36 



Bird Studies. 



extending through North America to Greenland and Alaska. They winter in 

 Central and South America, and breed in their habitat as far south as Mexico. 

 Their food is exclusively insects, is generally taken on the wing, but I 

 have seen them, at times, feeding on the bare ground. This is one of the 

 birds that has been noticeably influenced in its general breeding habits by 

 the advent of civilization. Presumably they formerly found nesting sites on 

 the sides and ledges of caves, and there is little doubt that in remote or 

 thinly settled regions this habit still obtains. 



A broader, stouter bird than the last is the former Cliff Swallow, now 



the Eave Swallow of our barns and outbuildings. Both names indicate the 



i~i-cfo 11 situations chosen for their nests, but with the advent of 



Cliff Swallow. , ,.„ , 11 , 1 



petrochciidon lunifrons houses, the cliffs and caves are all but deserted. In gen- 



^^^^*' eral color the birds are similar to the Barn Swallows, steel 



blue and bright chestnut prevailing. But the forehead is white or very pale 



brown, and the ruTnp is pale brown, thus readily distinguishing them from the 



,<«!S^' 



\ 



CLIFF SWALLOW. 



Barn Swallows. The rest of the upper parts, including the wings and tail, are 

 dark steel blue, and there is a patch of similar color on the lower part of the 

 throat. The tail is short. The birds vary from five and a half to six inches 

 in length. They arrive some ten days or two weeks later than the Barn 

 Swallow and are emphatically gregarious in the breeding season. They 



