WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



martins in the spring, take possession of all the 

 boxes put up for the accommodation of the mar- 

 tins, and exclude the rightful tenants vi et armis. 

 Their natural nesting-places were hollow trees and 

 cavities in rocks; but now, throughout the whole 

 breadth of the land, it is rare to find martins re- 

 sorting to such quarters, except in the most remote 

 parts of the Rocky Mountains. They have every- 

 where abandoned the woods, and come into the 

 villages, towns, and even cities, choosing to nest in 

 communities about the eaves of houses and barns, 

 and in sheltered portions of piazzas, or to take pos- 

 session of garden bird -boxes, where their social, 

 confiding dispositions have rendered them general 

 favorites. 



A very similar case is presented in the case of 

 our chimney-swift, which finds a chimney a far 

 more desirable residence than a hollow tree in the 

 woods. Latterly, indeed, this bird has gone fur- 

 ther, for in such old-settled regions as the maritime 

 provinces of Canada it is constantly forsaking 

 chimneys and placing its nest in sheds and attics, 

 where there is light and air and safer and more 

 cleanly surroundings. This shows, among other 

 things, great confidence in its human friends. 



Other species of American swallows afford still 

 210 



