on Our British Swallows.



83



them plenty of exercise and small living insect-food ; but a Swallow

in a cage is to me a pitiable object, and a bird of this kind fed upon

soft food gorges itself to repletion and soon dies.


It has been said, and even by good ornithologists, that these

birds cannot walk on account of the shortness of their legs, and that

they cannot rise from the ground because of the length of their wings.

I used to start my House-Martins running races across the floor of a

room and they travelled at a surprising speed, sometimes using their

wings in leaps. On a perfectly level, smooth surface Swallows

undoubtedly find themselves in difficulties as regards flight, but a

sloping surface or an inequality of a very few inches provides a

sufficient take off from which they can rise in the air. If this were

not so the Chimney-Swallows and House-Martins which I have

observed obtaining mud for their nests round country ponds would

indeed have been in an unhappy predicament.


I have often wondered why the House-Martin does not follow

the excellent example of the Chimney-Swallow and mix dry grass or

fibre with the mud, and thus strengthen the walls of its nest. It is

quite easy to secure perfect nests of the Chimney-Swallow for a

collection. They will stand a lot of knocking about without injury;

but with the greatest care I never could get a House-Martin’s nest

entire ; it fell to pieces even though carefully supported and separated

from the wall by the use of a long sharp knife. The specimens

for the exhibition case in the Natural History Museum were, I

believe, thoroughly soaked with size and allowed to harden before

removal.


So far as comfort is concerned, the Chimney-Swallow and

House-Martin seem to provide for it in their nests ; but the Sand-

Martin, although it may ensure greater warmth by burrowing far

into a bank, has to submit to the irritation caused by numerous

parasites, many of the nests being alive with fleas and ticks; the

actual nest of this bird also is flimsy in the extreme, and must need

constant rearrangement to retain its character. Nevertheless, liable

as it is to be blown away if exposed to the air, a perfect Sand-Martin’s

nest, with its cup of white feathers in a loose base of bents or rootlets,

is a beautiful object; but perfect nests are only to be obtained from

long burrows.



