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The Tree Swallow 
vitality but cuts off its food-supply. Of one of these tragic incidents 
Mrs. Slosson tells us — for with these seemingly care-free birds of passage, 
as with ourselves, it is not always either summer or good living: 
The cold wave reached us at Miami, on Biscayne Bay, Florida, in 
the night of February 12, 1899. It was preceded by severe thunder 
storms in the evening. On the 13th, Monday, it was very cold all over the 
State, with snow and sleet as far south as Ormond and Titusville. Our 
thermometers at Miami ranged from 36° to 40° during the day. As I 
sat in my room at the hotel, about four in the afternoon, I saw a bird 
outside my window, then another and another, and soon the air seemed 
full of wings. 
Opening my window to see what the visitors could be, I found they 
were Tree Swallows. Several flew into my room, others clustered on the 
window-ledge, huddling closely together for warmth. There were hun- 
dreds of them about the house seeking shelter and warmth. They crept 
in behind the window-blinds, came into open windows, huddled together 
by dozens on cornices and sills. They were quite fearless ; once I held 
Swallows m y hand outside and two of them lighted on its 
in Distress palm and set there quietly. As it grew dark and 
colder their numbers increased. They flew about the 
halls and perched in corners, and the whole house was alive with them. 
Few of the guests in the hotel knew what they were ; some even 
called them “bats,” and were afraid they might fly into their faces or 
become entangled in their hair. One man informed those about him that 
they were Flummingbirds, “the large kind, you know,” but all were full 
of sympathy for the beautiful little creatures out in the cold and darkness. 
A few were taken indoors and sheltered through the night, but what 
were these among so many? 
The next morning the sun shone brightly though the weather was 
still very cold — the mercury had fallen below 30 0 during the night. But 
as I raised the shade of one of my eastern windows I saw a half-dozen 
of the swallows sitting upon the ledge in the sunshine, while the air 
seemed again filled with flashing wings. I was so relieved and glad. 
Surely the tiny creatures, with tints of steely-blue and shining green 
contrasting with the pure white of the under parts, were more hardy 
than I had feared. But alas ! it was but a remnant that escaped, Hun- 
dreds were found dead. Men were sent out with baskets to gather the 
limp little bodies from piazzas, window-ledges, and copings. It was a 
pitiful sight for St. Valentine’s Day, when, as the old song has it, “The 
birds are all choosing their mates.” 
Classification and Distribution 
The Tree Swallow belongs to the Order Passer es, Suborder O seines, and 
Family Hirundinidce. Its scientific name is Iridoprocne bicolor. It ranges in 
summer throughout temperate North America, and winters from the Gulf States 
southward to Guatemala and Cuba. 
This and other Educational Leaflets are for sale, at 5 cents each, by the National Association of 
Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Lists given on request. 
