96 Birds Every Child Should Know 
One day, while he was away, a man who 
was painting a fence for him thought he would 
surprise him by freshening up the old, weather- 
beaten pole. Alas! He painted over every 
precious mark. You may be sure the surprise 
recoiled upon him like a boomerang when the 
wrathful inn-keeper returned. However, the 
martins continue to come back to their old 
home year after year and rear their broods on 
little heaps of leaves in every room in the house, 
which is the cheerful fact of the story. 
These glossy, blue-black iridescent swallows^ 
grayish white underneath, the largest of their 
graceful tribe, have always been great favourites. 
Even the Indians in the Southern States used to 
hang gourds for them to nest in about their 
camps — a practice continued by the Negroes 
around their cabins to this day. Strangely 
enough these birds which nested and slept in 
hollow trees before the coming of the white 
men, were among the first to take advantage 
of his presence. Now, in the Eastern United 
States, at least, the pampered darlings of 
luxury positively refuse to live where people 
do not put up houses for their comfort. In 
the sparsely settled West, however, they still 
condescend to live in trees, but only when they 
must, like the chimney-swifts, who, by the way 
are no relation. Plenty of people persist in 
calling them chimney swallows, which is pre- 
