176 



Bird - Lore 



Perhaps an improvement, though involv- 

 ing more work, is to fasten a strip of wood 

 2}4 inches wide by ^ or ^ inch thick on 

 top of the scantling and to roughly round 

 the outer edges of the strip. The half- 

 inch projection beyond the scantling 

 offers a convenient foothold for the Swal- 

 lows when clinging to the side. 



While undoubtedly preferable, it is not 

 necessary for supports or brackets to be 

 placed high from the ground under eaves 

 of roofs of two-storied buildings, as the 

 Swallows will build under roofs of piazzas 

 and porches when construction is favor- 

 able. Probably they always choose a spot 

 with a perpendicular surface on at least 

 one side of the nest-place. 



The brackets or supports can be painted 

 the same color as the surrounding wood- 

 work, so as to be less conspicuous to people, 

 but, if painted, it is best to leave the sur- 

 face of the wood rough, not plane it smooth 

 before painting. 



The first supports put up were simple 

 shelves of thin board from 2 to 6 inches 

 wide, fastened to sides of buildings at 

 various distances, as great as 18 inches, 

 below the eaves. These were used by the 

 Swallows to a certain extent. Wide sup- 

 ports are objectionable where there are 

 English Sparrows, as they will build their 

 nests on them, while they have difficulty 

 in doing so on those as narrow as 2 inches. 



On buildings where the Swallows have 

 not built before, it may be better the first 

 year to place supports, or some of them, 

 farther down from the eaves than 5 inches, 

 so as to be more apt to attract the notice 

 of the Swallows as they fly past. Nests are 

 seldom built on the north side of build- 

 ings; of the other exposures, the south 

 seems to be the favorite. 



The shores of the lake in locality men- 

 tioned are sandy, and there is no clay in 

 the vicinity, so that the Swallows are de- 

 pendent for their building material on the 

 mud which they gather from holes in dirt 

 roads or depressions in bare ground, where 

 water stands after rains. 



Apparently, they can postpone the build- 

 ing of nests and laying of their eggs for a 

 considerable time when they are unable to 



secure material for building or completing 

 nests. To supply them with mud in un- 

 usually dry seasons, depressions in ground 

 have been filled with water from a hose, 

 the supply being replenished as water dis- 

 appeared. It is astonishing to see how 

 quickly the Swallows will discover such a 

 spot and gather around it in large numbers, 

 starting almost immediately to carry away 

 the mud for their nests. 



While the Barn Swallows usually, and 

 perhaps preferably, build their nests inside 

 of barns and similar buildings which offer 

 opportunities for nesting, they probably 

 would build much more frequently on the 

 outside if they found suitable places, and, 

 perhaps, they could be attracted to many 

 buildings they do not now frequent. The 

 Cliff Swallows could, perhaps, also be 

 attracted to more buildings. They are 

 generally supposed to select one or a few 

 buildings in a neighborhood for their nests. 

 It would be interesting to investigate and 

 see if the buildings selected are those which 

 both offer favorable sites for nests and are 

 nearest to a supply of mud or clay for 

 their construction. For their nests they 

 require considerably more material than 

 do the Barn Swallows. 



Perhaps some of your readers will be 

 sufficiently interested to study and experi- 

 ment on lines suggested in this article and 

 add to the general information on a sub- 

 ject about which little or nothing has been 

 published. — ■ William Goodsell, Bay 

 Pond, Franklin County, N. Y. 



Dixie, a Tame Robin 



Dixie was one of those more unfortunate 

 members of a large bird-family, who, 

 through some accident, left the home-nest 

 at a very tender age. But, unlike many 

 other such unfortunates, this sad accident 

 did not end his career. We had been out 

 bicycling one early June day in 1913, and, 

 while walking up a hill, had discovered 

 him, an inadequately feathered young 

 Robin, lying on the sidewalk, legs extended, 

 and flapping feebly, while his enormous 

 bill emitted faint croaks. Of course, we 

 picked him up and carried him home with 



