The Audubon Societies 299 



the beginnings of fear in their sparkling black eyes. This I knew was a sign of approach- 

 ing maturity and I left them with but a faint hope of ever seeing them again. On the 

 next visit they were nowhere to be found, and I knew that they no longer belonged to 

 me, but to the wide, wide world. 



I forgot to say that I saw the Whip-poor-will's mate only once. It flew from a tree 

 where it was roosting, as soon as I came in sight, and disappeared over the crest of the 

 hill. — Joseph B. Bowen, Grants Mills, R. I. 



[Aside from the general interest of this description, the writer's method of observa- 

 tion is worthy of notice. Those who care to look up the topics of protective coloration 

 and the development of fear in birds and other animals will be repaid for the time spent 

 in such study. — A. W. H.] 



COOPERATIVE OBSERVATIONS 



In the March-April number of Bird-Lore there is a communication from 

 C. C. Custer, Piqua, Ohio, in which he tells of observing "some grayish-look- 

 ing Swallows entering a small opening in the side of a limestone cliff." The 

 hole proved too small and dark to be explored. Mr. Custer asks: "What kind 

 of Swallows were they?" 



Undoubtedly these were Rough-winged Swallows. The writer lived in the 

 Middle West four years and had frequent opportunities to observe this species 

 at close range, in Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Mr. Custer well 

 describes it as a "grayish-looking" bird. It is almost the counterpart of the 

 common Bank Swallow, except that, instead of the white underparts, with a 

 dark band across the breast, the throat and breast are a uniform soft gray, 

 shading into white on the belly. The Bank Swallows nest in tunnels in banks, 

 while the Rough-winged Swallows nest more commonly in crevices of masonry 

 or holes in ledges, though often in banks, in company with the Bank Swallows. 

 Moreover, the latter nest in colonies, while the former prefer a more solitary 

 life, seldom more than one pair nesting together. If one sees what looks like 

 a Bank Swallow entering a crevice in a ledge or masonry, he may be reasonably 

 sure he has seen a Rough-winged Swallow. 



The writer once watched, for some fifteen minutes, one of these birds in 

 Cherokee, Iowa, as it perched on a dry twig close at hand, and had a splendid 

 opportunity to observe the roughness on the wings caused by the fluting of 

 the ends of the outer primary feathers. Hence the name, 'Rough-winged' 

 Swallow. One must be very close to the bird to note this, however. 



I have never seen the Rough-winged Swallow in New England, though it 

 is said to be found in southwestern Connecticut, and a pair has been reported 

 as breeding for many years in a limestone quarry at North Adams, Mass. — 

 Manley B. Townsend, Nashua, N. H. 



[For the occurrence of the Rough-winged Swallow in Connecticut, consult Sage and 

 Bishop's 'Birds of Connecticut'.— A. H. W.] 



