BIRDS’ NESTS. 
257 
established along the Atlantic shores” (this 
being written in 1825). I believe, there- 
fore, that these birds originally lived among 
the bluffs and cliffs of the West, were reach- 
ed by the tide of advancing civilization, 
were attracted by the facilities which man’s 
belongings offered to them, and, as their 
numbers increased, travelled toward the At- 
lantic, seeking and finding further accom- 
modations. On the other hand, even in the 
last century the white-breasted swallows, 
purple martins, and chimney swifts had 
deserted in a great measure their nesting- 
places in hollow trees and stumps to occu- 
py bird-boxes and chimneys, while the barn 
swallows, which were probably indigenous 
to the Eastern United States, were estab- 
lished in barns, in which, as now, they built 
their nests on the inside beams and rafters. 
The cliff swallows show wonderfully the 
influence of man’s progress, having not 
only extended their range (as I am led to 
believe) many hundred miles, but having- 
modified very materially their architecture. 
Their nests are built chiefly of mortar or 
plaster, of which mud or clay is the basis, 
and which becomes hard, though rather 
brittle, when dried by the atmosphere or 
baked by the sun. Their strength is due to 
the adhesive and cohesive force of this ma- 
terial. When built on cliffs, as shown in 
the accompanying incture, they are shaped 
like a round flask, often with a neck, through 
which is the entrance. As built in New 
England and other parts of the Atlantic 
States, they are more open, and have no 
neck, being protected above by the project- 
ing roof of the building, under the eaves of 
which they are placed. The eggs are white, 
with brown and lilac spots and speckles, 
but are not ordinarily distinguishable from 
those of the barn swallows, whose nests are 
always inside of buildings (as those of the 
eaves swallows seldom are). 
Even more interesting are the nests of 
the chimney swifts, popularly known as 
swallows, though not such from a scientific 
point of view. At a distance they may eas- 
ily be recognized by their nervous flight, 
long wings, and apparent want of tail. If 
examined closely, they are seen to be of a 
very dull brown, and to have the shafts of 
their tail feathers projecting beyond the 
web, so that they can more easily support 
themselves when clinging to an upright 
surface. They have made the bold experi- 
ment of using chimneys instead of hollow 
trees for nesting-places, and have succeeded 
admirably, having begun so early that, so 
far as I know, they have never been known 
to naturalists under any other popular name 
than that of chimney-swallow. Their nests 
are made of small sticks, which the birds 
break off from tree-tops while flying, and 
these are held together and to the wall by 
a sticky saliva (of which the “ edible birds’ 
Vot.. LV.— No. 326.— 1 7 
nests” of the East are altogether made). 
Their eggs are white, and long in propor- 
tion to their breadth. 
Though several swallows retain their 
primitive habits of nesting to a limited ex- 
tent, and in limited tracts of country, the 
common grayish and white bank swallows 
are the only ones which have retained them 
altogether. They continue, in settlements 
of various sizes, to make their burrows in 
banks of sand or gravel, choosing most oft- 
en those near water, less often those on 
road-sides. The study of their excavations 
is quite endless, owing to the variety of cir- 
cumstances which must be taken into con- 
sideration, and I shall not try here to enter 
into its details. The care of the birds in 
building is to reach a stratum of firm earth, 
from which pebbles can not drop upon their 
eggs. For this purpose they sometimes dig 
inward three feet. At the end of the bur- 
row are placed a few materials, upon which 
the delicate white eggs are laid. The en- 
trances are from two to three inches wide, 
often circular, and sometimes, within a foot 
or two of one another. The burrows vary 
in construction and depth, but are usually 
from fifteen to twenty-four inches long. 
On the shores of some lake or mill-pond 
a solitary burrow, much larger and deeper 
than those just described, may often be 
found — that of the kingfisher. This bird was 
formerly supposed to lead a most eccentric 
life, having power to calm the waves when 
he wanted to fish, and intrusting to them 
his nest, which was said to float about with 
the eggs and young. As the kingfishers can 
swim but very little, the young, according 
to the fable, must have led a very precarious 
life ; but nowadays, since romance has giv- 
en way to practical comforts, the kingfishers 
lay their eggs and bring up their children 
in dry and roomy nurseries, with water no 
nearer than the necessity of food requires. 
They feed on small fish, and capture them 
by plunging into water, their plumage be- 
ing so oily that they have no difficulty in 
getting out. They may be recognized by 
their very short legs, their large head, with 
its rough crest of loose feathers, and by 
their peculiar cry, like a watchman’s rattle. 
Though their feet are weak, their bill is 
large, sharp, and strong, and they use both 
in making their excavations. Any other 
person than an enthusiastic naturalist will 
do better to accept another’s account of 
these burrows than to try to find out all 
about them himself, unless he prefers dig- 
ging four or five feet into a sand bank. The 
kingfisher’s eggs are white, like those of the 
bank swallows, but are about twice as long, 
and have four times as much bulk. 
There are only two birds in New England 
which make burrows, and I therefore pass on 
to the woodpeckers, who are carpenters and 
clever architects. They gain a living for the 
