774 
THE BIRDS THAT WE SEE. 
Wood Thrushes—Hop Vine. 
short tail and white crescent on his fore¬ 
head ; the martin, known by his great size 
and black color, and the white-breasted 
or wood-swallow [p. 776], a dehcate little 
bird of the size of a sparrow. The last is 
called tree-swallow in some regions, be¬ 
cause it nests in hollow trees, and in 
others, the singing-swallow, because, 
more than any other of its tribe, it has a 
habit of singing sweetly as it sits in the 
sun on some convenient perch. The last 
two, with the bluebird and the English 
sparrow, are the principal candidates for 
the occupancy of the small bird-boxes 
put up against outbuildings and on 
poles, by those who wish to encourage 
the birds about their dwellings. 
The first two of these swallows are 
noted for the remarkable mud nests 
which they make under the eaves of 
barns ; the first usually selects a site in¬ 
side the building, and it is with a view to 
giving them a convenient entrance, that 
farmers cut in the gables those holes, 
often of grotesque shapes, that frequent¬ 
ly arouse the curiosity of passing citi¬ 
zens. The nest is made of pellets of mud 
carefully kneaded at the wa¬ 
ter’s edge, and stuck on in 
regular successive layers un¬ 
til the ai^j^ointed cu 2 :>-shap)e is 
conqfiete, and, after a jDroper 
time for drying is allowed, 
the nest is finished with a 
lining of straw and feathers. 
But the cliff-swallow carries 
the p]-ocess of nest-building a 
stejD farther than this; he 
makes not a cuj), but a de¬ 
canter, not a mere bracket, 
but a comj)lete globe, with an 
entrance-j^orch that is some¬ 
times jDi’olonged into a verita¬ 
ble sjDOut. Both these birds 
nest in colonies, and, like 
swallows generally, are very 
j)artial to the buildings and 
neighborhood of man. In 
fact, the only one of this tribe 
that is indifferent to man is 
tlie little bank - swallow. It 
is found nesting in colonies 
along the banks of rivers, 
where they are steep enough 
to afford jDi’otection and soft 
enough to be bored into by 
the beak of this hard - working little 
Flickers—Male and Female. 
