354 



XOHTII AMKHK'AX UiltUS. 



A (Titif'iil oxaiiiiiiiitidii lias liiilcil to reveal any diflmv 3 between Euro- 

 pean antl Anieriean siieciniens of tins liinl. 



Hauits. The connnon liank Swallow as we know it, or Sand Martin as 



it is called in England, is nearly or 

 iliiiteeosniopolitan in its distribution. 

 Found throughout Europe in the sea- 

 son of reproduction, and in portions 

 of Africa in tiic winter months, it is 

 ecpially common througiiout Nortli 

 America in the summer, and prol)- 

 ably winters in Mexico and in Cen- 

 tral and South America, thouj^fli it is 

 not mentioned by Sumichrast as a 

 liird of Vera Cruz. It is said to oc- 

 cur in various parts of the continent 

 of Afiica, and in Europe it extends 

 its mii^rations to the extreme north- 

 ern regions. It lias also been jnet 

 oiijf ripana. with iu Iiiilia aiul in Siberia. ]\Ir. 



Salvin obtained several specimens at Duenas, (iuatemala, in September, 

 1.S(j1, having ])reviously oliserveil it about the Lake of Yzabah. 



On both continents it is somewliat local in its distribution, in favorable 

 localities being (|uite al)uudaiit, and in others not known to exi.st. It is an 

 early spring visitant wherever found, ai)])earing in England by the 24th of 

 March, and even in our higli Arctic regions early iu May, often in such in- 

 clement weatiier that it is oliliged to take refuge in holes. Mr. Dall met 

 with this s])ecies in Alaska, in favorable situations, in immense numbers. 

 He counted on the face of one .saiul-l)luir over .seven hundred ne.st-lioles 

 made by tliese birds, and all (jf them api)arently occupied, so that the 

 blulV iircsenfed the appearance of an immense honeycomb alive with bees. 

 lie states that it takes the bird four days to excavate its nest. liev. F. 0. 

 Morris, on the other hand, who has closely watched their operations in Eng- 

 land, says that it re([uires a fortnight, and that the weight of sand a pair 

 of these birds removes is twenty ounces in a day. Pebbles of more than two 

 ounces in weight have been known to be taken out by them. 



The lliglitof this sjiecies is rapid, but unsteady and flickering. In search- 

 ing for their food thi'y skim low over the surface of both land and water, 

 drojiiiing upon the latter, as they fly, to drink or to bathe. Their food 

 consists of the smaller kinds of winged insects, which they pursue and cap- 

 ture, dashing at them at times even on the water. They usually feed their 

 young with larger kinds than they eat themselves. 



It has not been observed in (Jreenland, but Iticiiardson found it in colonies 

 of thousands at the mouth of Mackenzie's IJiver, in the OSth parallel. It is 

 a very social bird, usually breeding together iu large communities, and is 



