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THE OOLOQI8T 



without the least show of fear. There 

 would be a line of Swallows with full 

 mouths going to the nest and another 

 line returning for more millers. 

 Should one be near enough and it 

 were quiet you could hear the click of 

 the bill when the miller was caught. 

 Sometimes grasshoppers have been 

 thick and I have driven them up in 

 quantities but I have yet to see a 

 Swallow try to catch one. Soon these 

 baby Swallows, wing feathers grown, 

 are large enough to fly. One will see 

 them trying out their wings in the 

 nest, sometimes nearly lifting them- 

 selves right out when they do not in- 

 tend to do so, then such a scramble 

 to get back that some other is almost 

 pushed out. Billy and his wife urge 

 them to fly, telling them how smart 

 they are; just to try it down to this 

 beam or that long rope which sways 

 a' little but makes such a nice place 

 to nest. Thus soon there will be flve or 

 six young Barn Swallows in a line on 

 the rope, rather winded to be sure, 

 there they will rest and be fed more 

 millers; shortly to be enticed through 

 the doorway to the green fields to find 

 a resting place on the top-rail of the 

 fence. "Did you ever see such chil- 

 dren, so quick to learn." Sometimes 

 those whose undeveloped muscles fail, 

 fall to the ground and I pick them up 

 and place them on some object to 

 rest and the parents will soon come 

 to feed them. In a few days they 

 have gained that power of wing that 

 they take place with many others on 

 the telephone wire and only to be dis- 

 tinguished from the old by the lack of 

 the fork in the tail. In ten or twelve 

 days after the young are out of the 

 nest the Barn Swallows commence to 

 repair the nest for the second brood. 

 The eggs, four (usually) are deposit- 

 ed in a few days; incubation com- 

 mences and in ten to fourteen days 

 are hatched. The male Barn Swallow 

 sings but little now, he is far too busy 



feeding the young. The care of the 

 first brood having fallen to the male 

 when the female deposits the eggs and 

 incubation commences. The second 

 brood remain in the nest about ten 

 days, the same length of time as the 

 first. This year, 1920, the first brood 

 was out of the nest in seven days af- 

 ter hatching; twelve days thereafter 

 repairs were being made on nests for 

 second brood; sixteen days and more 

 and the second brood were hatching, 

 and in ten days thereafter the second 

 broods were out of the nest flying. By 

 the time the second brood are hatched 

 those of the first hatch are taking 

 full care of themselves and the male 

 does his full share of feeding the 

 young of the second brood When the 

 young are first hatched the old bird re- 

 moves the excrement; taking it out 

 in their bills and dropping it on the 

 ground a rod or two away from the 

 barn, but soon this work in addition 

 to the feeding becomes too much for 

 them to do and there is much fouling 

 by excrement below the nest, though 

 the nest itself is kept clean by the care 

 the young use in dropping it outside the 

 nest. After both broods become strong 

 of wing the flocking commences and 

 there is much sunning of both young 

 and old, on the roof of the barn. The 

 Swallows lying on their sides, feet on 

 the down-side, with one wing out- 

 stretched on the uphill side of the 

 ba'rn roof; thus they will remain until 

 of one accord all take wing for a short 

 flight soon to return for another sun- 

 bath and rest. The young having 

 gained strength enough for a sus- 

 tained flight, migration commences. 

 This takes place the last of August. 

 About twenty miles to the south of 

 this place there was at one time a 

 Swallow Roost, where the Barn Swal- 

 low, Tree Swallow and others of this 

 race gathered in large numbers be- 

 fore further migration to the south. 

 At sunset the Swallows gather in a 



