BARN SWALLOW. 
(AY. erythrogas'tra horreo/rum. ) 
EEP lustrous steel blue; forehead and under parts, rufous; 
an imperfect steel blue collar. . Wings and tail, blackish, 
with steel blue or greenish gloss. The lateral pair of 
tail feathers much lengthened and filiform at the end; 
all but the central pair, with a white spot. Length, 6 to 7 
inches. Tail, 3 to 5 inches; the fork, 2 to 3 inches deep. 
Female similar, but somewhat smaller. Throughout North 
America. 
They build a nest of mud similar to the Robin’s nest, but 
lined with feathers, in barns, outhouses, or under the eaves and 
under cliffs of rocks. 
Eggs, nearly white with fine spots of purple. 
“Artist” had again visited the school-room at 
an early hour and put upon the blackboard a picture he 
called ‘The flight of the Swallows.” Underneath he 
had written these lines by William Cullen Bryant: 
‘There are notes of joy from the Hang-bird and Wren, 
And the gossip of Swallows through all the sky.”’ 
As Miss Sweet called attention to the picture, she 
said, “We have often enjoyed the work of “ Artist’s” 
pencil, but do not hear much from him in class, so I 
asked him to write something about the Swallow, to 
read to us this morning. He must be a close observer 
or he could not make good pictures.” 
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