A Study of the Violet-Green Swallow

One of the first new bird acquaintances to intrigue particular interest on my arrival at Puget Sound from the east in 1888 was the pretty little violet-green swallow, Tachycineta thalassina lepida. Its seasonal comings and goings, its ways of daily life have ever since received my watchful attention. For a number of years these swallows have nested beneath the eaves of my sleeping-porch, thus supplying opportunity for an aroundthe-clock acquaintance with them. In voluminous notes are recorded the particulars of their nestings, the phenomenal over-growth of the young birds and the recession to rzormal adult weight,* also various factors that promote or retard the processes of nidification. The study involves, perhaps, some implications of bird psychology.