148 



THK OOlvOGlST 



from their habits of nesting on the faces 

 of ledges of cliffs, havf hecome in a 

 measure domestic, now buihiing their 

 nests on the sides of houses and uuder 

 the eaves of barns. We had last year a 

 colony of fifteen families under the 

 east eaves of the great barn. They are 

 as characteristic of the exterior of the 

 barn as the Barn Swallows are of the 

 interior, and. 1 have never caught one 

 inside. Their noisy and incessant twit- 

 ter on the wing and unique squeaky 

 conversational notes only uttered under 

 the eaves, and their quaiat gourd shap- 

 ed bottle nosed nests of cunningly 



worked mud, all aid in making them 

 the most striking and pleasant of our 

 feathered visitors. How odd they look 

 as they stick their heads out of the 

 necks of their nests and watch you down 

 below like little imps or brownies, that 

 CTescent across the front of the head — 

 whence hmifronf!— showing very plain- 

 ly like a little cap. 



One evening as I was going to milk, 

 the startling information was brought 

 that the Eave Swallows had hung an 

 English Sparrow. When I i^eached the 

 barn I saw 'quite an unusual uproar 

 among the Swallows. Thirty Swallows 



