540 Mr. L. B. Mouritz on the 



which I measured up, gave the following dimensions and 



weighed several pounds : — 



inches. 



Length over all 16 



Entrance neck, inside 1| X H 



„ „ above, length 5^ 



„ „ helow, „ 3i 



Bottom of entrance neck to roof of hole 3i 



Average thickness of the clay 1| 



Except that of the neck, which was f 



And that of the nest bottom, which was . . 1 

 Greatest thickness of clay (at entrance rear of 



nest) 3 



Distance from surface to entrance of nest .... 36 



These particulars give some idea of the birds' industry. 

 Amongst the clay there were numerous small bits of stone, 

 and a lot of silicious black " dagga.^' The entrance neck 

 was stained throughout with the birds' droppings, and the 

 nest itself was very dirty beneath the feather lining — this is 

 confined to the rear half of the chamber, the bare space in 

 front probably being used for roosting purposes by one of the 

 birds. Eight at the bottom of the nest, between the featlier 

 lining and clay shell, a few strips of coarse grass are usually 

 laid. On the 25th of January I shot a female, dug up and 

 destroyed a nest close to the river, but found it incom- 

 plete, the birds being still engaged in the finishing touches 

 of the feather lining. On Mcirch 1, I noticed Swallows at 

 this hole again, and found a new nest built and two eggs 

 already laid. The surviving cock had evidently procured 

 another mate, and the birds had built the second nest just 

 behind the remains of the destroyed one. From this I 

 deduce that the male Swallow is responsible for the selection 

 of the nesting site. 1 watched these birds some time before 

 approaching the nest, and noticed that when not seeking 

 food, the cock spends a lot of time perched on a convenient 

 spray, twitting to his sitting mate. Later, both birds went 

 oif together, but soon returned, bringing feathers to add 

 to the lining ; and this I noticed with other pairs^ they 



