152 MEMOIRS OF THE NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB 



one of my bird-houses for three hours. Saw it twice the next day on bird-house 

 and around my garden." 



This beautiful, useful, and interesting bird is now rarely seen in Essex County. 

 A martin-house erected for their special use at my place at Ipswich, has never 

 been everi inspected by this bird as far as I know. A single pair of Tree Swal- 

 lows have occupied one apartment every summer. 



Mr. R. B. Mackintosh wrote me under date of June 30, 1919, that "Mr. 

 Bushby reports that Purple Martins built at his camp in Rowley last year and 

 his sister-in-law reports the same birds built there again this year and had young 

 three weeks ago." Mr. Forbush reports that there are now no colonies in Essex 

 County. 



256 [612] Petrochelidon lunifrons lunifrons (Say). 



Cliff Swallow; Eave Swallow. 

 Uncommon summer resident, locally. April 25 to September 14. 

 Eggs: May 25 to July 20. 



This bird has rapidly decreased in numbers in the last fifteen years in the 

 County. The history of the bird on my own barn in Ipswich, to which I endeav- 

 ored to attract them by artificial nests as related in the original Memoir, is as 

 follows : I took down the sham nests in 1904. In 1905, Cliff Swallows built and 

 occupied one nest; in 1906, there were four nests; in 1908, eight nests; in 1910, 

 only one nest; in 1913, one nest, and none thereafter. No English Sparrows 

 interfered with them. 



The bam of my neighbor. Dr. E. A. Crockett, where I counted 58 nests, in 

 1903, as reported in the original Memoir, held 50 nests in 1905. One of these was 

 occupied by an English Sparrow who must have driven out the owners, for the 

 nests are all destroyed by storms in winter and rebuilt every spring. In 1906, 

 there were 30 nests and two were occupied by English Sparrows. In 1909, the 

 barn was moved back from the road about a hundred yards. The Eave Swal- 

 lows built their nests in small numbers, but many were occupied by English Spar- 

 rows that had increased greatly. In 1910, the Eave Swallows deserted the place 

 and the noisy English Sparrow held full sway. 



At Great Neck, Ipswich, large numbers of Eave Swallows used to nest under 

 the eaves of an ice-house near Clark's Pond. In 1914, I counted 68 nests there. 

 In 1 91 9, there were no birds to be seen. 



