570 AVES—SWALLOW...MARTEN. 
sional essays, twittering with great cheerfulness. Their song is a sprightly 
warble, sometimes continued for a considerable time. They then pass along 
to the south in great numbers; sometimes several hundreds pass within 
sight in a quarter of an hour. Itis highly probable that they winter in 
Mexico and South America. They are easily tamed, and soon become gen- 
tle and familiar. 
The barn swallow is seven inches long; the upper parts are steel blue; 
the front, chin, and under parts are chesnut; the wings and tail are black, 
the latter greatly forked. 
THE BANK SWALLOW, OR SAND MARTEN# 
Appears to be the most sociable with its kind, and the least intimate with 
man of all our swallows, living together in communities of three or four 
hundred. On the high sandy banks of a river, they scratch out holes for 
their nests, running them in a horizontal direction to the depth of two or 
three feet. At the extremity of this hole, a little fine dry grass, with a few 
large downy feathers, form the nest. The voice of this species is a low 
mutter. They are particularly fond of the shores of rivers; they: likewise 
visit the seashore in great numbers, previous to their departure. It is the 
same species as the European. 
The bank swallow is five inches long; the upper parts are mouse colored: 
tne lower are white, with a. band of brown across the upper part of the 
breast. 
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THE REPUBLICAN, OR CLIFF SWALLOW? 
Is found in the western states. These birds build their nests in clusters, or 
associations, and defend them with spirit and pertinacity. They generally 
build on the sides of perpendicular clitfs, but sometimes under the eaves of 
Zauses. There are several others of the swallow tribe inhabiting the United 
States. 
THE EUROPEAN MARTEN. 
Tuis bird, “ the temple-haunting martlet,” as it is denominated by Shaks- 
peare, is inferior in size to the swallow, and its tail is much less forked. 
The plumage, however, is nearly the same; the upper part of the body, 
1 Mirundc rivaria Lin 2 Hirundo fulva, Bonar. 3 Hirundo urbica, Lu. 
a 
