53 STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 



no notice of the rattle of the engine, that was almost deafening. They were 

 very timid, although no one ever molested them. If a bird of prey or a cat 

 appeared, the}^ sounded the note of alarm, and darted about in a frantic 

 manner until they had driven the enemy away. 



THE MARTIN. 



A FEW days after the swallow has arrived, there comes the martin. 



They had really started together, and even crossed the Mediterranean in 

 company ; but the wing of the martin is smaller and more feeble than that of 

 the swallow, and she lagged somewhat behind. 



She knows her way to the nest she left last autumn under the caves of 

 the house. For she loves the dwellings of man, and is called the house martin 

 on that very account. She is a first-rate builder, and can fix her nest against 

 the smooth surface of the glass itself. 



Every one knows the shape of the nest. She lays a foundation of mud, 

 and a layer of soft earth or clay is added day by day, and allowed to become 

 dry and hard before the work is carried on. 



This is the outside wall, and is of a circular form. Both birds work hard 

 at the nest, and they seem to have the power of moistening it with their 

 saliva, which makes the substance hard and like glue. Inside, it is lined with 

 hay and feathers, and made quite soft within. 



There is an opening in the side of the nest for the old birds to go in and 

 out ; and after a time, the little heads of the brood are thrust out to receive 

 the food that they bring. And you may see the mother bird hanging to the 

 outside of the nest by her claws. As soon as one brood has flown, she begins 

 to lay more eggs, and to rear another ; and even quite late in the autumn she 

 is still busy with family cares. Indeed, she sometimes has not finished her 

 duties in time, and then she must fly away to a warmer country, and the poor 

 little birds are left behind. This has been known to happen many times. 

 One spring a pair of house martins came back to their old nest, and were 

 seen to draw out the dead bodies of three little nestlings, that had not been 

 ready to fly. - 



