The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-04

of the better known swallows in ease and
 celerity of motion and in the cheerful
 confidence in which he regards human
 kind. I fancy he does not often place
 his nest in the chimneys of modern Eng
 land, however convenient he may have
 found those structures as built in an-
 cient days. Barns and outbuildings are
 his favorite summer homes; but in de-
 fault of these. in wild places, con
 venient spot about Q cliff or quarry IS
 utilized. His twittering notes, though
 not in any sense a song, are always
 agreeable, and when heard some breezy afternoon among the rafters of roomy
 old barn, when one is lying in half
 lethargic state upon the new-mown nay
 are certainly the most pleasant and sooth- ing of rural sounds. Barn swallows
 nests are usually made on beam or
 rafter or plastered to the side Of those supports. The material is mud mixed
 with fine hay and grass, and strengthened
 with the glutinous saliva of the bird. The
 eggs are white, thickly spotted with
 brown, as are those also of the cliff
 swallow. All the rest of our swallows
 have pure white eggs. Young barn swal-
 
 low the aerial evolutions of their parents
 owing to the slow growth of the long
 outer tail feathers that serve so admir- l ably to balance tle adults. They spend
 much of their time at rest, and even
 alight on the ground to pick up insects
 In September the barn swallows gather 1 in large fiocks about old meadows or
 ponds, filling the air with their graceful, l wheeling shapes, and often announcing l their final departure by perching in
 body upon some building.
 The poet Thompson had in mind the
 house martin of England when he wrote:
 "The swallow sweeps
 The slimy pool to build his hanging 1 But this stanza applies equally well 1 to our cliff LOT cave swallow, which is close analogue in habits, though diff
 fering in many other respects. Both l species build curious domed nests, en- l tirely of mud but the Yankee bird is l the better workman, and draws the l entrance of his house into an odd flask or retor-like shape, with hole in the meek" end. Both attach the nests under the caves, at some convenient place on the exterior of a building, or against the vertical face of cliff if l that be lacking. The house martin is
 more evenly distributed over Europe l than it's congener in America. The lat
 ter was called republican" swallow by Audubon, from it's habit of rearing the young in communities, 100 or more 1 nests being frequently massed together | in the same locality. This social dis | position perforce renders the distrlbu- 1 tion of the eave-swallow somewhat 1r- regular and local, though it Is numerl- cally one of the most abundant or us family The English house-mart1n nests in pairs over the whole extent of its summer home, and frequently re- 1 turns to the same nest for successive years, The inside of these remarkable nests is always well lined with feath- CTS and hay The eggs of the house. martin are white, in strong d1stlnclloh | to those of the republican. which are heavily marked. These birds are pret-- tily marked, and are very amiable In disposition. The flight of both species is less rapid and daring than that or l the barn-swallow, as they lack the long l forked tail. They are rather more ln- 1 innate in their relations with man, l and are universally loved and protected, | as their domestic affairs afford lnnnte l amusement and instruction for children. l Sand-martin seems less inclined to wander far from the breeding ground than most swallows, and are very gen. l tie and quiet in demeanor. Their so- Der dress of brown and white, and | slight occasion for approaching dwell ines render them less observed than many other scarcer birds. but colony 1 of nests is always sure to attract at | tention The rough-winged swallow | is a curious American variation or the | sand-martin, almost indistingu1shable | from it when on wing, save by the lack | of the brown band on the breast.
 Longfel1ow's line,
 "Darting swallows soar and sing," | is particularly apt as applied to the purple martin, the largest, the most l musical and may add, the most l nearly domesticated of all our swal- | lows. We will call this well known | and agreeable species briefly martin" as it is the only bird to which that name is uniformly applied In America. | The martin was known and protected | by the Indians before the advent of | the colonies and their example in pro | yiding suitable nesting places Is uni versally followed by the southern ne- | groes who suspend hollow gourds, in | abundance, to poles or trees near their | homes. The martin much exceeds all other swallows in vocal ability. The notes are clear, vigorous, and yet re- markably soft and pleasing. They are given chiefly while on the wing, hover | ing about the nest, or when feeding l the young. Altogether the poet does l little violence to facts when he makes his swallows "sing." The martins arr rive in New England early in May, and depart with great suddenness in the | latter part of August. They now nest entirely in artificial retreats about i buildings, except in totafly unsettled districts, where they utilize hollows Tn trees The bitter war waged against the martin by the imported sparroWs l since their introduction in this coun- try has apparently taught the former some useful lessons in self-reliance, | and of late years they frequently de- l cline to be busted from their comfor- 1 table boxes by the clustering foreigner. The adult male martin is of an intense | steel-blue, with dark wings and tail, | while the females and young are uni formly grayish- brown. The martin IS ouite a "sizable" bird, well developed | specimen measuring almost eight inches l long and about 16 in extent of wing. The name of "chimney-swallow" would be exceedingly appropriate for our common swift if it were swallow at all for no other bird has so entirely accepted that useful portion of mans dwelling for his nesting place. How ever. we shall adopt the term spine tailed swift" which Is distinctive, and is gaining ground among those better n,,r swift is a hird of won