292 



ZOOLOGY 



insects and fruits, and chatter rather than sing. Our 

 commonest species is called " cedar-bird" (Fig. 274). 



FIG. 275. Barn-swallow (Chplidon ery thro ff after) . 



The Hirudinidae, or swallows, are found over the world. 

 They are powerful fliers, and are insectivorous. Formerly 

 all of them bred in boughs, cliffs, and hollow trees, and 



some species still retain these 

 habits. The best-known species 

 are the bank-swallows, which, 

 living in colonies, form numer- 

 ous holes in railroad cuts and 

 sandbanks in general ; the 

 white-bellied swallow, abundant 

 about water ; and the barn-swal- 

 low (Fig. 275), with a chestnut 

 belly, which builds its nest in the 

 rafters of our barns (Fig. 276). 



The Tanagridae, or tanagers, are exclusively American, 

 and belong especially to the tropics. They live in the 



FIG. 276. Nests of barn-swal- 

 low. Photo, by D. and S. 



