118 THE SAND MARTIN. 
from the entrance to the extremity, the burrows did not 
exceed three feet in length, while in the other bank, with 
harder loam to work in, one burrow was found which was 
nine feet in length ; and after examining six different holes, 
of nearly the same length, it appeared that these little birds 
had sufficient reason for extending their labors so far in the 
earth ; in every instance where they met with a spot of loam, 
free from stones, they finished their burrows; if they met a 
stony soil they showed great care for the welfare of their 
eggs or young in avoiding a catastrophe so great as would 
befall their treasures if by accident a stone should fall upon 
them; for this reason they excavate to the great depth above 
referred to. As with man so it seems with them; reason 
appears to teach them what effects certain causes will pro- 
duce; hence the care they exhibit in depositing their eggs in 
a place free from danger of harm. ; 
After they arrive at their breeding-places, they seem to 
spend a few days in consultation with regard to the organi- 
zation of their little colony ; at such times numbers of them 

lE acq dct DE: 
pecie Ic EE 
will be seen clinging to the bank, keeping up a low twitter- | 
ing, while others may be seen circling and wheeling around 
with much apparent joy, passing each other with that grace- 
fulness and ease that are characteristic of no other birds ex- 
cept those belonging to the swallow family, not however 
without a friendly greeting in a low chatter, with .a little 
variance of cadence. No party of beavers are more regular, 
or swarm of bees more formal, than are the colonies of these 
birds. 
In watching their operations, while some were perforating 
the bank and others leaving it, in search for or returning . 
with materials to construet their nests, it is noticeable that 
at a given signal, a short time before sunset, they quit their 
labors simultaneously, and in a few moments not an indi- 
vidual is seen near the bank, but over some pond, or field, 
or high in the air hunting their food. And when the colony 
returned it was in the same manner, all in company; they — 


