OCTOBER THE WITCHING 51 



practically every one of the finer bird-calls is lost in 

 the harsh, chiding chatter of the "Bluies." In the 

 case of each species, the nest is run together very 

 rapidly ; these companions of the air have little time 

 to spare for artistic home-planning, and their 

 fragile platforms of fibres, small sticks, grass-bents, 

 or small pieces of bark, soon accommodate pairs of 

 quietly-colored eggs (maybe three), which are 

 hatched quicker than those of most other small 

 birds, and in record time the insect-nourished young 

 have grown to the flight stage. The Cuckoo that 

 fancies a Wood-Swallow as guardian for its in- 

 trusive egg has to reach a quick decision on the 

 point; the "Skimmers" give little opportunity for 

 reflection on the advantages and disadvantages of 

 the situation. 



The Wood-Swallow is probably the most accom- 

 modating of Australian birds in the matter of nest- 

 ing sites. It is content with practically any point 

 of vantage that will give purchase to the scanty 

 platform hedge-row, prickly bush, cleft in stump, 

 the deserted nest of another bird, protruding piece 

 of bark, dry bush, fork of a gum-tree (at any height 

 from two to thirty feet), fruit-tree, or even the 

 slightly hollowed top of a fence-post. Very little 

 attempt is made at concealment, but even if any- 

 thing of the kind were practised, it would be ren- 

 dered negative by the indiscreet rebuke adminis- 

 tered by the birds when the nests are approached. 

 Obviously, the only safeguard to the propagation of 

 the species is the speed with which the broods are 

 reared. 



In October of 1913 the "Skimmers" under discus- 



