HIRTTXr)I\ir).K-!';iK S\VAI,I,()\VS or- 



• Of)'J 



more iiulependciit of niun tliaii iiu.st of its fiiinily, owino I,!,,, ,„, „ti„.r lavors 

 tliaii lliost! iiicidont to cxciUiitioiis tlmm-li sun, l-l.anks, uf wliicli it avails 

 itsulf. The iiosks of thcsf Swallows arc placed in excavations made \>y 

 them in tlio l)aiikH ol' rivers, eJills hy the sea-shore, and similar lavorahie 

 situations. These are usually as near the surface of the -round as tlie 

 nature of the soil pernnts to he readily lu'netrated, thou-ii tiie l.ird has 

 hoon known to work its way even tlirou-h hard ,i,Tavel. Their deptii varies 

 Irom fourteen inches to four feet, thounli (wo feet is the usual distance. 



Mr. Au<,qistus Fowler nuMitions a remarkahle instaiini of sa-acity and 

 provident forethou',dit in tiiese l.irds, not easily separable from mison. In 

 the town of Ueverly, in a stratum of sandy loam, he olwrved each sea.son a 

 colony of .some twenty or thirty pairs ol' these l.irds. In this j.lace the.se 

 birds never burrowed more than two or three feet. Within a ndle of this 

 idace another colmiy excavated a bank in whicii the layer of loam was nd.ved 

 with small stones. In this baid< they excavated to the dei.th of live, .seven, 

 and even nine feet. Why was there this extmordinary ditference' in the' 

 length of burrows made l.y the .same species, in situations not more than a 

 mile apart? The rea.son for this dilference, upon examination, became very 

 obvious. We <<ive the explanation in Mr. Fowler's own words: "In one 

 bank, where the earth was of a linii sandy loam, easily jierforated, from the 

 entmnce to the extrendty the burrows did not exceed" three feet in length ; 

 while in the other baidc, with harder loam to work in, one burrow was I'lmnd 

 nine feet in length. After examining six holes of nearly equal length, it 

 appeared that these little birds had sullicicnt reason for exten.ling llieirlab'or.s 

 so far into the earth. In every inslauce, where; they met witli a spot free 

 from stones they finished their burrows ; thus sla.wing great care for the 

 welfare of their eggs or young by avoiding, in the .stony soil, a cataslrojihe so 

 great as would befall their treasures if by accident one'of tiiese stones should 

 fall upon them." 



The work of perforation they ])erform with their closed bill, swaying the 

 body round on the feet, beginning at the centre and working outwards. '''I'his 

 long and often winding gallery gradually expands into a small spherical 

 apartment, on the floor of which they form a iiide nest of straw and leatli- 

 ers. The time occupied in making thes(! excavations varies grciitly with tiie 

 nature of the soil, from four or five days to twice that nund.er. 



Their eggs are five in nund.er, pure white, and when unblown have a line 

 roseate hue. They are oval in sliai-e, larger at one end. and pointed at 

 the smaller. Their average length is .72 of an incii, and their aveia-e 

 breadth .47. 



