The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-07-01
VIEW OF THE SWALLOWS Bo9

VIEW OF THE SWALLOWS BOX,
 Swallows, bluebirds and wrens are all
 Interesting neighbors which any one
 Twins. in the country can usually have
 for the askrg. A box with single trening at one side, set up on a puie at
 s"me convenient point near the house
 is the only invitation required. The
 more weather-beaten the box-house the
 more attractive it becomes. Make a
 round or square door two inches wide,
 but don't put piazza in front, unless
 you wish to attract the swallows worst
 enemy, the house. sparrow.
 Swallows are most interesting to
 watch; their powers of flight are mar
 vicious, and few birds in the world can
 surpass their grace and freedom of
 movement. The male is very pugna-
 cious, and will dart at the head cf ev-
 cry person who approaches his home,
 and bounce upon any bird who intrudes
 upon his domain.
 When the nest is building they enter
 the box hundreds of times just to see
 that all is well, and often make many
 trials before they land long spear of
 grass or feather on the inside. When
 the male who nested in my yard last
 summer brought a feather which was
 too long to be carried in crosswise of
 the hole, his mate would try to seize 1t
 from him. but, no! he must do 1t hirl-
 self, so off he would go, only to return time after time until finally successful This box-house had a hinged lid or roof, so that it was possible to take a
 peep inside every day or two and see what was going on. Beginning about June 16, five snow-white eggs were laid on the sofest and cooZiest of nests, made almost wholly of white pigeons feathers, which were arched up at the sides so as to almost cover the eggs. Then about July the young began to hatch. An egg which proved to be bad was kicked to one side, but the shells of the others were carefully removed. The young birds when a week old squeak when handled and often Sur- prise you by the strength with which they cling to your fingers They can support their weight by holding on with one foot. But most remarkable of all are their thick yellow lips, which show very plainly in the picture. Here they are sitting in row with their mouths closed: but imagine them in their dark box when the parent comes with food and the four mouths open wide. Four bright little rings or targets can then be plainly seen, and it thus becomes easy to quickly place the food down in the throat where it should go.
 When this box was opened, the par- ents did not know what to make of it at first, but were soon bringing cloths and dragon flies. When the wind blew out feather the mother at once darted af- ter it. replacing it in the nest, for they cannot bear to lose any of their pos sessions. When building anew or re- pairing the old nest, they will some times become so tame or bold as to seize a feather tossed in the air.
 This bird, called the white-belied or tree swallow. is gradually changing it's nesting habits: that is, it is more and more forsaking the hollow trees in the woods beside the streams and coming to the neighborhood of man. But att tachment to the home roof is strong, and many an old tree has sheltered
 dozens of generations of these swal- lows-Francis H. Herrick in the July St Nicholas