Page:Bird-lore Vol 06.djvu/126

 Tree Swallows in a Bird-box 95

ing this. I discovered one of the young perched upon a twig on the ground. I focused the camera upon him and snapped it. All the while, the two parents and two other pairs of Swallows, who came from I don't know where, were swooping just above the youngster's bead. Finally, without any warning, the young one spread his wings and was instantly borne upv ward in a screaming. flapping mass of old birds, who prevented his falling. Over the pond they went, now back over the box again. and finally down the street; the youngster flew better as he flew farther, and before he was through he was able to flap along nearly as well as his father. Thus did the first of the Swallow brood learn to fly.

It rained all that night, and June I8 dawned cold and wet. As I looked out of the window I saw a soft gray thing under the box. Upon investi- gating I found it to be a young Swallow. cold and stiFf, Poor little chap; he had fallen from his nest at dawn, and died of the damp and wet. I picked him up. He was a pretty little fellow,—soft gray, with a collar of the same, and a white throat and belly.

My photographs were not successful. but I kept taking new ones each day, a few of which were fairly good. As I had never tried birdvpbotog- raphy before, 1 made many sad mistakes.

My Swallows, however, were very tame and seemed to put the utmost conﬁdence in me. even when I placed the camera on prolonged tripods. at a distance of four feet from the box The birds would feed their young within a yard of my face without hesitating. Twice, when the Swallows were especially irritable or anxious concerning their young, they would swoop at my head so close that it made me duck, As they whizzed by me they would give an angry '(linf,' half vocal. and half made by snapping the bill.

The other notes of the Swallows are a rasping, harsh, alarm note, sounding like. ‘yin-Await:.tfu-l'tt—frz.' etc.: the joyful twitter already mentioned, and a low, contented gurgle, always given when the bird is perching. Sometimes. as a parent bird swoops through the door of the house, it utters an indescribable note. sounding more like ‘5rblril' than anything else.

The young would now sit in the doorway all day long, waiting to be fed. As one of the parents approached them. instantly the soft gray mass in the doorway would change into flaming orange as each wide mouth was opened. The parent bird would thrust a mass of flies down one of the eager throats, and then rise into the air again until another mouthful of flies was caught. It was comical to watch the contortions of the young one trying to swallow the huge mouthful. but he always did it. and opened up again as wide as any of his brothers.

On June [9. I noticed that the daring young one who had learned to ﬂy a few days before was back in the box again.