inUUXDINin.K - TIIK S\V.\I,I,()\VS ..... 



Til one iiistniico Ur. Allen luis known n ])iiir „C (lu-sc Swallows to take 

 possession of tlie nest, of a pair of ('lilf Swallows, i)Iacu(l niidcr tlif caves 

 of a l.ai'11, (Irivino off the ri,iilitfnl owners. The next year lliev iaiilt a nest 

 in tlie same plaee, the (.Id one liavin^ fallen (h.wn. Mut .leh inslanees are 

 rare, and tiu! atteni|)t is often a i'ailnre. 



Tlu^ wonderful aetivity of iliis hird, its rapidity and jtowers of flinlit, are 

 too strikiiin; a ].eeuliarity of tiiis species not to lie mentioned. Kurini,^ iheir 

 .stay \vith us, i'roni l\Iay to Septcinlicr, from morn to ni^lit tliey .seem to he 

 ever in motion, csjiccially .so before iiiculiation, or after their youii;,' have 

 flown. The rapidity of their tortuous evolutions, their intricate, involved, 

 iind re])eated y.h^y.nn lliuhts, are alto-ether inde.serihal.le, and mu.st he wit- 

 nessed to be a])preciated. Wilson estiniateil that these birds (ly at the rate 

 of a mile a minute, but any one m'Iio has witne.s.sed the ease and celerity with 

 which they seem to deli,L;Iit in ovci'takin|.r, i.assin,^, and rejiassiiig a train of 

 cars moviuj.' at the rate of tin'rty miles an hour must ivalize tiiat this esti- 

 mate is far from doin,i;- full justice to their real speed. 



The son,^ of this Swallow, especially when on the wing, is very ploasinir 

 and sin'ij^htly. It is a succession of twitteriuu- notes uttered with great 

 rapidity and animation. Wlien alighted, their notes are delivered more 

 slowly and with mucli less animati(Mi. 



The ..' eiitioii oftlie.se birds to each other when sitting ui.on the nest, and 

 to their young when hatched, is unremitting. The estimated numbers of 

 small insects they coHect for their own consumption ami that of their nest- 

 lings is almo.st incredible. Wlien the pmng are ohl enough to leave their 

 nests the maiKcuvres of the parents to draw them out, and tiicir assi.stancc 

 to them when jmictising their first short llights, an; among the most curi- 

 ous and interesting .scenes one can witness in his ornithological experi- 

 ences. ; but space wouhl fail me were I to attempt their details." 



The number of the young is fnun four to six, and there are often two 

 broods in a. season. As soon as the second brood can lly, or early in Septem- 

 ber, they i.ll prepare to leave. They usually collect in flocks of from one 

 to .several hundred, and dejiart within a few days of their Hrst assembling, 

 r^rge Hocks pass along the coast of Massachusetts, from the north and eas't, 

 early iii .September, often uniting us they meet, and passing rapidly on. 



Their eggs have a ground-color of clear wiiite, with a ro.s(.ate tint when 

 nublown. They tire marked witii spots of reddish and ].urplish-browii, vary- 

 ing in size and number, and chiefly at tlu^ larger end. Tlu.y are smaller and 

 niore elongate than those of the /i'inj)vtis,;un\ the markings are usually finer. 

 Their greatest length is .!)4 of an inch, their least .7^, and their mean .78. 

 Tiieir mean breadth is .5(j of an inch, the greatest .(lL^ and the least .5U. 



