MISTLETOE BIRD, WOOD SWALLOW 



variably shows that the whole flock commences nesting at 

 the same time. If half-fledged young are found in the first 

 nest it is quite safe to expect the same all round. On one 

 or two occasions, one pair, apparently overtaken by mis- 

 fortune on the first attempt, has been found a week or more 

 behind the others. 



The nest is a shallow structure, usually composed of 

 twigs, grasses and fine roots or horsehair, and bears unmis- 

 takable signs of hasty construction. Building operations 

 take, on an average, three days. The position chosen also 

 indicates a certain amount of carelessness. Any small 

 bush, straggling or otherwise, is availed of, and the nest 

 dumped in an upright fork or on a horizontal branch. 

 Very often it is easily discernible from a hundred yards off. 

 The eggs, most often two or three in number, are of a slaty 

 stone colour, heavily blotched with darker markings. The 

 photograph reproduced on page 147 gives a fair impression 

 of the class of shrub selected, the general build of the nest, 

 and the appearance of the eggs. It will be noticed that one 

 of the eggs shown is of unusual shape, being much longer 

 than the other, which was a normal one. This was very 

 noticeable in the eggs themselves. It was quite a disap- 

 pointment, on a subsequent visit, to find that apparently the 

 business part of the egg was normal, as the chicks were 

 quite alike. Both parents take part in the work of in- 

 cubation, and in feeding the young. The eggs hatch in 

 about twelve days, and at the end of another twelve the 

 nestlings are well covered with streaked light brown 

 feathers, and are showing a strong inclination to be moving. 

 They are fed on insects obtained in the air, and on the 

 ground. The wisdom of the streaked plumage of the young 

 becomes apparent when one searches for a family either in 

 dry grass or on a dead tree. A well maintained silence 

 when they are in danger completes their protection. 



Our attachment to these birds must certainly be for 

 some reason other than their trustfulness. They are 

 about the most annoying birds, from a photographer's point 

 of view, with which we have come in contact. Some small 

 birds, after a short time, have become so trustful as to feed 

 their young on our hands or on our shoulders. Such trust- 

 fulness in a Wood Swallow is barely imaginable. From 

 the time the photographer arrives until he is tired of the 

 "fun," and moves on to similar treatment at the next nest, 



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