The San Francisco call., 1909-04-10

young appear and are carefully tended
by both parents.
In two weeks time the birdlings are
able to leave the nest and in anothe,
week or two are self supporting or
partially so. Even after they ara
able to take long flights the parents
are occasionally seen meeting them in
midair, and, after apparently touching
the beaks of their young with their
own, dart off in another direction. We
are told by those who should know that
in this seeming caress the young are
being given extra food by their more
proficient patents.
The cliff swallow, not quite so com
mon, yet very generally distributed
over North America. may easily be dis
tinguished from the barn swallow
which it resembles in color by the
shortness of its tail. The tail of this
swallow is only slightly forked. She
may be further identified by a patch
of brown on the back at the base OF
the tail. The more or less retort
shaped nest of this bird is built of mud
supposedly agglutinated, without straw
Great numbers of these are attached
to cliffs in the more unsettled portions
of the country, but where the region is
more thickly inhabited they are fast
ened under the caves of buildings much
as hornets nests are.
The brown backed bank swallow and
the rough winged differ from the 9TH
ers so greatly in color that it Is not
hard to distinguish them, besides they
are much smaller At a distance, a
party of the former flying about, in and
out of the entrance of their homes
looks much like swarming bees
The glossy blue black purple martin
one OF the most attractive of swallow
and familiar to every one who has lived
in the country, is one of our most use
full birds. 1t is said that one pair OF
these will destroy more harmful insects
in season than all the English spar
rows in a township would kill in q life.
time.
No more gregarious birds than these
can be found anywhere. All varieties
live in colonies, and even in their long.
est flights they keep together The
young on leaving the nest never dis
band, as do many other birds, but keer
constantly together--young barn swal.
lows on some projecting piece of tim.
Der. martins about the home box and
tree swallows on some convenient bush
In autumn we notice the swallows
coursing and speeding about over farm
yards and meadows in larger groups
tliclt nuhDcIS aug iIleHleu Dy the Dr0Ods
of summer, and when we see them stay.
ing more and more closely together W.
know that preparation is being mad.
for the fall migration and the hour O.
their departure is about to strike Soor
we may expect q group of them-possi
bly, the rough winged or the martins
coursing and whirling in ever WIDENING
circles, then mounting higher and start
ing for some perpetual summer land
probably tropical America, where In
sects are always humming
On their way they will stop for brie
rests among the hayberries. which af
ford them both food and shelter. then
on strong wings, covering 80 or 1ol
miles an hour. continue their journev
Soon they will be followed by othel
groups, till the haunts that knew then
are deserted and we are left with onI,
memory of their happy, childlike
twittering voices and their graceful
rhythmic flight.
The swallow has no song, and needs
none; her elusive, suggestive twitte
sets chords in ourselves to vibratin,