ceh'rity with 

 which they seem to deliuht in overtakintx, I'assinu, iind repassing a train of 

 cars moving at tin; rate of thirty miles an hour nnist realize that this esti- 

 mate is far from tloin^' full justice to their real speeil. 



The son.u <»f this Swallow, especially when on th(; win^;, is very iileasinij 

 and s])rinhtly. It is a succession of twittering notes uttered with *iivi\i 

 ra]>idity and animation. Wiu-n aliuhtiid, their notes are delivered more 

 slowly and with nnich less animation. 



The attention of these liirds to each <tther when sitting upon the nest, and 

 to their voum^' when hatched, is unrcmittin-j. Tht^ estimated nundters of 

 small insects they collect for their own consumption and that of their nest- 

 liuLjs is almost incretlihle. When tlie young are old enouiih to leave their 

 nests the manoiivres of the [)arenls i»» draw them out, and their assistance 

 to them when practisimz their first short tli^hts, are anions the most curi- 

 ous and interesting^ scenes one can witness in his ornit]iol<»L;ieal exi)eri- 

 ences. ; Imt S})ace would fail me were I to attem]>t their details. 



The numher of the vouni; is from four to six, and there are often two 

 hrooils in a season. As .soon as the second hrood can tly, or early in Se])tem- 

 her, they all [)re}»are to leave. They usually c(»llect in tlocks of from one 

 to .several hundied, and de]>art within a few days t»f their first assendilinj^. 

 T-iirj;e tlocks pass alouLj the coast of Massachusetts, from the north and east, 

 early in Sejitemher, -t'ten unitiniL^- as they meet, and ])assinLi- ra]titlly on. 



Their euiis have a ground-color of clear white, with a roseate tint when 

 nnhlown. They are marked with spots of reddish and ]»uri>lish-hrown. varv- 

 inii' ill ^^^'^" ii'ii'l numher, and chiefly at the lan^i'r end. They are smaller and 

 more elongate than those of the /fiiuJ)o/is,iun\ the markings are usually liner. 

 Their ;4reatest len^tli is .!>-! of an inch, their least .To, and their mean .78. 

 Their mean hreadth is .oG of an inch, the greatest A)'2, and the least .5t>. 



