54 BANK SWALLOW 



Eave Swallow, which builds about houses as well 

 as barns, is a blessing to man in another way, for 

 it eats enormous quantities of winged ants, mos- 

 quitoes, injurious wheat midgets, spotted squash 



FIG. 2->. 

 Mosquito, eaten J?y Eave Swallow. 



beetles, and beetles that work under the bark of 

 trees. As Doctor Brewer says of the Barn Swal- 

 lows : " There is no evil blended with the many 

 benefits they confer on man ; they destroy the in- 

 sects that annoy his cattle, injure his fruit-trees, 

 sting his fruit, or molest his person." 



Bank Swallow : Clivicola riparia. 



Adults, dark above, light below, with a dark band across the 

 breast. Length, about o inches. 



GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. North America, north to Labra- 

 dor and Alaska ; breeds locally from the middle United States 

 northward throughout its range ; winters as far south as 

 Brazil. 



In going through carriage or railroad cuts in 

 sandy banks, one is often struck by the number of 



