2i8 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



Generally though, there is some knot hole by which they are able to 

 leave their quarters and commence their flight for food before the ma- 

 jority of mankind are awake. 



The first intimation that the Barn Swallows have arrived, in the 

 spring, is from the tv/ittering that comes from the meadow or pond. 

 We look and see several dark bodied birds skimming close to the grass. 

 As they come close by us we can see the glossy blue back, and as, 

 now and then, one wheels about or swoops up, just clearing the top of 

 our heads we can see the ruddy underparts, and the long slender tail 

 v^ith its row of white spots. It has always seemed to me that the 

 flight of these swallows is the very embodiment of ease and grace. 

 Skimming, gliding, sailing, they have traversed the length of the field; 

 an upward curve and a downward shoot, and they have safely passed 

 over the row of apple trees and the wall that marks the division of the 

 next farm; shooting down the hill beyond, with the speed of a meteor, 

 they glide swiftly across the pond, just touching their breasts to the 

 surface of the water to refresh themselves. Flocks of them will spend 

 hours at a time, passing to and fro over a pond, feasting on the insects 

 that are so numerous in such places. Towards night they become 

 even more active than they were in the morning, and as they dash 

 about the meadow, it seems as if they were racing with each other to 

 see which one could traverse the field in the shortest space of time. 

 Although, undoubtedly, they enjoy these gambols in the air, it is not 

 all play with them, for at this time they are busy gathering in the in- 

 sects which in countless hordes, rise from the grass at dusk. 



Two or three weeks after their arrival from the south, each pair se- 

 lects a site for its nest. This is not a difficult matter for year after 

 year, the same pair will return to the same barn. If there are accommo- 

 dations for more, the young of the preceding year will nest in the same 

 place, but if the barn is already occupied by as many pairs as there are 

 conveniences for, the young have to shift for themselves and find a 

 new site. Very frequently when the quarters inside are crowded, 

 newcomers will make their homes underneath the eaves on the outside. 



As soon as the exact location of their nest is definitely decided upon, 

 numerous trips are made to the edge of the pond for nesting material. 

 First, pellets of mud are brought. These are fastened to the side of 

 the beam, in the form of a semi-circle. Their glutinous saliva assists 

 the natural adherence of the mud to the support. These pellets, with 

 straw added to assist in holding them together, are continually placed 

 in position until the nest has assumed the shape of a bowl, cut ver- 

 tically through the middle and with the cut portion against the beam. 



