close by i t a large loose n est of straw and foatliers, well lined with tho la tte r (there was
no mud), and p a rtly arched over with straw. I n th is n est tho two hirds used to sit, side
liy side, th e whole day long. As soon as tho w arm wcatlior retu rn ed th ey left th o ir warm
retrea t, aud I never saw th em use i t afterwards. I t was evidently h u ilt as a tcmporarv
resort d u rin g th e cold weather, and it was tho only one I saw; tho other hirds sat
luiddled together on tho rafters. The favourite place for b uilding ivas u nder tho eaves
ot two outhouses which were only a few feet ap a rt and th o most noisy place in tho
redoubt, th e co n stan t resort of women, children, and dogs. They often liuild iu old
deserted native hu ts, and a t P o rt Clarence, in lat. 05° 20' N., the fu rth e st n orth th a t they
ap p e ar to go, th ey were breeding iu a elifl a t some little distance from th e sea. Most ot
th o nests h ad eggs in on tho 19th of Ju n o , when my observations on them ended. They
aro said by th e Russians not to leave u n til th e middle of Soptemher.”
Mr. E rn e st Thompson sends us th o following n o t e :—
“ Distribiiiion in Ontario :
“ Zomlon and mcinity. Always and everywhere abundant (JK '. o f W. E . Saunders).
“H y d e P a r k . Summer resident { J o in A . Morden).
“ Listoicel. Common (JF. L . Kells).
“ Ila tch ly , B r a n t Co., Ont. Occurs (W. Tates).
“ HamiUou. Noted th ere by m y self; given by T. Mcllwraitli, in his hook on ‘ Birds
o t Ontario ’ (Hamilton, 1886), as foUows They arrive in Ontario early in
May and a re generally distributed over th e country duriug the sum m e r; b u t
ab o u t tho end of A u g u st th ey begin to move towards th e south and soon havo
all disappeared.’
“ Toronto. Noted by m yself as folloAvs ‘ Common summer resident, breeding about
barn s and outhouses. I n 1885 i t first appeared Ap ril 30. On Sept. 12, Avliile
on Toronto Islan d , two miles south of Toronto in tho hike, I saw a small flock
m ig ra tin g so u thw a rd ; two, ap p aren tly young ones, alighted ou a building, and
one. an old one I suppose, set ab o u t catch in g iUcs and fed th em .’ I u ”l8S7,
Aug. 11, I Imd n o te ; ‘Barn-Swallows passing soutlurard iu flocks.’ I n 1888,
Ap ril 20 : ‘Barn-SAvallow arrived.’
“ Springfield, on the Credit lliv e r about 18 miles due west o f Toronto. I n this
vicinity and soutliward towards th e lake th e species is common, llo ro on the
Lake shore is L om e P ark , where most of my specimens were taken.
“ E llora. Summer visitant, ab u n d an t (Hon, 0 . Clarice).
“B ru c e Co., Central region about Mildmay. Summer resident, commou (W . A .
Schoenan).
“ L indsay. D u rin g my residence th ere ten years ago th is species was abu n d an t in
the barns. I t was protected by tlie farmers. M’e often found tho Cliif-Swallow
and th e Whito-broastcd Swallow n estin g in th e same barns with this spi'cics
D u rin g a heavy thundershower I have seen th e whole colony of a b a rn fly forth
in a llock and perch on a bare tree, there to sit in tho drenching rain u n til the
shower was o v e r ; I suppose for th e sake of tlie bath. This may be connected
with the popular idea th a t Swallow-tenanted barns are safe from lightning, for
th e withdrawal of tb e Swallows d u rin g th e storm when some b a rn has been
stru ck may have engendered th e idea of th e th u n d erb o lt being a consequence
of th e ir absence.
“ Coboconk. Du rin g my v isit tliere, in Ju n e 1885, I found th e species common.
“ T eterboro'. Common {Bev. V. Clementi).
“ Yarker, Addin g to n Co. Summer resident, April 17 th to May 1 0th {J. G. Ewart).
“ B elleville. I n 1881, arrived May 9 th {Prof. J . Macoim).
“ Kingston. Common {JDr. C. K . Clarke).
“ Distribution in Province o f Quebec:
“ Montreal. Summer resident, common {W . W. Dunlop).
“ P o in t de Monts. Kai’e, and n o t known to breed. Mr. Comeau shot one, May 29,
1882 {Dr. C. H a r t Merriam).
“ County o f Quebec and No rth to L a k e St. John. Summer resident, abu n d an t
{J. Neilson).
“ In the list of h irds observed hy Mr. Jos. M . Macoun a t Lake Nustassini, this
species is not mentioned.
“ Distribution in Manitoba and the N orth-icest:
“ Carberry. Hare ; in 1882 it arrived May 11th. I ts absence rem arked for same
year on Aug. 30th. In 1881, first noted May 5th. The species did n o t breed
about Carberry, possibly for lack o f suitable ncsting-places.
“ Winnipeg. Ab u n d an t ( JF. L . Iline).
“ Eastern 2Ianitoba {i. e., I understand, in neighbourhood of 'Winnipeg and th e near
east). Summer resident, abu n d an t {B. I I . Hu n ter).
“ South-icestern Manitoba, near Souris Biver. I have it noted fo r th is region as
commou.
“ Qu'Appelle. Summer visitant, about May 20th, and breeds {Geo. F. Guernsey).
“ North-ivest (by tbis I u nderstand him to mean th e region immediately to th e west
of Manitoba). Occurs {Prof. J . Macoun).”
Professor E llio tt Coues, in his paper on th e birds of Montana and Dakota, w r ite s:—
“ I find no specimens of th is species entered in my reg ister from Pembina, Avhcre,
according to my recollection, i t was n o t breeding a t th e time of my visit, th o u g h the
family was th ere well represented by num bers of Cliff and White-bellied Swallows.
Nevertheless, Barn-Swallows w ere commonly observed d u rin g J u ly and Au g u st a t various
points along th e line, nearly to th e Hocky Mountains. E ligible breeding-placcs for this
species being few aud far between in th is country, i t is correspondingly uncommon, at
least in comparison with its numbers in most settled districts. A small colony of the
birds which had located for th e summer on a small stream west o f th e Sweetgrass m ils
4 c