166 BIRDS OF THE AIR. 



parts of New England, as the Cliff-Swallow has super- 

 seded the Barn-Swallow. They are pretty generally dis- 

 tributed over the whole continent, though, notwithstand- 

 ing the primitive habits that still adhere to a great part 

 of their numbers, they are most numerous in cities and 

 their suburbs, attracted probably by the vast multitudes 

 of small flies, which are more abundant than in the woods. 

 The Cliff-Swallow breeds as far as the Arctic Seas. 



THE SAND-MARTIN. 



This is not the least interesting of the family of Swal- 

 lows. The swarming multitudes that often assemble in 

 one vicinity, their constant motions while going in and 

 out their holes in the sand-bank, and sailing about on 

 rapid wing in quest of their microscopic prey, and their 

 lively notes render them objects of frequent attention. 

 Of all the Swallows the Sand-Martins afford the most 

 amusement for small boys in the vicinity, who employ 

 themselves in digging out their nests, which are some- 

 times less than two feet under the surface. The diffi- 

 culty is in finding the exact spot where the excavation 

 should be made. Large multitudes of them formerly 

 assembled every year and made their holes in the high 

 sand-bluffs that surround the Beverly coast. I have count- 

 ed over fifty holes in one large and high bank. 



" The work of preparation," says Dr. Brewer, " they 

 perform with their closed bill, swaying the body round 

 on the feet, beginning at the centre and working out- 

 wards. This long and often winding gallery gradually 

 expands into a small spherical apartment, on the floor of 

 which they form a rude nest of straw and feathers. The 

 time occupied in making these excavations varies greatly 

 with the nature of the soil, from four or five days to 

 twice that number." 



