EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 269 



usually amongst the herbage in its marshy haunts. The nest is 

 made of dry grass, moss, and rootlets, and lined with finer roots, 

 and sometimes with horse-hair or wool. 



The eggs are four or five in number, generally the latter, very 

 rarely six, and resemble closely those of the Rock Pipit. They 

 vary in length from 093 to 0"8 inch, and in breadth from 0'65 to 

 0"b' inch. 



THE SWALLOW. 



{Hirundo rustica.) 



Plate 58a, Figs. 17, 20. 



The Swallow, one of the best known and most familiar of 

 our native birds, is generally distributed throughout the United 

 Kingdom. It is found almost throughout the Palrearctic region. 



The nest is generally placed on the joist which supports the 

 rafters of a barn or other out-house, a few inches below the tiles 

 or slates which form the roof. In this position it rests upon the 

 horizontal surface of the joist, and is a ring of mud lined with dry 

 grass and a few feathers. Many peculiar nesting-sites of the bird 

 have been recorded. 



The eggs are from four to six in number, and vary considerably 

 in shape and markings. The ground-colour is always pure white, 

 and the markings are rich coffee-brown, violet-grey, and light 

 reddish-brown ; these are usually distributed over the entire sur- 

 face of the egg, but most thickly at the large end. The grey 

 underlying markings are far more numerous and larger on some 

 eggs than on others. The spots vary considerably in size : on 

 some eggs they are small specks, on others large spots and 

 blotches, sometimes confluent on the larger end, forming a broad, 

 irregular zone. The eggs vary in length from 0'9 to 0'75 inch, 

 and in breadth from 0"58 to 0'52 inch. 



THE HOUSE MARTIN. 

 {Hirundo urbica . ) * 



Plate 58a, Fig. 19. 

 The House Martin is generally distributed throughout the 

 British Islands in summer. It breeds throughout Europe, 

 ranging somewhat further north than the Swallow. 



* Chclidon urbica — Saunders, Manual, p. 157 ; Sharpe, Handb., I., p. 328. 



