TREE SWALLOW. 355 
woods of the Lower Truckee, near Pyramid Lake, in May, the White-bellied Swallow 
abounded more than elsewhere, and every knot-hole or other cavity among the trees 
seemed to have been taken possession of by a pair. They were then engaged in building 
their nests, and throughout the day would come to the door-yard of the Reservation- 
house to pick up the feathers, or bits of rag or paper, scattered about the ground, after 
hurriedly seizing which they would fly with the article selected in a direct line to their 
nests. As they sat on the ground, they were beautiful little birds, and though they 
squatted somewhat awkwardly, on account of the smallness of their feet, they raised 
their heads so proudly, and glanced so sharply, yet timidly, about them, that they 
seemed graceful in their motions; while each movement caused the sunlight to glance 
from their burnished backs of lustrous steel-blue, with which the snowy white of their 
breasts contrasted so strikingly. Although the object picked up was most often a 
feather, it occasionally happened that one would take hold of a string, or a long shred 
of cloth, perhaps a yard or more in length, in which case, so conspicuous an object 
was certain to be seized upon by others, as the bearer labored to carry it to his nest, 
thus becoming the subject of quite a struggle, and much twittering. 
“The White-bellied Swallow was by no means confined to the wooded river valleys, 
however, but it was equally abundant among the aspen woods, high up in the Wahsatch 
Mountains, at an altitude of 8,000 or 9,000 feet; it was also common in the Sacra- 
mento valley, but a few feet above sea-level, among the oak trees of the plain. Neither 
is it invariably arboreal, for it seems to have become, in certain localities, more 
‘civilized,’ like its cousin, the Purple Martin, and to have taken advantage of the 
abode of man in localities where there are no trees to accommodate them. Such was 
conspicuously the case at Carson City, where they were quite numerous, and built their 
nests under the eaves, behind the weather-boarding, or about the porches of dwellings 
or other buildings, and were quite familiar.” 
The Tree Swallow differs in one respect from all other members of its family, 
departing from the insectivorous customs so far as to feed at times principally on the 
berries of the wax-myrtle (Myrica cerifera), the cirier of the French Creoles of Louisiana. 
Wilson saw hundreds of White-bellies on the sandy beach of Great Egg Harbor. They 
completely covered the myrtle bushes of the low islands thereabouts; a man told him 
he had seen a hundred and two killed at'a shot. Audubon speaks of this Swallow as 
roosting by night in the wax-myrtles. During the winter, he says, many were sheltered 
in the holes about the houses, but the greater number resorted to the lakes, to spend 
the night among the myrtles. “About sunset,” he continues, “they began to flock 
together, calling to each other for that purpose, and -in a short time presented the 
appearance of clouds moving towards the lakes, or the mouth of the Mississippi, as the 
weather and wind suited. Their aérial evolutions before they alight, are truly beautiful. 
They appear at first as if reconnoitering the place; when, suddenly throwing themselves 
into a vortex of apparent confusion, they descend spirally with astonishing quickness, 
and very much resemble a trombe or water-spout. When within a few feet of the ciriers, 
they disperse in all directions, and settle in a few moments. Their twitterings, and the 
motion of their wings, are, however, heard during the whole night.... The hunters 
who resort to these places destroy great numbers of them, by knocking them down 
