712 < The Sparrow-like Birds 



arctic region, except the extreme eastern portion, migrating in winter to the 

 Indo-Malayan and African regions. It is a very common and familiar bird in 

 the British Islands, where it is greatly loved for its domestic habits and com- 

 panionship with man, having greatly increased and extended its range with the 

 increase of habitations. Originally it nested in caves and about cliffs, but like 

 its American cousin it has for the most part long since abandoned this primitive 

 way of living, and now places its nest on the rafters of an outbuilding or a 

 ledge in a chimney. The nest and eggs are hardly distinguishable from those 

 of our Barn Swallow. 



Kamchatkan Barn Swallow. Even more closely related to the American 

 species is the Kamchatkan Barn Swallow (H. tytleri) of northeastern Siberia 

 and Kamchatka, about the only difference being the much longer tail and more 

 deeply colored under parts; its habits are presumably similar to those of its 

 near relatives. 



African Stripe-breasted Swallow. While we have not space to mention all 

 of the other species of Hirundo, we may not omit the large, Stripe-breasted 

 Swallow (H. cucullata) of South Africa, which, says Dr. Sharpe, "is the house- 

 hold Swallow of the colony, breeding freely about the houses and in the coun- 

 try, often selecting the usual living-room of the family. In the city this 

 familiarity is not permitted, on account of the dirt made by the birds; but the 

 Boer fixes up a board under the nest, to prevent the worst fouling, and considers 

 that the rest is atoned for by the destruction of the myriads of flies, of which 

 his little favorites rid him during the season of their stay. And only those who 

 have sojourned in a Boer's house can estimate the plague of flies that infest it; 

 they swarm on 'bed and board'; they pollute the food and drink; chairs, 

 tables, walls, everything is blackened by them. As you sit at meals the graceful 

 bird hawks over the table and snatches the flies from wall and ceiling; nor is 

 this the only service he renders, for sitting on the top of the window or door 

 (always left open for his accommodation) he pours out a short But lively song, 

 which enlivens the dreary solitude and silence of the lone homestead. The 

 nest of this species is always attached to the under side of the place chosen, and 

 is composed of little pellets of mud, like that of the English Swallow. In shape 

 it resembles a gourd with a long neck, cut longitudinally and glued up by the 

 edges to the ceiling. It lays four or five pure white eggs." 



American Tree Swallow. With a couple of other species, both American, 

 we may close our consideration of this subfamily. The Tree Swallow (Iridoprocne 

 bicolor], which may be known by its steel-blue or steel-green upper parts, pure 

 white lower parts, and slightly forked tail, is found, though somewhat locally, 

 throughout North America, nesting as far north as Labrador and Alaska. As 

 its name implies, it is mainly given to nesting in trees, but, to quote from Mr. 

 Chapman, " Tree Swallows are passing through a transition period in their his- 

 tory, some accepting the houses or boxes erected by man as a substitute for the 

 holes in trees or stumps which others still use." These vivacious and active 

 little birds are found about habitations on the outskirts of cities as well as in 

 the wilder, still unsettled portions of the country, selecting a nesting site pref- 



