s, in a bird-box when it is provided--otherwise in a
hollow tree. Eggs white, without any spots.

A good Summer Citizen and a favorite everywhere; but for many reasons it
is growing scarcer every year. The English Sparrow is one of its
greatest enemies, and not only drives it from its nesting-boxes, but
attacks the young birds.

A member of the guild of Sky Sweepers.

[Illustration: Purple Martin 1. Male 2. Female]

The Barn Swallow

Length six to seven inches.

Upper parts shining steel-blue, but the face buff.

Under parts rich buff, brick-red on the throat, where there is also a
steel-blue collar.

Tail very long and deeply forked, with the side-feathers narrow, and
some white spots on them.

Song a musical laugh, heard when the birds fly low over meadows and
ponds.

Nest a sort of bracket, made of little mud balls and straw stuck on a
beam in a hayloft. Eggs white, with plenty of reddish-brown spots.

A Summer Citizen in most of the United States.

A Sky Sweeper of the very first rank.

[Illustration: Barn Swallow.]

"Barney is a charming neighbor, who should be welcome in every
home--sociable, musical, and very useful in destroying the flies and
gnats that worry horses and cattle. Though it builds its first nest in
May, it often brings out its last brood in August; thus during its long
nesting season consuming a very large share of insects, and proving
itself a kind friend to the cows at a time when flies are most
persistent."

The Tree Swallow.

(Or WHITE-BELLIED SWALLOW)

Length six inches.

Upper parts sparkling green, with darker wings and tail, the latter but
little forked.

Under parts snow-white.

A sweet, twittering song.

Nests in the hollows of dead trees, usually in old Woodpeckers' holes,
but occasionally in bird-boxes. Eggs pure white.

[Illustration: Tree Swallow.]

A good Citizen of the United States, but more shy than the Martin and
Barn Swallow; these two often return, year after year, to some favorite
nesting place, but the Tree Swallow is not so reliable.

A Sky Sweeper.

The Bank Swallow

(Or SAND MARTIN)

The smallest Swallow, only five inches long.

Upper parts dusty brown, darker on the wings, and tail forked a little,
like the Tree Swallow's. Under parts white, with a brown band across
the breast.

Song a sort of giggle--like some little girl's we know.

Nests many together in holes in a clay or loamy bank, lined with
feathers and straw. Eggs pur