WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



they were placed formed cavity and barrier for the 

 safety of the eggs. Some nests, resting on more 

 exposed ledges, had a rude foundation and rim of 

 mud, but did not compare with the elaborate half- 

 bowls, lined with hay and feathers, that are plas- 

 tered by the same species so firmly against the raf- 

 ters of our barns, or with the large nest that is 

 balanced on the beam, with its edges built up so 

 high that the callow young can hardly climb, much 

 less tumble, out until quite ready to fly. Never- 

 theless, the general character of the nest is the 

 same; the Eastern, civilized swallows have only 

 made use of their superior advantages to perfect 

 the inherited idea. In the case of the barn-swal- 

 low, its civilization results in an addition to its 

 pains (is it not a natural consequence?), in that 

 its nest now is required to be much larger, more 

 carefully, and hence more laboriously, made. On 

 the other hand, its neighbor, the eave-swallow, 

 has contrived to save itself labor by the change 

 from wild life. 



This latter species is sometimes called the re- 

 publican swallow, because at the breeding-season 

 it gathers in extensive colonies, where its homes 

 are crowded together as closely as the cells 

 in a honey-comb, one wall often serving for two 



213 



