382 THE OBSERVER, 
Summer Roosts of Swallows and Red-winged Blackbirds. 
BY ALK, FISHER, M.D, WASHING IOINS ye: 
ONSIDERABLE has been written on the subject of swallow roosts, 
and many interesting accounts have appeared from time to time on 
the autumnal gatherings, but none of the observers, so far as the writer 
is aware, have touched upon the summer roosts of these birds. By 
summer roosts 1s meant such as are occupied by the old males, while 
the females are still sitting on the eggs and before the young have left 
the nest. It may be that such colonies are rare, but it is much more 
likely that they are common and have escaped detection from the in- 
accessibility of their location. Near his old home, at Sing Sing on the 
Hudson, the writer had exceptional opportunities for studying the sum- 
mer roosts, but is pained to acknowledge that he did not make as much 
of the opportunities as the importance of the subject seems to demand. 
The birds chose for their resting place a large stretch of marshland, 
covered with cat-tails, wild oats, and reeds (Phragmites phragmites), 
intersected by numerous tidal creeks of greater or less length. While 
the cat-tails and wild rice grew abundantly over the greater part of the 
