332 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



lands north of the great lakes*. What cause could have thus suddenly called 

 into action that confidence in the human race with which the Framer of 

 the Universe has endowed this species, in common with others of the Swallow 

 tribe ? It has been supposed that birds frequenting desert countries, and unac- 

 customed to annoyance from man, would approach him fearlessly, or at least 

 be less shy than those inhabiting thickly-peopled districts, where they are daily 

 exposed to the attacks of the great destroyer of their tribes. But although this 

 may be true of some families of birds, it is far from being generally the case. 

 On the contrary, the small birds of the fur-countries, which are never objects of 

 pursuit, and scarcely even of notice to the Indian hunter, are shy, retiring, and 

 distrustful, their habits contrasting strongly with the boldness and familiarity of 

 the Sparrows, that are persecuted to death by every idle boy in Europe. Nay, 

 some species, which are bold enough during their winter residence in the United 

 States, evince great timidity in the northern regions, where the raising their 

 progeny occupies their whole time. In like manner, the Redbreast of Europe, 

 familiar as it is in winter, sequesters itself with the greatest care in the breeding 

 season. The question, however, recurs, — what is the peculiarity of economy 

 which leads one species of bird to conceal its nest with the most extraordinary 

 care and address, and another to place its offspring in the most exposed situation 

 it can select ? 



At Fort Chepewyan the young came abroad on the 14th of July, and at the end 

 of the month the whole took their departure. The nest is hemispherical, composed 

 externally of small pellets of tempered mud, and lined with soft hay and a few 

 feathers. When attached to cliffs, the nests are clustered together, and each has an 

 irregular tubular entrance at the top, an inch or two long, aptly compared, by Mr. 

 James, to the broken neck of a retort. Under the eaves of a house, the nests are 

 in a single line, not clustered; their form is adapted to the situation, and the 

 tubular entrance is either entirely wanting or reduced to a mere ledge. The nests 

 are easily destroyed by rain ; and as they generally face the south-west, a gale from 

 that quarter, which is of comparatively rare occurrence in the month of July in the 

 fur-countries, destroys great numbers of them. The labour of building is per- 

 formed chiefly in the morning, and three or four days suffice to complete the 

 shell of the dwelling. The eggs, usually four, are oblong*, of a white colour, with 



* The late Governor De Witt Clinton, has given a very interesting history of the closely resembling species H. 

 fulva, which about sixteen years ago began to build its nests on the walls of houses in the Western States, and has, 

 every succeeding summer, been advancing farther to the eastward. — Vide Ann. Lye. New York, i., P -156. 



