CHAPTER V 



SWALLOW ROOSTS AND SWALLOW MIGRATION 



" Nature's licensed vagabond, the swallow." 



— Tennyson. 



SWALLOWS begin to gather near the 

 shore at Ipswich, as well as elsewhere 

 on our coast, as eavly as the first of July, 

 and their numbers rapidly increase from day 

 to day. At the end of that month and during 

 August and early September, great multitudes 

 of these interesting birds are to be found in 

 the neighborhood of the sea. In these flocks 

 all four of our common species occur, but by 

 far the most abundant is the tree swallow. 

 Next in numbers comes the barn swallow, and 

 next the bank swallow, although the latter is 

 less common in Ipswich than the eave swal- 

 low, which appears to be a rather more exclu- 

 sive bird, and one that is more apt to keep 

 by itself than to mingle in the large mixed 

 flocks. 



Ill 



