EFFECTS ON SWALLOWS 89 



placing the gourd- shaped nests in rows beneath the eaves, and using no 

 straw except perhaps for the lining of the nest, the outer shell being 

 made entirely of pellets of mud, plastered together and to the building. 

 This nest when finished commonly has a projecting neck like that of a 

 flask, for entrance, whence the name jug-swallow. The whole struct- 

 ure is brittle, and rarely if ever serves the swallow for more than one 

 season, but the newly-built nests serve the Sparrow's purpose admi- 

 rably, and he avails himself of them at every opportunity. 

 Henry Hales, of Ridgewood, Bergen County, X. J., writes : 



I liave seen a large colony of Eave Swallows abandon their nests, that had been es- 

 tablished in large quantities all along a barn, rather than fight the Sparrows. (June 

 18, 1887. Present about fifteen years. ) 



J. 0. Swetland, of Sparta, Morrow County, Ohio, writes: 



The small barn-swallow that builds on the eaves of the barn [Cliff Swallow, Pe- 

 troclielidon lunifrons'], attempts to reclaim former nesting sites. There are over four 

 hundred swallow's Dests on my barn, and last spring the Sparrows began to take 

 possession of the nests, and for two weeks there was a constant fight between the 

 Sparrows and swallows. Finally, the Spairows took possession of one side of the 

 barn and the swallows took the other. (October 18, 1886. Present about three years) 



Dr. H. D. Moore, of Xew Lexington, Somerset County, Pa., writes: 



Within the last year or two the Sparrows have found their way out of the cities 

 and have taken up their abode around farm buildings all over the country. Most of 

 the barns are what are known as " bank" barns, and underneath the extensions of 

 these, Mud Swallows (Petroclielidon lunifrons) have been building and hatching by 

 hundreds at each barn. I saw, this summer, where one pair of Sparrows had taken 

 possession of one nest and driven the entire colony of swallows to the other end of 

 the barn. At other barns I saw where several pairs of Sparrows had taken possession 

 of as many nests and driven the swallows all away. Farmers generally know the 

 value of swallows as insectivorous birds, and have been protecting them against cats, 

 rats, mice, etc., but this last enemy is the worst of all, and long and loud are the 

 curses poured upon the " cuss " who imported the first Sparrows. (September 13, 

 1880.) 



B. C. Townsend, of Bay Eidge, Kings County, X. Y., writes : 



As regards the peaceful relations of the English Sparrow to other birds, my experi- 

 ence confirms the testimony of my neighbor, Mr. J. A. Perry, with the exception 

 of a single case. There were certain swallows building their mud nests under our 

 front porch, which nests it attacked with great violence and destroyed, driving the 

 birds away. (March 27, 1886.) 



William J. Muldragh, of Sand Hill, Wayne County, Mich., writes : 



Large numbers of swallows formerly nested on our barn, but they have nearly all 

 left since the Sparrows began building in their nests this year. (August 23, 1886.) 



The true Barn Swallow (Chelidon erythrogaster) is also seriously per- 

 secuted by the Sparrow, forty-nine complaints relating to these two 

 species having been received, as against seven reports of more or less 

 successful resistance, but none of these favorable reports give any de- 

 tails of the contests. 



A. L. Parkhurst, of San Jose, Santa Clara County, Cal., writes : 

 Cliff Swallows and Western House Finches retain their usual nesting places in spite 

 of the presence of these noisy neighbors. (August 27, 1836. Present about five years.) 



