The Mason-Wasps 



The Wall-swallow, who is much less 

 common than the other, never chooses a site 

 within our houses for his structure. It 

 must be outside for him and it must stand 

 high, far removed from inquisitive eyes; but 

 at the same time a shelter against the rain 

 is indispensable, for the damp is almost as 

 dangerous for his mud nest as for that of 

 the Pelopaeus. He therefore settles by 

 choice under the eaves and cornices of 

 buildings. He visits me every spring. 

 My house pleases him. Just below the 

 roof is a cornice made up of a few courses 

 of ordinary " half-round " coping-tiles, cor- 

 belled out from the face of the wall in such 

 a way as to give a long line of round-headed 

 niches which are sheltered from the rain 

 and enjoy plenty of sunshine on the south 

 front. Among all these nooks, so healthy, 

 so well-protected and moreover so excel- 

 lently adapted to the shape of the nest, the 

 bird has only to choose. There is room for 

 all, however numerous the colony may be- 

 come one day. 



Apart from sites of this kind, I see none 

 approved by the Swallow in the village, ex- 

 cept the under part of a few cornices of the 

 church, which is the only edifice of a monu- 

 mental character. In short, the support of 

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