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congregated flock scatter in all directions, uttering sharp twittering 

 notes. The nest, which is composed chiefly of dry grass and 

 feathers, is usually placed in the hollow part of a tree. The eggs 

 are pure white, and from four to six in number. It rears two broods 

 in a season, and as soon - as the young of the second brood have 

 acquired sufficient strength to perform the journey, both young and 

 old collect in large flocks and migrate southward. 



HIRUNDO RIP ARIA— LINN. 



BANK SWALLOW. 



Bank Swallow, or Sand Martin, Hirundo riparia, Wils, Amer. Orn. 



Hirundo riparia, Bonap Syn. 



Hirundo riparia, Sand Martin. Sw & Rich. 



Bank Swalluw, or Sand Martin, Hirundo riparia, Nutt. Man. 



Bank Swallow, or Sand Martin, Hirundo riparia, Aud. Orn. Biog. 



Specific Character — Upper parts grayish-brown ; fore part of the 

 breast dusky ; rest of the lower parts white ; quills and tail feathers 

 dusky ; tail slightly forked. Length five inches, wing three and 

 seven eighths. 



This, the smallest of all our Swallows, is the first that visits us 

 in the spring — arriving about a fortnight earlier than any of the 

 other species. The Bank Swallow never accepts of the tenements 

 provided by man, as do the more familiar Martin and Barn Swal- 

 low, but prefers taking up its residence in some steep bank, or in 

 the vicinity of a stream of water — im the sand-hills on the beach — 

 and not unfrequenthy in the sides of the deep cuts excavated for the 

 accommodation of rail-roads, in which it scratches out a hole two or 

 three feet deep. The nest is formed of dry grass and feathers, and 

 is placed at the extremity of the excavation. The greatest number 

 of eggs which I have ever found in its nest was five, the color pure 

 white. Sociable and friendly in their disposition, many select the 

 same place to breed in, and when sporting around their dwellings, 

 they swarm about the bank and keep up a constant twitter. Orni- 

 thologists pronounce it identical with the Bank Swallow of Europe ; 

 and according to Mr. Audubon, many pass the winter in Florida.. 



