BARN SWALLOW. 351 
He also found nests in caverns of the limestone cliffs on the eastern side of the Ruby 
Mountains, These ‘“‘tufa-domes,” as described by Mr. Ridgway, are rocks of remark- 
able form and structure, usually having rounded or domed tops, being thickly incrusted 
with calcareous tufa, and honey-combed beneath with winding passages and deep 
grottoes, in which various birds nest, such as the Burion (House Finch), Say’s Pewee, 
and the Barn Swallow. But even in the vast regions of the West these Swallows 
will soon change their wild life, for those parts are being gradually populated with 
sturdy settlers. The same is the case on the almost boundless prairies. Barely is the 
log-cabin in the primeval forest, or the simple shanty on the grassy prairie under roof, 
when these birds are clinging to and peeping about among the rafters, eaves, and gables 
to find a suitable place for their nest. Thus the Barn Swallows, in company with 
Bluebirds, Wrens, Phaebes, and Robins, are almost the only feathered guests who share 
the summer solitude of early pioneer life. By their cheery ways and gay twitter they 
make life in and about the crude log-cabin less lonely. As soon as the ornamental trees 
and shrubs, and the fruit trees of the orchard are growing larger and denser, other 
birds like the Song Sparrow, the Cedarbird, the Chippingbird, the Thrasher, the Cat- 
bird, and other songters join the society of man. 
Our Barn Swallows show a considerable pertinacity in the choice of their breeding 
places. Not every farm will suit them, and towns and villages are at present generally 
avoided, as they do not like to be disturbed by that abominable tramp, the European 
Sparrow. They prefer barns with openings in the gable, which permit free and unin- 
terrupted darting in and out, and choose rough rafters to which they can easily and 
safely fasten their nests. They also avoid the stately, modern barns ornamented with 
little towers or steeples, which, instead of small openings in the gables, are provided 
with windows. This Swallow prefers, at least in Wisconsin, always barns, and it is 
thus appropriately named “Barn Swallow.” As a rule, one to three pairs breed in one 
barn, but in especially favorable places eight to ten pairs will breed peacefully together. 
Although preferring for nesting quiet spots, where interruptions are unlikely, it is in no 
way timid and often mixes its twittering pleasant song with the laughing and noise of 
children at play. In the days of my boyhood I frequently assisted these birds by nailing 
small boards across the peaks of the rafters. Through the openings thus made I pushed 
another small board about three inches wide, so that it projected on each side of the 
rafters about six inches. Upon these boards, generally on both sides of the rafters, they 
built their nests. To smooth rafters their nests will not adhere safely, but to rough, 
knotty objects they cling very firmly. Old pairs return from year to year to their old 
nests. I have known the same pair using the same nest for five successive years. In 
such cases the nest undergoes each year a thorough cleaning and repairing, especially 
the lining, which is removed and replaced by fresh material. 
The nests are always built of distinct layers of mud or clay, about ten to twelve 
in number, and, according to Dr. T. M. Brewer, ‘each separated by a strata of fine 
dry grasses. These layers are each made up of small pellets of mud, that have been 
worked over by the birds and placed one by one in juxtaposition, until each layer is 
complete. These mud walls are an inch in thickness. When they are completed, they 
are warmly stuffed with fine soft grasses and lined with downy feathers. When built 
