86 
INSESSORES. 
the colony might have been .said to be fully es- 
tablished. As the season advanced and birds of a 
less hardy nature began to arrive from the South, a 
pair of Barn Swallows made their appearance, and 
forthwith entered the territory of the Finches. And 
here they at once, very unceremoniously, began to 
erect their domicil. This act of aggression would 
have been fiercely resented by most birds, and vio- 
lent measures would have been resorted to, to eject 
the intruders. The conduct of the little Finches was 
quite different; at first they stood aloof, and seemed 
to regard the strangers with suspicion and distrust, 
rather than enmity. In the meantime the Swallows 
went quietly to work, without showing any inclina- 
tion to intermeddle ; and in a day or two (their mud 
walls all the time rapidly advancing) they gained the 
confidence of their neighbors, and finally completed 
their work unmolested. Indeed, a perfect harmony 
was established between the parties, which I never 
saw interrupted by a single quarrel during the time 
they remained my tenants/’ 
This little bird is half-brother to our Purple Finch, 
which inhabits Canada and the Northern and East- 
ern States during Summer, and the Middle and South- 
ern States during Winter. The latter, however, does 
not possess the mild and peaceable disposition of the 
former, but is very quarrelsome and noisy even among 
themselves. When feeding, as they often do, in 
small flocks, upon the same trees, if one should hap- 
pen to approach too near the spot where another is 
