HABITS OP THE WHITE-BELIJED SWALLOW 415 



The White-belly seems, from another circumstance, to be one 

 of the hardiest of our Swallows ; for it is conspicuous among 

 the winter birds of Florida, and doubtless other parts of the 

 Gulf coast. Mr. Boardman tells me, viva voce, that countless 

 thousands enjoy the serenity of the Floridan winters ; nnd, like 

 the Bluebird, the White-belly is not seldom tempted by the 

 treachery of the "January thaw" to come unguardedly north- 

 ward, being the species which, perhaps oftener than any other 

 of the family, is noted as occurring unexpectedly beyond its 

 usual range in winter, and thus by no means making a summer. 

 A case of this sort came within my experience at Fort Macon, 

 North Carolina, where numbers of these Swallows appeared 

 one warm day early in January, though there had been a smart 

 freeze just before. The flock played about the fort, but were 

 soon driven off by bad weather; they were next seen again on 

 the 20th of the mouth, and occasionally from that time until 

 the regular migration. From their winter-homes, not only in 

 the Gulf States and in Southern California, but in Mexico, 

 the West Indies, and Central America, these birds spread 

 northward in March and April, from one side of the continent 

 to the other, and some proceed to the Arctic regions. They 

 breed independently of latitude, some on the highlands of 

 Mexico, and anywhere in the West ; but in the East, their 

 usual breeding-range is said to be north of the parallel of 38°. 

 How unexceptionally this may hold I do not know ; but these 

 Swallows are especially recognized as summer visitors in 

 northerly parts of the United States, as New England for 

 example, and in the British Provinces. 



Unlike the Barn and-Bave Swallows, the glossy viridis of 

 Wilson is a confirmed hole-breeder, rather jealous of the ancient 

 customs of its family, and slow to yield to the allurements 

 of civilization, even though the most tempting boxes be pre- 

 sented to its choice. When it will, it will, and when it won't, 

 the Purple Martins must be depended on to fill the neat little 

 houses that we build to entice the Swallows. In Eastern 

 Massachusetts, says Dr. Brewer, the change of habit is con- 

 firmed. In parts of Maine and New Brunswick, Mr. Board- 

 man tells me, the experiment is far from successful, as, ten 

 to one. Swallows still nest in holes in trees and stumps. The 

 hollow tree is the natural and still the usual resort, as we see 

 clearly from study of these birds in the West. 



I do not think that I ever saw bicolor in Arizona, where 



