20 THE USEFUL BIRDS 



It surely goes without saying that everyone is fainihar with 

 the Common or Chimney Swallow, yet such facts as the 

 following, gathered by the writer and an able correspondent, 

 Mr. Geo. Graham, may appear new to many in the natural 

 history of the species : — 



Nesting Habits. — The species starts to nest in July if the 

 weather be favourable, though the month will vary with the 

 season and latitude. It is an early and late breeder. The 

 position chosen for the nest is very varied ; they may be 

 placed in caves, spouts of trees over w^ater, in barns, under 

 verandahs, and even in a dog-kennel, if the dog has been 

 absent some time. In the latter position a pair of birds has 

 been know^n to breed for five years (per Mr. C. Gabriel). 

 Even the floating gate of a graving dock has its nest, under 

 one of the iron ledges. 



Whether or not tlie birds resort to the same nest annually 

 I cannot say, but since 1881 two nests in the same hollow of 

 a tree have been occupied each year during the whole 16 to 

 17 years up to 1898. One of these nests was pulled down in 

 the sixteenth year, prior to the return of the birds, and was 

 not rebuilt. I take it the birds were turned aside from the 

 usual custom and went elsewhere. 



In the building of a nest the birds occasionally make a 

 mistake, and yet persist in continuing with the work. If the 

 nest falls they start again, and a second time it falls, and so 

 on until success is achieved or the w^ork given up. On other 

 occasions nests are partially built and abandoned. A pair 

 will start a nest, and by the time it is half done a number of 

 Swallows assemble, fly to and from the nest, twitter consider- 

 ably, and work is suspended, apparently as a consequence of 

 their deliberations. Such nests are not again touched. 



It is interesting to know that a House-Swallow in England 

 hatches its eggs in exactly the same time as one in Australia. 

 The following four observations show— (a) an egg is laid on 



