THE BARN SWALLOW, 



{Chelidon erythrogastra.) 



Words regarding the Barn Swallow 

 seem almost superfluous, so well known 

 is this beautiful bird of the environ- 

 ment of our homes. On our farms 

 and in country villages, it only needs 

 the invitation of an open door or win- 

 dow to lead these birds to accept the 

 sites we offer them for homes, on the 

 rafters of barns or other buildings. 

 These nesting places are accepted, but 

 not without returning value received, 

 for the Swallows destroy a large num- 

 ber of harmful insects. How strange 

 the rural home would seem withoutjthe 

 presence of these quiet, unobtrusive 

 birds! They add spirit to the landscape 

 as they skim along in rapid flights, just 

 over the crops of the fields and mead- 

 ows. ",The very poetry of motion is 

 theirs as they ply up and down above 

 .the clover tops, or rise at a thought to 

 take an insect high in the air." They 

 are graceful in every motion, trim of 

 figure and their well groomed plftmage 

 flashes in the sunUght as they suddenly 

 wheel in their aerial evolutions. If 

 their full grace is to be appreciated, 

 the Swallows themselves must be 

 watched for language is inadequate to 

 describe it. 



The Barn Swallows and their rela- 

 tives have been admired for centuries. 

 There are about eighty species of the 

 family and they are distributed quite 

 throughout the world. They are men- 

 tioned by the early Greek and Roman 

 writers. Pliny says: "Swallows are 

 the only birds that have a sinuous 

 flight of remarkable velocity; for which 

 reason it is that they are not exposed 

 to the attacks of other birds of prey: 

 these too, in fine, are the only birds 

 that take their food on the wing." It 

 is evident that PHny was not informed 

 of other birds Which take their food 

 while on the wing, but otherwise, his 

 statements are true .of the swallows of 

 today. All the swallows are beautiful, 



but none are more beautiful nor more 

 graceful than the forked tailed bird 

 which is shown in our illustration. 



The Barn Swallows are American 

 birds and are probably more generally 

 distributed than is any other purely 

 American bird. Their range includes 

 North America in general and they 

 winter in Central and South America, 

 visiting the West Indies during their 

 migrations. Their breeding range is 

 also extensive, extending southward 

 from the Fur Countries into Mexico. 

 In earUer days, before man had taken, 

 possession of the broad fields and for- 

 ests of America and erected buildings, 

 the Barn Swallows were cave dwellers, 

 as they are still in localities remote from 

 the habitations of man. As civilization 

 has advanced, the Swallows have 

 changed their habits and accepted its' 

 buildings as protection for nests and 

 young. "We may take it as an espe- 

 cial mark of the confiding nature of 

 this bird that its nest is placed inside 

 the barn, and we shall not be far astray 

 so far as the bird's disposition is con- 

 cerned." 



The nest is a bracket-like structure 

 made of pellets of mud or sandy clay 

 intermixed with fine hay and made 

 adhesive by the bird's saliva. Within, 

 upon a bed of fine' hay, a soft lining of 

 feathers is placed, upon which the four 

 to six eggs are laid. Sometimes the 

 nests are built upon the timbers of old 

 bridges. 



Swallows are aft'ectionate and socia- 

 ble. They nest in colonies and when 

 the young birds can take care of them- 

 selves several families unite in large 

 flocks which roost together at night, 

 and soar over the same area during the 

 day. It is not uncommon to find in 

 these flocks more than one species of 

 swallows. Their happy and cheerful 

 disposition is shown by the sprightly 

 notes which are uttered with much ani- 

 mation. 



