410 



NESTS AND EGGS OV 



i)c-f ©612. CLIFF SWALLOW. Petrochelidon lunifrons (Say.) Geog. Dist.— North 

 America in general ; in winter soiitli to Central and portions of Soutli America. Not 

 recorded from Florida or the West Indies. 



The "Republicans," as they are sometimes called, or Eave swallows, are known 

 to occur and breed throughout the whole of North America, north to the limit of 

 trees. As the name implies, and as almost every one knows, this bird fixes its queer 

 bottle-shaped nest to the perpendicular faces of rocks and hard embankments, 

 also on the walls of houses and under shelter of eaves. The nests are- not always 

 retort or flask-shaped, some have no necks, and the degree of perfection in style de- 

 pends upon circumstances. They are made entirely of mud, tempered by the bill of 

 the bird and are well lined with straw, wool and feathers. The birds are always 

 found in colonies during the breeding season, which extends all through the summer 

 months. The eggs are white, marked with dots, blotches and points of reddish- 

 brown, chiefly about the larger end; they are less elongated than those of the Barn 

 Swallow, but the markings of the two are hardly distinguishable. The eggs of the 

 Cliff Swallow average a trifle larger; they are four to five and sometimes six in num- 

 ber; the average size is .82x.56 inches. 



613. Barn Swallow (PromBeal). 



[612. 1.] CtrBAN CLIFF SWALLOW. Petrochelidon fulva (Vieill.) Geog. 

 Dist. Greater Antilles and the coast of Central America. Accidental on the dry 

 Tortugas, Florida. 



