116 THE PURPLE SWALLOW. 



THE MARTINS. 



AMONG the most ingenious of bird architects, the FAIRY MARTIN holds a very high place 

 in virtue of the singular nest which it constructs. 



The nest of the Fairy Martin has a very close resemblance to a common oil flask, and 

 reminds the observer of the flask-shaped nests which are constructed by the Pensile Oriole and 

 similar birds, although made of harder material. The Fairy Martin builds its curious house of 

 mud and clay, which it kneads thoroughly in its beak before bringing it to the spot where 

 it will be required. Six or seven birds work amicably at each nest, one remaining in the 

 interior enacting the part of chief architect, while others act as hodsmen, and bring material 

 as fast as it is required. Except upon wet days, this bird only works in the evening and early 

 morning, as the heat of mid-day seems to dry the mud so rapidly that it cannot be rightly 

 kneaded together. The mouths, or "spouts" of these nests vary from eight to ten inches in 

 length, and point indifferently in all directions. The diameter of the widest portion of the 

 nest is very variable, and ranges between four and seven inches. 



The exterior of the nest is as rough as that of the common swallow of England, but 

 the interior is comparatively smooth, and is lined with feathers and fine grass. The eggs are 

 generally four or five in number, and the bird rears two broods in the course of the year. 



The Fairy Martin is very capricious in its choice of locality. Sometimes it will take 

 a fancy to a house, and will build its nests in regular rows under the shelter of the eaves. 

 Sometimes it prefers the perpendicular face of a rock, and in that case will build several 

 hundreds of nests in close proximity to each other, but without the slightest attempt at 

 regularity or order, and with the parts sticking out in all directions. Now and then, the nest 

 of this bird is found within the hollow of some decayed tree. In every case, the nest is built 

 in some place where water is in the near vicinity, but it is a very remarkable fact that it has 

 never been seen within twenty miles of the sea. The Fairy Martin is spread over the whole of 

 Southern Australia, arriving in August, and departing in September. 



THE WIRE-TAILED SWALLOW is chiefly remarkable on account of the peculiarity from 

 which it derives its name. 



The external feathers of the tail are singularly elongated, and for the greater part of their 

 length are devoid of web, resembling in some degree the filamentary appendages of the Bird of 

 Paradise. The general color of this bird is a rich steel-blue, the head being chestnut and the 

 under portions of the body white, with the exception of a large black patch upon the back of 

 the thigh. The wiry portion of the tail feathers is black, and the same tint runs across the 

 edge of the webbed portions, which in the centre are white like the abdomen. 



THE handsome PURPLE SWALLOW is a native of the United States of America, where it is 

 one of the most familiar, and at the same time one of the most generally beloved of the indig- 

 enous birds. 



It instinctively resorts to human habitations, and even finds favor in the eyes of the 

 American Indian, a being who is little given to mercy, and who makes the possession of a 

 head but a theme for self -laudation. Yet even the copper-skinned native respects the Purple 

 Martin, and takes care to prepare a convenient nesting-place for the little bird, by hanging on 

 a neighboring tree an empty gourd in which a hole has been roughly cut. In this receptacle 

 the Martin makes its inartificial nest, and cheers the heart of its host by its monotonous 

 though sweet-toned song. The more civilized inhabitants of farms provide for the roosting of 

 this bird by fastening nest-boxes against the wall, and some persons even build regular cotes, 

 of which the sociable birds soon take possession. Sometimes the Purple Martins become rather 

 presuming in their familiarity, and actually turn the pigeons out of their own nest-boxes 

 when they do not find sufficient accommodation for themselves. The negro, too, takes pleas- 

 ure in domesticating this most trustful of birds, and provides for its accommodation by fasten- 

 ing hollow calabashes to the tops of long bamboo canes, which are stuck in the ground for the 

 purpose. 



