SWALLOWS. 213 



one great dwelling. A photograph of part of a colony 

 of Cliff Swallows in Montana shows one hundred and 

 forty nests, nearly all of which adjoin one another. 



The songs of Swallows are humble efforts, but are so 

 expressive of the happy dispositions of the birds, and so 

 associated with scenes with which they are inseparably 

 connected, that the merry twitterings of these birds are 

 as dear to us as the voices of friends. 



The sociability of Swallows does not end with the 

 nesting season, as it does with many birds that are then 

 brought into communities by force of circumstances. 

 When the young take wing, Swallows begin to collect 

 in flocks, which gradually unite, and in August and Sep- 

 tember form assemblages containing millions of individ- 

 uals. They generally make their headquarters in some 

 large marsh, where they roost in the reeds and grasses, 

 but they also resort to trees. Early in the morning they 

 scatter over the country in small bands, flying at a con- 

 siderable height, and during the day we may often see 

 them feeding over fields and ponds or resting on wayside 

 telegraph wires. Late in the afternoon they begin to re- 

 turn to their roosts. At first they fly slowly and circle 

 about to feed, but as the light fails they fly with increas- 

 ing swiftness, and the last comers shoot through the dusk 

 with incredible rapidity. 



These remarks apply with equal truth to all our Swal- 

 lows ; it remains now to briefly mention the characters 

 by which they may be distinguished specifically. The 

 four common species are figured in the frontispiece, 

 which clearly shows most of their diagnostic marks, 

 which are : Tail forked, Barn Swallow ; forehead whit- 

 ish, rump rusty, Cliff Swallow ; a band across the breast, 

 plumage without metallic colors, Bank Swallow ; breast 

 pure white, Tree Swallow. 



