THE OOLOGIST. 



109 



tions n.s the Bluebird, took up his abode in 

 auy odd cranuy about the house or out- 

 building. 



The Pewee, which is so common about 

 our barns and houses, long ago placed its 

 nest on any convenient shelf among the 

 rocks; some individuals do so this day, but 

 by far the greater number have betaken 

 themselves to the dwelling of man or to a 

 beam under some bridge. 



But of all birds, the Swallows have taken 

 most kindly to the habitations of man. 

 Before there were any barns to build in, 

 the Barn Swallow nested in caves or under 

 overhanging clifEs, but as soon as the large 

 roomy barns of our ancestors began to ap- 

 pear, the cliffs were left for the more com- 

 fortable retreats among the rafters. This 

 exodus from the caves must have taken 

 place very early in the historj of our 

 country, for the bird is rarely called by 

 any other name than Barn Swallow. A 

 danger now threatens this bird in our 

 modern tight barns: no opening is left as 

 of yore for access to their nesting places, 

 and from this cause, it is said, the Barn 

 Swallow is gradually diminishing in num- 

 bers. Will they remember their former 

 haunts among the cliffs and go back to 

 them again? 



A neighbor of the Barn Swallow, on the 

 cliffs, who has followed him to our barns, 

 is the Cliff Swallow; he builds his jug- 

 shaped nest beneath the eaves and one 

 wonders what he has gained by the ex- 

 change, nnless it is a greater abiindance of 

 insect food. Yet all Cliff Swallows have 

 not forsaken the ways of their ancestors, 

 for they are occasionally found nesting on 

 cliffs, and in the West they nest verj' com- 

 monly in such situations. It was formerly 

 believed that since the settlement of this 

 country, the ClifE Swallow has gradually 

 spread over the continent from the West, 

 where it is most abundant. It is now gen- 

 erally conceded that it always nested in the 

 East, but was seldom seen during the 

 early days, owing to the nature of 

 its nesting places. 



The White-bellied or Tree Swallow has 

 not entirely forgotten his hole in a tree or 



stump, but each year his nest is becoming 

 more common in bird-houses and holes 

 about buildings. In time he will probably 

 nest in no other situations. This bird, 

 however, does not seem very particular as 

 to where it places its nest. Langille saw 

 them under flat stones and in holes in the 

 ground in Nova Scotia. 



The Bank Swallow could make little 

 change for the better and still nest in river 

 banks; lately they have taken to nesting in 

 railway cuttings when the soil is soft enough 

 for them to work in. 



A hollow,tree was the Chimney Swift's 

 early nesting place, but the great wide 

 chimneys built by our forefathers did not 

 long escape its notice and the tree was soon 

 forsaken for thr chimney's capacious 

 depths. No doubt the superior opportuni- 

 ties afforded for getting its living was the 

 main cause for the change, but the bird 

 has also gained greater safety from its i 

 enemies. 



The Purple Martin, too, was formerly in 

 the habit of nesting in trees, and the early 

 settlers found them nesting in gourds hung 

 up by the Indians for that purpose. At 

 the present time, the Martins are nearly 

 always found breeding in bird houses. 

 They seem particularly attached to certain 

 localities, and in some places are quite 

 common, while in others they are seldom 

 seen. 



The reader will call to mind many other 

 instances of birds that have made some 

 change in their nesting places. Many 

 changes are slowly taking place now. 

 Maurice Thompson says of the Red-headed 

 Woodpecker: "I prophesy that, within 

 less than a hundred years to come, he will 

 be making his nest on the ground, in hedges 

 or the crotches of orchard trees. " No one 

 need expect such great changes in many of 

 our birds, but a hundred years will verj' 

 materially change the nesting places of 

 some. 



WiLLAED N. ClUTE, 



Binghamton, N. Y. 



