THE COMMOiST SWALLOW 63 



country in May and departs about the end of August. The nest 

 is built in steeples and other elevated situations, and is composed 

 of grass, straws, feathers, etc. The eggs, numbering two to five, 

 are of a white colour. A single brood only is produced each year, 

 and is hatched about the end of June or beginning of July. The 

 food consists wholly of insects captured on the wing. 



The COMMON or CHIMNEY SWALLOW (Hirundo rustica), Fig. 43, 

 belongs to the family Hirundinidae of the Fissirostral (cleft-beaked) 

 birds, and sub-family Hirundininae. Its throat and forehead is 

 chestnut-coloured or reddish brown, body of a bluish hue, wings 

 and tail brownish, bill black, feet brown, or brownish-black, under 

 the wings and belly inclining to buff. 



FIG. 43. THE COMMON SWALLOW. 



The bird arrives in this country about the middle of April and 

 takes its departure towards the end of September or the beginning 

 of October. It breeds twice in the summer, building a nest of mud 

 against a wall under the eaves of a dwelling, or other convenient 

 situation, mixed with bits of straw or dried grass and hair, and is 

 lined with fine grass and feathers. The eggs, usually four or five, 

 are white, speckled with brown or dark red spots. The young of 

 the first brood generally fly towards the end of June, and the second 



