6 TH E+) A UID AU BO: N&SB Utes 
Nests of Cliff Swallows, Blue Island, Ill. Photo by E. G. Wright. 
one the event was marked in “red’’ upon our calendar. Neither was 
the setting lovely, nor the building itself at all attractive, but some- 
thing in the general set-up answered the purpose of these very clever 
little masons. A pond close at hand undoubtedly offered mud of pre- 
cisely the correct consistency. Here they worked and we visited them 
from time to time until a series of untoward circumstances inspired 
this little story. 
To begin with, the eaves ‘neath which they took shelter were ex- 
tremely shallow, and the cross strip to which the nests were attached 
afforded but poor anchorage. Nest after nest had to be rebuilt after 
being washed down by heavy rain. | 
In 1931 misfortune of another sort was theirs. The farmer knew 
well the meaning of the word “Depression” and was forced to eke 
out a meager existence by promoting a series of barn dances, which 
continued the entire summer. In spite of the confusion which invaded 
the once peaceful barn yard, our swallows persevered beneath their 
eaves, to the weird accompaniment of accordion and fiddle. Incubation 
was well under way and in spite of din and disorder the parent birds 
refused to leave until the young were on the wing. This accomplished, 
old and young fiew southward after a season of unhappy experiences. 
The next two springs, 19382 and 1938, no birds appeared. 
However, the instinct to return year after year to the same nesting 
site still prevailed. In 1934, back to the inadequate eaves and poor an- 
chorage, back to the scene of the barn dance with its hideous din, 
came a few straggling pairs of swallows. Misfortune was again 
