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o th e r species; and il.c ir form is a slender oval. Of a great n nm h er of specimens
eollected in various localities, the largest is -70 by 'Se inch, th e smallest is '(ID by
•• inch. IV o broods a re g enerally reared in the season, an d th e period of incubation
IS io u rte en days.
“ This species leaves New England in full migration ab o u t tlio lOtli of September,”
The following note is published by Dr. Coues from J l r . S tearn s's MSS. on Now
Iriiigland B ird -life :—
“ A commou summer resident, and more equalily d istributed over New England
Ilian th e Barn-Swallow, as it is less dependent upo n man ibr brccding-placcs and less
.gregarious d u rin g tb o ncsting-season. Though th e Mliite-I.ellies often accept tb e boxés
sel up f o r tb c ir accommodation, it is not always easy to induce th em to occupy such arti-
iicial retrea ts, and in some places th ey still refuse to modify tlie ir prim itiv e liabits ot
b reediug in n a tu ra l excavations o t trees aud stumps. Sometimes th ey eoiiipromise on a
liolo in a post or fciioo. They a re consequently found in remoto and s'ecUided woods and
swamps, as well as ab o u t tbo h abitations o f m a u ; and display a certain taste for aquatics
ill freq u en tly choosing ‘ s tu b s ’ stan d in g in tb e water for ncsting-]>laces, iu th e ir
mímense au tum n a l gath erin g s in tb e sa lt marslies of tlie coasts, and iu b e in " very
iiuiiicrous ab o u t ponds and o th er fresh w ate r away from houses. Tliey rcaob New
lingland somewliat in advance of tlie .Barn-Swallows. coming iu full force early iu April
and m tb o fall they linger tlirough tb e greater p a rt of Septemlier : b u t tbo weather haé
much to do with th e ir movements. Tbe nest is b u ilt o f l.ay with o u t mud, and lined
with feathers, 'j'hc eggs are p u re white, without markings, and from '70 to ‘78 Ion" bv
•■)0 to 'UG hroafl.” ® *
Mr. J Ia y n a rd writes “ I t arrives iu New E n g lan d Ihe earliest of all th e Swallows.
J I ere th ey have a song, which is, however, uot as clear and warbling as ll.a t of tho B a rié
Swallow; th e ir flight is also heavier, n e ith e r do th ey move as swiftly. These birds
breed in J Ia rtin -b o x cs, holes in out-liuildings, or in lioilow s tu b s ; wliilé nestin g in tlic
last-named situ atio n , they u su ally choose a hole formed by iiaturo, b u t I found a colonv
Imsily engaged in exc ava ting domiciles in p a rtially decay'cd birch stubs, wliich stood hi
th e waters of Lake Umbagog, JIa in c . The work was pcriormcd liv the hills, n o t afte r
(he m an n e r of Nu th atch es. Titmice, &c., h u t by simply breaking ‘away small pieces of
p unky wood, and rcriiovini« them.
“ AVliite-bellied SwalloAvs deposit th e ir eggs d u rin g the first week in J u n e . The
y oung leave tlie ir n est early in Ju ly . Aito r th is tim e they a ll congregate on th e sea-
sliore ill v ast flocks. D u rin g some years th e numbers Avliich assemlde. in early au tumn
are almost incredible, for 1 have seen the a ir over tlie broad marshes of Ipswich so filled
with th em th a t i t Avas impossible to discharge a g u n in any direction without k illing one
or more. I ahvays imagined th a t th e great n umber of insects Avhicli occur near th e salt
Avatei-, iu th e la tte r p a rt of suuimer, n a s th e cause of lliis v ast concourse, u n til I discovered
an o th e r reason. X was walking aliout th e hills n e a r the coast one day in Auo'ust
A\hcu I observed larg e num bers o f -White-bellied Swallows hovering over some bay-bcrry
b u sh e s {2Iyrica cerifera) Avbich groAV a b u n d a n t ly in th i s s e c tio n . C u rio u s to knoA\' w h a t
th e y AA'ei’e d o in g I s h o t scA'eral, a n d Avas m u c h su rp r is e d to fin d t h e i r c ro p s a n d s tom a c h s
filled Avith t l ie a r om a tic b e r rie s . T h is f r u i t is a b o u t t h e size o f u n g ro u n d b la c k p e p p e rs ,
a n d is c o a te d w i th a Avaxy s u b s ta n c e , o f Avhich th e b a y - b e r r y talloAv is m a d e . T h is Avas
fo rm e rly u s e d f o r m a n u f a c tu r in g c a u d l e s ; in d e e d i t is n ow u s e d fo r th i s p u rp o s e in som e
s e c tio n s o f th e c o u n try . 1 h a v e sin c e t a k e n m a n y sp e c im e n s , a n d fo u u d t h a t i t is a
c o n firm e d h a b i t o f th i s sp ec ie s to fe ed o n th e b a y -b e rry . . \ n e x am in a tio n o f th e f r u i t in
t h e p ro c e ss o f d ig e s tio n sh ow s t h a t o n ly th e o u t e r w a x y coA'ering is c o n sum e d , th e in n e r
o r h a rd e r p o rtio n b e in g v o id ed . I t is p ro b a b le t h a t th is s u b s ta n c e is h ig lily n u t r i t io u s ,
a s th e b ird s be c om e A'ery f a t th r o u g h fe e d in g u p o n it. T h e g r e a t m a s s o f W liite -h e llie d
SwalloAvs d e p a r t e a rly in S e p tem b e r , b u t a fcAV r em a in l a t e r th a n a n y o th e r m em b e r s o f
t l)e fam ily . T h e la s t s tra g g le r, hoAA'ever, d is a p p e a rs b y th e m id d le o f t h e m o n th .”
Mr. B. H. Dutcber, in liis notes on th e birds of L ittle Gull Islan d , N cav York, says
th a t between th e Gth and IGth of A u g u s t flocks Avere soon every day m ig ra tin g so u th wards,
and th a t they followed th e same line as Iliru n d o erythrogastra in tlie ir flight
from the mainland, viz. from L ish cr’s Islan d to L ittle Gull, L ittle Gull to Great Gull,
G reat Gu ll to P lum Islan d , and so to Long Island.
Mr. Brewster mentions it among th e species Avliich breed n e a r Winchendon, Alass.;
and Air. W a lte r Laxon, in his paper on th e bii*ds observed by him on tlie Graylock
Alountain between th e 28th of J u n e an d the IGth of J u ly , sta te s th a t he saw a few
indiA’iduals in th e A'illage of N o rth Adams, the only ones observed by him in B erkshire
county.
Air. W. E. 1). Scott, Avriting in 1879 on th e birds noticed a t Long Beach, Ncav
J ersey , states th a t it Avas a common m ig ran t th ere , h u t bred A'cry rarely. The first was
seen on the 7th of April, and it Avas n o t noticed again t ill th e l o th of tlia t m onth. A
p a ir bred on th e n o rth e rn ex tremity of th e beach, n e a r th e liglithousc. L arg e numbers
Avere seen on th e IGth of November, 1880, a t Squam Beach, Ncav Jersey , and Air. Scott
Avrites of th is abnormal v is it:—“ The SAvalloAvs had been ab u n d a n t fo r th e previous two
days, th o u g h th e tem p e ra tu re was u n usually low for th e tim e of th e year. They wore
feeding on th e bay-bcrry {Myrica cerifera) in such num bers th a t Air. Hard en b erg h
secured fifteen birds a t a single shot. The bird s Avcre b ro u g h t to me, an d a t least th ree
q u a rte rs a re in im m a tu re plumage.”
“ I n Pennsylvania,” Avrites Air. AVarren, " the Tree-Swallow arriA'es late in Alarch or
carlv in April, and leaA’cs in September. I t is commou aud A'cry generally distributed
(luring migration. As a summer resident it is restricted chiefly to localities about rivers.”
Air. E v e rman n stales th at in Carroll County, In d ian a , it is a m ig ra n t and n o t very
common.
Air. Fox, in his lis t of birds from Roane County, Tennessee, gives th e p resent species
as n o t common, first seen on the 1st of April, 188-4, and a icAV d u rin g April 1885. Air.
Loomis found it m ig ra tin g only iu South Carolina.
Air. Alaynard, in his ‘ Birds of E lorida,’ writes :— “ T he AA’h ite-belliod is th e only
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