274 ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM THE WEST. 
select high nesting sights. Can such foresight be regarded as the 
result of “blind instinct?” As the highwater line is always indi- 
cated by the drifted matter lodged in the trees, is not this preca- 
tion the result rather of a rational appreciation of the exceptional 
dangers here to be guarded against, and this caution in the selec- 
tion of a safe nesting site really the result of induction? 
The cliff swallow (Hirundo lunifrons) we found breeding 
throughout the West in its primitive way, that is, on the faces of | 
cliffs ; yet where such natural facilities abounded they in somem- 
stances abandoned the rocks for the more sheltered nesting aw 
afforded them by buildings, plastering their mud dwellings against 
the building under the projecting eaves. At Topeka, ho 
we saw cliff swallows frequenting the holes in the banks of the Kaw 
River made by the sand martin, keeping in the company of these 
birds, entering their holes and presenting the same appearance 
of breeding in them as the sand martins themselves! Through : 
out the mountains of Colorado we found the violet-green er : 
(Hirundo thalassina) breeding in abandoned woodpeckers Te 
but in the “ Garden of the Gods”, near Colorado City, they We 
nesting in holes in the rocks. We had good: evidence also m l 
the sparrow hawk bred there in the same manner, — m per 
the cliffs instead of in hollow trees! At Ogden, Utah, we 0i 
the red-shafted flicker frequenting holes in a high bank, 4 ther 
these holes entered horizontally for a few inches only and sil 
turned abruptly downward, having the same form tbey apie 
have if made by this bird in a decayed tree. These ciret poles it 
left no doubt in our minds that these birds nested in the 
the bank we saw them entering, although it was fot 
breeding season. The region being but scantily scion 
many miles, there is certainly some reason for such a l F 
of their habits. While on'this subject I may add that p “ased 
he material ci 
eats 
in the construction of their nests with locality, oT Nests ” 
the same species from different localities hence © j 
in appearance, enabling one sometimes to atone a 
the locality whence the nest came by the mater 
construction. aie ee 
Finally, I wish briefly to notice some peon pro 
color of the plumage of the birds inhabiting the 
