/4 THE LIFE OF A BIRD. 



and supposes that the birds which thus amuse 

 themselves may be the first broods but lately 

 fledged, whose instinct begins to operate and show 

 itself before it is wanted. The habits of the cliff- 

 swallow of America are in many respects similar 

 to those of the house-martin. 



In the majority of instances the bill and the 

 feet are equally necessary to the bird in rearing 

 the fabric in which it is to educate its young. 

 Many proofs of the ingenuity of the architects 

 might be adduced, but perhaps none so striking 

 as the following, which is to be found in Mr. 

 Jesse's pleasant book, " Scenes and Tales of 

 Country Life." In the bell-tower of the beautiful 

 chapel attached to Eton College, a most curious 

 nest was reared by a pair of jackdaws. On 

 attempting to ascend the spiral staircase, any 

 further progress after reaching a certain height 

 was stopped by a sort of pillar of sticks. The 

 origin of this singular pile, which is represented 

 in the adjoining cut, was as follows. On the ledge 

 of one of the narrow apertures for the admission 

 of light, a pair of jackdaws had built their nest. 

 The ledge, however, was so narrow, that the nest 

 had evidently an inclination inwards, and would 



