SWALLOW AM) HOUSE-MARTIN 



Nestling swallows, l>eing in tin open nest, may, when old enough, 

 all be seen sitting along its front margin, scanning with eager black 

 eyes that radiant spot of the somewhat dim and limited universe of 

 their shed or chimney, where, at any moment, one of their parents 

 may start Maidenly into view. That inonu'iit, when it arrives, the\ 

 greet with an uproarious twitter, their heads becoming HO many 

 gaping orange mouths. The next instant the old bird in clinging 

 to the nest, the flame-hued mouths press upon her, she chooses one, 

 thrusts into it a bundle of flies, perhaps does the same by a second, 

 then off* she darts, and the little heads, from being all mouths, become 

 once more all eyes. 



There is no regular order observed in feeding nestling swallows. 



I li;i\c not xrcii more than tun led :\[ one \isit. Mild the same nnc or 



two may be fed on two or even more successive visits, but whether 

 by the same parent or a different is not easy to ascertain, as the sexes 

 are almost alike. On the whole, however, the result shows commend- 

 able impartiality. 



Whilst all the \oun^ >w;dlow> ol a hrood are able to enjoy the 

 pleasures of anticipation together, only two young martins can find 

 room to put their heads out of the narrow entrance to their nest ; but, 

 on the other hand, they can watch each meal winging its way towards 

 them from a much greater distance ; and they watch untiringly, their 

 little black-capped, white-bibbed heads turning this and that way, as 



thc\ scan tllf LTlvat \\orld ol sk\. roots, and tiers, whence conic those 



savoury, succulent bundles that are thrust down their yellow throats. 

 (PL 72.) But not more than one is fed at a time, at least as far as 

 my observation goes, and that one, to judge from the motions of the 

 parents' heads in its mouth, is fed two or three times. Herein the 

 martin differs from the swallow, who often feeds at least two nestlings 

 at one visit Perhaps each parent feeds different nestlings, the 

 swallows taking two or three each, the martins one each ; but evidence 

 is not only lacking, but very difficult to secure. 



The visits to the nest occur on the average every three or four 



