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Bird - Lore 



recovered rapidly and were in a vigorous 

 condition twenty-four hours later. Obser- 

 vations, made a few days later, showed 

 that they were in no further danger from 

 falling, as they had left the nest and were 

 clinging onto the sides of the chimney. 



It seems that Chimney Swift's nests 

 have the unfortunate habit of falling 

 down into fireplaces when they contain 



ming over the meadows. Presently one of 

 them flew to the side of a school-house (a 

 small frame building), and there, a short 

 distance beneath the eaves, plastered 

 against the outside wall, was a nest, which 

 turned out to be a real Barn Swallow's 

 nest. The birds went to the nest again 

 and again, showing that it was their own. 

 I could scarcely believe my eyes. Hereto- 



A REFL.ACED CHIMNEY SWllT XEST 



half-grown young birds. I have also 

 noticed that people on such occasions 

 are inclined to waste a lot of time grieving 

 over the fact that nothing can be done to 

 save the poor, dirty, helpless young ones. 

 People generally seem anxious to do what 

 they can to save the birds, but in most 

 cases they think that nothing can be 

 done. The method described here, is 

 simple and easy when the top of the 

 chimney is accessible, and could probably 

 be used in the majority of cases. — L. P. 

 Emersox, Cambridge. Mass. 



Curios in Nests 



^\'hile dri\ing along a country road last 

 spring, I noticed some Barn Swallows skim- 



fore all the Barn Swallows' nests I have 

 found were inside of a barn, plastered 

 against a rafter or beam. It was not a 

 Cliff Swallow's nest, for it was not bottle- 

 shaped, but was open at the top, and had 

 a good deal of down and grass mixed with 

 the clay. Besides, a bird student could 

 not mistake one species for the other. 



The other day I was called to see a 

 curiosity in English Sparrow's nests. 

 Right beneath the eaves of a friend's 

 veranda roof were two curved ornamental 

 brackets between four and five inches 

 apart. Without a support between them, 

 no nest could have been built there. Now, 

 here is the odd thing: In some way the 

 birds had managed to lay a corn-cob on 

 the brackets, thus connecting them and 



